EPPM 18.2

April/May 2016 Volume 18 | Issue 02

PACKAGING AND SUSTAINABILITY: It’s not black and white

IN TOUCH WITH PLASTICS

Cover Story | Page 12

Busted!

This company’s QA program AND reputation Like Humpty Dumpty, it is hard to put the pieces back together once a real world product quality disaster strikes. The ultimate cost of a recall will be far, far greater than any savings from cutting corners or not investing in a quality assurance program in the first place. With our broad spectrum of physical testing machines, software, and technical support, Tinius Olsen can help you assure quality from material to end product. To international standards and your toughest specifications. Reputations (yours and ours) depend on it.

The first name in materials testing. www.TiniusOlsen.com

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Volume 18 Issue 02

IN THIS ISSUE Pg 20

INDUSTRY NEWS

AUTOMATION

Falling oil prices may not be the nightmare for recycled plastics that was previously thought and SEPRO has signed an exciting agreement with Yaskawa.

Automation plays such a key role in materials handling that it’s hard to define where the latter feature ends and automation begins. With a little help from CHX and a strong case for automation in packaging from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, we give automation a platform in its own right.

Pg 12 COVER STORY: ALBIS Albis and its innovative oxygen-scavenging packaging is a part of the Save Food initiative, which aims to reduce food wastage, but our interview with the experts led to a greater discussion on plastics as a tool for carbon reduction.

Web: www.eppm.com C.E.O/publisher mark blezard C.O.O duncan wood

editorial editor rose brooke rose.brooke@rapidnews.com

production art & production robert wood

Pg 23

advertising

PIPE & PROFILE Some of the biggest names in European and global plastic pipe and profile extrusion appear in our special focus on this specialist side of plastics processing.

advertising manager Lisa Montgomery lisa@rapidnews.com tel: +44 (0) 1244 680222

subscriptions subscriptions@rapidnews.com

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qualifying readers

THERMOFORMING

europe - free, ROW - £249

A stalwart plastics processing technology, thermoforming continues to evolve and thermoformers continue to push the boundaries with product innovation. We take a look at some of the latest developments.

outside qualifying criteria £249 please subscribe online at www.eppm.com

Address changes should be emailed to subscriptions@rapidnews.com.

Pg 14

Pg 34

PACKAGING

EUREKA SERIES

We bookend our packaging section with a bulletin of the biggest news in plastics packaging.

Scientists have discovered a kind of bacteria that has evolved to digest PET, potentially bringing a new ‘technology’ to the table where plastics recycling and disposal are concerned.

Pg 16

Chester, CH4 9QE.

Fax. +44 (0) 1244 671074

EU REFERENDUM This may be the last EPPM you read published in an EU-member UK and as the ‘in’ and ‘out’ wars rage on, nobody is any the wiser as to the outcome. EPPM explores what the big names in manufacturing have to say about a proposed ‘Brexit’.

Chester Business Park,

Tel. +44 (0) 1244 680222

Pg 6

Pg 10

head office Carlton House, Sandpiper Way,

MATERIALS HANDLING Good materials handling is the unsung hero of manufacturing. We have a look at how some innovators are setting the bar for production efficiency.

European Plastic Product Manufacturer is published by Rapid Plastics Media Ltd. Each issue is distributed in print and digital format to 17,845 buyers and specifiers in the European plastic processing industry. © April 2016.

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained within European Plastic Product Manufacturer is accurate, the publisher accepts no liability for information published in error, or for views expressed.

All rights for European Plastic Product Manufacturer are reserved, and reproduction in part or whole without written permission is strictly prohibited.

BPA Worldwide Membership

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Innovations for a better world.

From The Editor

Three cheers for the underdog Plastic is the underdog of carbon-reduction. You heard me. The scourge of the seas and the blight of the countryside has the power to shrink our carbon footprints and make many aspects of our lives greener.

This is something I learnt while interviewing our cover stars Albis, in a conversation that started on the topic of reducing food waste and developed into a dramatic re-education forcing me to think twice when choosing a canned product over its plastic-packaged rival and even - would you believe it - when selecting a bottle of wine instead of a plastic box-and-bag. Both are examples of where plastic packaging is far superior in terms of sustainability, which is why it is such a shame my local supermarkets stock such a poor selection of boxed wines. We could change the world if they just started selling decent cabarnet sauvignon in a box. But more on that later.

This issue also takes a rare foray into the world of politics, as by the time the next EPPM hits the newsstands in summer, the EU referendum in the UK will have already happened and as things stand, it’s anybody’s guess as to the outcome. Many big manufacturing names have been making their opinions known, however, and in the interest of balance, EPPM has done a bit of digging on both sides of the ‘Brexit’ fence to establish who thinks the industry will benefit from staying, and who doesn’t.

This is a tech-heavy issue of EPPM, with five spotlights in total, from packaging with our cover star Albis, to materials handling, which segues nicely into automation which features articles from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and CHX. We then drop in on the biggest names in pipe extrusion and thermoforming.

Taking us full circle from the environmental points raised in our cover story, the magazine is nicely bookended by a mind-boggling discovery on a microscopic level. A typical Eureka Series nugget of exceptionally exciting science, but I’ll let you find out more as you read on.

So, three cheers to plastics the underdog and maybe soon we’ll be toasting with wine from plastic boxes?

Rose Brooke, Editor

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INDUSTRY NEWS

European plastics health ‘on an uptick’

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he European Plastics Distributors Association (EPDA) has revealed the European plastics industry is on an upward curve to good health.

barometer and revealed that over 76 per cent of Europe-wide respondents reported their sales rose more in 2015 than in 2014.

The State of the Nation survey carried out by the EPDA shows that the marketplace improved over the course of 2015 compared to how it fared the year before. The survey is seen as an industry

Moreover, some 82 per cent of EPDA members reported that they had either taken on more people or staffing levels were the same when comparing 2015 to the year before.

The report conveyed an overall feeling of caution, as 58 per cent of EPDA members reported they felt positive about the future, regardless of the economic slowdown in China and ongoing issues within Europe.

Recycled plastics ‘resisting low oil prices’ Demand for recycled plastics in Europe has not been negatively affected by sliding oil prices as previously feared, according to Plastics Recyclers Europe.

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lastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) has stated that the market for recycled plastics in Europe is standing up to the effects of low oil prices.

There had been fears that the devaluation of crude - which sank to sub $28 per barrel in mid-January 2016, hoisting itself back to waver sub the magic $40 benchmark in late March - and its impact on the price of virgin plastic materials would make prime or virgin plastic the more economical option, leaving recycled plastics by the wayside in favour of a purer product with marginally better properties in some cases.

However, on March 17th 2016, PRE claimed this is not the case and that “demand for recycled plastics has not been negatively affected due to low oil prices”. The 20-yearold organisation, which has 115 members representing 80 per cent and 3 million tonnes a year of Europe’s recycling

capacity, added that while the media had claimed the plastics recycling market has been affected by a decrease in the price of the commodity, this was not reflected in the European market generally, with the exception of companies “who are exposed to exports of plastics”.

This market trend, the organisation explained, could be linked to two major factors.

“First, the lower Chinese demand for plastics waste has released some pressure on the prices for sorted waste.

Secondly, the good quality recycled plastics produced by European recyclers have stable outlets as well as deliver an environmental benefit,” remarked PRE President Ton Emans. “This stable demand has resulted in several investments over the last months to build up new recycling plants in Europe and also new innovative plants to treat plastics waste streams which were not recycled in the past.” www.plasticsrecyclers.eu

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www.epda.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

ENGEL boss Neumann steps down Dr Peter Neumann announced on March 1st 2016 that he will be stepping down from the helm of global injection moulding machinery giant ENGEL after 35 years.

The current executive board of the ENGEL Group of Companies: Dr Peter Neumann, Dr Christoph Steger, Dr Stefan Engleder, Dipl-Oec. Klaus Siegmund (f.l.t.r.)

Neumann's 'withdrawal from operational business' coincides with the industry stalwart's 60th birthday and will become effective from November 30th 2016. On December 1st, ENGEL founder Ludwig Engel's great-great grandson Dr Stefan Engleder will take over as Chairman of the Executive Board.

NEC BIRMINGHAM, UK | 26-28 SEPTEMBER 2017

Neumann described his decision was made with 'some melancholy' but also with optimism.

EXTRUSION

INJECTION MOULDING ROTATIONAL MOULDING

"This step has been long planned on the occasion of my 60th birthday and is the result of a clear mutual agreement between myself and the owning families of the ENGEL Group of Companies," he said in an official statement.

BLOW MOULDING

The new executive board will continue to consist of four members. In addition to Dr Engleder as Chairman, the board will comprise Dr Steger who is also a family member and responsible for Sales, Marketing and in future CSD; Klaus Siegmund, who is responsible for Finance, Personnel and IT; as well as DI Joachim Metzmacher, Division Manager Production Large-Tonnage Machines for Global Production.

VACUUM FORMING

RECYCLING

THERMOFORMING

M AT E R I A L S

DESIGN

FILM EXTRUSION

Dr Stefan Engleder has been responsible for R&D, engineering and production for more than three years and Dr Christoph Steger for Sales and Marketing for more than two years.

"It is a great honour and also a challenge taking over the chairmanship from Dr Neumann," Dr Engleder stated. "He has shaped the company for decades and played a significant part toward the success of the business. Thus, it has been all the more important, to prepare the transition well on a long-term basis.

This we have managed very well over the last couple of years.

"Together with my colleagues in the executive board, we aim on continuing the business in Dr Neumann’s sense and following up from where we are today.� www.engel.com

EXHIBIT NOW www.interplasuk.com WWW.EPPM.COM

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Pictured after signing the partnership agreement are (from right): Manfred Stern, General Director and President of Yaskawa Europe, who is shaking hands with Jean-Michel Renaudeau, CEO of Sepro Group, Xavier Lucas President of Yaskawa France, and Jocelyn Lucas, Director of PROXINNOV.

Sepro & Yaskawa join forces The regional manufacturing innovation alliance PROXINNOV has formed the basis for an exciting new partnership between Sepro and Yaskawa, bringing top-spec 6-axis articulated-arm robots to the injection moulding sector.

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lastics processors will be able to benefit from an exciting new business partnership between automation and robotics giants Sepro Group, France, and Yaskawa, Japan.

Yaskawa Europe's General Director Manfred Stern and President Xavier Lucas travelled from their headquarters in Eschborn, Germany, to Sepro's headquarters in La Roche sur Yon, France, in early March 2016 to sign the agreement with Sepro CEO JeanMichel Renaudeau. The deal will include 6-axis articulated-arm robots manufactured by Yaskawa in Sepro's full line of robots for plastics injection moulding applications. The robots are to be sold under the Sepro-Yaskawa brand name as part of the Sepro 6X Visual product line, which already includes 6-axis robots manufactured in cooperation with Stäubli.

Sepro's relationship with Stäubli will continue, with Sepro selling Stäubli robots for moulding machines with a clamping capacity of up to 800 tonnes, while the four larger Yaskawa units will be sold for moulding machines with a clamping capacity of up to 5,000 tonnes.

'Vision of quality' "For Yaskawa, to partner with a leading global supplier of Cartesian robots is very exciting," said Yaskawa President Lucas. "We share with Sepro a vision of quality of products and quality of service. The geographical proximity of our two companies, combined with global support that Yaskawa can bring through its 78 subsidiaries, has also facilitated collaboration. In the coming years, we hope to strengthen that partnership and extend it to other activities."

The Sepro-Yaskawa agreement grew out of the two companies’ membership in PROXINNOV, an innovation forum serving companies in Western France's Pays de la Loire region. Its mission is to raise awareness of industrial robotics as a means to improve efficiency of manufacturing, and to encourage collaboration between its members. Sepro's Jean-Michel Renaudeau is the incumbent President of PROXINNOV.

Changing the market Sepro is famed for its development and manufacture of robots for injection moulding and manufactures 3- and 5-axis Cartesian beam robots, while it is renowned for its high-profile partnerships with injection moulding machine manufacturers, including Sumitomo Demag, for the distribution of its robots under those manufacturers’ brands. These partnerships have largely contributed to three successive years of record turnover for the French automotive giant. In 2015, turnover amounted to €92.8 million (£74 million), an increase of 17 per cent year-on-year, with more than 2,300 robots sold around the world.

"Some people might ask how a relatively small, independent French company could achieve such results," said Renaudeau.

"The answer is that we did it by multiplying our own capabilities through partnerships with other companies who want to change the robotic automation market.

"Our involvement in PROXINNOV, which has resulted in this new partnership with Yaskawa, is typical. By being open to collaboration, Sepro has been able to make big things happen in a short period of time." www.sepro-group.com

Sepro's simple and intuitive Sepro Visual controls are used to control the 6-axis robots. This innovation was especially designed for plastics injection moulding and is the same control platform used on Sepro's entire range. At present, Sepro is working on electronics concepts for future projects in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University in the US, with the results of this collaboration expected next year.

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The S745, one of Sepro’s 3-axis Cartesian robots

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INDUSTRY NEWS

y a t s I d l u Sho or should I go?

While major manufacturing and industry bodies the SMMT, the CBI and CEEMET have made it know that a Brexit could be bad for business, the polls are close enough to make the results of June’s EU referendum in the UK anybody’s guess.

EPPM looks at how plastics processing may be affected by what the voting public eventually decides.

Words | Rose Brooke

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his may well be the last issue of EPPM published within the EU, as the UK prepares to vote on whether it wants to stay or leave the Union on June 23rd 2016.

This will be the first in/out EU referendum held in the UK since 1975 and even though the polls are close at hand, with barely half a dozen percentage points between 'stay' and 'leave', the manufacturing sector and by extension the plastics processing industry has made its opinion abundantly clear: that British manufacturing should remain a part of the EU. Despite around half of the Conservative party, which won an overall majority in last year's UK general election, making their pro-out stance known, and with the UK Independence Party, which won the last European elections, campaigning hard for the UK to leave, numerous high-profile industry associations have made the benefits of remaining within the EU for their members heard.

Access to the EU automotive market was the reason why 66 per cent of respondents will be voting to stay, while 55 per cent said the benefit of the open market's skilled workforce was a positive factor. If the UK leaves the EU, 59 per cent of SMMT members who responded to the survey believe the consequences would negatively impact their business.

Member of the Board at German luxury automotive brand BMW Dr Ian Robertson commented: "BMW Group is committed to the UK which is home to two of our brands, MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Our experience shows that the free movement of components, finished products and skilled workers within the EU is extremely beneficial to British-based business. We firmly believe Britain would be better off if it remained an active and influential member of the EU…"

'Best for our business' Representing the UK's automotive sector the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) proclaimed that staying in the EU is 'best for our business'. The automotive industry, which accounts for 8.6 per cent of the European plastics processing market, supports 800,000 British jobs and contributes £15.5 billion (€20 billion) to the UK economy. The SMMT's EU referendum poll conducted by independent pollster ComRes found that 77 per cent of members believe remaining in the EU is better for business, with 88 per cent of large automotive companies who are members and 73 per cent of SME members favouring 'in' over 'out'. Indeed, no large automotive companies expressed that leaving the EU would be in their interests.

"The message from UK automotive is clear – being in Europe is vital for the future of this industry and to secure jobs, investment and growth," stated Chief Executive of the SMMT Mike Hawes.

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The free m ovement of compone nts, finish ed products and skille d workers within th e EU is extremely beneficia l to British-b ased bus iness

Support for free trade and single market The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and CEEMET, the European employers' organisation representing the interests of engineering and technology industries, added their highly influential voices to the chorus.

pport me UK su We welco t, gle marke for the sin de, a nal free tr io t a n r te in cy n and poli innovatio

Four out of every five CBI members believes a UK within the EU would be better for their business. The CBI - which represents one-third of all British private sector employees - also carried out a survey via ComRes, which revealed that just five per cent of respondents felt an exit would be beneficial to their work.

Two of the CBI's most vocal supporters of remaining in the EU are Managing Director of BASF Richard Carter and President of Airbus Group UK Paul Kahn.

"BASF supports continued British membership of the EU," said Carter. "Both the UK and the EU benefit from a larger internal market. We particularly welcome UK support for the single market, international free trade, innovation and policy based on scientific evidence."

"The success of Airbus Group’s operations in the UK depends on European industrial organisation and integration," added Kahn.

"If the UK exits the EU, there are likely to be significant changes to the regulatory and economic environment with subsequent impacts on our competitiveness. "...We certainly hope the UK will choose to retain its EU membership which helps to ensure the continued long-term success of Airbus Group’s European industrial model."

A report by CEEMET has also published warnings that a Brexit could negatively affect manufacturers with global supply chains and not just those within the UK. Director General Uwe Combüchen stated: "We think manufacturers in the UK and across Europe will be better served by the UK remaining a member of the EU."

The silent 'other side' There are plenty of bodies and influencers who have kept quiet about the EU referendum and it is important to remember that while the 'remain' argument has received arguably more publicity than the quieter 'exit' side of the argument, the polls are still too close to call.

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EPPM has reached out to a number of high-profile individuals and industry organisations including Daniel Dalton, Conservative MEP for the West Midlands - a hotbed region for UK manufacturing - as well as the VDMA, but received no reply, while Plastics Europe said in an email: "We are not in a position to comment on the Brexit and its impact on the plastics industry."

Furthermore, there are those who disagree that a UK within the EU is better for business. Indeed, even though the British Chambers of Commerce backs an 'in' vote, John Longworth resigned as Director General at the beginning of March due to his opposition to the Chambers' stance.

So while a handful of major industry bodies have made their positions known, there are still many of those who are keeping their cards close to their chests.

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COVER STORY

Packaging and sustainability: It’s not black and white Plastic packaging has the power to tackle waste, even though most of the time it is blamed for being waste itself. We explore this idea with Roland Schultz, Director Marketing Packaging at Albis.

Roland Schultz, Director Marketing Packaging, Albis

Words | Rose Brooke

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resenting plastic packaging as the green alternative to tin cans or glass wine bottles is bound to raise a few eyebrows. After all, every story in the news about litter and marine rubbish patches focuses on plastic packaging as the culprit. Albis Plastic, a leader in the plastic materials sector, agrees that while plastic litter is a scourge on the environment, it is actually the key to a greener future for packaging.

Roland Schultz, Director Marketing Packaging at Albis, has put forward the case for plastic as the little-known green alternative. Albis is a member of the global SAVE FOOD initiative, which is a scheme supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Environmental Program trying to reduce food waste. As a member of SAVE FOOD, Albis has brought its SHELFPLUS O2 product to the table, showcasing just how far packaging can go to address wastage and in turn, have a positive impact on the environment.

Schultz’s view of unsustainability in packaging - be it plastic, metal or glass - is holistic; and the manufacturer, the brand and the consumer must share the responsibility of righting the wrongs of decades of irresponsible disposal.

Scapegoat "Without being religious about packaging," he explained, "what people see in packaging is only the waste as the problem, they don't see the benefits of the packaging protecting the foodstuff that's been produced with a lot of resources e.g. water and fertiliser."

Schultz believes packaging is an easy scapegoat for the media after all, it is the plastic litter that floats on the surface of the ocean while the metal and glass sinks, and the bright branding makes plastic packaging easy to identify. But the answer is not to get rid of plastics in packaging, which plays a vital role in preventing food waste and in turn wasted packaging. This is where the Save Food initiative comes in.

"Save Food is not just packaging or the food industry," explained Schultz, "it's consumers. We, and a lot of other companies, are taking responsibility because it's in our interests. We believe we have the right products for the questions on sustainability to solve some of the problems."

SHELFPLUS O2 was developed in the late 1990s in order to increase the shelf life of foodstuffs such as ready meals and is Albis' flagship product in the Save Food initiative. It started its life as an army product but has since been rolled out to the wider marketplace. SHELFPLUS O2 has oxygen-scavenging properties that ensure foods that discolour when exposed to oxygen after a period of time such as mashed potatoes or meat look attractive for as long as they are edible, thus preventing foods that appear to be

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past their best from being needlessly wasted and bringing down the amount of preservatives needed to maintain the quality of a product.

"Browning products don't look good even if they are consumable," said Schultz, but he added that an oxygen scavenger comes with a price tag. "The readiness to spend a little bit more for the packaging to achieve a lot more in terms of shelf life is there, but often not for standard products that can accept a lower quality of packaging."

SHELFPLUS O2 acts as an oxygen scavenger performing a similar role to the sachets of silica gel consumers will be familiar with from inside their new leather bags and electronics packaging.

Moreover, SHELFPLUS O2 packaging can be completely recycled.

Plastic > tins The efficiency and sustainability advantages brought by plastics to the food sector does not stop at the waste- and preservativereducing benefits of a product like SHELFPLUS O2. Schultz used tinned baked beans to explain why.

Beans, he explained, have a shelf life of four years when packaged in tins of 400-800 g. The problem is in consuming a whole tin of beans after it has been opened and exposed to oxygen.

"If you're a single household, you open the tin and you consume half of it or less, that's where it is smarter to have plastic packaging

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like 200 g snack pots because you're less likely to consume 100 per cent of an 800 g tin before it goes off."

A plastic snack pot still gives the product a decent shelf life of up to two years but the green benefits of choosing portioned plastic cups over metal cans do not end at reducing food waste.

"We should never forget the carbon footprint of the product itself," Schultz said, "filling, distribution, transport - that's why four 200 g plastic pots of beans may be much smarter and have a much lower carbon footprint than an 800 g tin that offers a double shelf life of beans that may not even be 100 per cent consumed."

Snack pots can be designed to stack more intuitively than cylindrical tins, allowing for more to be transported at a time and at a lower weight, directly benefiting fuel consumption. The next step up from this in terms of green points would be plastic pouches, explained Schultz, as they can be filled on-site and allow even more to be transported at a time.

We believe we have the right products for the questions on sustainability to solve some of the problems.

Albis SHELFPLUS O2

Bye bye bottle?

Wine is another area of the food and drinks market that could be given a sustainability boost with plastic innovation, but it would mean saying goodbye to classic packaging materials.

Nevertheless, Schultz's calculation makes a compelling case for shaking off snobbery and embracing the bag-in-box. A typical box of wine is 3 litres. For every 1 litre of wine, there is 62 g of plastic and carton that can be separated for recycling. A traditional glass bottle holds less than a litre of liquid, around 750 millilitres, so a single 3-litre box would equate to four bottles demanding what Schultz states is 670 g of packaging for 1 litre of wine - more than 10 times the weight per litre than the plastic alternative.

The bag-in-box is environmentally superior to the glass bottle in many ways even if glass is unbeatable in terms of barrier performance and aesthetics. Unlike glass bottles, wine boxes can be filled on-site, as wine is usually transported in barrels to bottling plants adding an additional transportation element to an average bottle's carbon footprint. Moreover, when the filled boxes are ready to be distributed to the market, they are neatly stacked, allowing the efficient transportation of more product at a lower net weight.

Finally, the wine in a box will be quaffable for up to six weeks after opening, leading to less wastage, while bottled wine tends to last for a week or so before becoming vinegary and ending up down the sink. Indeed, integrating SHELFPLUS O2 in bag-in-box packaging has proven to increase the shelflife of wine considerably.

"Why are people criticising plastic packaging when they're still buying their wine in a glass bottle? We shouldn't complain about plastics when comparing wine in glass bottles to wine in a box," Schultz remarked.

Think sustainably At a chemical level, the plastic packaging industry needs to think more sustainably, producing materials that are easy to recycle a goal that is often lost in the process of finding a material that offers a good barrier at a low price.

"A pouch is a good way to pack products like food and detergent because it's lightweight, it protects very well, it's easier to carry and it's easy to dispose of. We should look at structures to make the pouch a good barrier and easy to recycle. So often today's

structures are quite complex with an outer layer of PET for the glossy aesthetics, with an aluminium foil for the gas barrier, a polyamide layer for the mechanics and with a polypropylene layer on the inside for food-contact and easy sealing. This is all very nice but it's not recyclable because you can't separate all these materials," Schultz explained.

He believes we should be looking for less complex structures e.g. products that substitute PET with polypropylene, print on the outside of the polypropylene rather than the inside of the PET, and substitute aluminium foil with an AlOx coating. The aesthetic might be less bright and the gas barrier might be lower, but for many products these compromises will be well made to ensure the product has a sustainable end game. Active packaging solutions like oxygen scavengers help to balance the lower gas barrier performance of an aluminium-free structure and are easy to incorporate in less complex films and are fully recyclable.

It is important to understand that the above is just one example from Albis and PET could substitute PP as well. The aim, Schultz noted, should be to achieve film structures that contain more than 80 or 90 per cent of one material only to facilitate recycling. These products need to be designed, brought to market and chosen by conscientious consumers to capitalise on the waste-reduction benefits plastic packaging can bring when used intelligently.

"With packaging, its not black and white, its how we consume," Schultz said. www.albis.com

Albis turns 50 The British arm of Hamburg-headquartered ALBIS is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2016. ALBIS UK was founded on September 2nd 1966 as ALBIS Plastic Company and it began trading from offices within sight of the old Wembley stadium at York House in Wembley. With significant investments planned for 2016 the future looks promising and ALBIS UK thanks its employees, customers and partners for their support over the last 50 years and looks forward to the next 50 years.

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PACKAGING

Bulletin:

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Netstal and frien to French packagds present ICM ers

Netstal, togeth er with Plastisud and Machines Pagès successfully presented French packagers with an exciting Injection Compression Moulding (ICM) event earlier this year (January 2016) which featur ed talks and live demonstr ations. “It was ou r goal to demonstr and potential of ate the advantag this technology to es interested custom accomplish that ers. We managed with this event,” to said Markus Dal & Marketing. The Pian, Netstal’s VP talks and demon Sales strations covered technology, stack the principals of moulds, design an the d models, and case studies.

ger.com www.starlin

www.netstal.com

Marchesini Grou packaging machp spreads expertise east inery

Marchesini Group is continuing to spread its influenc east of Europe, op e to markets in ening new branch the es in Moscow, Po 2016. The flagsh land and Ukraine ip Moscow branch in , wh ich opened on Ne work alongside th w Years Day, will e new Polish and Ukrainian branch strengthening ex es while growing isting business in and Russia. The Mosc on solids packag ow branch will fo ing and blister pa cus ckaging machiner y as it capitalise s on Russia’s growing pharmaceutical demand for the do mestic market.

The new base in Poland will focus on local contract -packaging while the Ukrainian of fice will bring medical packaging machinery to the Ukraine and Mo ldova.

Greiner takes IM-IML tech stateside

ction moulding ring its US customers its inje Greiner Packaging is now offe y had only made - an innovation the compan process with combined IML with WhiteWave on ope until now. A collaborati available to customers in Eur , which offers ion opt ing antages of this packag adv the sing wca sho is ds Foo and functional. packaging that is attractive makes photo-quality decoration for Packaging Greiner cup, t hur yog a soy WhiteWave’s ction inje an g usin ed duc pro is which rently moulding system that is cur in site new a to red being transfer ia. lvan Pennsy www.greiner-gpi.com

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Tetra Pak handed prestigio JIPM manufacturing awardus

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14

Tetra Pak’s packaging ma terials factory in Serbia has received the top award for manufacturing excellence from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM), the Wo rld Class Total Production Ma intenance Award.

The accolade recognises Tet ra Pak’s outstanding faciliti es and puts Tetra Pak in an exclusive club of win ners, as only 20 companies have been handed the prize in its 40-year exis tence.

The Serbia-based factory started its cooperation with JIPM in 2001 and received its first Aw ard for TPM Excellence in 2005.

Globally Tetra Pak has been handed some 70 JIPM awards over the last 12 years.

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www.tetrapak.com

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RPC – THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT

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The gentle way

RegrindPro®

The gentle way to success in regrind recycling.

Are you looking for the ultimate way of producing top recycled pellets from thick-walled regrind? For end products with best performance properties and a particularly high recyclate content? The new INTAREMA® RegrindPro® offers the ideal solution: extremely gentle processing in combination with high-performance filtration. A true material all-rounder so you remain as flexible as possible. RegrindPro®. Go the gentle way.

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15

MATERIALS HANDLING

Bulletin:

Reduction Engineering expands cooling conveyor line

WITTMANN sets up central system for Bulgarian packager

Reduction Engineering Scheer has expanded its line of cooling conveyors by introducing the Stainless Steel Conveyor, which cools hydroscopic material during strand pelletising thanks to its stainless steel belt and fan technology. The cooling conveyor is commercially available and has found use in a range of applications including m e t a l - re i n fo rce d materials, biobased grades, and medical materials and Reduction Engineering Scheer is exploring the use of the new conveyor in a range of other applications.

WITTMANN BATTENFELD was called upon by Bulgarian packaging company GOTMAR to help it set up a central drying and conveying system for its new production hall in 2015. WITTMANN BATTENFELD delivered a central material conveying system consisting of 5 vacuum lines, a CODEMAX coded coupling station with 16 material inlets and 57 RFID coded material outlets leading to the machines. It was equipped with a buffer vacuum circle with automatic start functionality, a central material drying station with three SILMAX drying hoppers, and with the WITTMANN M7.3 central network control. The system was retrofitted, adding the connection of two middle sized and five small machines to the central vacuum lines, supplying them with material out of both containers and screenless granulators that were placed beside the machines.

www.reductionengineering.com

RUD launches new load ring RUD has launched its new ICE-LBG-SR Super Rotation Load Ring for lifting, turning and flipping at high working loads. The innovative double ball bearing technology means that lifting, turning or rotating under full loads, vertically or horizontally can now be done safely without any chance of the bolt opening mid lift. The ICELBG SR therefore offers an ultimate safety factor to the user and the equipment. The ground-breaking double ball bearing technology and robust ICE bolt has solved a real problem in the industry, providing the ultimate safety factor when lifting, turning, rotating and tilting under full loads. The bolt will securely stay firmly fastened under full loads, vertically or horizontally. www.rudchain.com

Riverdale eliminates downtime with RGInfinity Riverdale Global has promised to eliminate downtime for drum switching with a material handling system that automatically refills colour drums during the moulding or extrusion process.

The RGInfinity auto-refill eliminates need to replace these drums when empty by refilling them from a large central container. One central container can serve one machine or be configured to refill multiple machines running the same colour. Each drum is mounted on a Riverdale Gravimetric Stand, which monitors the weight of colour in the drum and signals a pump valve on the tote when the drum is nearly empty and again when it is full.

www.wittmann-group.com

Summit brings new granulator to market Summit Systems has launched its new SS60 granulator for low cost, generalpurpose granulation. The universal granulator is able to cut through anything from sprues to small barrels.

Larger items can be reduced in size first via a low cost shredder. “The SS60 suits businesses that do not want to pay as much in upfront equipment costs, and by cutting out the cost of third party recyclers, payback can be achieved in as little as 50 tonnes.

Performance can be further bolstered by incorporating a low cost shredder to increase throughput,� said Mike Jordan, MD Summit Systems. www.summitsystems.co.uk

www.riverdaleglobal.com

16

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Kongskilde - your conveying specialist

Kongskilde offers complete systems for conveying and handling large volumes of plastics materials generated from today’s production lines.

These systems ensure a high efficiency, significant savings and an improved working environment.

Kongskilde UK Tel. 01263 713291 mail@kuk.kongskilde.com www.kongskilde.com

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Moving industry ahead

17

MATERIALS HANDLING

Global materials handling robotics market ‘worth $20bn by 2019’ The rise and rise of the smart factory is increasing demand for robotics for materials handling and one report has highlighted the five industries that are embracing this trend with the most enthusiasm worldwide.

M

aterials handling is getting smarter, with the global market for robotic technology for materials handling set to exceed $20 billion (€17.6 billion) in the next three years as the smart factory concept sweeps the globe.

This is according to Technavio’s report ‘Global Material Handling Robotics Market 2015-2019’, which reveals the market will increase at a CAGR of over eight per cent over the course of the forecast.

Among the segments of materials handling robotics set to experience the greatest growth are the food and beverage industry, automotive and chemicals.

Cars and chemicals Automotive will experience an increase at a CAGR of nine per cent over the four-year period, climbing to a market value of $6 billion. The car-making sector has migrated to robotics for materials handling purposes, particularly for the handling of large components such as bus or lorry chassis, speeding up production and helping carmakers meet growing demand.

The global chemical industry’s materials handling robotics market will increase at a similar rate to a value of $3.4 billion. Robotics for materials handling has found a home in the chemicals sector particularly as hazardous chemicals can be moved without human handling improving worker safety and reducing spillage. Demand in this segment is coming primarily from China and Europe.

Lead Analyst at Technavio Bharath Kanniappan explained: “China controls nearly half of the world’s chemical and petrochemical market, followed by Europe. Hence, most of the demand for robots for the chemical and petrochemical industry should come from these two regions.”

18

Food and phones The food and beverage industry is expecting the highest growth in materials handling robotics, increasing at a CAGR of nearly 11 per cent to $1 billion.

“The need for preventing contamination during food processing and packaging is the main driver for the market,” Kanniappan explained.

Increasingly stringent global regulation for food and beverage production, packaging and transporting will boost demand for robotics and it will bring brands and producers the added benefit of efficiency gains where stock-taking is concerned.

The global materials handling robotics market is also going to continue filtering into the electricals and electronics sector, with demand set to exceed $2.5 billion as market trends light a fire under demand for products that require increasingly intricate and fragile parts. Some robotics companies such as Fanuc have already designed lines of robots that are especially designed for the specific and delicate needs of this industry.

Finally, materials handling robotics for industrial machinery, which requires the movement of heavy payloads, will experience a six per cent CAGR increase to $1 billion.

The top five materials handling robotics companies have been listed as ABB, Fanuc, Kuka, Kawasaki Robotics and Yaskawa Electric.

Most of the demand for robots for the chemical and petrochemical industry should come from China and Europe

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19

AUTOMATION

Robotics gives CHX Products productivity boost CHX Products has been seeing the benefits of investing in automation for a decade - and as a small company makes a great case for bringing robotics into the plastic product manufacturing chain regardless of the size of the operation.

A small plastic product manufacturer has seen big benefits since installing robotic automation, sending a clear message to manufacturers of all sizes that robotics are a worthwhile investment.

CHX Products, which is based in Cornwall, has a staff of just 15 and had its robotic cell installed 10 years ago when it made the investment to stay competitive.

Previously, the company’s manual-intensive production process had meant it was struggling to match competitors’ prices and turnaround times and it became clear CHX needed to drastically cut its costs and lead times in order to boost competitiveness and improve delivery times. After being inspired by their stand at a trade show, CHX got in contact with GeKu Automation, an ABB Robotics systems integrator, which had experience of providing automated solutions for similar applications.

Geku proposed installing a Geku SR250 beam robot to de-mould the parts and an ABB IRB140 to print and remove the moulds from the runner into a container, with the waste being dropped into a granulator for recycling.

“Is it going to work?”

Andy Knight, Director of CHX Products, had some initial reservations.

“I remember thinking at the time that it all seemed too easy,” he said. “I asked myself, if it seems easy is it going to work? That’s just a lack of experience, not knowing how clever these bits of kit are.”

CHX put its faith in Geku as the company assessed the process as a whole and soon it became clear that although automating the whole system would be a costlier investment, the return would be much higher.

The fully-automated process took three months to complete from the original order through to the installation. This included Geku’s design work, machine building, fitting the system and subsequent testing and troubleshooting.

The end result was a faster, less labour-intensive manufacturing process. With the Geku S250 and ABB IRB140 in collaboration, picking and placing, and printing and cutting was performed at a much faster rate, shaving almost a whole week off lead times and enabling greatly improved turnaround of customer orders.

“The elves and the shoemaker” CHX took full advantage of the freedom brought by the cell and began operating on a lights-out basis. This added a lot more capacity and “free product”, according to Knight.

“All we had to do was supply the materials. It’s a bit like the elves and the shoemaker – we arrive in the morning and the work has been done.”

The cell helped CHX Products achieve its goals of reducing its production costs and minimising lead times. A third objective to reduce waste was also met, with all scrap plastic being dropped onto a runner to be granulated and re-used by the machine within seconds.

In addition, the robots have helped to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. By making the product much more consistent, the amount of waste produced was dramatically reduced. Furthermore, CHX’s ability to turn products around cheaply and quickly meant customers could benefit from affordable products, produced locally.

It is estimated CHX’s return on investment took just 18 months.

Robotic future In 2013, CHX decided to upgrade its process to incorporate a vision system. When an ex-demo robot cell became available at Geku, CHX took the opportunity to retrofit and with the ability to precisely position the prints according to CHX’s design, this system has helped to achieve added improvements in the production process. The company is looking to bring more processes currently completed manually into the 21st century with robotics, while bringing CHX’s entire production cycle in line with Industry 4.0 and the Smart Factory.

“Over the last five years we’ve been in a hideous recession, but now we’re on to another growth spurt,” said Knight. “We’re fully wedded to the idea of integrating more automation to help new products get online quickly and cheaply. The plan is to grow over three times our current size over the next five years. Robots will definitely play a part in that.” www.chxproducts.co.uk

20

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AUTOMATION

Digital tech for automat ‘opening new doors ion’ Man

ufacturing is embracin automation g digital te and chnology to finance man robotics systems. Resea optimise it rch conduct s use of agers in 13 ed among m countries by that compa anufacturin nies are inve Siemens Fi g nancial Ser sting in dig improve flex itised techn vices found ibility, impro ology to incr ve client se increase co ease capaci rvic mpetitivenes ty, s and optim e quality, reduce produ has opened ction costs, ise efficiency up new opp . o “Digitalised rtu and cost effi technology ciency,” said nities for automation, cu Brian Foster stomisation Financial S , , scalability Head of Ind ervices in ustry Finan the UK. “Th ce at Siemen rough the s use of smar t financing techniques, pioneering manufacture rs can deploy new technology platforms to improve product excellence, extend pro duct range and reduce production costs.” finance.siem ens.com

BULLET1N Mitsubishi Electric strengthens automation in Southern Europe & Africa Factory Mitsubishi Electric Europe has announced the opening of a new office Satellite Centre tion Automation Centre in Italy and a Factory Automa n Souther to services product tion automa in South Africa, intended to provide ies compan cturing manufa of number large a are There Africa.

Europe and support in these regions that can benefit from the high level of automation the support help will facilities Both ce. offered by a Mitsubishi Electric offi in s busines tion Automa Factory ’s Electric hi Mitsubis of ongoing expansion , Africa and Europe respectively. The new centres will offer product training training ogy technol and s solution product support, technical consultation, for customers. www.mitsubishielectric.com

system e c n a n e t n i a Remote m se of use and space promises ea for remote economy ntenance box ct remote mai ady-for-

and compa delivered re veloped a new system that is ed is d analysis rd da motan has de an fault finding an rnet. As a st r te fo in e e e ag th ck a vi pa access entation of th software ng and docum an extensive ri e ns ito ar ai on n nt io m co at as it tr l use as wel adminis components, , guration and rd nfi da co an r st fo g s in ol of the system necessary to es on integrat ll lis A ta . e pi us th ca at ic st to t in system -colortron on the marke andard. motan eely available ntenance fr ai is m included as st e at ot th m e re rietary ed softwar op st pr te dan an tablished th des ie er tr hich has also ce box, rath w an , w en ie nt V ai m am plex clearing ilised Te remote ation. The com rnationally ut ic te in un e m th m s: co r system is used fo applications, itself in other rewall fi of tration and adminis is required rules, which r systems, for many othe necessary. not is ses user This increa and friendliness The . ty fe sa operation , wever still operator, ho ntrol: the has full co for the connections external internal and parate, se Ethernet are of n tio bu distri the isation or th au access up to the is entirely least, the operator. Not ance box en nt ai remote m lly turned can be manua on demand on and off a switch. of k with a flic ortronic.com ol www.motan-c

Comau awarded ‘Volvo Q uality Excellence Award’

Worldwide leader in manuf acturing automation sys tems Comau has been awarded the ‘Volvo Qualit y Excellence Award’ by Volvo Car Corporation for an innovative indust rial project undertaken fi ve years ago that is stil in full development. This l important recognition wa s made at Volvohallen, Gothenburg, on January 28th. The award was giv en for a project related to the provision of pro duction facilities for the XC90, S90 and V90 cars, in which Comau developed the ‘framing’ commodities using its geometric transportatio n system VersaPallet. The technological core of the plant consists of a framin g station, where 10 rob ots simultaneously assem bly the body of the thr ee different models. In order to successfully complete the project, Comau leveraged its advanced knowh ow to facilitate a significan t reduction in design time as well as project deployme nt risks. www.comau.com

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21

AUTOMATION

The pressing case for packaging IM robots Many so-called ‘barriers’ to adopting robotics for injection moulding are out of date. Here, experts in the field of robotics and IM tackle some of those myths, with a focus on packaging moulding markets.

R

obotic automation in injection moulding is no longer the preserve of the few. The latest statistics released by the European plastics machinery organisation EUROMAP shows that the number of IM machines sold equipped with robots rose from 18 per cent in 2010 to almost a third (32 per cent) in 2015.

"There has been a significant upwards trend," said Nigel Flowers, Managing Director at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK. "I think part of this has been driven by demand for more flexible solutions, so the use of 6-axis industrial robots is certainly more commonplace today.

Glen Eves, General Manager, Sepro UK

account benefits such as quality improvements, repeatability and extended working hours.

“Being able to operate around the clock inevitably increases productivity and consequently profitability,” said Flowers. “Also, there is greater awareness that with today’s industrial robots, you’re not just specifying for a single application. Whatever the product lifecycle turns out to be, a robot can be reprogrammed to support a different product."

"Although packaging robots represent a larger investment than robots for slower, more everyday applications, when calculated out, payback is often sooner due to the typical shorter cycle times," added Eves.

Is robotics a ‘black-box’ technology we have no control over?

"You no longer need to call in an absolute expert to carry out reprogramming," stated Flowers. "Control systems have evolved … the entire skill set is now within a customer’s own capabilities."

As a small company, is robotic automation appropriate?

"The price gap between Cartesian and industrial robots has closed markedly, while at the same time, they’ve become easier to programme and simpler to integrate."

"Even packaging converters with just three or four IM machines are seeing the benefits of being able to extend their working hours," said Flowers. "If they want to move to longer shifts, they may be looking at the simplest solutions such as Cartesian robots."

In 2009, the Sepro Group, in partnership with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, developed a special range of robots adapted to the company’s popular Systec and IntElect systems.

As those companies grow, they can plan for the longer-term and put more emphasis on in-built flexibility, graduating to a 6-axis system.

"For packaging, robotics is primarily used to make customer applications run faster and more costeffectively," explained Glen Eves, General Manager, Sepro UK. "With take-out times of 0.5 seconds or less, it can sometimes be faster to use a robot to remove parts than to let them fall under gravity."

Nevertheless, questions remain for many in the plastics industry.

How do I know the return on investment (ROI) adds up?

The fact larger numbers of SMEs are finding the cost of robot-equipped IM machinery more affordable is helping to make ROI calculations easier. These calculations are different for every business, but should take into

22

What are the benefits for robotics in packaging?

"A robot arm eliminates human contact with the product prior to packing," said Eves. "It also prevents

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Nigel Flowers, Managing Director, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK

parts picking up any contaminants from the faces of the machine as they fall through. The ability to stack parts at the side of the machine means that you have the correct number of components ready to be packed in the box, which in turn speeds up packing and increases output."

Packaging converters may consider investing in robotics to extend their customer offering to inmould labelling. This adds a whole range of highquality decorative options, as well as barrier and shelf life improvements for food.

"Commercial advantage is not just about installing this IM machine or that robot. At Sumitomo (SHI) Demag we are focused on optimising customer investments, and continue to develop our application engineering team in order to ensure that ROI is maximised in specific environments," said Flowers.

How will a robot boost my flexible plastics workforce?

‘Flexibility’ is an attractive idea, yet for most manufacturers in the packaging arena, consistent performance and consistent quality are the most important criteria. Both can be provided by robotics.

"You can achieve more consistent output while reducing manufacturing costs. There is a definite shift towards integrated production cells, with a need for robotics and peripheral equipment to work seamlessly together," concluded Flowers. uk.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu

PIPE AND PROFILE

Weholite HDPE pipes outperform traditional pipes in city water installation

T

he advantages of HDPE pipe in a vast city water infrastructure project have outweighed those of traditional materials.

Weholite HDPE large-diameter pipes are lightweight and offer a superior loading capacity, ideal for conveying liquid and air below ground level and underwater. Asset International, which has exclusive rights to Weholite in the UK, Ireland and France, used this strong pipe product together with its expert team of engineers to successfully complete a £3 million (€3.8 million) water distribution project in Bristol, UK.

Wrap-around services Asset made and supplied hundreds of metres of lightweight, durable Weholite pipework and fabrications for a new UV treatment facility at Bristol Water’s Barrow Gurney works, and backed this up with comprehensive design, technical support and advice services, to guarantee smooth and successful installation.

These wrap-around services included the deployment of a highly-skilled welding team to help main contractor BAM Nuttall conduct on-site extrusion jointing, using Asset’s latest specialist equipment.

Asset provided BAM Nuttall with an extensive array of inter-process pipework – measuring 1,000 mm to 1,400 mm diameter – as well as complex fabrications for the Barrow Gurney works, which treats water

from three reservoirs serving the city.

The new UV treatment facility at Barrow Gurney accommodates both the process units themselves and the pipework and services supplying them. Weholite pipework now links these units to the rest of the treatment equipment at the site.

In addition, Weholite fabrications, modelled through FE Analysis by Asset’s engineering design team, were used to connect inter-process pipelines to ductile iron valves, flow meters and static mixers.

The product’s unique, designed-in versatility enables it to interface with virtually any existing design.

Time-saving and versitile All Weholite components were designed, manufactured and prefabricated at Asset’s South Wales factory, only 30 minutes’ drive from the site, ensuring rapid delivery and valuable time-saving for the main contractor.

BAM Nuttall Agent Martin Wearn said: "The benefits of utilising Weholite pipework have to be the reduced lead-in times for fabrication and its low overall weight, when compared to that of traditional material pipework."

Asset’s involvement in the project lasted from October to the end of December 2015.

"During the planning process – and every subsequent stage of the project – we provided a full and detailed design service, technical support and advice to ensure everything ran smoothly," said Rhys Williams, Technical Sales Engineer at Asset.

"We also supplied a site services team to assist BAM Nuttall, to conduct extrusion jointing, using our latest specialist equipment. Following successful installation we passed the project on to mechanical and electrical contractors."

Construction of a UV treatment unit at Barrow Gurney is part of the latest nationwide Asset Management Period (AMP6), which has seen water companies across the UK invest hundreds of millions of pounds in ultrafiltration and UV facilities. This is an increasingly popular method for removing certain types of bacteria and protozoa from potable water. www.weholite.co.uk

Rex Lewis from Bristol Water added: "In certain low pressure situations, the use of Weholite pipe provides a very versatile and cost-effective solution."

battenfeld-cincinnati provides Romania’s largest PO pipeline

R

omanian pipe producer Tehno World has installed a complete extrusion line from battenfeld-cincinnati that was funded by an EU project. With this line, Tehno World enlarged its production capacity to include two-layer HDPE pipes with diameters up to 1.2 m at its facility outside the city Falticeni, Jud. Suceava. Tehno World is the only producer in Romania able to make pipes of this diameter and has entered the European market for large diameter pipes thanks to components from battenfeld-cincinnati.

“It has been a great opportunity for Tehno World to collaborate again with battenfeldcincinnati, because we have reached for new horizons in our field of activity. battenfeldcincinnati has demonstrated the high quality

of its service and products while helping us to develop further and raise our standards of technology and flexibility,” said Iustinian Pavel, Director, Tehno World.

The 1.2 m line produces pipe in the pressure classes SDR 11, SDR 17 and SDR 26 and was introduced to Tehno World’s customers at an Open House event in October 2015.

The line is equipped with a solEX 90-40 as its main extruder and a uniEX 45-30 as coextruder. Both operate with a high level of efficiency, thanks to their AC drives, optimised screw geometries and air-cooled, bi-metallic barrels. www.battenfeld-cincinnati.com

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23

BULLE TIN

PIPE AND PROFILE

Extruding pipes to PPerfection AMUT is continuing to improve the technology of its pipe extrusion lines for PP pipes with glass fibres and mineral filler, which are used for soundproofing drainage and hot water piping. The line has a range of diameters from 16 to 200 mm with SDR 6-11. The extruders are fed by gravimetric system for a better control of the output and each screw and barrel undergo a special anti-abrasion treatment to process properly the glass fibres or the mineral filler. The production changeover is quick because the whole re-tooling concept is devised to minimise times and manual operator intervention and the gauging measurement system continuously controls all the parameters during the production process to ensure top quality pipes.

KraussMaffei partners with IPEC in name of science KraussMaffei Berstorff has signed a cooperation agreement with the industrial research institute IPEC in Linz, Austria. The collaboration will explore plasticising units of single-screw extruders for polyolefin pipe extrusion. Prof. Jens Liebhold, VP of Extrusion Technology at KraussMaffei Berstorff, said: “We see this as an important contribution to the expansion of our process knowledge when it comes to processing polyolefins.” Director of IPEC in Linz Professor DI Dr Jürgen Miethlinger MBA added: “In the environment of a fast-developing extractive industry, we have set the goal of turning new materials into innovative products by means of state-of-the-art processing technologies. We deliberately decided on a single-screw extruder from the world market leader to expand our machinery in the TechCenter.

We are confident that this will allow us to expand our development work and look forward to innovative collaboration with KraussMaffei Berstorff.” www.kraussmaffeiberstorff.com

www.amut.it

UNICOR launches new-gen corrugator Lyondell Basell welcomed into TEPPFA family The European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA) has announced that LyondellBasel has joined the group as a new associate supplier member. Keen to ensure the full spectrum of the plastic pipes and fittings manufacturing industry is fairly represented, TEPPFA recently expanded its membership criteria to include suppliers of raw materials and additives. LyondellBasell is now the second global manufacturer to take advantage of this policy change in the past several months, following Borealis’ commitment in 2015. Tassilo Bader, Director Polyethylene and PB–1, Europe at LyondellBasell, said: “We welcome the opportunity to support TEPPFA initiatives to enhance public understanding of the benefits of polymers used in plastic pipe systems and their efforts to drive the industry in quality, sustainability and environmental performance.”

UNICOR has launched its latest generation of corrugators for manufacturing technical pipes with diameters of up to 135 mm. The G2 range provides manufacturers with the highest level of quality at competitive prices. The UC 36 G2 Corrugator lives up to the G2 name, achieving production speeds of up to 60 m/min. The UC 36 with 80 pairs of mould blocks can reach production outputs for PVC corrugated pipes (cable conduit) of up to 250kg/h. UNICOR completely redesigned the mould blocks to further optimise the quality of the pipes. Now all four external sides of the mould blocks are uniformly cooled, providing a very uniform heat distribution in the mould blocks, while time-consuming adjustments have been eliminated thanks to a mechanical allocation solution for the mould blocks. Finally, to guarantee a long lifespan for the corrugators with minimal maintenance, UNICOR uses products from German suppliers: the servo motor, gearing and touch display are just some of the components to carry the ‘Made in Germany’ seal of quality. www.unicor.com

www.teppfa.eu

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PIPE AND PROFILE

Happy

th

birthday Molecor

Molecor is celebrating a decade of revolutionising the water sector.

Molecor, the leader in the development of molecular orientation technology applied to the conveyance of water under pressure, was founded in 2006 and is now present on five continents thanks to a revolutionary process that provides efficient and environmentally friendly systems to manufacture Oriented PVC pipes.

Molecor has achieved a lot in the past 10 years and has received numerous prizes as well, taking home the Best Small and Medium Enterprise of the Year 2015 award in the second edition of the CEPYME Awards, which recognised its work both nationally and internationally.

the uncertainty and the lack of financial resources, sharpened our instinct to think different. And thinking different was not thinking like a micro-SME, which is what we really were, but thinking as an international company. Developing an improper ambition of our size and trajectory, and clinging frantically to innovation as our only rescue."

This year Molecor will be present at various events worldwide, including K 2016, presenting its latest technology developments and TOM pipes following its path divulgation of the outstanding features of PVC-O.

"We started our journey in 2006," said Ignacio Muñoz, Molecor CEO, upon collecting the CEPYME. "The change of environment,

www.molecor.com

RUD Tool-Mover

Ultimate Safety in Handling Heavy Plant & Injection Moulding Tools

Tradition in Dynamic Innovation

• Ultimate safety in handling heavy plant & injection moulding tools • Helps reduce costs to potentially damaged tools • Increases safety to the operator • Offers a handling weight range from 10 – 32 tonnes • Improve efficiency & safety when handling

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25

THERMOFORMING

Bulletin:

LINPAC invests €14.3m in Spanish thermoforming & extrusion

RPC launches frappe-tastic thermoformed cup

LINPAC is investing €14.3 million (£11.4 million) in its thermoforming and extrusion capabilities in Spain, capitalising on rising demand for PET and rPET processing in the country. The money will help increase annual tray capacity at LINPAC’s Pavia plant by 80 million to 630 million units. The cash injection will also go towards a fourth extruder in the Northern Spanish factory, boosting output by 25 per cent.

RPC Bebo Plastic has developed a thermoformed cup especially for Café Coffee Day’s Frappe Chill Greek iced coffee drink. To maximise ambient shelf life and maintain the quality of the coffee, the thermoformed cup from RPC Bebo is manufactured in multilayer polypropylene with an EVOH layer that prevents oxygen ingress.

The cup is retortable and the product is hotfilled and then retorted for 30 minutes at 118°C. www.rpc-bebo.com

www.linpacpackaging.com

Ceramicx claws back 45% energy savings for thermoformer

Thermoforming Technology Group bought over

When applied correctly in heat work IR can bring plastics processors substantial process accuracy and efficiency gains, which is what Ceramicx achieved when helping LINPAC with its energy-saving programme of machinery refurbishment in St Helens, UK, and other LINPAC group sites. Ceramicx offers detailed and empirical IR heat research for thermoformers wishing to optimise their process and materials, saving cost and energy.

Thermoforming Technology Group (TTG) has been purchased by Tenex Capital Management in a transaction CEO of TTG Bryan Redman said will take its ‘market leading technology and service to the next level’. TTG makes thermoforming equipment for converting plastic sheet into high-value-add products. TTG is the parent company of Brown Machine LLC and EPOCO LLC, which were acquired in January 2008.

www.ceramicx.co.uk

www.thermoformingtechnologygroup.com

Leader in IR heating supply Ceramicx has helped a thermoforming technology champion claw back over 45 per cent in energy savings.

Milliken showcases transparent trays at Alimentaria

Thermoforming ‘stimulating PET packaging growth’

Milliken is bringing its Ultra-Clear PP thermoformed packaging to Alimentaria 2016 in Barcelona this month (April 25th-28th 2016). The company will demonstrate how with UltraClear PP based on Milliken’s clarifier series Millad NX 8000, converters can create lightweight, microwaveable and recyclable polypropylene (PP) thermoforming and foldable packaging with the attractive clarity normally associated with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging. www.milliken.com

Growth in hitherto underdeveloped markets is boosting growth in the PET packaging segment, including thermoforming. According to a new report from Smithers Pira entitled ‘The Future of PET Packaging to 2021’ PET packaging production grew by 3.8 per cent year-on-year in 2015 to 16.7 million tonnes. In 2016, growth is expected to reach 4.8 per cent - 17.5 million tonnes. There is evidence to suggest that markets that have been less active in recent years including thermoforming and preserved foods are set to give the market a boost. “Despite various economic issues in recent years, growth in PET packaging has remained relatively consistent,” said report author Paul Boyce.

“Stronger growth is projected in 2016, with PET gaining traction into relatively new sectors.” www.smitherspira.com

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Kiefel acquires thermoforming expertise

THERMOFORMING

Kiefel is to acquire a 100 per cent stake in Mould & Matic Solutions, bringing the Brückner Group company added expertise in thermoforming and injection moulding.

Kiefel, part of the Brückner Group, has announced its intention to acquire 100 per cent of thermoforming and injection moulding specialist Mould & Matic Solutions from Austria’s Haidlmair Group.

said Heinz Klausriegler, the CEO of Mould & Matic Solutions. “The professional and dedicated specialists on our staff offer each customer worldclass solutions for the entire production process.”

Mould & Matic Solutions is a renowned supplier of tools and of automation solutions to the packaging industry.

“The expertise and technological solutions supplied

by Mould & Matic are an ideal complement to our existing range of products for the packaging industry,” added Kiefel CEO Thomas Halletz. “This constitutes, together with the recent acquisition of Bosch Sprang, an important milestone in our efforts to offer customers the complete range of systems and services from a single source – from product

“Years of experience as a supplier of systems relating to the thermoforming and injection moulding technology, along with injection stretch blowing, is what has made the company so successful,”

development right up to downstream equipment.”

This acquisition marks a further step in the growth strategy of the Brückner Group, which is designed to strengthen the position of existing membercompanies by extending the range of products and services available.

The Haidlmair Group will take advantage of this transaction to focus more on its successful core business.

“We have decided to sell because we are convinced that Mould & Matic will be perfectly at home with its new owner – a family business just like our own – where it can continue to develop efficiently as a useful addition to the existing product portfolio,” stated Mario Haidlmair on behalf of the sellers. www.kiefel.com

GN Thermoforming shows off new Czech base Leading manufacturer of servo-driven, roll-fed thermoforming machines for the production of food packaging GN Thermoforming Equipment has conducted a series of highly successful customer training sessions to showcase its new Sales and Technical Service Center in Jihlava, Czech Republic.

T

he three training sessions were a major success with more than 60 participants, including end users and processors from Western and Central Europe, Russia, India and the Middle East. It was the first of several training programmes that are planned at the technical centre over the next year.

“We were thrilled with the turnout and the positive response,” said Jerome Romkey, GN Business Development Manager. “The training and demonstration centre is an important sales tool that offers great value in helping customers access the technology and make decisions.”

GN Europe officially opened the new Sales and Technical Service Center just over two years ago in an effort to further solidify its commitment to their customers.

At any given time, its showroom displays a selection of GN thermoformers for viewing and demonstration purposes.

“We have decided to sell because we are convinced that Mould & Matic will be perfectly at home with its new owner – a family business just like our own – where it can continue to develop efficiently as a useful addition to the existing product portfolio,” stated Mario Haidlmair on behalf of the sellers.

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www.gnplastics.com

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28 SEPT - 29 SEPT 2016

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MACHINERY ROUNDUP

Electric avenue

Apply some compressor

Arburg welcomed 550 guests from around the world to the opening of its new assembly hall in March, where it premiered the new electric Golden Electric machine series. During the development of the new Golden Electric series, which comes in four sizes with a clamping force range from 600 to 2,000 kN, Arburg has consistently implemented the successful recipe of the hydraulic Golden Edition entry-level series for electric machines. The new electric Allrounders are designed to meet customer demand for highperformance entrylevel machines for the precise, energyefficient production of quality parts.

The European refrigeration market must take action to meet the EU’s 2021 energy saving legislation, encouraging the industry to target compressor efficiency to help it meet its carbon reduction obligations.

ICS Cool Energy believes oil-free compressors such as its Turboocor range, which use magnetic bearings to offer improved efficiency and reliability levels by reducing moving parts. “One of the most accessible methods of improving energy efficiency in the refrigeration market is to use built-in optimised variable speed drives, which in essence the Turbocor does,” explained Technical Manager Brent Hall. www.icscoolenergy.com

www.arburg.com

Record breakers

Great save Sidel is truly the champion of beverage packaging production energy efficiency after helping food giant Nestlé Waters rake back more than €1 million (£770,000) in annual energy savings. As the result of a worldwide energy-saving programme, Sidel has supported Nestlé Waters in achieving reductions in its energy consumption at production sites in countries around the globe. Consequently, the world’s leading producer of bottled water has achieved energy savings equivalent to the consumption of more than 20 ovens. www.sidel.com

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is celebrating 2015 being a record year for the company, recording sales of €234 million - an 11 per cent year-on-year jump following strategic changes made to the company in Spring 2015. “In 2015, we took a new – and successful – approach to our sales and customer-service strategy. In future, we will strive to consolidate and sustain this success,” said Gerd Liebig, CSO. Moderinising its machine range, the company has also been investing in the double digit region to expand its portfolio. Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s board expects this positive growth trajectory to continue with packaging, automotive and medical engineering fuelling demand for its machines. uk.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu

Wheels on fire

Italian plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers have posted all-time high results for exports in 2015. The optimistic news was delivered

by Assocomaplast, the Italian trade association belonging to CONFINDUSTRIA, which comprises over 160 manufacturers. The data which is supported by ISTAT showed an 8.4 per cent yearon-year leap in exports, rising from €2.7 billion to €2.9 billion. Growth in Mexico and Canada rose by 20 percentage points and an 11 per cent increase was observed in the EU, within which Germany maintained its role as Italy’s main trading partner, increasing its imports by 14 per cent.

RÄDER-VOGEL has extended its product portfolio to include extralarge custom-made wheels thanks an investment in Huntsman technology. The portfolio expansion follows a technical development project with TECNOTHANE hot-cast polyurethane MDI system experts from Tecnoelastomeri – the Italian system house purchased by Huntsman in 2015. After consulting Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri about the best materials to use to supersize its range, RÄDER-VOGEL is now offering its customers tailor-made wheels with a diameter of more than 1500mm. The wheels are being offered under RÄDER-VOGEL’s PEVOTEC brand – an extensive family of wheels and castors designed for use in extreme operating conditions.

www.assocomaplast.org

www.raedervogel.de

Mambo Italiano

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29

MATERIALS

AIMPLAS plastics R&D worth €12m in 2015 AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, has summarised its year, having participated in 123 research and development projects in collaboration with 227 companies, generating huge returns for its customers.

L

ast year was a busy one for AIMPLAS, and the Plastics Technology Centre, which is based in Valencia, Spain, has recently revealed that its activities generated a return of over €12 million (£9.7 million) for its customers over the 12-month period.

In 2015 AIMPLAS participated in 123 research and development projects in collaboration with 227 companies, 183 of which were small to medium-sized enterprises. The projects mainly concerned packaging, transport, construction, recycling, aerospace and automotive applications.

Not only did AIMPLAS celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2015, its customer list broke the 2,000 customer milestone and the organisation increased its income to €8.7 million.

The non-profit research organisation is now an even more important partner to the whole of the plastics industry thanks to its Plastics Observatory. Its 'technology watch and competitive intelligence system' gives the organisation access to high-added-value information to help the plastics sector to make informed decisions. In 2015, more than 3,800 organisations made use of the Plastic Observatory.

AIMPLAS’ turnover growth has been linked to an expansion of both its facilities and services. In the case of its pilot plant, the 2,000 m sq centre is one of the best-equipped centres in plastic processing technologies at a national level and is an international reference point in plastic materials and processing techniques.

New ventures

Hub for plastics intelligence A total of 120 professionals work in AIMPLAS in areas related to research and development, as well as providing other services, such as technical assessments, analysis and testing, and training to other companies of the plastics industry. AIMPLAS is home to one of Spain's leading analysis and testing laboratories, where it carries out numerous tests on plastics accredited by ENAC, the Spanish National Accreditation Body. Over the course of the last financial year, more than 6,500 technology services were developed and 158 training activities were organised, where 2,518 attendees from 889 companies received a collective 3,963 training hours.

In 2015, a new filament extrusion line was incorporated into the pilot plant’s equipment to print parts using additive manufacturing technology - also known as 3D printing. Thanks to this, the technology centre now incorporates new methods to carry out research and development projects, such as modifying materials to obtain functional properties (conductivity, solubility, antimicrobial, etc.)

For the Plastics Technology Centre, 2015 was also the year of the consolidation of MeetingPack, the international event organised together with AINIA that has turned into a key industry date for the packaging sector at an international scale. In its second edition, dedicated to materials and barrier packages, the meeting exceeded the capacity expectations and surpassed the 300 attendees from all the packaging industry value chain. www.aimplas.net

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MATERIALS ROUNDUP

Hello operator

ssycat?

Watch new pu

Samsung with wearable from w ne a on h touc the finishing r choice for DSM has put been a popula s ha ch hi w ers, E, its Arnitel TP tronics produc wearable elec e of os r ch be ng m su nu m a straps. Sa ft so r fo l y ax ea as it is id for the Gal l compound balance of DSM’s Arnite od go p for its ra st S2 r ea G proper ties. d chemical physical an ft touch and s superior so The strap ha ear in direct w mfortable to co ry ve is , el fe to USP and and is certified skin contact ompatibility of covering bioc ISO standards perspiration t is resistan to l ite rn that A s. ce devi other liquids rious oils and into e m co to and to the va y ch is likel at w e th of p the stra ring use. www.dsm.com contact with du

Solvay Specialty Polymers has revealed the results of a major study com paring the sustainability of single-use surgical equipm ent with their reusable coun terparts, disproving the no tion that traditional met al tools are the greene r option.

Conducted in co njunction with Medacta Inte rnational, a leading man ufacturer of orthopaedic implants, neurosurgical sy stems and instru mentation, and independent susta Swiss Climate, inability consultan an t, the report dem carbon footprint onstrates that th of GMK Efficienc e y single-use instru when compared mentation is neut to the average ral CO2 equivalent hospital using conv annual emission entional metal re-u of a sable instrumenta counter existing tion. These finding industry perceptio s ns about the ne impact of single-u gative environmen se instrumentatio ta l n, an to-plastic conver d reinforce the via sion for these ap bility of metalplications.

Come fly with me

www.solvay.com

Milacron has announced tha t its CIMCOOL brand has bee n approved for aerospace applications by Pratt & Whitney. Four of the products in the leading fluid technology por tfolio have been given app roval. These fluids are used in the manufacture of gas turbine components made from steels, stainless steels, nickel-bas ed alloys, cobalt-based alloys, aluminium, magnesium, titanium, and titanium alloys. “We recogn ise aerospace as one of the most technically-d riven industries in the world,” said Jack Teat, CIMCOOL Fluid Technolog y President.

“CIMCOOL manufactures revolutionary fluid technology unmatched in the market, with premiu m metalworking fluids that are consistently the premie r choice in automotive, aerospace and industrial metalworking applications. www.milacron.com

Sit down next to me pic Games this August and Rio de Janeiro is preparing for the Olym s of athletics fans are all hoard the sure make to RadiciGroup is on hand for the seats of eight of the sitting comfortably. After supplying its material all World Championships Footb the major Brazilian stadiums that hosted range of polyamide, PBT, wide a of cer produ g in 2014, this year the leadin in Brazil with its Radiflam S TPE and POM engineering plastics is back flame retardant polyamide 6 engineering plastics for five of the venues of the upcoming games. “We were the first in Brazil to supply polyamide engineering plastics approved for use in the manufacture of stadium seat parts,” said Jane Campos, CEO of Radici Plastics Ltda. www.radicigroup.com

Drive my car new PolyOne revealed a s tion solu advanced polymer the at e em sch s and service otive VDI Plastics in Autom on nce Engineering confere the g eilin unv 6, March 9th 201 TPEs, launch of OnFlex LO of ls featuring reduced leve nds pou com c volatile organi riors (VOCs) for vehicle inte its IQ of ility ilab ava the and ope.

Design Labs service in Eur lex OnF ced odu intr PolyOne also p hel ich wh s, TPE ty cial LO spe the e rov automotive OEMs imp vehicle interiors ng the number of VOCs in driver experience by reduci C seals, buttons, ed applications include HVA by up to 50 per cent. Target k holder mats. controls, coin trays and drin

www.polyone.com

Giro-nimo!

Protective he adwear cham pion Giro Sport D esign has pu t the market-lead ing characte ristics of TeXtrem e to use in a ski racing helm et that is lig hter, stiffer and st ronger. TeXtr eme is a uniq ue carbon fibre material th at differs from conventional carbon fibr materials du e e to its propri etary production methods. Its track record of contributing successful pr to oduct releas es – from co Prince Tenn mpanies incl is, Cobra Pum uding Bauer a Golf, Stiga has proven Hockey, Table Tennis the real-wor ld performan and Bell Hel Technology. ce improvem mets – ents due to TeXtreme www.textrem e.com

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31

EVENTS EVENTS NEWS

Fakuma to build on recordsmashing 2015 event F akuma 2015 was a record-breaker and organiser PE Schall is planning to make the next outing in 2017 even bigger.

The 25th anniversary event, which will take place from October 17th-21st 2017, will take the theme of 'Functions integration based on plastics technology' to the next level, showing that processes are overlapping and intermeshing to an even greater extent now than they were 12 months ago - and will develop further by the time Fakuma 2017 rolls around.

New and hybrid composite materials are playing a key role in this respect, as is the advancing industrialisation of additive manufacturing, functional integration in overmoulding metal and plastic and, more recently, fully digitally-controlled printing of PET bottles and containers within the production process.

and technologies at Fakuma 2017 includes everything from start-ups to the biggest names in plastics processing, offering visitors a complete cross section of the industry.

The implementation of Industry 4.0 will play a key role comprising automation, testing, optimisation, identification and packaging from a machinery perspective, while the refinement of processes and innovative use of conventional and new materials and designs will play starring roles as flexibility, lightweighting and sustainability continue to dominate as key themes.

The 25th Fakuma will give the innovative capabilities of manufacturers and distributers of injection moulding machines, thermoforming and forming technologies, extrusion equipment, tooling systems and materials the platform they deserve.

The list of exhibitors booked to showcase their products

K 2016 Science Campus spearheads future trends

H

aving met with a huge response at its premiere at K 2013, the Science Campus at K 2016 (October 19th-26th 2016) takes the dialogue between research and industry further with more participating scientific organisations.

Featuring presentations from universities and colleges, institutes and sponsoring organisations, the Science Campus will focus on the four key themes defined by the K 2016 Innovation Circle – a panel made up of experts from science and representatives of K's Exhibitors Council.

The Science Campus, which can be found in Hall 7.0 of Messe DĂźsseldorf, enables exhibitors and visitors to gain a concentrated overview of scientific activities and findings in the plastics and rubber sector and promotes an exchange of experience between companies and universities.

Delegates will be able to find some surprisingly big names among the Science Campus participant list including: the MERGE Cluster of Excellence of the Institute of Lightweight Structures, Dresden University of Technology, the University of Stuttgart, the Institute of Polymer Technology, the Fraunhofer Society for the advancement of applied research, the Climate

32

Innovation Initiative of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology Climate-KIC GmbH, the VDI Association of German Engineers and the Scientific Alliance of Plastics Technology (WAK).

All of these esteemed institutions will be presenting pioneering materials and technologies and responding to the central challenges of plastics and rubber technology.

The discussion and communication forum at the heart of the Science Campus will focus on the themes of innovation drivers of global change focusing on resource efficiency; Plastics Industry 4.0; new materials; lightweight engineering; and scientific training in macromolecular chemistry and plastics technology.

Scientists in K 2016's Innovation Circle and teams from their institutes will prepare the key themes and present them in different formats.

These themes are expected to have a lasting impact on market development of the sector in the coming years, and will not only be the focus of the Science Campus at K 2016 but will be reflected in the presentations of the exhibitors, the special show 'Plastics Shape the Future' and the Innovation Compass.

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Recycling Conduit

Pipe Film

EPPM Classifieds Speciality Engineering Polymers Whitelands Mill, Whitelands Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6UG, UK Tel: Fax: Email: Web:

(44) 0161 308 2550 (44) 0161 343 2026 aml@abbeymb.com www.abbeymb.com

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www.granulators.org 21/01/2015 16:43

33

EUREKA SERIES

PET for tea?

Japanese scientists have discovered bacteria that can chew through and digest PET, potentially bringing a new solution to the global plastic waste problem to the table.

Words | Rose Brooke

P

ET-munching bacteria could be the key to the next breakthrough in plastics recycling, as scientists have learnt of micro-organisms that have evolved to be able to digest plastics.

cent of the entire volume of plastic produced every year will be recycled.

“I was very surprised to find micro-organisms that degrade PET, because so far, it has been said that PET is a nonbiodegradable plastic.”

Researchers in Japan discovered Ideonella Sakaiensis after analysing microbes living on PET debris collected from soil and wastewater. The bacteria appeared to be feeding exclusively on the plastic breaking it down with enzymes - which must have been a recent evolutionary step given the short amount of time Large quantities of PET have plastics have been around. accumulated in environments across

the globe ... so, to solve this problem,

“The bacterium is the first strain having a potential to degrade PET completely into carbon dioxide and water,” he added.

“Large quantities of PET have accumulated in environments across the globe ... so, to solve this problem, microbes that break it down could be useful.”

The team at the Kyoto Institute of Technology in Southern Japan microbes that break it down that made the discovery is led by could be useful.

Kohei Oda PhD, an expert in applied The findings of the Kyoto Institute microbiology, enzymes and protein of Technology team have been purification. Oda wants to use the published in the journal Science team’s findings to develop a technology that can handle the end- and reveal that Ideonella Sakaiensis can consume an entire of-life processing of the 342 million tonnes of plastic produced PET film at a temperature of 30 degrees Celcius over a sixevery year estimated by the World Economic Forum. Only 14 per week period.

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