It was in 1999 when we set up our first Internet site (www.polyester-technology.com) to advertise a newly established consulting business. To attract visitors to the site, and to achieve a reasonable ranking in the search engines, the site hosted all new, freely-available papers and presentations published during that period and established a comprehensive keyword list related to the polyester industry. The effectiveness and popularity of this web site very quickly became clear. On the one hand we were approached by new customers who asked for our support, and on the other hand, and much more importantly, we could see the increased awareness of our consulting business, “POLYESTER TECHNOLOGY” that the Internet provided. Even across the far-flung provinces of China or in the heart of India, where we met many of our customers for the first time, people (and especially young people) already knew our business from the Internet site. We received this positive reaction because interested visitors to our web site found there a broad range of freely accessible technical and scientific information.

It is true that the focus of our business is very specific, and in comparison with some large companies rather limited. But in sharing our publications with the public we benefited very much from the power of the Internet. By making frequent and intensive use of the resources offered by the Internet we learned that the best sources of new technical and scientific knowledge are the search engines of international patent offices, which today are relatively user-friendly and convenient. In addition companies are more and more frequently using their own Internet sites to publish their technical and scientific literature. But the fact is that, particularly for those not highly experienced in a specific area of industrial interest (for instance polyester production and processing) and for those who are not in a position to pay up-front for information, the Internet does not surrender its secrets quite so easily. We must also remember that the copyright of many publications or presentations has been acquired by commercial publishers, conference organisers and trade journals, who all aim to make money from their exclusive rights.

You may ask, " Why give away valuable information that other companies may exploit, rather than using it to promote your own business?" And herein lies the real idea behind the new CE-PIP Internet platform. The platform is structured by a series of carefully selected search keywords and pointers to the related companies. In this way any user can rapidly find the required polyester information. CE-PIP provides a concentrated, knowledge-based environment with the added ability of being able to structure itself as it grows. It has the potential to become ultimately the "WHO SUPPLIES WHAT?" of the polyester chain. The visitor to CE-PIP will have access to a broad range of information and at the same time will learn WHO is providing that information, with a direct link to the company's own Internet site. Of course there has to be a strong information-oriented environment and a web site manager with in-depth technical expertise and extensive experience in the industry in order to establish a "P I P" (which could also be used to mean PRODUCT INFORMATION PLATFORM). Having once established the system software, and public acceptance of the new information medium, it becomes easy to adapt it to other industries, such as engineering plastics, basic chemistry, the automotive industry, power generation, the health care industry and so on. Ultimately the concept of a Product Information Platform will spread to all interested specialists, and even the general public, in different areas of industry and science. We are therefore ready to talk to interested persons or companies with a view to licensing the PIP concept and software. Dr. Ulrich Thiele,

Bruchköbel, Germany, 10.02.2007