SA Plastics & Rubber Technology June-July 2018 by SA POLYMER TECHNOLOGY

HEXAMOLL® DINCH® The trusted non-phthalate Plasticizer. Developed for applications with close human contact. Therefore it is the ideal solution when it comes to high safety and quality standards for use in many sensitive goods such as: sport & leisure; flooring; food contact applications; toys; medical devices; wall covering. Because of high safety standards and extensive testing, Hexamoll® DINCH®

is recommended whenever people are in close contact with PVC products that contain plasticizers.

Brenntag South Africa (Pty) Ltd 11 Mansell Road Killarney Gardens Cape Town 7441

RUBBERS / PLASTICS / POLYMERS / LUBRICANTS / COATINGS

Cape Town +27 (0) 21 556 1920 info@brenntag.co.za For more information contact Dean Delaporte on +27 (0)83 603 24 74

www.brenntag.com/southafrica

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2018/06/08 08:51

BY THE WAY

Publisher: Martin Wells (martin@summitpub.co.za) Editor: Tessa O’Hara (tessa@summitpub.co.za) Editorial assistant: Heather Peplow (heather@summitpub.co.za) Financial manager: Lisa Mulligan (lisa@summitpub.co.za) Designer: Jeanette Erasmus Graphic Design (jeanette.erasmus@lateraldynamics.co.za) Bronwen Moys Blinc Design (bronwen.clarke@gmail.com) Summit Publishing cc t: +27 (21) 712 1408 f: 086 519 6089 c: +27 (82) 822 8115 e: martin@summitpub.co.za Postnet Suite 42, Private Bag X16, Constantia 7848, Cape Town, South Africa Unit 8, Bergvliet Village Centre, Cnr Hiddingh & Children’s Way Roads, Bergvliet 7945

www.saplastics.co.za GAUTENG Lowrie Sharp t: (011) 793 4691 f: (011) 791 0544 c: 082 344 7870 e: lowrieplasticsmedia@absamail.co.za KZN Lynne Askew t: (031) 764 2494 f: (031) 764 0676 e: lynne@summitpub.co.za Printed by: Tandym Print, Maitland, Cape Town SA Plastics & Rubber Technology is published six times a year and focuses on these industries in South and southern Africa. We welcome news, articles, technical reports, information in general and photographs about events and developments related to the plastics industry. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Plastics Converters Association, Institute of Materials or Association of Rotational Moulders either. Copyright: All rights reserved. ISSN number: 1684-2855 (ISDS Centre, Paris) Summit Publishing: CK 9863581/23 VAT reg: 4600187902

Plastics Institute of Southern Africa

Association of Rotational Moulders of South Africa

Plastics Converters Association

PET Plastic Recycling South Africa

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Plastics Federation of SA

Institute of Materials

The press delegates were taken on a comprehensive tour by the Marley PS team, including Ian Venter (centre) and Ronnie Motebejane, head of manufacturing at Marley (third from right), who handled the safety precautions, and accompanied by Jan Venter of SAPPMA (right)

Pipe tour for the press shows how necessary it is

THE Plastic Pipe Manufacturers’ Association SAPPMA hosted a factory visit for journalists in May with the contingent being bussed from Plastics|SA in Midrand to the Marley Pipe Systems plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria. Many thanks to the Marley team for opening their doors to the press, which is not something that happens a lot these days. The intention of the day was to show what SAPPMA is doing – working with the pipe manufacturers – in terms of pipe quality and standards. Perhaps it should be obligatory for more convertors to engage in this way, as it soon became apparent that the pressmen knew very little about plastics. For most people out there, plastic refers to one material and it’s really necessary to harp on the aspect that this is not the case. Marley product specialist Ian Venter did a ﬁne job of explaining what’s involved, taking the tour group ﬁrst through the Weholite structured-wall production section and later to the main HDPE pipe hall, with stopovers in the lab and recycling departments, but very few questions were asked. The dearth of questions suggests there is little knowledge about the materials used and technology in place, so it may be necessary for all of us to create opportunities to engage with the press and the wider community to explain what’s going on and what advantages plastic materials create.

Cape Town’s water crisis highlights city’s recycling woes

THE water crisis in Cape Town has seen a proliferation of plastic water bottles – lots and lots of them, piling up in boxes, bags and the back of bakkies. It’s a common site now in Cape Town and surrounds as residents try and ﬁnd a way of getting rid of their plastic bottles. The boost in water bottle consumption has heightened awareness about the lack of a formalised recycling programme in the City of Cape Town. But the question is, when will the city take responsibility for recycling instead of leaving it up to the citizens to ﬁnd responsible ways to dispose of their plastic? Cape Town does not yet have a formal recycling programme, nor does it incentivise residents to recycle. The city supports manual recovery facilities and encourages residents to use them, but just how far can encouragement go? While implementing a formal recycling programme would cost money and resources, the environmental impact cannot be understated. If anything, the water crisis should have demonstrated the value of Cape Town’s natural resources. Capetonians should no longer take the sea and the environment for granted. The city abused its water access until it was almost too late; it would HAVE … IF YOU G TO SAY IN H ET M be foolish to let the inaccessibility of recycling SO de: if you si ht ig br e reach a similar crisis point. m to Look at th m of wisdo e ge have som to us at ease write impart, pl m co a. ic fr s@ia saplastic

2018/06/07 06:44

VOLUME 16 NR 3

Contents JUNE / JULY 2018

Find out more at www.saplastics.co.za

REGLOPLAS High-performance temperature control units … for large injection moulds, extruders, rollers, autoclaves and other processing equipment

New, more efficient Type 90 Smart

INDUSTRY NEWS Watertainer’s Tuff Tank is a water storage revolution

Nylopack goes up a gear with another co-ex line

Pac-Rite goes co-ex

Packaging World is printing … at speed

Pro-10™ strapping’s now available

Plastic Concepts celebrates 30+ years

Cooke & Son celebrates 40th anniversary

RPC Astrapak buys Spec Group

SA’s tyre recycling ventures reach an impasse

National Minimum Wage – what does it mean for the plastics industry?

LDPE carrier bags come out tops in Danish LCA

Temperature control units for water up to 90°C • RT 70 control system • Solid-state relay (SSR)instead of heating contactor • Automatic phasechanger for pump direction (clockwise) • Alarm buzzer • Heating capacity 9 kW

NEW

• Cooling capacity 24-90 kW • Pump capacity 60 litres/min, 3.8 bar

ASSOCIATIONS IOM3: Role of distributors go ‘beyond mere transactional exchanges’

PETCO: SA PET industry hits new high

Plastics|SA: Technology on wheels

PtSA: Are you geared for the 4th Industrial Revolution?

SAPPMA: Uncompromising on high manufacturing standards

WORLD NEWS Borealis committed to helping to solve the problem of ocean plastic

Shell Polymers re-enters the fray

Type 150 Smart

66 86

SPORT A safer ride!

ON THE COVER The barrier-breaking ‘Tuff Tank’ water storage system development by Watertainer – one of the biggest ventures in the injection moulding sector in Africa in some time – is taking shape in KZN in a project that has the potential to revolutionise domestic rain water harvesting. Read more on page 6

www.watertainer.co.za

Temperature control units for oil up to 150°C • Controller RT61 PID • Outlet temperature max 150°C • Heating capacity at 400V 6 kW • Cooling capacity 28kW @ 140°C • Pump capacity 60 litres/min, 3.8 bar

• Simultaneous readout of temperature set-point and actual value • Clear arrangement of operating and indicating elements • Solid state relay (SSR) instead of heating contactor

• All components exposed to water are made of non-rusting materials, hence long service-life • Achieves estimated 24% reduction in rejects and 20% increase in productivity

JENOWILL SERVICES Contact – Willy Tschopp Tel: 021 551 7241 Fax: 021 551 7243 28C Lilly Park, Railway Rd Montague Gardens, Cape Town jenowill@iafrica.com www.regloplas.com

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2018/06/07 06:49

News Watertainer – David Bray and Trevor Britland of Braymould Plastics of KZN are involved in one of the biggest technical moulding projects underway in Southern Africa at present. Their Watertainer development at Cato Ridge has the potential to fundamentally change water ‘harvesting’ and storage in the urban-domestic situation. It’s a major venture which has required a huge amount of planning by the Watertainer team, besides the fact that it is a massive ﬁnancial commitment too. Here we see the entrepreneurs with the new 2800-ton Haitian machine, one of three to be used in the roll-out – see page 6

Industry faces toughest challenge yet as environmental criticism grows louder

THIS ISSUE

Ocean pollution is core of problem

HE industry in South Africa and around the world faces probably its toughest challenge yet, that of dealing with the massive pressure placed on it and its partners to reduce and even eliminate the large quantities of plastic packaging litter that are entering and polluting the oceans.

JUNE / JULY 2018

The criticism by environmental groups has recently gathered momentum and gained wide public and consumer support, to the point where it is going to be very difficult to ignore – which is basically what has happened up till now. The tone of the criticism has changed and become more urgent and retailers around the world, certainly in the West, are sympathetic to the cause and are making plans to change. We could lose out badly if we do not change too. The main culprits appear to be nonrecyclable and ‘one way’ plastic goods and SABIC South Africa recently organised a local packaging, specifically film community beach clean-up, one of only a few and bags, but there are SA companies to initiate such programmes. other commonplace items The event was held at Kommetjie on the which too face a rocky Cape Peninsula and involved local pupils future, such as straws and and SABIC staff members ear buds. Some retailers in South Africa have reacted quickly (they had to) and agreed to phase out non-recyclables, but to achieve a complete change by 2022 must surely be unrealistic. So the best features of plastic packaging goods, that they are light and flexible, have now become the chief problem: carelessly discarded packaging items either blow around in the wind or float down rivers, with the ultimate destination for both being the ocean gyres or to simply wash up and festoon themselves like unwelcome garlands on river banks and beaches. And even though fish and ocean mammals have miraculously survived the sustained onslaught of the global fishing industry lasting for several centuries, the sight of whales

dying after ingesting plastic bags is outright tragic and most of you will see it that way too. Besides the blockage of their digestive systems, ingestion of bags or film makes these animals feel full, leading to loss of condition and ultimately death. Besides that, sea birds and a host of other marine creatures are suffering as a result of both the litter and macro plastics which, almost unseen, have spread rampantly. The figures that are being presented are sometimes hard to believe, but a lot of research appears to have been done and it’s almost certainly going to be futile to resist. Plastic is in most cases the best solution for packaging, but failure to develop effective recyclable solutions and collection is turning the tables on it. So, rather than argue, the way forward for the industry in South Africa may be to embrace the change and develop new solutions to counteract the problem. For one thing, we have a well-developed recycling sector and the country is proportionately one of the top performing recyclers in the industry internationally with a recycling rate of over 41% – which is a notable achievement. The entire situation may be unfair on the industry in South Africa, and specifically our recyclers, as it appears, according to the WWF (Wildlife Fund for Nature), that over 40% of all plastic waste in the oceans comes from five countries – China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It is not ironic that these countries are also the chief suspects of illegal wildlife trade. However, given that brand owners and retailers are going to change, internationally and consequently in Africa too, we are going to need to too. It’s going to be difficult, but it’s either that or lose market share.

(

Non-recyclable and ‘one way’ plastic goods and packaging are main culprits

Martin Wells Publisher Martin Wells,

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Publisher

2018/06/07 09:02

75959B

INNOVATION & EFFICIENCY: IT’S ALL PART OF THE PACKAGE. The Safron® C790-90 RNA allows tubs to be much lighter, but feel the same. Safripol’s new Safron® C790-90 RNA grade is developed specifically for the Thin Walled Injection Moulding market. Margarine and yoghurt tubs are far lighter, yet still maintain the physical properties of a heavier grade plastic resin. For both convertors and brand owners, Safron® C790-90 RNA allows an array of innovative benefits: • Stiffness/ toughness balance • Decrease in carbon footprint: - Lightweighting - Less energy use • Faster cycle times • Superior organoleptic properties • Enhanced toughness in recycled products For more information about South Africa’s preferred polymer partner, visit safripol.com

75959B-Safripol_SafronC790.indd 1

A Division of KAP Diversified Industrial (Pty) Ltd.

2018/04/04 4:26 PM

News Production of the new Watertainer Tuff Tanks on the 2800-ton Haitian machine is underway at the Braymould Plastics site in Cato Ridge, KZN. Trevor Britland and David Bray of Braymould/Watertainer have put years of experience and planning into the new venture

Watertainer’s Tuff

water storage revolution Barrel-shaped tank offers telling advantages for domestic water harvesting

6 JUNE / JULY 2018

THE barrier-breaking ‘Tuff Tank’ water storage system development by Watertainer – one of the biggest ventures in the injection moulding sector in Africa in some time – is taking shape in KZN in a project that has the potential to revolutionise domestic rain water harvesting. The ﬁrst of three massive injection moulding machines is already operational at the Watertainer site in Cato Ridge. A unique water storage system, Watertainer’s 1500-litre barrel-shaped Tuff Tank offers some real advantages in the urban environment where, in South Africa particularly and quite probably in many countries around the world, there is an increasing need to store water at home to counteract water supply interruptions.

Watertainer is the brainchild of David Bray and Trevor Britland who have coupled the multi-million capex project together, including the setting up of the totally new Braymould Plastics factory at Cato Ridge, just off the N3 between Durban and Maritzburg, and the purchase of the machines and moulds along with other ancillaries. The 2800-ton Haitian machine is one of the biggest machines installed in the country in recent times, although not the biggest. The Tuff Tank is designed for rainwater ‘harvesting’ by positioning alongside urban dwellings or any roof structure where gutter or drainage systems can be fed into the tank, or tanks for that matter – as the tank is small enough to be relatively easily accommodated (each tank being slightly over 1,5m³) alongside dwellings.

“We were looking at what we could do that is different,” said Britland, and hence the change to injection moulding these tanks. “We saw this shift in manufacturing technology as the opportunity to offer a better solution for manufacturing water harvesting tanks.” The new company, Watertainer SA, was established in 2016. Advantages of the Tuff Tank include the fact that the individual compartments of the tanks can be nested inside each other and then nested tanks can be stacked on top of each other, a major advantage for transport to market as just a third of the space is required to move the three parts to supply outlets. This is also a plus for the purchasing consumer as the nested Tuff Tank easily ﬁts on to small bakkies and SUVs. The

The patented three-part Tuff Tank design includes top and bottom halves measuring 1000 x 850mm each, along with a central ‘midriff’ section. A silicone O-ring is ﬁtted into the proﬁled edges of the joining halves, eliminating risk of leakage. Two colours are available, Light Grey and Sand

Changes at Hosaf as PET supply is restored

Tank is a

The mould for the 1500-litre Tuff Tank. The Jupiter machine is well suited to large dimension moulding.

‘Jupiter’ series machine The large 2800-ton Jupiter II series machine from Haitian, supplied by Cabletech Marketing, is a two-platen space saving, full-servo system which includes a number of energy-saving features. “The Jupiter machine is well suited to large dimension moulding,” said Pierre Jurgens of Cabletech, which also supplied the ‘Hilectro’ full servo robot, also manufactured by Haitian, as well as the moulds. Cabletech supplied the entire production cell, including the chiller as part of the brief from the customer for a full turnkey solution. Haitian manufactures the toggle series machines under the Mars banner which ranges from 60 to 3300 tons; the all-electric series under the Venus and Zeres banners for clamping force from 40-650 tons as well as the Jupiter series for two-platen performance from 450-6600 tons clamping force to name just the basics. Haitian further manufactures its own robot systems, drive systems and control systems in multiple factories measuring 1,200,000m² in total and still growing. It is little wonder then that Haitian is the leader in the manufacture of injection moulding machines worldwide.

‘Advantages include the fact that the individual Tuff Tank compartments can be nested inside each other and then stacked.’

• Watertainer’s Tuff Tank design has been internationally patent registered. www.watertainer.co.za

Kgalagadi starts new 7-layer line in Gaborone

KGALAGADI Plastic Industries has just commissioned a 7-layer coex blown film line at its plant in in Gaborone, Botswana. The new line will manufacture barrier films for the thermoforming, vacuum and pouch, MAP (modified atmosphere) and related applications. A 10-colour Ci printer also went in recently at Kgalagadi, which is ISO 9001-2008 accredited. Raj Patel (formerly of Plastics Industries of Germiston) is the MD of Kgalagadi.

Fiberpipe business liquidated

FIBERPIPE, the only glass-reinforced pipe manufacturing business in subSaharan Africa, has gone into liquidation and its plant and equipment and property (13,500m² under roof and about the equivalent in open area) at Tielman Roos St, Germiston, was put up for auction in May. The GRP pipe factory has capacity of hundreds of metres of pipe per day and would require off-take within Sub-Saharan Africa to make it viable. Partners required include water/mining consultants, composites continuous production operators, off-take entrepreneurs and investors. JUNE / JULY 2018 7

JUST BRIEFLY

individual parts can be carried through larger doorways, and even up and down stair wells. Weighing in at just 32kg in total, the pre-assembled Tuff Tank can be moved with relative ease. The containers are injection moulded, which means signiﬁcantly faster production times than those offered by either blow or rotational moulding. Just one size is currently being produced, the 1500-litre container. The product is extremely strong offering consistent 4mm wall thickness through all sections, said Britland. The tanks are manufactured from a polypropylene co-polymer, which offers high impact resistance – and the material is also locally manufactured. Just two standard colours are currently available, Light Grey and Sand. “We’ve been convinced from feedback that there will be substantial demand for the Tuff Tank,” said Britland, adding that the Watertainer team was very sensitive to pricing and aware that the product would only develop demand if the selling price received market acceptance. Britland and Bray previously owned and developed the Perma Products brand of household DIY items. This very successful brand was recently sold to Permoseal.

THERE have been significant changes at Hosaf, the PET manufacturer, following the supply interruptions last year, but production has been restored and the company’s plant in Jacobs, Durban, is now running at over 600 tons a day. The supply problems at Hosaf occurred during its major R800-million plant upgrade last year, to increase PET output from 128,000 tons a year to an estimated 237,000 tpa. A variety of factors resulted in the commissioning of the plant in the last quarter being delayed and although Hosaf imported a significant quantity of material, that did not suffice and some customers ran out of material. Opinion of some convertors canvassed suggested that the problem was not the supply holdup but rather that they were not timeously advised. One of the problems for Hosaf at this point appears to be that of lost customer confidence and even though PET is covered by a 10% import duty, some convertors have indicated a preference to source material from more than one source.

News

PHOTOS: LOWRIE SHARP

The latest Rajoo ‘Multifoil’ 5-layer line at Nylopack’s spotless factory in Roodekop, Johannesburg, has a dual air ring, achieving the result that gauge variation is extremely low. Nylopack has now pushed through the 500 tons/ month barrier and is seen as one of the top co-ex ﬁlm manufacturers in the region

Nylopack goes up a gear with another co-ex line Latest Rajoo line for production of stretch ﬁlms

SPECIALISED films manufacturer Nylopack has recently installed its third major five-layer line from Rajoo, establishing itself as one of the leading co-ex films manufacturers in Southern Africa. The new 5-layer ‘Multifoil’ system for non-barrier film differs from the previous Rajoo blown film systems, the 5-layer lines for barrier films installed in 2014 and last year. The latest arrival is for the manufacture of stretch hood films (i.e. non-barrier) and was virtually a new undertaking for Rajoo, based in India – as it is, indeed, for Nylopack too. Nylopack, operating out of Roodekop, Johannesburg, went for virtually the same specs which proved so successful with the previous Rajoo machines, with controls from PlastControl of Italy and 8 JUNE / JULY 2018

the extruders based on the technology of Hosokawa-Alpine of Germany. Ahmedabad-based Rajoo has been cooperating with these European OEMs for some time – and the results are showing: it has sold extrusion lines into over 60 countries. “The last supplied line is a very special system with quite a few special features to make stretch hood ﬁlm, which is a very critical application in terms of process as well materials being used for this application,” said machine supplier Jinesh Shah of Rajoo. With the two previous co-ex lines, Nylopack has been producing barrier ﬁlms with the inclusion of either an

EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer) or polyamide (nylon) mid layer, with LD or linear encasing layers up 250 microns thick. The EVOH or PA layers achieve very low permeability and act as a gas barrier to prevent oxygen penetration; the film structures are based on customer formulations. Different factors have come into play with the new extruder, with a combination of linear and LD and including metallocene grades which allow for down-gauging whilst achieving improved performance, specifically in tear and puncture resistance. Nylopack focusses on niche markets, running films with proprietary

Latest Multifoil co-ex line is current star of the show

The five extruders on the new line are not being used for barrier film production, but for a combination of polyolefins with metallocene inclusion to manufacture stretch hood films

formulations using mainly imported materials, with the latest initiative continuing on the same path. Multifoil lines are available with advanced automation features like integrated GSM control, gravimetric blending and dosing, contact/noncontact type IBC system with pneumatic/ digital correction, automatic thickness control, fully automatic centre-gapsurface winder and integrated process control. A range of system solutions can be configured to adapt to the ultimate processing needs. The Nylopack team, headed by Pieter Rossouw, has been busy: it has overhauled all the company’s extruders, including some fairly old equipment, to the point where it is difficult to spot the difference between new and old … although there is no doubt that the three big co-ex lines are new, with current star of the show being the latest Multifoil co-ex film line, which can produce a 1200mm layflat film. Nylopack is co-owned by Rossouw and investor Theo du Toit, one of the veterans of the industry. Du Toit was one of the co-founders of East Rand Plastics, which at one time in the 1980s was the biggest tonnage material user in the country (ERP is now part of Transpaco group). Nylopack has been

One of the older extruders has been completely overhauled and is being used for the dedicated production of a proprietary ﬁlm

operating since 2012, when the partners bought a number of co-ex systems from Huhtamaki in Springs, after the Finnish corporation exited the multi-layer films market. All the machinery purchased then has either been fully refurbed or sold off. Du Toit has in recent years become one of the most active investors involved in the industry; he and his partners also own Plastiprofile (which operates from premises adjacent to Nylopack) and Venture Plastics, which the consortium recently purchased. There aren’t obvious synergies between the businesses, other than that all are among the industry leaders in their respective sectors. FSSC accredited Nylopack has recently gained FSSC (Food Safety System Certification) 22000 accreditation. The implementation of this food safety operational system was mainly at the behest of its customers, as accreditation to the standard meant they did not need to conduct individual compliance audits. It was a challenging undertaking for the 55-strong team involving virtually every aspect of the operation at the Roodekop plant. Now even the washing of the workers’ overalls is handled by a professional laundry service.

Nylopack MD Pieter Rossouw is happy with the highly effective parameter control achieved

Owl houses from recycled plastic bottles Bat houses and bee hives will also be manufactured from recycled plastic THE Owl Rescue Centre, a nonproﬁt company and rehabilitation facility in Hartbeespoort concerned with the well-being of all owl species in southern Africa, has come up with an innovative way to turn trash into treasure. The organisation’s founders, Brendan and Danelle Murray, decided that in future all Owl Rescue Centre conservation products, including owl houses, bat houses and bee hives would be manufactured from

recycled plastic instead of wood. The Murrays have started a scheme whereby members of the public can buy a large plastic recycling bag for R199, delivered to their door for free. When the bag is full, all the person has to do is send a Whatsapp to arrange for free collection and a replacement bag. The Centre is building its own shredder/granulator that processes the plastic bottles which are then moulded into owl houses.

To buy an Owl Rescue Centre Recycling Bag at R199 each, email info@owlrescuecentre.org.za. www.owlrescuecentre.org.za

JUNE / JULY 2018 9

News

PHOTOS: LOWRIE SHARP

The Chinese-built extruder uses mainly European componentry, which made the decision to purchase a little simpler. The system is capable of micro gauge tolerance control, with variation of ﬁlm thickness running at less than 7%

Pac-Rite goes co-ex KZN convertor gets into new markets with smooth running line from China

PAC-RITE, the KZN printed film and bag making business, has expanded its capabilities with the recent commissioning of an impressive coextrusion line. What started in 1994 as a virtual A-to-Z packaging supply business but which gradually transformed into a film manufacturing, printing and bag-making operation, thus now has another arrow in its sheath with the ability to produce three-layer films. The decision to move into the co-ex area was a natural progression for the Pac-Rite directors, Brian McCleary and Donovan Rayne, similar in essence to their decisions to start to extrude and then to print, which presented specific technology leaps. The PacRite bosses embarked on a venture to Chinaplas in 2017 to investigate co-ex possibilities and at first located a 10 JUNE / JULY 2018

machine which they considered ideal for spot. The line (the manufacturer of which remains undisclosed) was their requirements, only to be cautioned shipped out and commissioned within when it became clear that most if not months and is by now in smooth all the componentry was Chinese operation. manufactured with Chinese signage – “The main goal in other words, was to produce incomprehensible The transition to co-ex better quality films to the team at for our printers,” Mahogany Ridge. has also enabled said McCleary, Fortuitously, Uday Pac-Rite to participate in summing up the Shah of Vishva new markets and seen initiative. Plastic Exim of India film offers creative happened to be it grow its films and and intense colour on the scene bags output. print possibilities just then and and there is directed them to a intense rivalry in the print quality area potentially more suitable manufacturer between film convertors, with KZN whose machines used mainly German being the leader in SA’s flexibles sector componentry, including dies, air-rings, and hence the epi-centre of this onnips, extruders and controls. McCleary going competition. and Rayne made an instant decision The transition to co-ex has also and the deal was concluded on the

The Pac-Rite team includes Clint Jacobson, Donovan Rayne, operator Bukelani Mabaso, Brian McCleary (MD) and Anwar Hayath

enabled Pac-Rite to participate in new markets and seen it grow its ﬁlms and bags output. Pac-Rite has been supported in this new initiative by West African Group, supplier of the ExxonMobil Exceed™ and Enable™ metallocene LLDPE grades used. A wide range of the Exxon LLDPE grades exists and provision of the most suitable formulations is vital for the success of the convertor. Use of these materials has enabled

Pac-Rite to down-gauge, quite substantially in fact, with 3-layer ﬁlms which were previously being produced at over 100 micron and even 110µ now running at 70µ and achieving similar if not superior performance. According to McCleary, the line has allowed for a 30% improvement in overall performance in terms of output and quality. Pac-Rite also has lamination ability, so it is now competitive in virtually all areas of the ﬁlms and bags sector.

www.pacrite.co.za

The investment in the new co-ex line is Pac-Rite’s biggest venture so far JUNE / JULY 2018 11

Behind every morning jog is a water bottle filled with water to keep you on your feet, a pair of running shoes to give you an edge, and a toothbrush to keep your teeth sparkling when you flash a smile at your neighbours. Behind every morning jog is Protea Chemicals.

Industry Sector: PLASTICS

News

Job’s done while party’s still underway

Packaging World is printing

Packaging World owners Dean Gianni and Chis Burnard with the company’s new Miraﬂex printer, the main item in its big capex project

PACKAGING World took the decision to significantly expand its print capability in mid-2017 and less than a year later, got the project off to a flying start with the commissioning of its W&H Miraflex S flexographic printer. That was quite literally the case as it printed one of its first jobs in what could be an African record time: delegates attending the Image-to-Print Innovation Days in Durban in March visited the Packaging World plant in Westmead and were totally surprised when their farewell gift was a hot-off-the-press printed sample, including a photo of the group taken just over two hours earlier, presented to them while still enjoying the hospitality and the packaging manufacturing business’s impressively expanded plant. Packaging World’s Dean Gianni and Chris Burnard must have decided to set an image-to-print record and one part of this fast track was the need to crank the Windmöller & Hölscher Miraflex line to its nameplate speed – that of a very serious

SLENTITE wins 2018 German SLENTITE®, the high-performance insulation material from BASF based on PU aerogel, has received the 2018 German Design Award from the Design Council. The distinction was awarded for excellent product design in the Building and Elements category. The expert jury stressed particularly the varied opportunities that SLENTITE offers architects, designers and planners as a result of 12 JUNE / JULY 2018

its special product characteristics. The insulation panel, which consists of up to 90% air and is breathable, permits up to 50% slimmer insulation than conventional materials – for maximum efﬁciency combined with high esthetic standards. The chemistry behind the new highperformance insulation is unique: SLENTITE is the ﬁrst breathable aerogel to be produced as a solid polyurethane panel. Its outstanding

SoftBev bought by Ethos Capital

Guests were impressed with the quality of print Record print turnaround? – Delegates from the Image-to-Print Innovation Days in Durban in March were astounded during their visit to the Packaging World plant in Westmead, that photos taken of the gathering in front the new W&H Miraﬂex line were printed on ﬁlm before the plant tour reception was over. Some farewell gift!

… at speed

now offers a virtual A-to-Z for film and bagmaking, including lamination (it operates a Nordmeccanica line). Gianni, who has the distinction of being promoted one month and fired the next by a previous employer, a film manufacturer where he was sales manager, has followed an interesting path along the way. He ventured out of the industry before returning and putting his sales abilities to the test. Little surprises Gianni these days and his commitment to customer service has obligated Packaging World to undertake virtually all its production in-house. Co-director Burnard runs the factory and the results appear to be very positive. Packaging World yet again obtained BRC (British Retail Consortium) A rating accreditation earlier this year. www.packagingworld.co.za

Design award insulation performance is coupled with outstanding processing qualities. The clean, dust-free panels can be easily cut to size on site and applied directly to walls or coated beforehand. The German Design Award ranks among the most highly prestigious design competitions worldwide. This year the jury received over 5 000 submissions. “ www.basf.com

JUNE / JULY 2018 13

JUST BRIEFLY

400m/min – and even exceeding that. That had the W&H team in trepidation, as they recommend conservative operation of their machinery, and not exceeding the suggested speeds. Thankfully the printer ran perfectly on the occasion and most of the guests remained unaware that an attempt on an African land speed record was underway. The Miraflex C unit is regarded by W&H as its ‘Compact Class’ flexo printing system, offering easier accessibility and operation, developed in response to the market need for a narrow CI press able to run shorter jobs. It can print film up to 650 x 820mm. Packaging World has come a long way since the company set up in 1995, at first operating from makeshift premises adjacent to the Gianni home. At the outset the business functioned as a packaging supplier, contracting out both film production and print, but it has gradually expanded its services to the point where it

ETHOS Capital has acquired 100% of SoftBev, the beverage manufacturing business, from JSE-listed Bowler Plastics and the original founders. The acquisition, which is subject to several key conditions including conﬁrmatory due diligence, regulatory and Competition Commission approval, will strengthen the Ethos subsidiary The Beverage Company’s objective of building a truly African business of home-grown beverage brands, JSElisted Ethos said in a statement. Ethos bought Little Green Beverages, which has plants in Gauteng and East London in mid-2017. Beverage Company CEO Michael Benjamin said: “The acquisition of Softbev will enable us to offer a powerful, national brand portfolio to consumers. It is our second acquisition towards realizing our growth vision and will enable The Beverage Company to rapidly drive scale and efﬁciency. We see many opportunities from this planned acquisition, with our primary focus being to provide a greater choice of brands and wider product range. Furthermore, Softbev’s trade relationships complement and augment our current footprint, coupled with the continuation of a committed partnership with Pepsi, means that we will be better able to serve consumers.” Established in 2006 by entrepreneurs Lance Sheppard and Vimal Gowan, Little Green Beverages was acquired by Ethos Private Equity, Nedbank Private Equity and management in 2017. Benjamin was appointed at that time to lead the management team in driving a growth vision for the company. “Little Green Beverages has successfully been integrated under The Beverage Company umbrella complete with a new, dynamic and professional executive team to create a new corporate structure under which we intend to build a diverse portfolio of African heritage beverage brands together with internationally renowned brands. We are proud of our locallygrown, entrepreneurial heritage and commitment to world-class standards; we believe that the addition of Softbev builds on this legacy of nurturing local ‘hero’ brands and investing into innovation to meet consumer expectations,” added Benjamin.

News NCS Resins faces R29m competition fine UNSATURATED polyester resin manufacturer NCS Resins has agreed to pay a R29.7-million fine for alleged price-fixing and market division. The Competition Commission has referred the matter to the Competition Tribunal for approval. As part of its settlement agreement with the commission, NSC has agreed to cooperate with the commission’s investigation and the firm will set up a competition law compliance programme as part of its corporate governance policy. This agreement follows an investigation that was launched in July last year, which found that NCS had allegedly colluded with Scott Bader to fix the price of resins, ancillaries and catalysts and divide the market by allocating customers.

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Continental Compounders consolidates at Durban site

CONTINENTAL Compounders has moved its PP compounding operation from Pinetown to the company’s main manufacturing site at the Mariann Industrial Estate in Queensburgh, Durban. Up till now Continental has conducted only its PVC compounding activities at the site. Adjacent premises became available in the second half of 2017 and the Continental team saw the opportunity to shift the polyoleﬁns line over. The PVC and PP materials need to be processed and warehoused separately, but the move has enabled Continental to eliminate the need for duplicated services. The Mariann estate is close to the M7, one of the main links between Durban harbour and the N3 leading inland.

Swanson & Co buy Swan Plastics back from DAWN

THE minority shareholders in Swan Plastics – Mike Swanson and two other investors – have purchased the company, of which they were the former owners, back from DAWN group. An HD and PP pipe extrusion business in Prospecton, Durban, along with the pipe components injection moulding operation Swan Mouldings operating from New Germany, Swan Plastics was purchased by the JSE-listed Group 5 subsidiary DAWN (Distribution & Warehousing Network) in 2012. Swanson and partners recently decided to exercise an opt-out clause and purchase the 51% share of the company sold to DAWN. 14 JUNE / JULY 2018

The SIMA strapping production line at the Pro-Ten plant in Cape Town is a beast of a system spanning some 60 metres

Pro-10 strapping’s now available ™

PRO-TEN Strap’s strapping production plant in Cape Town is up and running and the ﬁrst batches of its Pro-10™ load-securing strapping have entered the market. The company’s new SIMA plant, installed towards the end of 2017, is now fully operational, says joint managing director Chandru Wadhwani. The Italian-built line appears to be the machine of choice for the world’s leading packaging strapping manufacturers. Pro-10™ is manufactured from either PET or PP. Up till now different systems were required to run PET or PP, but the new SIMA technology makes it possible to run either material on the same machine, sequentially, which is obviously a bonus for Pro-Ten. At present the line is running recycled PET, which Pro-Ten sources from associate company Extrupet, operating from the Propet site in Killarney Gardens. It is yet to manufacture the PP variant, which will require the use of virgin material. The Cape plant is ISO 9001-2008 accredited and as such the quality of the locally manufactured strapping at the very least compares favourably with imported alternatives. South Korean manufacturers have been dominating the global strapping market and very few other manufacturers have been able to compete, but Pro-Ten JMD’s Wadhwani and Vijay Naidu are conﬁdent that the Pro-10™ product will

be competitive. The Bidvest company Afcom was previously the SA’s sole manufacturer of both PET and PP strapping, but it exited the PET strap sector some years ago as it could not compete with prices of imports; it remains the largest local producer of PP strap. Strapping, being supplied on reel, is a relatively easy to trade internationally, and for Pro-Ten the possibility to export is hence realistic too. www.extrupet.co.za Pro-Ten is putting its Pro-10™ strapping to the ultimate test, for baling polyester staple ﬁbre … although far less of the strapping would sufﬁce to secure the load

News

16 JUNE / JULY 2018

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Transpaco Recycling consolidates at Jhb site

TRANSPACO Recycling has shut its site at Bronkhorstspruit and consolidated its recycling business at its operation in Elandsfontein, Johannesburg. One of the biggest non-PET recyclers of postconsumer LD and LLD in the Gauteng region, if not in Africa, Transpaco Recycling has been running the two sites for over a decade. This has resulted in duplication for the business and it was decided recently to take the difficult step of closing the Bronkhorstspruit operation, which in fact was originally Transpaco’s main recycling operation and was ISO 9001-2008 certified. The site in Elandsfontein, spread over about 10,000m² with approximately half under roof, was originally started by Sasol, when it was known as Recycling Plastics, and was bought by Transpaco from the conglomerate in 2006. The plastic recycling sector has become increasingly competitive over the last few years with tight margins. Other recyclers and collectors have begun operating in the area to the east of Pretoria and Transpaco consequently opted to consolidate rather than continue with the duplicated systems, such as weigh bridges and labs. Transpaco Recycling GM Jaco Breytenbach said the Elandsfontein site already had efficient processing systems; plus there was space to accommodate some of the Bronks machinery. A small group of the employees have moved over to the Johannesburg business, but about 90 were retrenched.

Plastic Concepts (Pty) Ltd celebrates

30+ years From concept to production

PLASTIC Concepts, specialists in the design and development of new products for the plastics industry, celebrate their 33rd anniversary this year. The company also offers toolmaking and injection moulding production facilities – a long way from their humble beginnings in a house in 1985! Richard le Roux, Plastic Concepts’ MD, explains that he started out by making ‘nil per mouth’ signs for a nursing home in Hillbrow. As business expanded, Plastic Concepts moved to a small factory in Selby where Richard bought his ﬁrst Dr Boy 15-ton injection moulding machine and also employed his ﬁrst staff member. “Today, 33 years later, we have eight Injection moulding machines and a full CNC tool room, as well as a 3D printer which has been an absolute miracle when it comes to making prototypes and small production runs,” Richard says as an Industrial Designer. ‘From concept to production’ is the motto that enables Plastic Concepts to offer its customers a ‘one-stop-shop’ – from conceptual design, prototyping and mould making, to production, assembly

Richard le Roux, Plastic Concepts’ MD with the rest of the Plastic Concepts team – celebrating 33 years of business

and packing. Plastic Concepts also ensures it stays ahead of the pack with continuing research and development. “We have been very blessed to have a reliable staff complement who have stayed with us through thick and thin, some of whom have been with Plastic Concepts for 24 years. Without them and our core values of hard work, reliable servicing and a reputation for going the extra mile for our clients, we would not be where we are today,” Richard adds. • Tel: 011 493 1286 / 011 493 2398, E-mail: pconcepts@mweb.co.za

Plastic Concepts technicians, Joshua Liswaniso, Theunis Schoeman and Titus Moganedi

ReichmansCapital_PlasticsComposite-06-2018.pdf

CMY

2018/05/29

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News

Thumbs up – Part of the delegation from PTT Polymer Marketing of Thailand who hosted the Polymers Solutions Seminar at the Hyatt Regency in Rosebank in May

PTTPM of Thailand puts full backing behind exports drive Thai delegation hosted by Emeraude Africa, Advanced Polymers IT WASN’T quite a Thai kick boxing festival, but the visiting delegates from polymers manufacturer PTT Global Chemical Group of Thailand put on an impressive show during the International Polymer Solutions Seminar they hosted in Johannesburg in May.

The event at the Hyatt Hotel in Rosebank on 10 May was co-hosted by PTT Polymer Marketing’s local partners, Emeraude group and distributor Advanced Polymers. It was also the 21st edition of PTTPM’s international polymers seminar (the Thai integrated petrochemicals manufacturer hosts the event at various locations outside of Thailand annually) and, man, it’s got

to be said, the Thai contingent were upbeat de lux! There’s certainly no harm in having some fun and getting to know customers in foreign markets and, it soon became apparent, the PTTPM team are fully up to speed with global polyoleﬁns market trends and were well informed about the Southern Africa market too, possibly even more so than many in the local market themselves. >>

PTT Polymer Marketing President, Pisutpunya Narongchai heartily greeted Brad Jay and Les Whittal of Advanced Polymers, the SA distributors Stephanie Cameron of Advanced Polymer, Glen Gosslin of Wizard Polyethylene and Rod Louw of Advanced Polymers 18 JUNE / JULY 2018

Wayne Wiid (Pioneer Plastics) with co-host for the evening, Trevor Moroney from Emeraude

News

Pollution problem solver – The new Biopolymer range of compostable grades from PTTPM are intended to help prevent problems such as this

With parent group PTTGC supplying an estimated 280,000 barrels of oil a day, the polymer marketing company has built on the springboard and is now a global scale polymers supplier with an output of approximately 1.95-million tons a year of its InnoPlus™ range of materials. It manufactures 67 grades of polyethylene (HD, LD and linear), including metallocene grades and rotational moulding grades, as well as polypropylene and polystyrene and, based on the thrust of the seminar and presentations, is very actively pursuing markets for all these materials. It supplies convertors in more than 100 countries and has international ofﬁces in Dubai in the UAE, Guangzhou and Shanghai in China and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, suggesting that it is particularly well established in the Middle and Far East.

The main focus at the Johannesburg seminar was to introduce PTTPM’s value added solution grades, these being: HDPE for Cap and Closures; LLDPE for Rotomoulding; Biodegradable (compostable) grades; X PURGE purging compound and Metallocene LLDPE as well as provide a global polymers market update.

20 JUNE / JULY 2018

‘PTTPM team is fully up to speed and well informed about Southern Africa market.’

Market trends According to PTT Polymer Marketing President, Pisutpunya Narongchai, prices for virtually all polymer materials are moving up now, tracking those of oil prices which have been moving up over the past year and breached the $70 a barrel level recently. This is at least partly a result of the global economic upswing, underway from mid-2016, he added. Pundits have previously played down the direct link

Lucky draw – The hosts of the seminar, Trevor Moroney of Emeraude and PTT Polymer Marketing President Mr Narongchai, presented Gordon Pieterse of blow moulder PND with the lucky draw prize on the night, an impressive smartphone kit

between oil and polymer prices, due to other factors in place, but the PTT presentation left no doubt that the prices of oil and polymers are following a similar trend at present. Global demand for polyethylene is expected to accelerate, from an estimated of 100 million tons this year to a projected 125 million over the next five years to 2023. Demand for HD is expected to grow at 4% but production is increasing at a lower rate, which indicates supply will remain tight. Main markets for HD are film/sheet at 28% and blow moulding at 25. HD demand in Africa is also set to increase at 4%, he added, with Egypt (19%), Algeria (18%), South Africa (17%), Nigeria (14%) and Morocco (12%) being the main markets. About 1,5 million tons of HD is expected to be imported into Africa a year up untill 2022. South Africa is also expected to import about 150 million tons/yr of HD at the current rate. Polypropylene supply is also expected to be short. PP remains the most consumed polymer globally with demand running at 65 million tpa in 2016, significantly ahead of HD (45 million/yr) and, surprisingly, PVC at

‘The Thai contingent were upbeat de lux! There’s certainly no harm in having some fun and getting to know customers in foreign markets.’

The new X PURGE™ purge compound from PTTPM totally cleans the barrel and screw in approximately a third, or less, the time that conventional equivalents used to date do; the material is suitable for all polyoleﬁns, PS, PVC and certain Engineering Plastics such as Nylon

42,5. Linear stands at 30 and LD at 23 million tons a year according to the PTT stats. Africa is expected to import about a million tons of PP a year, whereas South Africa remains a net exporter of PP. Linear consumption is growing at a slightly higher rate of 5% internationally, with ﬁlm and sheet accounting for 79% of consumption. Demand in Africa is slightly ahead of the global ﬁgure, which suggests that packaging use on the continent will continue on an upward trajectory. Imports of linear into Africa are expected to run at about a million tons a year, with about 100,000 tons expected to enter South Africa. BioPBS™ / Ingeo™ A variety of PTT’s materials are now available in ‘bio-based’ and

biodegradable forms, including, IngeoTM (polylactic acid) and BioPBSTM (bio-based polybutylene succinate, a biodegradable polyester resin). The Ingeo™ and BioPBSTM materials offer a different mechanical property. IngeoTM is similar to PS, while BioPBSTM is similar to PE. Additionally, a compound between IngeoTM and BioPBSTM could mimic a mechanical property of PP or PET, which is an important aspect of the new drive to offer the same material performance but in an environmentally acceptable way. PTT Global Chemical also owns 50% in PLA manufacturer, NatureWorks LLC, jointly owned by Cargill, a privately-held agricultural products corporation as well as in PTT MCC Biochem Co., Ltd. (BioPBS manufacturer), a venture by Mitsubishi Chemical of Japan producing

biodegradable renewable plastic materials. This initiative by the Thai material manufacturer comes in response to a visionary of becoming a Technologically Advanced and Green National Oil Company (TAGNOC). Local Representation The lines of distribution of PTTPM’s products were clearly deﬁned to Seminar Delegates, summarised as follows:

• Advanced Polymers: Metallocene LLDPE & X PURGE

• Emeraude: Cap and Closure;

Rotomoulding; GPPS & HIPS and Biopolymer

www.emeraude-international.com

‘Bio’ brands – Some of the global brands which have converted to using PTT’s bio and biodegradable grades

JUNE / JULY 2018 21

News

Cooke & Son celebrates

40 anniversary th

22 JUNE / JULY 2018

Product design and development, mould design specialists

partners in Professional Tooling Management (PTM), a cluster COOKE and Son Manufacturing, a well-known and respected of tool rooms which enables its individual tool room members injection moulding company in Pinetown KZN, has just celebrated to participate in projects which would be too large for any one its 40th anniversary. member to handle on their own. PTM gives the client a single The company, originally started by Peter and Richard Cooke in point of contact to place an order and direct all communication. 1977 as a partnership, converted to a closed corporation in 1987 Management of the design and construction of individual and has been operating at its current premises since 1988. tools is then controlled by PTM, which in turn keeps The company remains a family business with Steve the client updated on the progress. Cooke, a mechanical engineer by profession ‘Specialising Tool trials are run and the final moulded who joined the company in 1990, assuming the in technical product is manufactured using German role of managing director in 1995. One of the injection moulding, moulding machines from Arburg, ranging company’s strengths is its diverse customer from 25 to 300-ton clamp force. In 2006 the base. Components produced are used we have our own company embarked on a plant replacement in the automotive, electronics, industrial, design office in which programme which is still ongoing, although packaging, toy, and white goods sectors. product design & more than half of the machines have Specialising in technical injection moulding, development as well already been replaced with the latest the company has its own design office in as mould design are technology. Quality is ensured through an ISO which product design and development as 9001 quality management system for which well as mould design are carried out. In both carried out.’ accreditation was first achieved in 2005. cases industry-leading 3D CAD software is used Two years ago, the company invested in leading enabling quick and accurate designs which are mould flow analysis software from Moldex3D and this flexible and scalable to give the clients the best leverage in has further enhanced the quality of the tooling and mouldings by getting to market quickly with new products. identifying and avoiding problems at the design stage rather than These designs are realised with tool construction by Cooke and trying to rectify these after the first mould trial. Son’s in-house tool room. Cooke and Son is one of the equity Cooke & Son invested in leading mould flow analysis software from Moldex3D and this has further enhanced the quality of the tooling and mouldings

Tool trials are run and the ﬁnal moulded product is manufactured using German moulding machines from Arburg, ranging from 25 to 300-ton clamp force

Cooke & Son’s design ofﬁce carries out product design and development as well as mould design. Industry-leading 3D CAD software is used to enable quick and accurate designs

The software, while very accurate, is complex and has a steep learning curve. The company has run dozens of analyses and built up confidence so that it now provides a bureau service to other injection moulders at very competitive rates with a quick turnaround time. The software has enormous capability and in addition to all the usual outputs of flow pressure and temperatures, it can predict warpage as well as being able to analyse glass fibre reinforced materials. Complex tooling systems including hot runner and sequential gating are also possible and specialist tool materials such as beryllium copper can be incorporated into the analysis for accurate cooling calculations. “The company’s greatest strength, however, is its human capital and the company benefits every day from the experience and commitment of these long serving employees,” says Steve. www.cookeandson.co.za JUNE / JULY 2018 23

20% DISCOUNT OFF THE FIRST MOULD FLOW ANALYSIS FOR NEW CLIENTS –

OFFER VALID UNTIL 31ST AUGUST 2018

www.cookeandson.co.za

• PLASTIC INJECTION MOULDING • PRODUCT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT • PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Tel: +27 31 701 0155 | info@cookeandson.co.za |

• PRECISION MOULD DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION • MOULD FLOW ANALYSIS

Fax: +27 31 701 5197 28 Blair Road, Pinetown, 3610

News

In Johannesburg, FDB Consulting supplied three x 200-36 KU granulators and eight DS-50 dust separators, with cyclones and H-frame stands, plus eight regrind material bins with level sensors

The 25 ton outdoor modular silo, supplied and erected by FDB. The silo was installed including load cells for daily monitoring of material usage

24 JUNE / JULY 2018

FdB Consulting commissions Rapid machines in KZN & Gauteng TWO interesting Installations were carried out by FDB Consulting (Pty) Ltd in Durban and Johannesburg recently. The installation in Durban involved the supply of two Rapid 400-45 KU granulators with material towers to a new facility in Queensburgh, done in conjunction with the supply of a 25 ton outdoor modular silo, also supplied and erected by FDB. The silo was installed

including load cells for daily monitoring of material usage. The second supply and Installation was to a new facility in Johannesburg. Here, FDB Consulting supplied three x 200-36 KU granulators and eight DS-50 dust separators, with cyclones and H-frame stands, plus eight regrind material bins with level sensors. The installation also involved the re-

positioning and commissioning of two existing 300-45 KUB granulators with conveyors. All machines were connected to the new Venturi system which transports scrap and offcuts from production to the granulators. • Email, frank@fdbconsulting.co.za, Tel: 082-651 3315

Rapid Granulator Appoints New Distributor for South Africa Appoints New Distributor Rapid Granulator for South Africa

Effective from December 15th 2016, Rapid Granulator AB, the Swedish-based world leader in plastics granulation Effective fromhas December 2016,Consulting, Rapid Granulator AB, technology, signed15th up FdB Johannesburg, the Swedish-based world leader in plastics granulation as its sole distributors for the South Africa and Subtechnology, has signed up FdB Consulting, Johannesburg, Sahara Market as its sole distributors for the South Africa and SubSahara Market

Regrind Material Bin Regrind Material Bin

Bulk Bag Discharge Bulk Bag Station withDischarge 2 Ton Station Elec Hoistwith 2 Ton Elec Hoist

Representativeinin Africa Representative Africa We are Wethe arerecently the recently

CONSULTING (Pty) Ltdappointed Agents CONSULTING appointed Agents

Frank Blues Frank Blues Stronger than ever Engineering EngineeringDesign Design High value processing of films fibers in-house production scarp and wasted post scarp and wasted post in-house fibers PE, films processing High value PPS PP, PS,production materials: waste.ofFor consumer

consumer waste. For materials: PE, PP, PS, PPS

FDB Consulting ad '017 12.indd 86

Frank Blues Engineering +27 (0)82-651Design 3315 +27 (0)82 (0)82-651 3315 +27 651 3315 frank@fdbconsulting.co.za frank@fdbconsulting.co.za

for Labotek Material for Labotek Material feeding and Drying feeding and Drying systems

systems

2018/05/28 11:14

News

RPC Astrapak buys Spec Group

26 JUNE / JULY 2018

Control, ownership of managing own tool and die requirements a strategic objective for RPC Astrapak

RPC ASTRAPAK has bought Spec Group for an undisclosed amount subject, to the ﬁnalisation of certain conditions precedent which are expected to be completed shortly. In terms of the transaction, all three of the well-known businesses that make up the Spec Group – Spec Tool & Die, Spec Design and Spec Molders – will be acquired as going concerns. Three of the main shareholders – Dave Murgatroyd, Kenny Moore and Leanne Suarez – will be staying on along with the rest of their team, while Norman Hancock will be taking a well-deserved retirement, though he will still consult to the business from time to time. Durban-based Spec Group, which was established in 1991, is a household name specialising in the design, manufacture and repair of plastic moulding tools and dies and branched out into manufacturing with the establishment of Spec Molders in 2004. “Having control and ownership of the process of managing our tool and die requirements from concept to completion and thereafter maintaining them has been a strategic objective for RPC Astrapak for some time,” said Robin Moore, RPC Astrapak chief executive. Moore said the Spec Group was carefully selected for the acquisition based on their prowess and industryCNC toolroom at Spec Tool & Die

leading track record as one of South Africa’s largest independent and most innovative toolrooms through Spec Tool & Die and Spec Design. Their reputation is proven by the immensely successful partnership already demonstrated through the award-winning innovative designs achieved in conjunction with RPC Astrapak prior to this deal. “After 28 years of servicing the tool and die needs within the plastic packaging industry in South Africa, it is a proud moment for us to join forces with an international leader in the industry with whom we have an established and sound relationship,” said Spec Tool & Die founder and owner, Dave Murgatroyd. “We are conﬁdent that the foundation we have built will be used to build great value within RPC Astrapak.”

manufacturing team,” said Moore. “Not only will we be investing in the business to improve its capacity and capability and create a dedicated Innovation and design centre for RPC Astrapak, but we will be linking it up with RPC’s global network of 32 similar facilities to bring the Group’s innovation, engineering and expertise to the South African market, and in time the African market, as our expansion plans evolve. This is particularly exciting as RPC is a global leader in all plastic conversion technologies and this investment will allow our customers to ‘access RPC through RPC Astrapak’,” Moore added. Moore emphasised the importance of the synergy with RPC Group, noting that one of the key reasons that RPC has been so successful is its track record of innovation and speed to market using world-class technology, which RPC Astrapak is now in a position to access and emulate.

‘Spec Tooil & Die has an industryleading track record as one of South Africa’s largest independent and most innovative toolrooms.’

Spec Molders bring exciting new products and customers “Buying the Spec Group business provides us with a good moulding business, but even more importantly gives us our own inhouse design and mould-making capability, along with a very experienced management and

www.rpc-astrapak.com

An 8-cavity injection mould that Spec Tool & Die engineered

News

RPC Astrapak Chief Executive Robin Moore (centre) with the team at WDB Investment Holdings from left: Chief Investment Ofﬁcer Nicola Gubb, Chief Executive Faith Khanyile, Investment Executive Lizanne Prince and Investment Executive Melissa Naidoo.

The union of two unique pioneers – RPC Astrapak and WDBIH Astrapak will be ﬁrst internationally owned, empowered plastics manufacturer in SA Africa

28 JUNE / JULY 2018

IN a unique transaction between WDB Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd and RPC Astrapak, effective 1 June 2018, the coming together of two significant and well organised, professional and powerfully motivated companies to form an alliance, paves a pioneering path, this time in unison and within the plastic packaging industry. In terms of the transaction, WDBIH acquired 20% of local plastic packaging manufacturer RPC Astrapak for an undisclosed amount. As part of the transaction, WDBIH has made significant cash investment into RPC Astrapak which will be used to fund growth within RPC Astrapak. This transaction sets RPC Astrapak apart, in that it will be positioned as the first internationally owned and empowered major plastics manufacturer based in South Africa. In addition, the company is in the process of finalising a B-BBEE compliant ESOP (employee ownership scheme) which will take up a 5.01% interest in the company for the benefit of qualifying employees. WDBIH a strategic and transformational investor in its investee companies WDBIH, a 100% black owned and women-led organisation, has pioneered and championed the rights of women for over 22 years. The developmental arm

of WDBIH, which began its development micro-finance programme in 1991 through a Not for Profit organisation, which later fell under the WDB Trust, has sought to fight poverty and to give rural women the necessary resources to empower themselves. WDBIH, established in 1996, supports the programmes of the WDB Trust and seeks to be a strategic and transformational investor in its investee companies, creating a sustainable foundation to serve the vision of the WDB Trust which is mandated to bring about both economic upliftment and social advancement of poor rural women in South Africa. Over the past 22 years WDBIH has built up a portfolio of assets both in the listed and unlisted space with a gross value of approximately R6 billion for the year-ended March 2017. This portfolio is comprised predominantly of assets within the financial services, consumer (including FMCG), technology, media and telecoms (TMT) and diversified industrials sector. Over the company’s lifetime, WDBIH has repatriated in excess of R200 million to the WDB Trust to fund its development programmes. RPC Astrapak a global leader in plastic packaging RPC Astrapak are themselves pioneers in a different field. RPC Astrapak is a subsidiary of one of the global leading plastic packaging conglomerates; RPC Group Plc. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the parent company is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of plastic packaging with operations in 34 countries and annual revenue in excess

of £3 billion. “Having spent years in the industry, it is incredibly exciting to bring RPC – who are a genuine global leader in plastic packaging and understand the need and have a culture of enabling businesses to operate effectively in their local environments – together with WDBIH who are a well-respected, active strategic partner that have the desire and passion to understand and involve themselves in our industry and more specifically our company,” said RPC Astrapak chief executive, Robin Moore. “We are extremely excited at the new opportunities which lie on the horizon because of this historic deal and look forward to making a difference in the lives of everyone involved, but specifically women who have been neglected in mainstream industry and manufacturing. For our customers and the market in general, we believe that we have created something unique – direct access to international products and technology while still enabling procurement from an empowered supplier in terms of B-BBEE legislation.” WDBIH chief executive Faith Khanyile said: “WDBIH is excited to be a partner to Astrapak especially given the positive growth prospects of the business and the sector globally. We pride ourselves in being game changers in sectors such as this one where the participation of women at the various levels (shareholding and management) is still very low. We look forward to fulfilling our mandate of gender transformation through our board participation and working with Astrapak in achieving its overall transformation strategy.”

WDB Investment Holdings Chief Executive Faith Khanyile and RPC Astrapak Chief Executive Robin Moore at the WDBIH ofﬁces in Johannesburg.

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2018/05/29 14:10

News

Inkulu Plastics expands offerings and service Well-proven record for supplying quality pipes on time FOUNDED in 2014 by Gabriel Reddy, Inkulu Plastics set out itself the task of becoming one of South Africa’s leading HDPE pipe manufacturers. And this it has done. The company is now able to offer the SA market a range of small, medium and large bore HDPE pipes ranging from 16mm to 630mm, gas pipe speciﬁcally designed for buried installations and available in coils and lengths, as well as able to print company logos on promotional piping projects. Backed by Gabriel’s more than 30 years’ experience in the HDPE piping industry, Inkulu Plastics has developed

a well-proven record for supplying quality pipes on time, focusing on establishing and building partnerships with its suppliers and customers and delivering reliability and quality every time. Inkulu Pipes is a member of SAPPMA and has expanded rapidly as a leading supplier of small, medium and large bore HDPE pipes in South Africa, Botswana, DRC and Zambia. With well over 900 tons of pipe manufactured monthly, the company currently manufactures pipe from 16mm to 630mm, all of it SANS-ISO4427/ ISO4437 certiﬁed.

“Our policy is to use only the best virgin raw material available and focus on producing high quality products. We can also print names and company logos on promotional piping projects a great way to brand a company,” says Gabriel. Inkulu Plastics’ ISO 4437-certified gas pipe is specifically designed for buried installations in gas distribution applications and available in coils and lengths. “Manufactured in accordance with ISO 4437 standards, our gas pipe and fittings are quality tested throughout the entire production process to ensure their reliability and effectiveness for gas transportation,” says Gabriel. The advantages of the gas pipe are that it is maintenance free due to its HDPE properties, corrosion resistant, easy to install, is flexible with high impact strength and can be used in trenchless construction. The company operates seven lines of the most updated technologies in pipe extrusion lines. “Our expansion in a recycling/granulating system enables us to have total control of all firstgeneration HDPE material produced inhouse. We can successfully claim only virgin HDPE pipe grade material passes through our extruders,” Gabriel adds. Inkulu Plastics has also introduced its own fleet of trucks and trailers, with a 19-metre trailer to support long length pipes up to 19m. The company’s modern laboratory enables Inkulu Plastics to perform all related tests, specifically material analyses in- house.

www.inkuluplastics.co.za

Inkulu lab assistant Dikotsi Moloi conducting a pipe pressure test with the KZN company’s managing director Gabriel Reddy checking on progress. The pipe began to show signs of failure at 39-bar, quite a high pressure and considerably over the minimum required pressure level

30 JUNE / JULY 2018

Classifieds Jun/Jul'18.indd 92

2018/05/23 14:08

News Washplant manufacturer WIPA had two booths at the IFAT event in Germany. The company’s GM Patrick Wissing showed Jeff one of their mechanical dryers, which can also be used as a centrifuge/ intensive washer, with wet or dry material. When the machine’s rotor is spinning, the paddle tips are travelling at 80 meters a second, that’s equivalent to 288km/h

Zerma Africa now represents washplant maker WIPA

32 JUNE / JULY 2018

Zerma Africa gains momentum

JEFF Cawcutt of Zerma Africa attended IFAT Munich in May to partner with the company’s new washplant principal, WIPA. IFAT is a world leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management – areas which are becoming increasingly important in the highly competitive 21st century market, but also because resources utilized and produced in these sectors were largely overlooked before. WIPA, based in Stadtlohn, Germany, and established in 1994, manufactures recycling machinery and washplants for the treatment of post-consumer plastic

materials. The WIPA technology includes all the steps in the washing process, which are significant and include pre-washers; soaking tanks; friction washers; intensive cleaners; mechanical dryers; dry cleaning machinery; screw presses; plast-compactors (densifiers); thermal dryers; sifters; ballistic separators; guillotines, bale-breakers and silos specifically for light-weight fluffy materials. According to Jeff, WIPA has expanded in size and range at an impressive rate: “I believe WIPA are the most innovative and responsive washplant manufacturer in Europe today, and they are enjoying

enormous success globally. WIPA is at the forefront of new technologies and is very aggressively priced considering all manufacturing is in Germany. The size-reduction component of the washing process; Zerma shredders and granulators, is seamlessly integrated into the overall system as a turnkey supply by WIPA.” • Zerma Africa: info@zerma.co.za, Tel: +27 (0)11 234 0895 www.zerma.co.za

New prepolymer for PU cast elastomers LANXESS has developed Vibrathane 7085, a new, polyester-based prepolymer for hot cast elastomers. It has MDI end groups (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) and cures with 1,4-butanediol to polyurethane cast elastomers, distinguished by a low compression set and a high tear strength at hardnesses of 83 to 87 Shore A. The general purpose prepolymer can be economically processed under catalysis in short to medium pot lifes to produce elastomer solutions which cover a wide

range of demands. By using the catalyst, the reaction of the prepolymer with the chain-extender speeds up and parts can be demoulded faster. Pot life can be kept short at 90 seconds, but can also be extended to around 4.5 minutes, for example, to achieve uniform tool ﬁlling for more complex component geometries. The processor can also delay the post curing of the demoulded parts without degradation in tear strength, compression set or other mechanical properties of the ﬁnal elastomer product.

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2018/06/04 12:47

News

SA’s tyre recycling ventures reach an impasse Levy paid by tyre manufacturers and importers going to SARS, not the tyre industry SOUTH Africa’s tyre recycling initiatives have run into a cul-de-sac. After the first industry-sponsored recycling programme REDISA was terminated in mid-2017 due to charges that the body was insolvent (which REDISA personnel have refuted and contested), the Department of Environmental Affairs and its Waste Management Bureau invited tenders for other plans. Four plans were submitted and there was at first expectation that DEA/WMB would analyse these and award a contract. But there have been delays, not least because awareness of the complexity of the undertaking may have become apparent. Then DEA decided to hold public hearings in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town in May, possibly to make the process more transparent. The team behind the one plan, which involved pyrolysis, did not participate in the hearings. A second plan which also relied on pyrolysis did participate but appeared to be discounted as it was inadequate for the tonnage volumes expected to be processed. Nor could it realistically be considered to be an industry waste tyre plan as it lacked nearly all the characteristics such plans must have (read Government Notice 1148). Both these plans had the requisite BEE ratings, a prominent and essential feature of the entire venture which any successful candidate will have to fully implement. That left two plans in the tender process, SATRUCO and TWAMISA. The SATRUCO plan appears to fulfill some of the requirements, but the fact that one of its senior staff members is a director of the company that the 34 JUNE / JULY 2018

DEA appointed to carry out a review of REDISA which precipitated the DEA’s action against REDISA must surely raise concerns. The TWAMISA plan does appear to meet most of the criteria but the fact that it only deals with off-the-road (OTR) tyres (less than 10% of SA’s tyre scrap) means that it too cannot address the entire problem, although it could be a solution for OTR tyre scrap. It was confusing to see that SATRUCO presented slides that showed signiﬁcant changes in budget allocations, job forecasts and Board constitution, as well as indicating that, contrary to the published plan, it would deal with OTR tyres. The TWAMISA plan too presented signiﬁcant changes to its Job creation forecasts. The public was therefore being asked to comment on plans that have already changed from the versions published for comment, with no opportunity to understand the impact of the changes. Then, to further complicate the scenario, the Waste Management Bureau took to the stage at the Cape hearing and claimed that it had out-

performed REDISA (during its brief tenure) at one of the obvious tasks: that of setting up or using depots (most of which are in fact the ones established by REDISA) for post-use tyres and bulk transporting of casings. Although this was admirable, it’s surprising that this situation had arisen. Surely whatever venture is endorsed should cooperate with the WMB structures, as duplication would increase both costs and confusion? Tyre sector has effectively lost access to the funds that it is paying The background to the entire situation is complex. On the one hand, substantial funding was originally available to REDISA but, following the complaints against that organisation, the levy paid by the local tyre manufacturers and tyre importers is now going to SARS and not to the tyre industry initiative. The DEA directorgeneral reiterated at the hearings that the Department had no control over the ﬂow of these funds or access to these, which is exactly what happened with the plastic bag levy after the Buyisa-e-bag venture was liquidated (the allegations of being insolvent may have been accurate in that case). The fact that SARS and now DEA have stated regularly that these funds are not

‘It will be necessary for the management of any approved plan to access funds via DEA, which may prove challenging.’

‘ring fenced’ means that the tyre sector has effectively lost access to the funds that it is paying. It will be necessary for the management of any approved plan to access funds via DEA, which may prove challenging, particularly as the 2018 Budget slashed the medium-term expenditure forecast for tyre recycling from R210m – R245m in the 2017 Budget, to zero. The combined cost of the SATRUCO plan (which excluded OTR from its budget) and the OTR-only TWAMISA plan, for the ﬁrst year, comes to R957m. If that is not difﬁcult enough, there is as yet no recognised commercially viable end-product from the tyre recycling process, meaning that participants in this sector will be under pressure to correlate and justify their input costs. If anything, the Product Testing Institute at Koega near PE may have had the best chance to progress in this area. The setting up of the PTI was one of REDISA’s main achievements and the team of individuals assembled there could have succeeded in this challenge, which is akin to the

Holy Grail for the tyre industry globally. The team assembled at the PTI was multi-skilled and multi-cultural as well as BEE compliant, so why the detractors chose to overlook this development remains mysterious. We hear that many of the critics believed the centre was a hoax and even that it did not exist. It does exist and this writer is of the view that the PTI had the potential to make real progress in the scrap tyre area and even to put South Africa on the global map in this respect. The date for the completion of the tender process was 7 June.

JUNE / JULY 2018 35

MBT South Africa Distributors of Plastic Raw Materials Paul Gripper Carlotta Stafford Helga Ferreira Steven Coates Tiago dos Ramos Head office Cape Town

Trading Manager (Cape Regional Sales) (Zambia, Malawi and Lesotho Sales) (Gauteng, Zim, Moz, & Angola Sales ) (Gauteng, Botswana, Namibia & Swaziland Sales ) (KZN & Free State Sales) Johannesburg Office

www.mbtsa.co.za

082 456 6659 082 600 7403 072 573 4221 063 699 5105 082 775 5344 +27 (11) 455 2889 +27 (21) 556 7787

News Around 1 500 members and supporters of the South African Federation of Trade Unions took part in a march through Cape Town city centre in April to protest against the government’s proposed minimum wage (PHOTO: REUTERS/SUMAYA HISHAM)

National Minimum Wage – what does it mean for the plastics industry?

36 JUNE / JULY 2018

Will it uplift wages of poor, or work against the unemployed? THE proposed introduction of the national minimum wage (NMW) of R20 an hour or R3 500 a month for a 40-hour week has stirred up a virtual hornet’s nest of emotions and caused a delay from the 1 May implementation date. Organised labour represented by the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the National Council of Trade Unions wanted a minimum wage of R26 an hour. However, it settled for R20 an hour following protracted negotiations, with various stakeholders, over a two-year period. Some believe the NMW will uplift the salaries and wages of the poor to give them a more respectable income, while others argue it a national minimum wage would actually work against those who

What is the proposed national minimum wage?

• It’s set at a rate of R20 per hour • For a 40-hour working week, workers can earn a monthly fee of R3 500. That ﬁgure rises to R3 900 for those who work a 45-hour week. • Farm workers will get a minimum wage of R18 per hour – 90% of the national rate • The minimum wage for domestic workers will be R15 per hour – 75% of the national rate • Employees of expanded public works programmes will be guaranteed R11 per hour – 55% of the national rate Currently, minimum sectoral determination wages apply, but these will be abolished once the NMW is signed into law. The minister of labour set these sectoral determinations following recommendations made by the employment conditions commission. They are calculated based on whether one lives in a large metropolitan municipality and built-up area, or in a smaller

Wage Bill will be implemented after are currently unemployed and make it speaking with trade union federation harder for jobless South Africans to ﬁnd Cosatu’s central executive committee. work. According to TimesLive, Ramaphosa One of the main arguments is whether had a three-hour meeting with the union the NMW should apply to those who have to discuss issues been unemployed regarding the Bill, a for a long time. SA is struggling with an meeting which the South Africa is president deemed struggling with an unemployment rate of productive. unemployment 26.7% and if people who “On the rate of 26.7% and have given up looking for implementation of if people who have national minimum given up looking for work are included, that wage‚ where there work are included, number rises to 36%. are issues that still that number rises to need to be tweaked 36%, according to and crossed‚ Cosatu is going to be able to the SA Treasury. do that. But the process is moving ahead On Tuesday, 22 May, President Cyril with the full participation and support of all Ramaphosa announced that he was of us‚” said Ramaphosa to journalists. conﬁdent that the National Minimum municipality. However, this wage difference based on areas will not apply under the NMW. Labourguide.co.za adds that the calculation of the minimum wage will exclude: payments for transport, equipment, tools, food or accommodation. It excludes any payment in kind, or board and accommodation, bonuses, tips and gifts.

What if you can’t afford the NMW?

Ignoring the law could land you in hot water. When the legislation comes into effect, it is a law of the country, like any other law, and must be abided by. Workers will have the right to report any deviation from the law to their union and/or the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. Households already paying above the NMW will not be affected by the new law. However, those that can’t afford it may have no option but to terminate their employees’ service if they can’t afford the increase. As with most markets, when the price increases,

demand decreases, as it will cost more to procure within that market. The labour market isn’t any different and the minimum wage could impact on households’ decisions on whether or not to hire staff. Another option would be to reduce the number of working hours.

Why are South Africans opposed to minimum wage?

Some South Africans still see this as a wage only ﬁt for ‘slave labour’. Many employees could be limited to as little as R160 a day, and Cosatu – as well as other unions – see it as a legislation that will only enforce poverty in the country. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) says that a living wage is needed, rather than a minimum. A living wage would be considerably higher than R20 an hour and provide the lower working class with a salary that can sustain a family too.

What could this mean for the plastics industry The Plastic Convertors’ Association of South Africa (PCASA) recently

succeeded in establishing the Plastics Negotiating Forum (PNF). The PNF is an exclusive negotiating forum where terms and conditions of the plastics subsector are determined. The plastic industry main collective agreement requires employers in the plastics industry to apply a wage model in passing on increases to employees on 1 July 2018. The model is as follows: For the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, an across the board increase on the wage schedule equal to the yearon-year CPI March figure published in Grade

Current minimum wage rate 1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019

April 2018, provided that CPI remains within 6%-10%. However, should the published CPI headline figure be below 6% at that stage, the increase on the wage schedule will be 6% and should the published CPI headline figure at that stage be above 10%, the increase on the wage schedule will be 10%. It follows then that since the CPI March headline figure was below 6%, that the percentage increase on the minimum wage rate will be 6% to determine the rand value of the increase per hour, per category of employment. The increase is based on minimum wage rates and not on actual wage rates. Increase per hour

New minimum wage rate 1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019

R73.23

R4.39

R77.62

R59.82

R3.59

R63.41

R57.48

R3.45

R60.93

R51.03

R3.06

R54.09

R39.95

R2.40

R42.35

R33.69

R2.02

R35.71

R29.84

R1.79

R31.63

R26.48

R1.59

R28.07

JUNE / JULY 2018 37

Government is currently considering the National Minimum Wage Bill, the Labour Relations Bill and the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill which are expected to introduce the NMW. When the NMW does come into force, it will be applied to all employees, unless they are within one of the industries which have negotiated to pay below the minimum wages in the short term to avoid widespread job losses. Households employing domestic and farm workers will also not have to pay the NMW – at least initially. According to the NMW panel’s report to the deputy president, compiled by Treasury, certain groups of workers will have a longer phase-in to the NMW, including farm and forestry sector workers and domestic workers: In the first year, 75% of the NMW will apply, again with any adjustments having to be backed by evidence.

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News

LDPE carrier bags come out tops in Danish LCA

Highlights importance of design of the carrier bag and its functionality A RESEARCH study released earlier this year, “Life Cycle Assessment of grocery carrier bags”, a project by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food’s Environmental Protection Agency, state that the results of their research assessment highlighted the importance of the design of the carrier bag and its functionality. The research showed that in general, LDPE carrier bags, which are always available for sale in Danish supermarkets, are the carriers providing the overall lowest environmental impact. Since 1993, Denmark has taken action against single-use plastic carrier bags by introducing a tax on retailers. Currently, Danish supermarkets provide multiple-use carrier bags of different materials (such as recyclable and non-recyclable plastic, paper and cotton) which can be bought by customers at the cash register. The study provides the life cycle environmental impacts of the production, use and disposal of grocery carrier bags available for purchase in Danish supermarkets in 2017. In general, it was found that reusing the carrier bag as a waste bin bag is better than simply throwing away the bag in the residual waste and it is better than recycling. Recycling can potentially offer more benefits in the case of heavy plastic bags, such as PP, and PET. Reuse as a waste bin bag is most beneficial for light carrier bags, such as LDPE, paper and biopolymer. When reuse as a waste bin bag is not feasible, for example when the bag can easily be punctured, torn or wet, incineration is the most preferable solution from an environmental point of view. Three end-of-life options were taken into account for the disposal. In particular, the study wishes to: 1. Identify the best disposal option for each carrier bag type within the identified endof-life options; 2. Identify the multiple-use carrier bag alternative with the best environmental 38 JUNE / JULY 2018

performance for each of the investigated impact categories; 3. Deﬁne the number of times a multipleuse carrier bag would need to be reused in order to provide a better environmental performance than another carrier bag alternative, for a range of environmental indicators.

used as waste bin bags for climate change, should be reused at least 1 time for grocery shopping considering all other indicators; finally reuse as waste bin bag. • LDPE bags with rigid handle: Can be directly reused as waste bin bags considering all indicators; finally reuse as waste bin bag. • Recycled LDPE bags: Reuse for grocery shopping at least 1 time for climate change, at least 2 times considering all indicators; finally reuse as waste bin bag. • PP bags, non-woven: Reuse for grocery shopping at least 6 times for climate change, and up to 52 times considering all indicators; finally dispose with recyclables, otherwise reuse as waste bin bag if possible, lastly incinerate. • PP bags, woven: Reuse for grocery shopping at least 5 times for climate change, at least 45 times considering all indicators; finally dispose with recyclables, otherwise reuse as waste bin bag if possible, lastly incinerate. • PET bags: Reuse for grocery shopping at least 8 times for climate change, and up to 84 times considering all indicators; finally dispose with recyclables, otherwise reuse as waste bin bag if possible, lastly incinerate. • Polyester bags: Reuse for grocery shopping at least 2 times for climate change, and up to 35 times considering all indicators; finally dispose with recyclables, otherwise reuse as waste bin bag if possible, lastly incinerate. • Biopolymer bags: Can be directly reused as waste bin bags for climate change, should be reused and up to 42 times for grocery shopping considering all other indicators. Finally, re-use as waste bin bag if possible, otherwise incinerate.

‘In general, LDPE carrier bags are the carriers providing the overall lowest environmental impacts when not considering reuse.’

The project also took into account that reuse of the carrier bag could occur both as primary reuse (where the carrier bag is reused for the same function for which it was produced, i.e. for carrying grocery shopping from the supermarket to the home), or replacing other products as waste bin liners (secondary reuse). In particular, LDPE carrier bags with rigid handle are the most preferable. Effects of littering for this type of bag were considered negligible for Denmark. Heavier carrier bags, such as PP, PET, polyester, bleached paper and textile bags need to be reused multiple times to lower their environmental production cost. Between the same bag types, woven PP carrier bags provided lower impacts than non-woven PP bags. For all carrier bags, reuse as many times as possible before disposal is strongly encouraged. The study also calculated how many times each bag would need to be reused to lower its associated environmental impacts to the levels of the LDPE carrier bag. The number of calculated reuse times varies if only one environmental indicator is observed, or if all environmental indicators are taken into account. The results are the following:

• Simple LDPE bags: Can be directly re-

Britain’s new ‘plastic tax’ plans to obliterate unrecyclable material UK govt plans to supercharge costs of using non-recyclable plastics THE British government plans to make the cost of using unrecyclable plastics ‘so exorbitantly high’ that companies would simply conclude they are no longer worth it, but the measure is also intended to create a lucrative funding stream to pump into new recycling capacity for plastics that can be reused. It follows a string of announcements from environment secretary Michael Gove as he stakes out green issues as Conservative political territory, with campaigners encouraged to push for progress in other areas too. Ofﬁcials believe the real route to radical change on plastics is the new-look scheme being devised at Gove’s department. Since 2005, ﬁrms creating packaging waste have been obliged to buy a ‘packaging recovery note,’ or PRN, to offset the cost of dealing with it, with the charge acting as a small incentive to use greener packaging and money raised helping to fund recycling. But government insiders now want to supercharge the system, with manufacturers who use unrecyclable plastic forced to purchase PRNs that cost extreme amounts. “The fact that there are a lot of poor-quality plastics out there is an issue – these are single-use items, not good enough quality to recycle,” a government source said. “So the question is, how do you change that to move towards people using betterquality plastics that you can reuse? “A key way would be to make the cost of non-recyclable plastic – via PRNs – so exorbitantly high that it effectively drives it out of existence – it would mean that with the cost of it, it would not be worth using.” An example of products that could be subject to the higher PRN cost are food goods such as bacon or cold meats, or anything that comes in very thin plastic packaging.

UK government insiders now want to supercharge the system, with manufacturers who use unrecyclable plastic forced to purchase PRNs that cost extreme amounts

Social experiment documents how kids react to plastic pollution The change is being driven by the burgeoning use of unrecyclable plastic since China banned imports of plastic waste, leading to a desperate need for new UK recycling capacity. Beijing had imported some 7.3 million tonnes of plastic waste a year from developed countries including the UK. Its closure as a destination has seen waste piling up at British plants. Ministers want the plan to be ready by the end of the year when the government is due to publish its new waste and resources strategy. Other government announcements include banning plastic microbeads, a ﬁve pence plastic bag charge, which led to nine billion fewer bags distributed, the deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers and a ban on plastic straws and drink stirrers. Mr Gove has previously said that the success of the charge on plastic bags has showed people are willing to take a

ﬁnancial hit as long as the policy behind it works for the environment. At the time the government had just published its 25-year plan on environmental policy, which included consulting on whether further taxes and charges could be used to curb the use of plastics. But the new drive to use PRNs to wipe out the use of non-recyclable plastics is bound to face pushback from some industrial sectors, while there are also political dangers given the cost of the new system could potentially be passed on to consumers. A government source said: “If you speak to companies, people are moving in this direction anyway. The general trend of big business is towards better packaging, recyclable packing. “People know their consumers are concerned about it. So, there might be some issues with some businesses, but broadly speaking those in the packaging business are feeling they have to be more green and environmentally friendly.” JUNE / JULY 2018 39

Association News

Role of distributors go

mere transactional Rubber powwow at IOM Foundation Lecture

THE 34th edition of the Institute of Materials’ Foundation Lecture, held in Durban in April, was as per usual a salubrious affair with the witty André Cornelius of Orchem trying to justify the need for distributors in the industry … which undertaking, most will agree, he succeeded in. The actual title of Cornelius’ presentation was ‘The Value of Distributors within the Supply Chain of the Rubber Industry in South Africa’ and let’s just say that there are some, and maybe many, who don’t see the need for distributors – especially in the electronic age now days when it is relatively easy to trace manufacturers anywhere around the world. Cornelius, a chemical engineer, knows more about the role of distributors than most. He started his career at Bayer and then joined Carst & Walker up till 2006, following which he spent a three-year period in the ‘wilderness’ in the automotive industry before returning to the rubber supply sector at Orchem in 2009. He is now MD of the newly independent Orchem (now owned by Reda Chemicals). Cornelius got the show at the Coastlands Umhlanga Hotel off to a humorous start as he described the more subtle aspects of creating a sustainable distribution business. There are several models for ‘direct selling channels’ IOM chairman Jaco Smith presented the William Sage Medal to André Cornelius after his presentation. The medal, named after one of the individuals most involved in the early development of the rubber sector in South Africa in the early 1900s, is presented to the person giving the IOM³ Foundation Lecture each year

Former presenters of the Foundation Lecture at the get-together in Durban included Stuart Browning of S&N Rubber (2008), Ken Barnes of Protea Polymers (2014), Ron Dunwoodie of Carst & Walker (2006) and Avril Botha of ContiTech (2016)

and these have been highlighted by Michael Dell of the USA, but in Africa the role of material distributors has been long practised in the rubber sector in Africa, mainly due to the fact that a lot of the materials used are imported. According to Cornelius, the “interactions between distributors and manufacturers take place beyond mere transactional exchanges and so contribute towards the development of relationships and to trust and commitment”. “These relationships grow with repeated exchanges,” he added. But seriously, given factors such as availability, exchange rate fluctuations, logistics and others, not to mention that of the dreaded credit crunch, Cornelius could just as easily have pointed out that distributors play a vital and indispensable role in the manufacturing sector and most convertors rely heavily on them. Following the presentation, Cornelius received the William Sage Medal, a finely crafted casting, for his fine effort. Some luminaries have been recipients of the medal over the years, with the first being the evergreen Tony Hesp, in ’81. His title was ‘Economics: South Africa and the Polymer Industry’.

IOM young person’s lecture event in PE in October THE Institute of Materials Southern Africa will be hosting this year’s Young Persons’ World Lecture competition in Port Elizabeth on Thursday 11 October 2018. It’s anticipated that 12 to 14 international competitors will be vying

for this world title in this year’s edition of the prestigious competition. In the past it’s been hosted in Australia, Brazil, England, North America, Ireland and Hong Kong. South Africa hosted it approximately nine years ago and now

it’s coming back to our shores. SA has a good record in this youth competition, with Cornelis van Niekerk (2013) and Raphael Smith (2014) being previous winners.

40 JUNE / JULY 2018

Assocation News.indd 40

2018/06/07 08:09

‘beyond

exchanges’

Some very interesting presentations have been made over the years, with the most recent having been by Barry Lye (IOM³ London, 2010), Dr Chris Woolard (UCT,

The speaker was mobbed by women after the event … well, nearly. Wendy Knott-Craig, the organiser of the bash, and Kerry Kirkman of Orchem, who is succeeding Jaco as national chairman of the IOM, congratulated him

2012), Ken Barnes (Protea Chemicals, 2014) and most recently Avril Botha of ContiTech/Veyance Technologies Africa in 2016. • Sponsors of the event included Alpha Technologies UK, Nuvo Rubber Compounders, H&M Rollers, Carst & Walker, MonTech Rubber Testing Solutions, Multotec Rubber, ContiTech Africa, Karbochem, Orchem, S&N Rubber and West African Group. Among the delegates at Coastlands were Grant Rosettenstein of West Africa Group; Jack and Muriel Doherty, formerly of WAG, and Hector McDonald of Nuvo Rubber Compounders JUNE / JULY 2018

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Clive Robertson clive@rotoflo.co.za Clive Robertson clive@rotofl o.co.za Michael Böltau tech@rotoflo.co.za Michael Böltau tech@rotofl o.co.za Clive Robertson clive@rotoflo.co.za Andrew Robertson tech@rotoflo.co.za andrew@rotoflo.co.za Andrew Robertson andrew@rotofl o.co.za Michael Böltau Chanda Mukuka sales@rotoflo.co.za Chanda Mukuka sales@rotofl o.co.za Andrew Robertson andrew@rotoflo.co.za Chanda Mukuka sales@rotoflo.co.za www.rotoflo.co.za www.rotofl o.co.za 28 Hilston Road 28 www.rotoflo.co.za Hilston Road Kya SandsRoad Kya Sands 28 Hilston Randburg, Johannesburg Randburg, Johannesburg Kya Sands South Africa South Africa Randburg, Johannesburg South Africa

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LaPlastecnica 2018/06/07 08:09 2017/09/19 11:02

Association News

SA PET industry hits new high

42 JUNE / JULY 2018

65% recycling rate on par with international standards DESPITE tough trading conditions and a 13% fall in the total PET market, the South African plastic industry recycled a record 2.15 billion PET plastic bottles in 2017, setting a post-consumer recycling rate of 65% to put the country on par with international standards. According to national industry body PETCO, the 93 235 tons of collected PET exceeded the industry target of 58% for the year 2017 and created 64 000 income-generating opportunities for waste pickers, collectors and recyclers, saving 578 000m3 of landﬁll space and 139 000 tons of carbon in the process. PETCO said the 3% year-on-year increase in tonnage (versus 90 749 tons in 2016) was particularly signiﬁcant against the backdrop of the political and economic instability, volatile exchange rates and industrial strike action, which had affected some of the major industry players in 2017.

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According to the organisation, water shortages in the Western Cape had seen an increased consumer demand for bottled water during the latter part of the year, which grew the waste volumes available for recycling in this region. PETCO chief executive ofﬁcer Cheri Scholtz, said the organisation was thrilled with the latest ﬁgures, which demonstrated both the industry’s commitment to recycling and the economic value of post-consumer PET in the circular economy.

Since the organisation’s incorporation in 2004, a total of R2.3 billion has been paid by contracted recyclers to collectors for baled bottles, with a total of 609 306 tons of PET recycled to date.

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“Through the remarkable network of people, companies and organisations we work with, 5.9 million PET bottles were collected for recycling across South Africa every day during the

course of 2017, creating thousands of income-generating opportunities for small and micro-collectors, and changing their lives and those of their families in immeasurable ways.” Scholtz said PETCO members paid a voluntary recycling fee on every ton of raw material purchased, which funded their efforts and supported a sustainable recycling industry. Since the organisation’s incorporation in 2004, a total of R2.3 billion has been paid by contracted recyclers to collectors for baled bottles, with a total of 609 306 tons of PET recycled to date. This has saved more than 900 000 tons of carbon and almost four million cubic metres of landfill space. PETCO chairman Casper Durandt, who is also head of technical for Coca-Cola’s South African franchise, said the organisation’s accomplishment could not have been achieved without its dedicated partners. “They have made extraordinary contributions to the recycling of post-consumer PET in South Africa, thereby enabling PETCO to expand Plastic picker! PET collector Violet Selota of Thinana Cooperative surveys a mountain of PET plastic bottles collected on behalf of PETCO, the national body responsible for PET plastic recycling in South Africa. A record 2.15 billion bottles were collected and recycled in 2017

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2018/06/07 08:10

with 2.15 billion bottles recycled our collection network, build relationships with recyclers, seek new opportunities to develop and support entrepreneurs, and ultimately grow our recycling tonnages.”

Not trash! Phillip Julius (front) and another Cannibal Glass employee prepare to process post-consumer PET plastic bottles. According to national industry body PETCO, a record 2.15 billion bottles were collected and recycled in South Africa in 2017, which equates to 65% of all those produced JUNE / JULY 2018

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www.petco.co.za

Responsible production! National industry body PETCO announced that a record 2.15 billion PET plastic bottles were collected and recycled in South Africa during 2017. The organisation is responsible for fulﬁlling the PET plastic industry’s mandate of extended producer responsibility (EPR)

2018/06/07 08:12

Association News

Technology

on wheels

at Plastics|SA

www.plasticsinfo.co.za/training

Festo provided fully equipped ‘classroom on wheels’

AS WITH any service or product being sold in a highly competitive industry, training and skills development are increasingly becoming more personalised to suit the unique needs of their markets. In step with this global development, Plastics|SA has for some time now offered personalised learning programmes and training modules for customers who specifically request a modified version for their staff. One such a recent example was the training offered to Pretoria-based Venture Diversified Products – a multi-faceted plastics manufacturing and design company that specialises in extrusion, vacuum forming, blow moulding and injection moulding. “Venture asked us to customise a one-year learning programme for them, comprehensively covering all aspects of knowledge, practical skills and workplace experiential components of the Injection Moulding Machine Setter Occupation,” explains Kirtida Bhana, training executive at Plastics|SA. Venture Plastics enrolled 13

learners, including unemployed graduates, in the programme which began in February 2018. “We believe in providing our learners with world class skills for their practical and theoretical training. For this reason, we devise very comprehensive training plans for our students, which include partnering with other service providers who specialise in various offerings as the need arises. Owing to the fact that knowledge and an understanding of pneumatics and hydraulics were vital to this group of learners, Plastics|SA called upon the assistance of Festo – a leading, global supplier of automation technology and the performance leader in industrial training and education programmes,” Kirtida said. Living up to its international reputation for service and product excellence, Festo provided a fully equipped “classroom on wheels”, which remained parked at Plastics|SA’s premises for the duration of the training. “The Festo Mobile Mechatronics Lab

Venture enrolled 13 learners, including unemployed graduates, in the programme which began in February 2018

(MML) treated the students to a highlyengaging experience, allowing them to interact with technology used in today’s advanced manufacturing environment. Both the students and the trainers thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the traditional training environment and being trained in this high tech mobile classroom. Not only did they derive the benefit of excellent theoretical grounding and lively group discussions, but they also got to experience firsthand the modern marvel of today’s advanced manufacturing facilities – clean environments filled with skilled professionals operating all kinds of mechanical, electronic, and computerbased systems,” Kirtida concluded.

Plastics|SA clean-up crews are race veterans

44 JUNE / JULY 2018

11 consecutive years of clean-ups A dedicated Plastics|SA clean-up team consisting of more than 100 workers from informal settlements around Cape Town once again worked tirelessly to ensure the race routes used for the 2018 Cape Town Cycle Tour and Mountain Bike Challenge were kept clean and litter-free. Under the guidance of John Kieser, sustainability manager of Plastics|SA, this was the 11th consecutive year that the team was responsible for the area cleansing and waste management of the road race and the 7th year that they were also given responsibility for the Mountain Bike Challenge. Owing to the water shortage in Cape Town, cyclists used more energy drinks in multi-layered sachets. Kieser reported that the littering of this material was notably larger than in previous years. As a result, their ﬁnal sweep of the race route on the Monday after the Cycle Tour, took much longer than usual. With the support of waste management company WastePlan, more than 10 truckloads of waste consisting mainly of energy drink sachets and other high value plastic waste was collected and removed for recycling.

www.plasticsinfo.co.za

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Association News

Plastics industry helps SA save water,

deal with impact of drought As a nation facing the impact of drought and water shortages in many of our provinces, more than any other material, plastics have been relied upon to assist South Africans in dealing with the drought and accompanying water shortages. “Our industry has been presented with a unique opportunity to be innovative and to meet very real needs that exist in the marketplace, and I’m proud to say that we are delivering with excellence”, says Plastics|SA, Executive Director, Anton Hanekom. “Never before have we seen such a high demand for a wide variety of plastic products – whether it is for pool covers, water tanks and storage containers, plastic pipelines, artificial grass or bottled water”. According to Charlotte Metcalf, CEO of the South African National Bottled Water Association (SANBWA), the increase in use and demand for bottled water has also underscored the importance of recycling PET bottles. “Because of the convenience of PET bottles to collect, save and consume bottled water, we have seen a marked increase in the amount of 5-litre bottles entering the market in recent months,” she says. Bottled water suppliers such as Aquellé and Bené Water have gone one step further to help Capetonians. Aquellé embarked on a two-day journey from its KwaZulu-Natal head office to donate almost 30,000 litres of bottled water to the elderly and infirm in the city. Similarly, Bené Water delivered truckloads of natural spring water for the desperate animals in the Cape as part of their efforts to bring relief to the water scarce city. Another example of a plastic product that has been in high demand in the Western Cape is water tanks. According to Grant Neser, MD of JoJo Tanks, the extent and intensity of the demand in this province has come as a surprise to their company. “Traditionally, the Western Cape was the smallest market for our tanks. Today, we are supplying more than ten times our long term average. We have to supply tanks from our eight factories around the country and transport tanks from as far afield as Pietermaritzburg and Groblersdal to address the ever increasing backlog for tanks resulting from demand significantly

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exceeding installed capacity in this geography,” Grant says. Trying to do their part to assist the country cope with the drought, Grant says JoJo Tanks have not increased the price of their tanks in the Western Cape relative to other provinces. They have, however, expanded their product range to include backwash tanks for swimming pools, accessories for rainwater harvesting and municipal back up and greywater harvesting solutions. Neil Collier, Operations Manager of Alplas Plastics in Killarney Gardens, just north of Cape Town, says Alplas uses injection moulding as its primary conversion process to convert raw material into high-precision, moulded articles. “Our biggest sellers have been our 10 and 13 litre water buckets, bowls, and our big water bottles that are available in 11.4 litre or 18.9 litre capacity. We have also introduced new products such as a laundry basket and laundry bin in response to our Western Cape customers’ demand for increasing our houseware range,” he says.

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46 JUNE / JULY 2018

‘Never before have we seen such a high demand for a wide variety of plastic products’

www.plasticsinfo.co.za

Grant Neser of JoJo Tanks Neil Collier of Alplas Plastics

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2018/06/07 08:13

Association News

New radio and TV adverts for

Plastics|SA

PLASTICS|SA has released a series of new radio and television adverts in which it addresses plastics litter found in the marine environment. “Never before has the issue of plastics in our oceans received so much attention on a global scale. Plastics|SA signed The Declaration of the Global Plastics Associations for Solutions on Marine Litter, also known as the ‘Joint Declaration’ in 2011. According to this declaration, we are committed to doing everything in our power to help protect our marine life from plastic and other packaging materials which are threatening their natural habitats and therefore also their survival,” explained Plastics|SA’s marketing & communications executive, Monya Vermaak. According to Vermaak, The Blue Planet II inspired the new campaign – a nature documentary series on marine life in which naturalist Sir David Attenborough highlighted the growing problem of litter found in the oceans. The adverts will broadcast on various DSTV channels and selected radio stations over the next few months to ensure maximum coverage. The campaign has also been adapted for printed media and will be shared on Plastics|SA’s various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.You can view the advert on www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRKRX-yrfA8 www.plasticsinfo.co.za

IMO fights against marine litter THE International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s long track record of engagement in the ﬁght against plastic marine litter was reinforced last year, when its governing Assembly of Member States placed the issue of marine plastic litter from shipping on the agenda of its leading environmental technical body, the Marine Environment Protection Committee. IMO Member Governments have been invited to submit concrete proposals about developing an action plan on the subject to the Committee’s next meeting, in October this year. During the week of 29-31 May, the IMO is participating in the Ad Hoc Open Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics at the UN Environment headquarters in Nairobi. This group was established by the United Nations Environment

Assembly to further examine the barriers to, and options for, combating marine plastic litter and microplastics from all sources, especially land-based sources. Discharging plastics and other forms of litter into the sea from ships has actually been banned by an IMO regulation, legally binding on all ships, for some 30 years. The so-called MARPOL Annex V entered into force internationally in 1988 and, today, more than 150 countries have signed up to it. In addition, countries party to another IMO instrument prohibiting dumping at sea (the London Convention/Protocol) earlier this year raised concerns regarding the disposal of ﬁbreglass reinforced plastic vessels at sea.

48 JUNE / JULY 2018

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Chile set to become first American country to ban plastic bags

JUNE / JULY 2018 49

( ) Discharging plastics and other litter into the sea from ships has been banned by an IMO regulation for some 30 years

• Official Distributor in Southern Africa for BASF

on TPU Elastollan® Thermoplastic Polyurethane

• Official Distributor in Southern Africa for Elastron on TPE, TPV Elastron® SEBS and EPDM/PP

• Official Distributor in Southern Africa for CGFSE on FSE® Fluoroelastomers and Perfluoroelastomers

• Distributor for Weifang on Weipren CPE • Suppliers of EPS, Various Grades • Engineering Polymers • Polyolefins • Reworked and Repaletised Materials ®

Assocation News.indd 49

2018/06/08 09:02

Association News

Plastics|SA’s training division News of new learning programmes, qualifications and digital certificates welcomed PLASTICS|SA’s Training Division recently hosted a series of wellattended information sharing breakfasts at its regional offices in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban to provide details of exciting new learning programmes that it will soon offer. “Plastics are an important part of the country’s manufacturing sector. It is therefore critical to ensure that we have the correct skills in place to sustain our growth over the next few years to come,” said Plastics|SA’s training executive, Kirtida Bhana, while stressing the importance of offering relevant, up-to-date learning programmes that address the changing needs in the plastics industry. According to Kirtida, these annual get-togethers offer their current and potentially new customers the ideal opportunity to become familiar with the training division’s offering, culture and values, whilst the training teams are on hand to answer any questions regarding accessing funding, course content or tailoring courses to their specific needs. Improving local content input and output During the past financial year, Plastics|SA successfully trained more than 3 000 learners. Whilst the most popular learning programmes

Isaya Ntuli of Plastics|SA, Matshidiso Phala of Merseta, Moatli Matthews of Productivity SA and Kirtida Bhana of Plastics|SA

are those centred around the actual manufacturing processes (with quality and safety programmes being part of these), the training division also launched a National Certificate in Production Technology (NQF2) and Generic Management (NQF5) last year. Another important step forward is being able to run scheduled pipe and profile extrusion programmes at each of their regional offices, using their newly acquired extruders. Apart from theoretical grounding, students are now also equipped with much-needed practical experience in extrusion, blow moulding, injection moulding and the various plastics fabrication welding techniques. “We were also in the fortunate position to be able to send some of our trainers overseas to be up-skilled and trained in the latest techniques. They brought this expertise

back to South Africa and developed local course materials in line with international best practices,” Kirtida confirmed. New training offerings introduced in 2018 Statistics for the past three years suggest that training spend has increased steadily year-on-year owing to the fact that companies are realising the value that trained staff add to their businesses. To keep up with this demand and to expand its service offering, Plastics|SA is now offering various new learning programmes that were developed specifically with the local training needs in mind. These include: • Scheduled pipe and profile extrusion programme ~ After acquiring new pipe and profile extruders in all three factories nationally, these specific extruder programmes have now become part of our Scheduled programmes. • Production Technology NQF L2 ~ Since the technology of production goes hand in hand with the actual process technology, this offering is absolutely critical in addressing

Isaya Ntuli of Plastics|SA presents Sune Honeyborne of Duraline who won the training voucher during one of the presentations 50 JUNE / JULY 2018

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production related skills gaps.

• A national certiﬁcate in Generic Management NQF L5

~ This is an exciting new offering

that is in the pipeline for the new financial year starting in July 2018. Learners that have Supervisory Management NQF L4 are looking for progression. The Generic Management NQF L5 is the next step for these progressive learners. • Various online training options for soft skills ~ These will be available for all levels of the workforce including office-based staff and not just factory staff. Other news of forthcoming programmes include the new Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Materials Engineering in Polymers that will be offered at TUT as from 2019, as well as a new threeyear Setter Trade Qualification (the first ever plastics-related

trade) launching later this year and will be offered by Plastics|SA.

Association News

hosts information sharing breakfasts Digital certification Keeping up with modern trends, Plastics|SA started issuing learners with digital certificates instead of hard-copy certificates as from the 1 April this year. One of the biggest benefits of going digital is that it negates the need for printing of hard-copy certificates which have to be collected, posted or courierdelivered to a client’s premises. It also allows clients to always have access to learners’ certificates via the virtual ‘vault’ created for each client. “Plastics|SA creates an original, digital certificate for each learner which is uploaded into an online ‘vault’ – a user-friendly cloud platform from where these certificates can be viewed, e-mailed, printed or downloaded for easy reference,” Kirtida explained. www.plasticsinfo.co.za/training-2/

MerSETA CLO presenter Siyabulela Sibotoboto with Isabelle Brettenny of Plastics|SA Western Cape JUNE / JULY 2018

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2018/06/07 08:15

Association News

Are you geared for the Fourth

SA manufacturing industry must enhance supply chain of new generation, young skilled people By Tok Grobler

Dirk van Dyk, CEO of the National Technologies Implementation Platform (NTIP), with Dan Andrei (RGC Engineering), and Richard & Lynette Modry (JSR Engineering)

Bob Williamson (chairman of the Production Technologies Association of South Africa, PtSA) with Chantelle Phillips (chairman of the PtSA Gauteng region) and John McEwan (CEO of PtSA)

Phumlani Mngomezulu of Directech, Je’Maine James (NTIP), Aurelio Grech-Cumbo (NTIP Board), Ilse Karg (dti), Thierry Alban (Revert The National Magic Initiative Intersectorial Coordination Unit) Dan Andrei RGC Engineering, Hester Gyzen and Jake van der Kolk of Fine Banking Group

THE advent of the disruptive fourth Industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, has made it imperative for the South African manufacturing sector to take a hard look at future skills development capacity and alignment in the production environment, says Dirk van Dyk, CEO of the National Technologies Implementation Platform (NTIP). Addressing members of the manufacturing industry at the NTIP National Office in Pretoria, Van Dyk pointed out that Industry 4.0 represented a confluence of new automation concepts in the production environment that will require the development of new innovative production technologies deployment in industry, as well as a supply line of skilled artisans, technicians and engineers to apply the new disruptive technologies to the advantage of the SA economy. “It is impossible to foresee all the changes that will characterize manufacturing in the future, but many trends are already apparent and technological and skills development will have to follow these trends to succeed in the future production environment. A new generation of multiskilled employees who are masters at problem solving, multi-tasking, teaming and collaboration will therefore be driving the success of the newage manufacturing operation” said Van Dyk. “To face the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution, South Africa will have to produce sufficient people with applicable skills sets to successfully operate in the future production environment. Where will these people come from?” Van Dyk said the South African production industry needed to enhance the supply chain of new generation, young skilled people by fathoming out the talent from the local human resource pool of more than three million and skill them in the application of new disruptive production technologies. “The country boasts sufficient talented labour. If South Africa can properly skill them it has the potential to attract major manufacturing opportunities and industries to SA. The country therefore has the potential to become a destination of choice for manufacturing.” “We will, however, have to move away from the old skills development approach to a new generation system that produces people that are better skilled in new technologies, business and processes. The NTIP skills development programme has thrown old stagnated conventional concepts out of the window and has started to develop a new radically changed modular approach with continuous competency certification from scratch. The new skills development model is not an apprenticeship but rather a hybrid model where clusters of diverse partners (existing skills institutions, industry and advanced centres with state-of-the-art equipment and teaching capacity) provide the theoretical and practical training (with the assistance of highly advanced Centres of Excellence) and industry provides on-the-job training and employment opportunities for the newly skilled workers.” “The NTIP is currently expanding the advanced manufacturing sector solutions required for skills and enterprise development in the local production technologies industry as part of the Future Production Technologies Initiative (FPTI). It is a successful partnership model between

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A new generation of multi-skilled employees who are masters at problem solving, multi-tasking, teaming and collaboration will be driving the success of the new-age manufacturing operation

52 JUNE / JULY 2018

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2018/06/07 08:15

Industrial Revolution? PHOTOS: Lowrie Sharp

industry, training institutions and government and offers a tested student selection, recruitment and support system. The training modules of the modernised curriculum are flexible and offers from basic to engineering skills in the tooling and machining industry with Industrial Maintenance, Robotics and Automation solutions under development.” Van Dyk says it is clear that the NTIP has succeeded in creating highly innovative industry driven solutions that can sustainably be expanded to position South Africa’s Advanced Manufacturing sector for the 4th Industrial revolution. Hannes Venter (Mpumalanga Tooling Initiative), Bevan Davis (Conver-Tek) and Graham Bolon (Durattract Plastics) Nico Claassen of DG Capital gave a presentation about the services his company can offer relating to automotive incentives, government incentives, trade finance, Insurance services, forex & cash management and corporate finance

Richard & Lynette Modry (JSR Engineering) with Clyde Erasmus of Laser Mould & Die JUNE / JULY 2018 53

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SAPY Advert 2018.indd 86

2018/05/21 11:52

Association News

uncompromising on high manufacturing standards … even if it runs the risk of losing long-term members through expulsion fully compliant to all relevant standards and speciﬁcations, to promote and ensure ethical business activities in all areas of operation and to ensure that the SAPPMA mark is used to clearly differentiate between quality producers and others,” Venter said. The association reports that they have not hesitated to act against members who were found guilty of taking short-cuts or failed to meet their standards during various announced and unannounced factory audits. “Due to enormous expenditure on research and development by polymer manufacturers, modern pipe grade materials have such excellent properties that it is now impossible for any pipe engineer to ignore them. This is highlighted by the dominant market

position of plastic pipe in just about all pressure water and gas pipe as well as sewerage applications. However, the plastic pipe industry is also facing growing temptation to cut corners for the sake of saving a few Rands. A combination of factors, such as the failure of the SABS, the big gap that exists between supply and demand, margins have come under pressure and rising raw material prices, have exasperated this problem with HDPE pipe in particular,” he explained. However, SAPPMA remains resolute in its decision not to lower standards or to turn a blind eye when members are found guilty of non-compliance, even if it runs the risk of losing long-term members through expulsion. JUNE / JULY 2018

www.sappma.co.za

THE Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) has reiterated its insistence that only top quality pipes manufactured by members who adhere to the association’s Code of Conduct and who meet the stringent quality standards, will be allowed to bear the SAPPMA mark. According to Jan Venter, SAPPMA’s Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, board members have taken a conscious decision during a recent strategic planning session, to sharpen their focus on quality and to take a no-nonsense, uncompromising stand when it comes to pipe manufacturers who fail to comply or are found guilty of misconduct. “It has always been SAPPMA’s mandate to ensure that our members only produce and market top quality products that are

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Assocation News.indd 55

Port Elizabeth AcRystex

Delene Williams Glen Kedikiloe

sPesIN 041 626 484 1030 3390 (T) 011

glen@rawmac.co.za

Delene Williams,

2018/06/07 08:16

People

Improved packaging performance, will be trends shaping packaging Need to act with increased environmental awareness ITB Manufacturing, recently acquired by printing giant Novus Holdings, has grown into a formidable company supplying a wide range of ﬂexible packaging products. From humble beginnings in 1983 as a family business to today, with a client base of over 400, we take a closer look at the person behind ITB’s success, the Isithebe company’s managing director Tim Stewart. Inspired by watching his father, the late Barry Stewart, build a packaging and manufacturing company, Tim has always had an uncanny interest in plastics and packaging. “Packaging 40 years ago was predominantly cotton, calico, hessian and paper based. Today we are at the cutting edge of manufacturing and producing innovative packaging materials,” says Tim. “Polymer to extrude ﬁlm became commercially available

during the 1960s and the technology to blow ﬁlm, cut and seal plastic bags was only in its infancy when I started at the business.” After school Stewart worked at Durban Bag Company where Barry was MD. The opportunity to see exactly what it took to build a company in the manufacturing industry was the spark that Stewart needed to enter the fray. “I completed my B Comm in Economics and Business Management at the University of Natal in 1979. It was in October 1983 when the opportunity to start ITB as a family business appeared and by March 1984 production had commenced. The ﬁrst product that rolled off the production line was heavy-duty sacks for fertilizer and animal feeds,” says Stewart, his passion for the industry clearly evident by his smile as he fondly recalls the past.

‘If it’s worth doing, do it right’ says Tim Stewart of ITB

56 JUNE / JULY 2018

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lightweighting films industry But what does the future of the packaging industry look like? Exciting technologies and changing attitudes about the environment will revolutionise the packaging and manufacturing industry, Stewart believes. “Technological improvements in polymers and extrusion processes to achieve improved packaging performances and the lightweighting of films will be one of the next trends shaping our industry. Companies in this sector will also need to act with increased environmental awareness and implement better solutions to improve the threat that comes from pollution,” he adds. To keep abreast with the latest developments in the industry, Stewart clears his diary for visits to international trade shows.

“Being at shows gives us the opportunity to invest in the best film extrusion and converting equipment in order to stay ahead of the curve.” But it isn’t just the industry he is passionate about. It is also people. “I love working with clients: From scoping out the challenge he/she may have to delivering a solution. This is a shared passion that is evident in all of the ITB leader group, and produces fantastic team spirit and energy.” Stewart enjoys mountain biking, cooking, traveling and spending time with friends and family when not at work. His parting words of wisdom? “Business is for fun and for profit; make sure you are getting at least one or the other (but aim for both!) If it’s worth doing, do it right. Learn from all mistakes and don’t make the same simple mistake twice.”

New supplier to flexibles sector Sabre starts SABRE Equipment, a new equipment supplier mainly to the flexibles market, has been started by Floors Coetzee, with its head office being in Durban but operating nationally. Coetzee, a qualified millwright (electro-mechanical technician), has been involved in equipment supply to the extrusion and printing sector as well as the supply of a range of ancillaries and consumables to this sector for an extended period, most recently at Ferrostaal. Sabre has been appointed as the SA agent for Reifenhäuser of Germany, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of a complete range of plastic extrusion Floors Coetzee’s machinery. Sabre has in fact recently completed company Sabre the sale and commissioning of one of the biggest Equipment is focused Reifenhäuser film lines installed in South Africa to date on the flexibles and packaging sectors at a leading converting operation. It is also handled the commissioning of a Polyrema yarn extrusion line (also from Reifenhäuser) regarded as one of the most sophisticated lines of this nature in the country. Besides the above, Sabre represents Soma, Edale, Daco corona supplies, Frigo System, ALT aniloxes, Plastcontrol and a few others. It also recently added BD Plast, for semi-auto screenchangers, GT sleeves and Tectonic plate mounters. • Sabre is represented in the Western Cape by Marna Bothma, 064 582 1218. Sabre, phone 082 819 6275 JUNE / JULY 2018 57

We supply a complete range of polymers including: • Polyethylene (HD, LD, LL & MLL) • Polypropylene (PP) • Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) • Polystyrene (GPPS; HIPS & EPS) • Polyethylene Terephalate (PET) • Engineering Plastics • Masterbatches and Additives

Global and local expertise • Emeraude is a committed polymers distributor providing integrated solutions & services worldwide • Emeraude has been distributing polymers for over 30years • We have operations in 86 countries and local presence in 15 countries

Contact

Office: +27 11 704 4327 (Southern African branch office) Trevor Moroney: 072 224 4221 trevor@emeraudetrading.co.za Martie Weitsz: 083 265 7978 martie@emeraudetrading.co.za Lance van der Merwe: 082 901 0477 lance@emeraudetrading.co.za

www.emeraude-international.com

People

On the move

58 JUNE / JULY 2018

Lucky Naidoo is back in the industry, having joined MDM Manufacturing in Johannesburg. Formerly a part owner of a crate manufacturing operation, Lucky sold his shares in the business in 2012, departed the industry and moved into the automotive sector as co-owner of a garage. But the lure of moulding beckoned and he recently returned, joining MDM in Germiston. The company is involved in both blow moulding (for containers from 30ml-1 litre) and injection moulding, in which respect it has machinery from 20 to 550 tons clamp force. It manufactures display stands, swing tabs, levelling feet, paintballs, ﬂexible tubes (LD) and other technical components. It also manufactures its own tools.

Untitled-4 1

Andrea Goldsmith, Duncan Brown and Ramon Scheepbouwer have joined ExxonMobil Middle East/Africa. With over 20 years of experience in Plastics and Chemical industry, Andrea has recently joined ExxonMobil Chemical. Andrea will be part of the team providing professional support in logistics, planning and back ofﬁce administration. She is located in Johannesburg.

Steve Coetzee has an Ace up his sleeve once again

Gianni Nosenzo is back at Dunlop Industrial Products in Howick. He had moved up to the Reef and was one of the founders of Cycliq, the plastic bed base manufacturing business in Wadeville. He is now role at DIP involves. Clement Makoro has joined PailPac in Pinetown. Formerly one of the trainers at PlasticsSA in KZN, Clement ventured up to Pretoria in 2016 and joined Motherson, the auto components moulding business in Rosslyn, but he was beckoned back to Durban by Pailpac earlier this year. Patricia February has been appointed as Project Coordinator at the Polystyrene Association for its rapidly growing Breadtags for Wheelchairs Project. Patricia will be based full time at the Association’s ofﬁces in Stellenbosch and will be responsible for providing administrative support, managing the queries from collectors and coordinators as well as oversee the logical process of getting the polystyrene collected to recyclers who are based around the country. To contact the Polystyrene Association, call (+27 72 820 2506 or +27 87 087 0418) or email Patricia@polystyrenesa.co.za

Patricia February has been appointed as project coordinator at the Polystyrene Association

Neil van Niekerk has rejoined City Plastics. Hannes Geldenhuys, one of the founders of Africa Tanks, the large container blow moulding business in Cullinan east of Pretoria, has left the business. Roy Padayachy has joined MCG Industries as operations director, replacing Bobby DaMalis who has retired. Steve Coetzee has restarted Ace Plastic Services, the machinery supply and ﬁeld service business which he originally established in 1988. The company had been mainly dormant from 2008 until earlier this year while Steve was involved with a multinational machine supplier, but he recently decided to exit the corporate environment and is now happy to be working as an independent operator once more. “We are now autonomous and free to assist on all makes of machinery, including Toshiba machines, which have been our forte for many years,” said Brakpan-based Steve.

2018/02/07 11:09

Sun Ace further improves its quality standards rating The SASA management team was pleased as punch with the company’s success in the standards accreditation process

Process motivates Jet Park team SUN ACE South Africa, the leading manufacturer of PVC stabilizers, metallic soaps and specialty additives, has further advanced its quality standards accreditation rating. The Jet Park, Johannesburg, company, recently achieved ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 as well as OHSAS 18001:2007 accreditation. The ISO (International Standards Organisation) standards apply to quality assurance and standards compliance, and the OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard) standards programme is part of an international certiﬁcation for quality management in the manufacturing sector which applies internationally.

The process at Sun Ace South Africa was managed by BSI (British Standards Institution) South Africa and was both an overall standards improvement process and motivational experience for the SASA team, including the company’s management and production team. “At Sun Ace we believe it is imperative that we protect our people and stakeholders in all that we do, plus taking care of our environment. These certiﬁcations are an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of the entire team. While we celebrate this achievement, we continue to strive for excellence and improve on the way we work,” said Terence Hobson, MD of SASA.

Team Plastics Accent/Schaldor win ‘ﬁfth’ major Team Plastics Accent/Schaldor won the recent Plastomark Invitational and were congratulated on their good form by Plastomark MD Wolfgang Raffalsky (right). The winning team, with Zelda Vikos of Plastomark (left), included Anton Buchner (also Plastomark), RickusJanse van Rensburg of Accent and Deon Becker and Martie Becker of Schaldor. The competition, played at the River Club in Johannesburg on a glorious autumn day, was the 16th edition of the Plastomark event

JUNE / JULY 2018 59

BLE S A I R L ME RE R FO PER

SAME AGENCY SAME AGENTS FOR 15 YEARS

CONTACT

LES PORTER Cell: +27 83 255 9865 Tel: +27 11 762 5231 E-mail: spark@mweb.co.za 11:09

Middle East

Growing the market for Saudi-produced SBR Renewed interest in evalu ation of new petrochemical projects

BY NIALL MARSHALL

IN JUNE 2018 Saudi Arabian women will finally be allowed to drive in their own country, for better or worse (certainly worse for many of the chauffeurs employed by families to drive women around). The 2010 census estimated there were 800 000 chauffeurs employed in Saudi Arabia, by 2017 CNN reported the number had grown to 1,4 million, Saudi roads will never be the same. The announcement that women would be allowed to drive was generally welcomed in the country, certainly by the younger generation, and definitely by the motor companies who expect an increase of up to 50% in new car sales. And more cars mean more tyres! One of the most important polymers used in the production of tyres is SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), the largest volume elastomer (or synthetic rubber) produced globally. Although most SBR produced is used in tyres, it is also used in conveyor belts, industrial hoses, gaskets, footwear, adhesives, sealants and latexes. More than half the world’s SBR production is in Asia, specifically China, South Korea and Japan, also the world’s largest producers of tyres. Historically the Middle East and Africa have accounted for less than 2% of global SBR production, equally split (in volume) between Iran and South Africa (although the recent unfortunate developments at Karbochem change this scenario), but a new interest in synthetic rubbers in the Middle East mean new players are entering this market. Investments in synthetic rubber capacity in the Middle East is not really linked to

changes in driving laws in Saudi Arabia, but it is a happy coincidence for these plants that there will be an increase in local demand for the polymer. The largest synthetic rubber producer in the region is Sabic at its Kemya plant which is a joint venture with ExxonMobil. This plant, which produces 400 000 tons of various synthetic rubbers including 100 000 tons of SBR as well as polybutadiene rubber (BR), EPDM and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), was commissioned in 2017. Until now there has been no tyre production in the GCC, but with about US$2,6 billion being spent on tyre imports in 2016 – more than half of this by Saudi Arabia – the availability of SBR in the region makes domestic tyre production an attractive proposition. Earlier this year National Tire announced plans to build a US$1 billion tyre manufacturing plant in Jubail capable of producing 16 million passenger vehicle tyres and 6 million radial truck or bus tyres per year with production expected to start in 2020. Sabic is not the only company interested in producing synthetic rubber in the region. Aramco’s PetroRabigh site has recently commissioned its Phase II expansion which includes plants to produce ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) and TPO (although not SBR or polybutadiene). Aramco, the Saudi oil company which has in the last few years been moving beyond reﬁning into petrochemical production via joint ventures with Sumitomo (PetroRabigh) and Dow (Sadara), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian oil and polymer company Sibur to evaluate a synthetic rubber joint venture in Saudi Arabia. In fact, Aramco is already a major

player in the global synthetic rubber market via its ARLANXEO joint venture with Lanxess established in 2016. ARLANXEO is the largest producer of synthetic polymers in the world with production sites in nine countries (although none, yet, in the Middle East). Just over the Red Sea the Egyptian polyethylene producer, Ethydco, has issued a tender for the construction of a 36 000 tpa polybutadiene plants which is also planned to come on-line in 2020. The production of synthetic rubbers, particularly polybutadiene and SBR, requires butadiene as a monomer, and there are not many producers of butadiene in the Middle East. Both Sabic and Ethydco produce butadiene which they will use for their synthetic rubber production, but the recent volatility in prices and availability in the global butadiene market has demonstrated the risk of relying on imported monomer especially for new projects. It is therefore likely that any further investments in synthetic rubber production capacity in the Middle East, speciﬁcally for polymers using butadiene, will be attached to petrochemical projects producing butadiene. While no such projects have been announced, there is again some renewed interest in the evaluation of new petrochemical projects notably by Adnoc in Abu Dhabi and Sabic and Aramco in Saudi Arabia. New projects mean new jobs. With the continuing drive in Saudi Arabia to create jobs for Saudis and to allow women into the workplace more jobs will result in more people driving to work every day, consuming their tyres, and growing the market for Saudi-produced SBR.

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2018/06/07 08:20

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Design

Recycled plastic as Working with recycled plastic offers unlimited design opportunities

Parley for the Oceans. A NEW generation of sustainably minded designers is pioneering For his graduation project at Design Academy Eindhoven in ways of using recycled plastic as a raw material, as concern over 2013, Netherlands-based Dave Hakkens built his own pollution increases, according to Amy Frearson of Dezeen, an plastic recycling machine. He then made the online design magazine. plans available online and invited others to An increasing number of designers are exploring alternatives. construct their own machines and share the Not only does recycled plastic offer a more sustainable solution, it results via his website. is a material that is often free to source and can be produced in a Four years later, the Precious Plastic wide range of colours, patterns and textures. machine has been adopted by more than 200 “It’s an amazing material, in terms of the things you can do with designers worldwide. This global community it, and it lasts super long,” said Dave Hakkens, a Dutch designer creates a wide range of products – from who works almost exclusively with recycled plastic. Bob Vos and jewellery and textiles, to ceramics Alessandro Iadarola, founders of sustainable design brand and homeware – and sells them Polimeer, agree. through online retailers such as “Working with recycled plastic offers unlimited Bezar. design opportunities, because of the variety of “It’s an amazing Both Ecopixel and polymer compounds and processing techniques material, in terms Polimeer have also that can be used,” the pair told Dezeen. of the things you can been experimenting with Many types of plastic are easy to recycle innovative techniques for and, if processed correctly, can offer just as do with it, and recycling, in a bid to promote many possibilities as virgin plastic. According it lasts super long.” reused plastic as a luxury to Jan Puylaert, designer and co-founder of material. furniture brand Ecopixel, these types of plastic are At Ecopixel, Puylaert has so readily available that there is really no reason to developed a range of colourful stools manufacture new plastic. that are similar in pattern to terrazzo. The Over the past few years, a number of well-known designers brand has also launched a daybed designed by and brands have been promoting the vast potential of recycled proliﬁc Italian designer Alessandro Mendini, patterned ocean plastic. UK studio Studio Swine used the material to create with blobs in a wide spectrum of shades. Design brand furniture and decorative objects, while Australian designer Brodie Ecopixel worked with proliﬁc Italian designer Alessandro Neill worked with it to create what he calls ‘ocean terrazzo’. Mendini on this recycled-plastic daybed. Adidas is among a number of brands that have been Similarly, Polimeer’s Vos and Iadarola have developed a promoting use of ocean plastic in design. Similarly, Adidas, material they call Polymarble, which is a recycled plastic with a G-Star Raw and Stella McCartney have all used the material in marble pattern. fashion collections – in partnership with environmental initiative

62 JUNE / JULY 2018

Australian designer Brodie Neill works with recycled ocean plastics to create what he calls ‘ocean terrazzo’

Sustainable design brand Polimeer works almost exclusively with recycled plastic and has been experimenting with innovative techniques for recycling in a bid to promote reused plastic as a luxury material

a luxury material Furniture brand, Ecopixel, manufacture a range of colourful stools that are similar in pattern to terrazzo. The brand has also launched a daybed designed by proliﬁc Italian designer Alessandro Mendini

UK studio Studio Swine use recycled ocean plastics to create furniture and decorative objects JUNE / JULY 2018 63

Netherlands-based Dave Hakkens built his own plastic recycling machine. He then made the plans available online and invited others to construct their own machines and share the results via his website. Five years later, the Precious Plastic machine has been adopted by more than 200 designers worldwide

Materials

First commercial use of Luran S KR 2864C processed by singlestage ColorForm technology

64 JUNE / JULY 2018

Cost-efficient alternative to traditional painting INEOS Styrolution’s Luran® S KR 2864C styrenic grade has been selected by a leading global car manufacturer for a windscreen pillar body trim. This represents the first commercial application of Luran S KR 2864C with the new ColorForm technology. Luran S KR 2864C is a high-grade polymer with enhanced heat resistance and the best chemical resistance among the ASA grades. Automobile component manufacturers will find that Luran S KR 2864C processed with the ColorForm technology can provide a more costefficient alternative to traditional painting and at the same time offering enhanced properties. The ColorForm technology developed by KraussMaffei is a liquid in-mould painting of the thermoplastic body material. The paint is injected directly between the mould and the part surface. No second work step is needed. The ColorForm process streamlines painting

and hardening into one. For automotive manufacturers seeking safer and more economical manufacturing of multicomponent elements, ColorForm sets new standards in terms of efficiency. Taking advantage of polyuria from PANADUR GmbH eliminates the need for mould release agents, resulting in a significant reduction of the process interval periods. Manufacturing costs are lower and work waste virtually eliminated because of a drop in reject rates. The superior surface aesthetics of the final solutions allow for new designs while improving productivity and sustainability. Customers receive completely refined components, high-gloss and surface-textured products directly generated from the tool and completed without separate repolishing. Luran S KR 2864C

used with the ColorForm technology is extremely scratch resistant because of the polyurea coating and the result also ensures longer-lasting quality and sustainability.

www.ineos-styrolution.com

Every biker would love to live out of this suitcase HEPCO & Becker GmbH, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality luggage systems for motorcycles, has put its many years of experience into a new side bag called the XCEED. The top loader’s design is based on high-quality anodized aluminium and the impact-resistant Makroblend UT6007 plastic from Covestro. The plastic is used for the base of the case, which weighs only 4.5kg, the housings of the lid and case lock as well as the edges of the lid and the case body. The handles of the lid as well as accessories such as canister and drinking bottle holders are made of a PC and PBT blend. Makroblend UT6007 is also particularly resistant to typical motorcycle fluids such as oils, greases and fuels as well as cleaning and maintenance products. In addition, matte, finely grained surfaces can be injection moulded without any defects and they complement the aluminium look very well. Good flowability and dimensional stability are another advantage of the elastomer-modified thermoplastic. They ensure that the partly filigree geometries are precisely reproduced, for example in the area of the locks, and that the complete case – it has a capacity of 38 litres – fits precisely into its support and the installation environment.

www.covestro.com

Exports its extensive product range to over 30 countries VISHVA EXIM, one of the leading manufacturers and exporter of plastic processing machinery, has introduced a range of specialised bag-making machines. The machines include: • Wicketers, to manufacture round and square bottom bread bags • Grape bag machines, to manufacture bags with a ziplock for grapes and other food items • Zipper side seal machines, to manufacture side seal bags with a ziplock that seals the bag at the top

• Patch and loop handle

machine, a multi-purpose machine which can make patch handle and loop handle bags

• A high-speed ﬂying knife

bottom seal machine with two servos to increase the speed and

accuracy of the machine

Vishva Exim, established by Uday Shah in 2007, has expanded from a company with just four employees, to 80 staff in 2018 and a turnover of US$3 million a year.

Vishva Exim exports its extensive product range to over 30 countries - from monolayer to multilayer extruders, ﬂexo and roto gravre printing machines, all kinds of bag-making machines, slitting machines and auxiliaries for the plastics industry. • To learn more about Vishva Exim’s products, watch the video on the company’s website on plasticbagmakingmachine.video or www. vishvaexim.com or email info@vishvaexim.com www.vishvaexim.com

JUNE / JULY 2018 65

Presents

RANGE OF BAG MAKERS WE WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR LATEST MODEL OF PATCH HANDLE SIDE SEAL MACHINE. HIGH SPEED MACHINE WITH BETTER ACCURACY AND LOW MAINTENANCE.

MORE THAN 50 INSTALLATIONS IN 3 YRS

VELOSS 800S – PATCH HANDLE SIDE SEAL MACHINE SPEED: 250 BAGS/MIN Side sealing: www.plasticbagmakingmachine.video

THE TYPE OF BAGS THAT CAN BE MADE: 1. Patch Handle Bags 2. Die Cut / Handle Punch Bags 3. Postal Bags 4. Simple Side Seal Bags 5. BOPP – Bread Bags

WWW. VISHVAEXIM. COM

Equipment

Specialised bag-making machinery from Vishva Exim

Materials South Africa’s rail manufacturing industry, supported by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is on a major national project to reinvigorate the country’s rail network and wider rail industry

Scott Bader launches FST brand Crestaﬁre in SA ®

Crestafire resin & gelcoat systems designed for demanding EN45545 & EN13501 rated applications SCOTT Bader, a leading global manufacturer of composite and adhesive products, launched their new FST (Fire, Smoke and Toxic fume) brand Crestafire® at Africa Rail from 12-13 June at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. This was the first time Scott Bader exhibited at this established rail industry event. A presentation on ‘Scott Bader’s Crestafire high performance resin and gelcoat systems for demanding rail applications’ was made by Neil Gray, global market manager for FST performance products. “We were excited to launch Crestafire at this year’s Africa Rail. This event provided the ideal platform to introduce Crestafire to

the South African rail industry,” said Gray. He will be joined by Matthew Major, commercial director of Scott Bader South Africa. Matthew commented: “Scott Bader South Africa is excited in its ability to locally manufacture and supply leading edge global FST technology in support of the newly invigorated South African rail manufacturing industry - an initiative that is a catalyst for growth and transformation in South Africa.” Crestafire covers all products that offer fire, smoke and toxic fume performance for manufacturing fire retardant composite parts to global standards required. The extensive Crestafire range includes: fire retardant gelcoats and intumescent topcoats; fire retardant structural

adhesives; a variety of fire rated open and closed mould, pultrusion and filament winding resins, compatible with glass, carbon and aramid fibre reinforcements. The products work together to offer a complete fire retardant system. Crestafire products are widely used in many building and construction, passenger rail, and land transport applications. Demand for Crestafire products within the marine industry has also increased. Scott Bader’s Crestafire resin & gelcoat systems are designed for the most demanding EN45545 & EN13501 rated applications. www.scottbader.com

66 JUNE / JULY 2018

A versatile plastic for glasses POLYCARBONATE is an ideal lens material for corrective eyeglasses and sunglasses: It is lightweight, impact resistant, durable and comfortable. However, not all polycarbonate for eyewear applications is created equal. Covestro has developed special lens-quality grades of its Makrolon® polycarbonate which are characterised by excellent optical properties, high mechanical strength, toughness and comfort. When original equipment manufacturer Jiangsu Sigo Optical Co decided to upgrade the polycarbonate material used for its corrective and sunglass

lenses, it turned to Covestro Makrolon polycarbonate resins for improved optical purity and production yield. For corrective lenses, Jiangsu Sigo Optical uses Makrolon DP1-1821 polycarbonate, which is formulated speciﬁcally for the ophthalmic market. Available in clear tints, the material offers a number of advantages for corrective lenses including high optical purity, transmission and scatter resistance and UV stabilisation. In processing, the material is distinguished by its high viscosity and easy release from the mold. For outdoor activities, sunglasses provide UV protection, impact-

resistance and style. Makrolon LQ2887 polycarbonate, a new optical grade, is used for high-performance sunglass lenses from Jiangsu Sigo Optical. Importantly, Makrolon LQ2887 polycarbonate provides UV protection from wavelengths up to 400 nanometers (nm), which blocks both energy-rich UVA and UVB rays. The product offers thin and fashionable, yet impact resistant lenses, and is appropriate for outdoor sports such as mountain biking and beach volleyball. UV protection is especially effective in beach and snow environments where water and snow strongly reﬂect harmful UV rays. For its corrective and sunglass lenses, Chinese OEM Jiangsu Sigo Optical uses optical polycarbonates from Covestro since they offer improved optical purity and production yield, compared to other materials

www.covestro.com

Resins Resins Gelcoats Gelcoats Adhesives Adhesives

Fire,Smoke Smoke Fire, ToxicFume Fume &&Toxic Systems Systems(FST) (FST) Email: composites@scottbader.co.za

Email: composites@scottbader.co.za Call: +27 (0) 31 736 8500

Call: +27 (0) 31 736 8500

www.scottbader.com

Materials

Innovations in smart technology are positioning Tritan™ as the right plastic for applications in digital agriculture. Arable Labs uses Tritan in its solarpowered smart device to monitor crops and weather

The Hidrate Spark smart water bottle features an interior sensor that records daily water intake and syncs to a mobile app via Bluetooth. Hidrate Spark uses Tritan for its superior strength and mouldability

10th anniversary of Eastman Tritan copolyester 68 JUNE / JULY 2018

Eastman celebrates Tritan’s decade of market disruption with new IoT applications GLOBAL specialty plastics provider Eastman has launched three groundbreaking product developments marking the milestone 10th anniversary of Eastman Tritan™ copolyester. Recent innovations in smart technology are emerging to position Tritan as the right plastic for applications in digital agriculture with Arable Labs, which uses Tritan in its solar-powered smart device to monitor crops and weather. Tritan is also a key component in the SproutsIO smart microgarden and Hidrate Spark smart water bottles that track water intake and integrate with ﬁtness trackers like Fitbit, Apple Watch and Google Fit. Tritan has inherent properties that make it the ideal material for an increasing number of products in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Eastman tech experts worked side by side with Arable Labs Inc to develop the process for the chemical-resistant device. Now it’s in 16 countries on six continents monitoring 20 different types of crops. Hidrate Spark features an interior sensor that records daily water intake and syncs to a mobile app via Bluetooth to display user data. The sensor automatically tracks water consumption and provides customised hydration goals. Eastman Tritan copolyester is a powerful tool for enhancing existing products or creating dramatic new solutions, offering high performance properties such as clarity, colorability, durability, ease of processing, and heat and chemical resistance.

www.eastman.com

Nisse

Packaging with highspeed BASF now offers a new plastic grade for the manufacture of EPS (expandable polystyrene) foam packaging. For the products in the Styropor® P 24 Speed range the pentane content has been lowered to approximately 4.8%, thereby reducing moulding cycle and intermediate conditioning times. The new grade Styropor P 324 Speed with a density of 25 grams per litre yields an up to 50% shorter moulding cycle time in comparison with Styropor P 326 at an average moulding steam pressure. Easy processing for food and E&E packaging Just like the classic Styropor P 26, this new type of Styropor is approved for food packaging and has a high mechanical resistance as well as excellent flexural and compressive strength. Moreover, it has good fusion properties and a smooth surface finish. As with all Styropor packaging grades, the new Styropor P 24 Speed is without flame retardant and

The new Styropor® P 24 Speed packaging raw material from BASF makes it even easier to manufacture thin-walled technical foam mouldings as well as cool boxes and food packaging: thanks to its lower blowing agent content, the new material offers substantially reduced cycle and intermediate conditioning times. PHOTO: BASF

especially suitable for the manufacture of thin-walled technical mouldings as well as food packaging and cool boxes. The material is available in three bead sizes ranging from 0.4 mm to 1.3 mm. The new product rounds off BASF’s EPS range for the packaging industry. www.basf.com JUNE / JULY 2018 69

Nissei ASB ad '017 02 (half pg).indd 86

2017/07/25 12:48

Equipment

The large NGR recycling line has been installed at one of Green Line Polymers’ recycling plants in the USA

USA recycler installs biggest NGR recycling line to date 70 JUNE / JULY 2018

Can recycle well over two tons of plastics scrap materials an hour GREEN Line Polymers of the United States has recently installed the largest NGR recycling machine ever built, a line capable of recycling well over two tons of plastics scrap materials an hour. The installation will recycle high volumes of post-industrial PE scrap materials. The recycled product will then be a raw material building block for the next generation of corrugated piping products and water management solutions manufactured by Advanced

Drainage Systems (ADS), of which Green Line Polymers is a subsidiary. Green Line is one of the largest recyclers of polymer products in North America. ADS is a leading manufacturer of high-performance thermoplastic corrugated pipe and ancillary products, providing a comprehensive suite of water management products and superior drainage solutions for use in the construction and infrastructure marketplace.

The in-line process is aimed at improving efﬁciency of material supply for Green Line’s water management (pipe) and drainage products

NGR, based in Austria, just delivered its 1000th plastics recycling line. Key benefits for its customers include the ‘One-Step Technology’ which utilizes a shredder-feeder-extruder combination. This configuration ensures the highest energy efficiency while minimising equipment footprint and reducing material handling steps. • NGR is represented in SA by Safrique International

www.safrique.com

www.greenlinepolymers.com

Supporting the automotive industry +27 11 704 0824 | info@cabletech.co.za | www.cabletech.co.za | Lanseria Corporate Estate

Equipment

Starlinger:

300th conversion line for AD*STAR block bottom valve sacks Worldwide production of AD*STAR sacks now 10 billion every year and sack conversion from Austrian world THE production of robust sacks is not market leader Starlinger. only based on high-quality polypropylene Sakomoto produces around 500 fabric made from woven tapes, but also million sacks every year – a ﬁgure that on precise sack conversion. In the case of will increase even more, as the installed AD*STAR block bottom valve sacks, this capacity is constantly extended to supply important process step is performed on the growing cement market with the conversion line ad*starKON. packaging. In early 2018, In early 2018, the 300th line of two sack conversion lines this type was installed on the were commissioned at Philippines. ‘The new series Sakomoto; notably, The Philippine ad*starKON HX one of these packaging machines is the manufacturer features extremely 300th ad*starKON Sakomoto precise sack conversion delivered by International at an operating speed Starlinger. Packaging Furthermore, both Corporation of up to 140 AD*STAR machines belong supplies the local sacks per minute.’ to the ﬁrst ones of cement industry with the new generation AD*STAR sacks made ad*starKON HX. of polypropylene fabric. In The new series ad*starKON Caloocan City in the Philippine HX features extremely precise sack district Metro Manila, Sakomoto operates conversion at an operating speed of up numerous tape extrusion lines, circular to 140 AD*STAR sacks per minute. This looms as well as lines for coating, printing, The 300th Starlinger sack conversion line ad*starKON

72 JUNE / JULY 2018

increase in output of about 40% compared to its preceding model is achieved with iMOVE, which dynamically adjusts bag transportation. Product quality also plays an important role in sack production: This quality is perfected with iSHAPE and iPATCH, which ensure that each sack receives a precisely formed bottom and tailored cover and bottom patches. Other advantages of the line are the easily accessible dual stacking unit as well as the large format range for the production of sacks with a capacity of 4.5–100 litres. In addition, both lines at Sakomoto are equipped with the optionally available microperforation unit microSTAR+ for high air permeability and the quality management system qualiSTAR II. • Starlinger is represented in SA by Zerma Africa: www.zerma.com

www.starlinger.com

Work at the dual stacking unit of the ad*starKON HX

Classifieds Apr/May'18.indd 92

2018/04/16 10:36

Equipment

74 JUNE / JULY 2018

ISBM toolmaker finds Maguire vacuum drying suits short runs R&D Leverage, a specialist in tooling for injection stretch blow moulding of PET bottles, reports that a switch from desiccant dryers to vacuum dryers has solved multiple problems, not least of which is the sheer length of time that desiccant systems need to dry polymer. After R&D Leverage replaced desiccant dryers on seven Nissei ASB and Aoki ISBM lines with LPD vacuum dryers from Maguire Products, the savings in time were dramatic. “While the desiccant dryers needed four to six hours to dry material, the LPD dryers take only one hour-and-twenty minutes from a cold start-up, and in subsequent drying cycles this is reduced to forty minutes,” said Alan Tolley, MD of R&D Leverage. Besides start-ups, the desiccant dryers also posed problems with job changeovers. R&D Leverage builds single-cavity ‘pilot’ tools for making samples, plus multicavity tools for commercial-scale operation. The tools undergo trial runs on the seven production lines, which process at rates up to 70kg/h. The company typically has five or six tool changes per week. “The LPD dryers give us much more flexibility when testing different grades of resin on one tool,” said Tolley. “Because we are not a production-scale facility with long product runs, the desiccant dryers were always a challenge for us, posing problems with getting the material dried properly. The worst thing was to be held up by drying issues while we had customer visitors on site who came from as far away as China or South America.” Other advantages include improved resin filtration, which provides enhanced bottle clarity due to less contamination, and more flexible throughput control for the single-cavity pilot tool versus high-cavitation production tools.

Microﬂuidic components can be welded with the InlineWeld 6200 laser system

An example of a laser-welded housing: the Insulet Omnipod blood glucose meter

Microﬂuidic components beneﬁt from the precision of the laser welding process

• Maguire is represented by Hestico in South Africa www.hestico.co.za

www.rdleverage.com

The LPD™ dryers at R&D Leverage in England. The company, which has its head ofﬁce in the USA, is one of the world leading suppliers of single-stage tooling for ISBM of bottles

Safe welding of plastic components THE LPKF InlineWeld 6200 is a compact laser system for plastic welding. Weld seam widths in the micrometre range, absolutely tight seams and particle-free operation predestine the system for use in medical technology. Thanks to a special fine focus variant, the laser achieves extremely fine seam structures. The system can also be equipped for the clean room. Flexible production options, material-friendly processing, hygienic and high-precision processes ensure quality and profitability. The InlineWeld 6200 laser system requires little footprint and can be integrated into production lines. Components up to a size of 150 mm x 150 mm can be processed. From small series to large-scale production, InlineWeld operates very economically and with high performance. The latest CAM software ProSeT enables quick and easy adjustment of the welding contour. This gives users flexibility in their product design. Standardised electrical and mechanical interfaces – also for industry 4.0 integration - enable integration into existing manufacturing execution systems. Quality assurance is ensured by seamless process monitoring and process control, which is conveniently carried out by the user’s higher-level, central control system. The welding process can be documented for each individual component with several test procedures.

www.lpkf-laserwelding.com

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Equipment

Rinco Ultrasonics launches new welding system RINCO Ultrasonics USA, a leading manufacturer of ultrasonic welding equipment, has launched its new Electrical Motion ultrasonic welding machine. The new machine, available in 20kHz and 35kHz frequencies, represents a move away from traditional pneumatic type press systems to electrically driven machines, according to Gordon Hull, MD of Rinco Ultrasonics. “This is a high-value addition to our product line,” said Hull. “It helps push the limits of what our customers can achieve in weld quality and repeatability.” The Electrical Motion welding system enables users to ﬁnely regulate the weld, using precise positioning of the horn, along with the applied welding force to the welding rate. This means considerably better results in welding, punching, cutting, and sealing of moulded thermoplastic parts, nonwovens and synthetic textiles. Another key feature is a high-performance, industry-type PC that can be easily operated via an adjustable touchscreen, with the welding process triggered through an ergonomically designed two-hand operation. The Electrical Motion Series is a

next-generation product based on the company’s Dynamic 3000 ultrasonic welding machine (also with a working frequency of 20kHz and 35kHz) which was designed for technically demanding welding operations for medium to largesized thermoplastic parts. Unlike the compressed air-driven design, in which the feed for the horn returns after every weld cycle to the mechanical home position in the pneumatic cylinder, the starting position with the Electrical Motion can be selected freely to any programmed position. As a result, the weld cycle can often be shortened, depending on the welded object’s geometry. Weld characteristics are shown clearly in the form of graphs on the Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) monitor, and the results and parameter datasets can be exported on a data carrier. The system records and stores all results, including parameter changes, providing a non-erasable audit trail accessible only to authorised personnel.

www.hestico.co.za www.rincoultrasonics-usa.com

• Rinco is represented in SA by Hestico

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Books

Co-injection technology ﬁnds new market traction via single-serve capsules

Single-serve capsule volumes have tripled since 2013 A NEW report from industry consultants AMI Consulting is an authoritative, comprehensive deep-dive analysis of the global high barrier rigid plastic packaging sector. The ambient long-life food segment is challenged with its unfashionable market positioning and consumer concerns about quality in comparison with the chilled variants. Canned foods are generally perceived as inferior quality, less fresh and less authentic products. Their efﬁcient supply chain, and consequent lower price, has enabled their vast market magnitude to date. The segment will beneﬁt

strongly from the sort of modernisation and innovation which is becoming technically possible. Growing consumer demand for convenience as well as suppliers’ search for market differentiation are the main drivers for packaging innovation in the ambient long-life segment. High barrier plastic packaging offers superior functionality and aesthetics versus traditional packaging media (metal, glass). While there is signiﬁcant opportunity for plastics to replace traditional packaging (metal and glass), the development of new applications, such

Bioplastics report calls for research, innovation THE International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP) has published the 2017 edition of Worldwide Rubber Statistics, the world’s leading source for authoritative data about synthetic rubber. This edition of the book, which has been published annually for more than 30 years, has revisions to elastomer plant capacities as the synthetic rubber market continues to be dynamic. Additionally, IISRP’s China ofﬁce has played a key part in this publication to enhance the intelligence on the Chinese market. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of capacity by elastomer type, by geographical distribution, and by corporate ownership. It also features a graphics section that emphasizes statistics in easy-to-read format and a section on capacities of synthetic rubber production facilities throughout the world, including a section on planned and announced expansions of synthetic rubber plants. The book is available for order on the IISRP website at

www.ami.international

Global market for fillers MARKET research company, Ceresana, recently published its fifth edition on the global market for fillers. Worldwide demand for ground calcium carbonate (GCC), precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), kaolin, talc, carbon black and other fillers will presumably amount to about 75 million tons in 2024, with revenues expected to increase by an average of 3.2% per year. The most important sales market for fillers in 2016 was the elastomers segment. This application area accounted for about 28% of global total consumption. Plastics are the second largest application area worldwide. The demand for fillers in this segment will presumably increase to about 22 million tons in 2024. Automotive engineering systemically uses fillers to reduce the weight of the product and increase the stability of plastic products. Additionally, the production of highly filled compounds with properties tailored to meet the exact needs of individual customers is rising as well: These plastics contain up to 85% of fillers, possess excellent mechanical properties and are even more cost-effective than conventional materials in many cases. With a market share of 34%, the most commonly used filler on the global market is ground calcium carbonate (GCC), increasing over the past eight years by an average of 2.7% per year. The largest consumer of GCC is the plastics sector which is likely to increase its demand for fillers even further.

www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/chemicals/ﬁllers/

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Growing interest in bioplastics, but also continued need for education

as single-serve capsules, provides another growth avenue. Single-serve capsules have become the key contributor to growth of high barrier solutions. The application tripled in volume since 2013. Further growth in capsules is expected, but it will be tempered by competing non-barrier formats servicing the low-priced compatibles sub-segment. Single serve capsules are fueling not only demand for barrier thermoforming, but also enabling barrier co-injection projects, barrier IML and coatings to develop.

https://plasticsindustry.imiscloud.com/ItemDetail? iProductCode=PMW009&Category=PUBLICATIO

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candice@relloy.co.za

World News

AROUND THE WORLD

Engel invests $13 million in Wintec expansion in China

INJECTION moulding machine heavyweight Engel Austria GmbH is plowing €10.5 million into expanding capacity for its Changzhou, Chinabased Wintec subsidiary. The expansion, scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2018 and be completed a year later, will double the production area and boost the unit’s headcount by 60%, said Mark Feltes, the newly appointed president of sales and service at Wintec. It’s the ﬁrst expansion since the company launched the Wintec brand four years ago as a more standardized machine than its namesake Engel machines. The Wintec expansion mirrors what Engel executives said is solid growth in its other China operation. The parent company’s Shanghai factory sold 20% more machines in its most recent ﬁscal year, which ended in March. Wintec’s offerings, including e-win electrics and two-platen t-win servo hydraulics, are targeted at standardized applications. Seventysix percent of the unit’s sales are in China. The key market is automotive, with 72% of sales, followed by home appliances at 23%. Wintec has seven service centres throughout China. Last August, Engel upped service and support in Southeast Asia with the launch of a new parts hub in Bangkok. The hub stocks 5,000 parts for next-day delivery.

REPI incorporates new subsidiary in Thailand

REPI, a world leader in manufacturing of liquid colours and additives for plastics, is continuing its global expansion adding a new company in Thailand. REPI Thai Co Ltd will take over the existing business in the ASEAN region both in the polyurethanes and in the thermoplastics business units with ambitious targets of growth in the coming years. This operation is another promising step for REPI to expand market presence in Asia and Bangkok is a strategic location to serve the surrounding countries. The new unit will provide commercial support and technical service to all clients in the region as well as fast colourdevelopment capabilities, which are crucial in order to serve customers just-in-time. www.repi.com

Scientists

plastics-eating

Paving a way to degrade mountains of plastics scrap RESEARCHERS in the United States and England have engineered an enzyme that could help solve the problem of PET bottle litter, reports PlasticsNews. The breakthrough is the latest in a series of tantalizing research results hinting that certain enzymes and microbes that use them might pave a way to degrade mountains of plastics scrap. Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Portsmouth say they have tweaked a

bacterium’s enzyme to improve its ability to degrade PET. The natural enzyme is in a bacterium called Ideonella sakaiensis, which researchers recently found was degrading PET in a Japanese waste recycling centre. “We can all play a signiﬁcant part in dealing with the plastic problem, but the scientiﬁc community who ultimately created these ‘wonder materials’, must now use all the technology at their disposal to develop real solutions,” explained one of the researchers, John

Borealis committed to solve the problem of

Next phase of Project STOP Ocean Plastics announced in Indonesia BOREALIS, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, announces that it has confirmed majority funding for Project STOP Ocean Plastics (STOP). Project STOP is a joint initiative with SYSTEMIQ and Sustainable Waste Indonesia. It works with city governments to eliminate leakage of plastics into the ocean, increase plastics recycling and support the wider system changes required for a plastics circular economy. The funding secures the start of Project STOP’s second phase. Borealis has jointly developed Project STOP with SYSTEMIQ, an advisory and investment firm that aims to tackle system failures, as one part of its approach to addressing this problem. Phase one of Project STOP resulted in the successful completion of feasibility and baseline studies and other preparatory work. Phase two

will see the establishment of the ﬁrst city partnership, in Indonesia. In common with other South East Asian countries, Indonesia’s economic growth and plastics consumption has outpaced its ability to manage plastic waste. This has made Indonesia the world’s second largest

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engineer

Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Portsmouth say they have tweaked a bacterium’s enzyme to improve its ability to degrade PET

enzyme McGeehan. McGeehan is director of the Institute of Biological and Biomedical Sciences in the School of Biological Sciences at University of Portsmouth. McGeehan and colleagues were examining the structure of the natural, PET-degrading enzyme when they found they could increase the degradation rate by manipulating the chemical structure of the enzyme. The improvement was modest, but the scientists believe bigger improvements are possible by modifying the protein portion of the enzyme.

Independent of the US DOE and UK work, researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology were studying the natural enzyme’s structure and they too claimed they found a way to improve its PET degradation potential. The US and UK results were published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. The Korean research was

published in the peer-reviewed Nature Communications. Researchers found the natural and improved enzymes ﬁrst act by slipping into the folds of the PET long-chain molecule. Degradation begins there when the polymer chain is cut in two by the enzyme. Degradation then proceeds to the termini of the severed polymer chain.

to helping

ocean plastic source of marine plastic debris, after China. The ﬁrst city-partnership project will take place in Muncar, a major ﬁshing port in East Java suffering from plastic litter in its harbour, beaches and rivers. www.borealisgroup.com

New device

gives visually-impaired toddlers a chance to move Dramatically improving quality of life for children born severely visually impaired

Toddlers do not have the manual dexterity to manipulate a held-held cane in a controlled arc at every single step. The wearable Toddler Cane provides an automatic arc that provides children with two-step warning before an object or hazard. Kids get it right away and often show immediate changes in mobility and mood. The system has two components a Toddler Cane and a Toddler App. Even more important than not falling is how the toddler cane helps children develop. The toddler cane is currently a prototype and the developers are still improving it.

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A NEW device – a plastic, wearable, hands-free white cane – is giving visually impaired toddlers a chance to move, explore and learn with less fear and risk of falling. Everybody needs to know what lies in the path ahead to walk safely and with purpose. Blind toddlers have a hard time using traditional white canes, leading to accidents and injuries. Blind children, starting to stand and take their ﬁrst steps, need safe mobility so they can develop on par with their peers. The Toddler Cane is a wearable white-cane that’s already dramatically improving the quality of life for children born severely visually impaired.

www.safetoddles.com

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World News KraussMaﬀei’s global investments to reach $81m in 2018

AROUND THE WORLD

KRAUSSMAFFEI Group is investing $81-million in major projects this year, including IT infrastructure and software and expansions at its facilities around the world. The German machinery maker did not provide specifics but said that the total investment will strengthen KraussMaffei’s position as a technology leader. The figure marks an 81% jump in investments compared with $44.8 million in 2017. “We will invest into new facilities, in all our major existing facilities over in Germany and in China, and we will continue to expand our facilities here in the U.S. to be able to serve our customers around the globe,” CEO Frank Stieler said, adding that machine infrastructure upgrades will start at its Hanover and Munich facilities. Other key investment areas include ongoing research and development for Industry 4.0 and digitalization. The highest growth for the company comes from China, where for injection moulding machines, specifically, growth has been nearly 100% year over year.

Recycling equipment makers hope to take advantage of Chinese regulations

CHINA’S decision to severely crack down on the import of recycled plastics is being felt throughout the world, according to PlasticNews.com. Erema North America, the machinery maker for plastics recycling, sees an opportunity for people in the United States to take advantage of the situation. Many people made lots of money over the years simply by baling recovered plastics and sending them off to China for recycling. That was not out of the ordinary as that country became a huge outlet for a variety of recycled materials. China ﬁrst made news several years ago with its Green Fence initiative to clean up the plastic recycling stream. Green Fence was not as stringent as the current effort, dubbed National Sword, but it grabbed the attention of recyclers at that time. Things changed, but commerce ultimately continued. National Sword, instead, has essentially outlawed the import of recycled plastics and other materials into China. Martin Baumann, vice president of sales at Erema North America, calls the situation “dynamic” and says there is opportunity for domestic recyclers. “Above all, China’s no longer being an international consumer for post-consumer waste plastic is a dramatic development, but since, unlike waste plastic, high-quality recycled pellets can still be exported to China, this represents a potential opportunity for plastics recycling in the USA and Canada,” he said.

Located 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River, Shell Polymers provides proximity to less-congested East Coast ports and is insulated from the Gulf of Mexico and storm related down-time and delays

Shell Polymers re-enters the fray Production at the site is expected to begin in the early 2020s

A FAMILIAR name is coming back to the plastics market: Shell Polymers. The Shell Chemicals unit of global energy firm Royal Dutch Shell had exited most of its plastics businesses in recent years, but the Shell name is returning in a big way in the form of a massive petrochemicals complex that the firm is building in the Pittsburgh area in the USA. The project will be the first US petrochemicals project built outside of the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana in several decades. The world-scale petrochemical facility, located 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh in Beaver County, provides proximity to more than 70% of the North American PE market. Close to both supply and markets, the new facility will decrease economic and environmental transportation costs and provide regional plastic manufacturers with more flexibility, shorter supply chains and enhanced supply dependability. Once complete, the facility anticipates an average capacity of 3.3 billion lb/yr of ethylene and three PE units running LLDPE and HDPE. It will take advantage of

low-priced natural gas feedstock that’s been developed in the Appalachia region. Natural gas for the project will come from the nearby Marcellus and Utica shale regions. Production at the site is expected to begin in the early 2020s. Construction crews moved 7.2 million cubic yards of dirt to get the 386-acre site ready for physical construction, which began in November. The project will create 600 full-time jobs and 6,000 construction jobs at peak construction. The Shell Polymers Innovation Center will be located at the site and become a regional technology hub for customers. The center will consist of a state-of-the-art analytical and materials testing lab, which will allow for a close collaboration between customers and a world-class team to develop unique product solutions, explains Lewis. Shell Polymers has put in place an extensive team of industry experts to deliver class-leading customer experience plus the tools and technology to create a stepchange of customer satisfaction in the industry, she says.

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World News

AROUND THE WORLD

Sabic joins UK Plastics Pact to transform packaging

CHEMICAL manufacturer Sabic has signed up to a world-ﬁrst initiative to help transform the plastic packaging system in the UK. The company has signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, designed to bring businesses from across the plastics value chain together with UK governments and NGO’s to tackle plastic waste. The initiative was launched on 26 April at a ceremony attended by the secretary of state for the environment, Michael Gove and is being led by sustainability experts Wrap. There are currently 42 businesses that have joined the Pact, including major household names such as M&S, Tesco and Nestle. The Pact sets out a series of ambitious targets to reach by 2025, which include; eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative delivery models and ensuring that all plastic packaging produced is reusable, recyclable or compostable. The initiative also aims to help build a stronger recycling system with the government to ensure that UK recycling targets are met. Other countries are expected to replicate the Plastics Pact as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Initiative.

UK pledges new funding to battle plastic pollution

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged £61.4 million in funding to fight plastic pollution on entering into a new anti-plastic initiative. On 15 April, May announced the new Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance – an agreement between the UK, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ghana to join forces in the fight against plastic pollution. According to conservation group WWF-UK, the group has pledged to ban microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products, as well as to cut plastic bag use, by 2021. As part of the drive, the governments will work with organizations and businesses to protect the environment. From the funding announced by May, £25 million will be used to help researchers investigate the issue of marine plastic from a scientific, economic and social perspective. A further £20 million will be used to curb plastic and other environmental pollution generated by manufacturing in developing countries and prevent it entering the oceans. The remaining £16.4 million will be devoted to improving waste management at a national and a city level to stop plastics entering the water.

Plastic Whale now has 10 boats made from plastic waste

World’s ﬁrst plastic

ﬁshing company First boat made from more than 10 000 plastic bottles

A GROUP of environmental ‘warriors’ have taken the collection of plastic waste to the next tier! Plastic Whale was founded in Amsterdam in 2011 by Marius Smit. It is the first professional plastic fishing company in the world. The company’s first challenge was to build a boat. This challenge was met and Plastic Whale made their first design boat from more than 10 000 bottles fished from the canals of Amsterdam. That was only the start; Plastic Whale now has 10 boats made from plastic waste. Looking at their figures up until 31 December 2017, 11 008 fishermen have fished 105 105 plastic bottles out of the canals in Amsterdam and the harbour in Rotterdam. Plastic Whale’s mission is to make the world’s waters free of plastic and create things of value from the waste. They ultimately want to go out of business, as this would mean that there would no longer be any plastic

in the water to fish out. The company doesn’t just get the job done alone, they organise free events for the public and team building events for businesses to come and fish for plastic. Plastic Whale also partnered with Vepa, and in February 2018, they launched an exciting line of office furniture: Plastic Whale Circular Furniture. This furniture range is inspired by the forms and lines of the whale and is made from plastic taken out of the canals of Amsterdam. This furniture range is inspired by the forms and lines of the whale and is made from plastic taken out of the canals of Amsterdam

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Our Winning Formula Sets Us Apart ELASTOMERS

PLASTICS & COMPOSITES

ACM CR EPDM Epichlorohydrin FKM HNBR HTV Silicone IR NBR NR PVC/NBR Blends SBR & BR

ABS Acetal Additives Composites CPE CSM EVA HIPS & GPPS Nylon PC PVC TPE & TPV TPU

FILLERS & ADDITIVES

AUXILIARIES & SERVICES

Aluminas Antimony Products Blowings Agents Carbon Blacks Flame Retardents Hydrocarbon Resins Magnesium Oxide Masterbatches MC & PE Waxes Mineral Fillers Peroxides Process Aids Rubber Chemicals Silanes Silica Sulfur Zinc Oxide

Curing Bladder Machinery Other Services Release Agents Release liners Spares

ANCHOR CHEMICALS Batch Off Bonding Systems Coated Powders Factice Masterbatching Process Aids Toll Mixing

P O LY M E R S D I V I S I O N

Johannesburg Jenny Warner Velogan Muthayan (T) 011 489 3600 (F) 011 489 3601

Durban Jaco Smith Paul Rose Ron Dunwoodie Prakash Kalipersad (T) 031 313 8500 (F) 031 313 8516

Cape Town Pieter Snyman (T) 021 506 4598 (F) 021 506 4561

www.carst.co.za

Port Elizabeth Kathy Garde (T) 041 3999 529 (F) 041 3999 401

Diary Nylon Corporation of America, a leading manufacturer of specialty nylon materials, launched an extended product family of nylon-based thermoplastic elastomers, also known as polyether-block-amides (PEBA), for a range of applications in the automotive, sporting goods, personal electronics, composite, and specialty ﬁlms markets at the NPE show in Florida in May. The NYFLEX® elastomer range is a new and innovative class of polyamide-based engineering thermoplastic elastomers (E-TPE). These materials are block copolymers of nylon (polyamide) segments and polyether segments. The nylon (polyamide) block is the hard segment and the polyether block is the soft, ﬂexible segment

COMING UP

NEXT-GENERATION FAMILY OF GLASSREINFORCED PP FROM ASAHI KASEI ASAHI Kasei North America, a leading global supplier of high-performance thermoplastic compounds, launched Thermylene® P11, a next-generation family of glass-reinforced polypropylene compounds with unprecedented strength, at the NPE show in the USA in May. The new materials expand the performance envelope for conventional glass-reinforced PP design and open opportunities for thinwall moulding of interior and exterior automotive parts. The Thermylene P11 family of chemically coupled PP compounds – available in 30%, 40%, and 50% glass loadings – deliver the highest tensile strength without sacrificing other performance attributes. Thermylene® P11 provides a 40% improvement in measured tensile strength at 80°C and 120°C compared to conventional glass-filled PP. Thermylene® P11 GF40% boasts flexural modulus of 10,000 MPa, tensile strength of 125 MPa, and a heat distortion temperature of 155°C. www.akplastics.com

The new Luban HP1151K grade was launched during Oman Plast in May

NEW PP GRADE FROM ORPIC OF OMAN OMAN Oil Reﬁneries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) launched a new thermoforming grade called Luban HP1151K that it says will increase both productivity and the overall performance of transparent thermoformed cups, trays and containers. The new PP thermoforming grade is based on Milliken’s nucleating innovation Hyperform® HPN-600ei. The new grade (Luban HP1151K) was launched during the Oman Plast Exhibition in Oman in May. Luban HP1151K combines high clarity and aesthetics with a new level of superior dimensional stability for thermoformed products. The grade is based on the latest technology available to offer the food packaging and household storage solutions industries a new benchmark in pure, high quality PP. 86

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BOY has successful The BOY-booth at the NPE 2018 in Orlando

presence at NPE in Orlando

GERMAN machine manufacturer BOY had a successful and well-attended exhibition at this year’s NPE in Orlando. Trade visitors were shown a representative selection of the BOY machine programme right at the main entrance to Hall West: from the small Benchtop-machine BOY XXS with 63 kN and the compact injection moulding machine BOY 35 VV with integrated automation cell, up to the BOY 100 E with efficient servo-drive and 1000 kN clamping force. The performance and strengths of the different machines, the good automation options and the machine efficiency were perfectly staged at the very functional and openly designed booth. A good example of the versatility of BOY injection moulding machines was implemented very well at the NPE with a fully automatic two-component application. A BOY 60 E (600 kN clamping force) manufactured bottle spouts in a hard and soft composite (NAS / TPE) in combination with a separate injection unit BOY 2C S. The (wine) spout produced in an indexing mould was removed by a BOYHandling LR 5 – integrated in the production plant – and deposited on a conveyor belt. In addition to a very economical solution, this production plant demonstrated the flexible use of BOY Injection Moulding Machines and the independently usable BOY 2C S injection unit, for the simple implementation of multi-component technology. The compact and fully automatic solution for the overmoulding of a metal part on a BOY 35 E VV attracted most interest from visitors. The metal insert of a bottle opener was removed from a magazine by a Yushin-six-axis robot, inserted into the mould and the finished overmoulded bottle opener was removed. Due to the design of the vertical BOY insert moulding machines, the complete automation can be mounted on the free machine frame, i.e. no additional footprint in the production hall is needed. The exhibited combination of a BOY XXS with integrated cooling unit, which thus eliminates the need of an external water supply, was of particular interest to those visitors working in laboratory application and prototype production. The high flexibility of the BOY XXS, the compact dimensions (0.89 m²) as well as the many application possibilities in permanent industrial use did a lot of persuading. • PMS Plastics represent BOY in South Africa www.dr-boy.de

www.pmsplastics.co.za

2018/06/07 08:17

Zerma introduced its smallest shredder, from its new ZCS range, at Chinaplas with Jeff Cawcutt of Zerma Africa and Zerma’s international sales director Max Paeslack proudly attending to their new baby

THE two-day African Food & Products exhibition at the InterContinental Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos, on 25/26 May attracted a wide spectrum of businesses involved in the food supply sector in the West African country, including leading Nigerian and American companies showcasing their service offerings to the Nigerian public, with a view to increase sales by maximizing the beneﬁts of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This event was put together by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, the exhibition had over 1500 attendees from within Nigeria, Africa and the United States; this year it was expected to attract 2,500 attendees from across Nigeria, Africa and the USA.

PETNOLOGYAMERICAS THE programme for the PETnologyAmericas conference/ exhibition to be held in Georgia, USA, on 25/26 June is available on-line. Presentations from Intravis (Germany); AGR International (Optimization of PET Blow Moulding); PTI (USA) on ‘Optimizing the PET Bottle for the Rise of eCommerce’; Indorama/Auriga Polymers (‘Development of HighPerformance polyClear EBM 5507 PET Resin); Amcor (USA) ‘Sustainability Pledge’; AIPC Technology (PET Preform Quality and utmost Constancy of Production) and Piovan (USA) are included in the progamme. Other presentations will be from Corvaglia, Husky, Krones, Milacron, Netstal, REPI and SIPA.

COMING UP

The Zerma Africa team of Jeff Cawcutt and Chantal Shaw, on her ﬁrst trip to the Far East, on the giant Zerma shredder exhibited at Chinaplas. Max Paeslack of Zerma international was there to check on the Zerma Africa team www.zerma.co.za

MANY SUPPLIERS TO NIGERIA FOOD SUPPLY DRAWN BY SHOW

Diary

Zerma’s smallest & largest shredders at Chinaplas

MASTERBATCH 2018 IN SPAIN IN SEPTEMBER THE 31st edition of AMI’s international Masterbatch conference will take place from 3-5 September at the Melia Castilla, Madrid, Spain. The two-day programme will cover the latest technical developments and market trends in this dynamic sector. Conference sessions will be complemented by a focused exhibition and plenty of networking opportunities, including an evening cocktail reception and the conference dinner. The event is aimed at masterbatch processors, manufacturers, researchers, materials and equipment suppliers and brand owners and will discuss the challenges facing the masterbatch industry today. The conference attracts over 120 delegates from around the world every year. www.ascendmaterials.com JUNE / JULY 2018

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Diary

COMING UP

PAVING WAY FOR METAL REPLACEMENT AT WEAR RESISTANT PLASTICS EVENT THE ﬁrst edition of AMI’s Wear-Resistant Plastics Conference is to take place at the Hotel Nikko in Düsseldorf, Germany on 19/20 September. The new two-day event will focus on the critical area of polymer tribology (adhesion, friction, wear and mass-transfer) and explore how it can open new applications, particularly in metal replacement. Industry experts will discuss innovative methods for optimising the wear and friction properties of plastics components. The comprehensive programme will cover wear-resistant polymers and the use of additives for modifying tribological performance. Expert speakers will discuss materials selection and design optimisation for wear-resistant plastic components such as gears, bearings, conveyors wheels and seals. They will cover a variety of critical applications in markets including the industrial, oil and gas, electrical, automotive, aerospace and medical sectors. Day one will conclude presentations from DSM Engineering Plastics and SABIC Specialties looking into lowering friction with lubrication. Day two’s sessions will commence with AGC Chemicals Europe presenting on novel ﬂuoropolymer additives for wear and friction improvement. Ensinger will present on today’s concepts for designing customised compounds optimised for wear-resistance. https://www.ami.international/events/event

FOAM EXPO EUROPE IN OCTOBER THE Foam Expo Europe exhibition, a free-to-attend event for manufacturers and dealers in technical foam product and technologies, takes place in Hanover, Germany, from 16-18 October. Among the main exhibitors are Vita, Milliken, Fecken & Kirfel and Huntsman. About 200 exhibitors and 3000 delegates are expected. The exhibition will proﬁle moulded, rigid and ﬂexible foam solutions utilising materials ranging from urethanes to elastomeric materials such as rubber and PVC as well as a full range of equipment and machinery manufacturers plus a wide range of foam service providers. Key markets in which technical foams are used include the aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction and sports & leisure sectors. www.foam-expo.eu

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New ThermoPRO granulators from Rapid Granulator are tailor-made for use in-line with thermoforming lines

Tailor-made for use in-line with thermoforming lines AT NPE2018, leading size reduction equipment manufacturer Rapid Granulator introduced a new range of granulators designed speciﬁcally for in-line processing of skeletal waste from sheet and ﬁlm thermoforming lines. The new patent-pending ThermoPRO Series – based on an already patented Rapid design – is available in various standard and low-built formats for handling scrap widths from 600 to 1,500mm. A ThermoPRO 400-90 for granulating webs up to 900mm in width was on display at the company’s booth during NPE2018. ThermoPRO machines combine features already proven on other Rapid granulators – double-scissor cutting

action, an “open hearted” design for fast production changeovers and ease of maintenance, a mineral composite base for high stability and low noise, for example – with numerous new elements that were tailor-made to make thermoforming operations easier to run and more cost-effective. The ThermoPRO Series has been designed to operate around the clock. The new granulators have an integrated roller feed that was designed from the ground up as granulation is a key step in the total production process. • Rapid Granulator is represented in SA by FdB Consulting cc email: frank@fdbconsulting.co.za www.rapidgranulator.com

Micro moulding of IR optical sensor

AT NPE 2108, SABIC unveiled a major breakthrough in the production of infrared (IR) optical sensor lenses for proximity sensing and gesture recognition in smartphones and other electronics applications using its EXTEM™ thermoplastic polyimide (TPI) resin. SOPROD SA, a Swiss moulding company, selected the high-performance SABIC material, which features IR transparency, to mass-produce sensor lenses using micro moulding with a multi-cavity tool. Efficient, high-volume moulding of EXTEM™ resin can deliver multiple advantages over grinding and polishing of quartz glass and curing of epoxy resin. These benefits can include speed, consistently high quality and the avoidance of costly secondary operations. SOPROD’s achievement offers the electronics industry a new and highly efficient solution to meet accelerating demand for IR optical sensors. The SABIC material’s high flow and low shrinkage make it well suited for mass producing small, precise parts. Further, it can withstand the high temperatures of leadfree soldering commonly used in device assembly. IR optical sensors are widely used to add new functionality in consumer electronics – from phones to video game controllers and even drones. EXTEM resin can deliver key optical properties needed in IR sensor lenses. These include IR transparency, high refractive index, low haze and no surface defects. EXTEM resin is available in natural and black, with the black colour absorbing visible light but transmitting IR light, which helps increase accuracy for proximity sensing. Example of a proximity sensor with IR emitter lens and separate lens to project receiving signal to the sensor (both lenses in EXTEM™ resin)

www.sabic.com

2018/06/07 08:19

ANNOUNCING THE 2nd EDITION THE FOCUSSED PLASTICS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION

Complete Plastics Exhibition

SOUTH AFRICA

13 - 15 NOVEMBER, 2018 GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE (GCC) | JOHANNESBURG

OUR DISPLAY PROFILE IS

SO WIDE …

YOU WOULDN’T BE

LEFT OUT

SPECIAL RATES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN MANUFACTURERS & AGENTS / DISTRIBUTORS OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES Write to : plastics@smartexpos.in Call : Anand Swaminathan - +27 794973646 visit : www.complastexpo.in

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Concurrent Event

Organised by

The First Ever Expo for Finished Products Plastics & Rubber

2018/06/01 11:41

Diary

Showcasing local initiatives using latest technology Speakers for a world-class agenda THE ﬁrst Innovations in Industry Technical Conference will take place at Nelson Mandela University on Friday, 7 September 2018. This event will focus on sharing amazing applications of new technology being used in the South African arena. Presentations throughout the day on latest technology will include topics such as designing for additive manufacturing, optimization and automotive design and lightweighting. “In this ﬁrst of its kind event we want to demystify these new technologies and showcase local initiatives that are already happening, and to get the market excited about the capabilities available to us right now,” explains Clive Hands, Engineering

http://iic.mandela.ac.za

Lecturer at Nelson Mandela University. Some of the speakers already conﬁrmed for the event include Dr Royston Jones, VP European Operations and Global CTO at Altair Engineering, Jaco Heunis from Jendamark Automation, Dr Anton du Plessis from the CT Scan facility at Stellenbosch University and Michael Stephen, race engineer and driver at Terry Moss Racing. “We are securing speakers for a world-class agenda for this event and are convinced that we can enable and accelerate the innovation that is critical to local industries. Seating is limited so

we’d suggest that anyone interested in attending secure their spot soon,” said Clive. SAIMechE members attending will qualify for 1 CPD point. There is no cost to attend the event.

Yizumi-HPM launch three new series Two-platen servo hydraulic, toggle servo hydraulic, and fully electric machines are high quality and built to North American design and standards YIZUMI-HPM Corp launched three new series of injection moulding machines at NPE 2018. The DP-N series two-platen servo hydraulic, A5-N series toggle servo hydraulic and the FE-N series full servo make use of KEBA touch-screen control systems. Yizumi-HPM DP-N-01

2018 Manufacturing Indaba 19-20 June Sandton Convention Centre www.manufacturingindaba.co.za Polymer Foam Pittsburgh, USA

19-20 June www.ami.international/events

PETnology Americas Atlanta, Georgia, USA

25-26 June www.petnology.com

Compounding World Expo 27-28 June Messe Essen, Germany www.compoundingworldexpo.com Plastics Recycling World 27-28 June Messe Essen, Germany www.plasticsrecyclingworld.eventkit

JUNE / JULY 2018

13-15 July www.complastexpo.in

KITE 2019 Durban Exhibition Centre

24-26 July www.kznindustrial.co.za

ExtruAfrica NW University, Potchefstroom

31 July-3 August www.extruafrica.org.za

Complast Kenya Nairobi

Masterbatch 2018 Melia Castilla in Madrid, Spain

Manufacturing Indaba KZN 22 August Int’l Convention Centre, Durban www.manufacturingindaba.co.za

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3-5 September www.ami.international

Polymer Testing & Analysis Conf 11-12 September Berlin, Germany www.ami.international/events 18-20 September www.propakwestafrica.com

Wear-Resistant Plastics Conference 19-20 September Hotel Nikko, Düsseldorf, Germany www.ami.international/events Plastic Pipes XIX Las Vegas, USA

24-26 September www.pvc4pipes.com

Manufacturing Indaba W Cape 3 Oct CTICC, Cape Town www.manufacturingindaba.co.za No Dig South Africa CTICC, Cape Town

8-9 October www.nodigsouthafrica.com

IOM³ Young Persons Lecture Comp 11 October Port Elizabeth write to iomsa@mweb.co.za Polyoleﬁn Additives Conference 9-11 October Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany www.ami.international/events Foam Expo Europe Hanover, Germany

www.injectionmachine.co.za

At the show, the DP-N series two-platen servo hydraulic model UN1200DP-N-12050 ran special MuCell “FoamPro” technology, which Yizumi developed with Trexel Inc, the developer of the MuCell foaming process. FoamPro is a “rapid heat, rapid cool” process that creates textured ﬁnishes, reducing part weight by up to 20% and required clamping forces by up to 50%. Yizumi-HPM demonstrated FoamPro technology with a single-cavity aluminum mould on a UN1200DP-N-12050 two-platen injection press, producing an 880-gram PP briefcase in a 49-sec cycle. • Yizumi represented in SA by Moudbase SA

Innovations in Indus Tech Conf 7 September Nelson Mandela University, PE http://iic.mandela.ac.za

Propak West Africa Lagos, Nigeria

www.yizumi-hpm.com

16-18 October www.foam-expo.eu

Eurasian Composites 25-27 October Istanbul Expo Centre, Turkey www.eurasiancomposites.com

Conductive Plastics Conference 6-7 November Vienna, Austria www.ami.international/events Int’l Composites Congress 5-6 November Stuttgart, Germany www.composites-germany.org WOPs- Plastic & Rubber Expo 13-15 November Gallagher Convention Centre, Joburg www.vukanicomms.co.za Manufacturing Indaba E Cape 14 November Boardwalk Conference Centre, PE www.manufacturingindaba.co.za PU Tech Africa Sandton Convention Centre

20-21 November expo@technobiz-asia.com

Valve World Expo Düsseldorf, Germany

27-29 November www.valveworldexpo.de

2019 Propak Africa 2019 12-15 March Expo Centre Nasrec, Johannesburg www.propakafrica.co.za Africa Automation Fair 2019 4-6 June Ticketpro Dome, Northgate, Joburg www.africaautomationfair.com K2019 Düsseldorf, Germany

16-23 October www.k-online.com

2018/06/07 08:19

CLASSIFIED ADVERTS Advertisers:– June/July 2018 ACD Rotoflo Advanced Polymers Brenntag SA Cabletech Marketing Carst & Walker Complast 2018 Cooke & Son Manufacturing DemaPlastech DH Polymers Emeraude International Engen FdB Consulting GreenTech Machinery Hestico Huarong Plastic Machinery Inkulu Plastic Pipes Jenowill Maritime Marketing Masterbatch SA MBT MGMW Trading Mould Base Nissei ASB Orion Engineered Carbons Performance Colour Systems Plastomark PMS Plastics Protea Chemicals Rapid Granulator Rawmac Reichmans Capital Relloy RPC-Astrapak Safripol SAPY Colours Scott Bader SES Skyland Masterbatch Sun Ace Ultra Polymers Vishva Exim Welltec Zerma Africa

41 19 IFC 71 85 37,89 23 61 49 56 68 24 73 15 43 31 03 01 25 35 75 76 69 77 47 51,53 29 11 83 55 17 57,79 27 05 54 67 IBC 59 33 45 65 58 OBC

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FOR SALE 1996 DEMAG Ergotech 330 Ton System Injection Moulding Machine • Good Running Condition • Accumulator • Robot Interface (Take out robot optional) • 8 Zone Hot Runner Standard on machine • Hopper Loader / Dryer • New Pump

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Towin OffSet Pail Printer for Sale

Mono & multi-layer extrusion lines for the production of: • ‘Cartonplast’ (twinwall/hollow profile sheet) • Multilayer sheet for packaging • Semi-foamed sheet for thermoforming

• Sealing films for trays and top web for FFS machines • OPS, PP, PET sheet for general packaging • PP/EVOH/PP for high barrier containers

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Towin QTY6508 Off-Set Pail Printer 2009 Model 6 colour print from 25LT – 2.5LT’s. Excellent condition R380 000 neg.

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Sure First Spark Eroder – Model ZPNC-408 Price: R130 000

WE BUY PVC

Contact: Hammerle Plastics 013 935 1012 082 787 7768

Recycle your plastic with us

We buy most forms of clean factory waste

Contact: Desiré Preston for more info Tel: 011 894 3520 | Cell: 083 774 6038 | Email: desire@jcl.co.za www.jcl.co.za

WE BUY CLEAN FACTORY WASTE AND SCRAP PVC B4 PLASTICS PIPE MANUFACTURERS 011 825 0449 : 082 829 3084 B4PLASTICS@GMAIL.COM 13 KESWICK ROAD, GERMISTON, EXT 3

To place a classiﬁed advert please Fax: 086 519 6089 or Tel: 021 712 1408 or E-mail: saplastics@iafrica.com

www.saplastics.co.za JUNE / JULY 2018

Classifieds Jun/Jul'18.indd 91

2018/06/07 08:21

Sport

A safer ride

Better protection for the horse, making the jobs of farriers a little easier By ERIN PUSTAY BEAVEN, online content editor for Rubber & Plastics News

CONTINENTAL knows a thing or two about traction, grip and vibration control. And one of its latest innovations, the direct result of collaboration with German ﬁrm Turfcord GmbH, is helping ensure grip and smooth ride over rough terrain. Continental’s ContiTech unit has introduced a rubber-based horseshoe designed to offer better protection for the horse, while also making the jobs of farriers a little bit easier. The Turfcord shoe doesn’t reduce a horse’s gait or stride length, but it does protect the hoof in ways that traditional metal horseshoes can’t, according to ContiTech. The shockabsorbing Turfcord shoe also helps to reduce the strain on the horse’s joints. Because traditional metal horseshoes are attached using special nails, the process of applying the shoe can be stressful for the horse and may damage the horny layer of the hoof. Metal horseshoes also prevent the hoof from growing healthily during the time that the horseshoe is worn, according to ContiTech. Turfcord is attached using a special

adhesive, and farriers can apply the shoe during regular trimming sessions, ContiTech said. The old shoes are removed gently using pincers and a rasp. The adhesive allows the Turfcord horseshoe to remain afﬁxed to the horse’s hoof for as many as eight weeks. The Turfcord horseshoes are available in two designs for front and rear hooves, both of which come in 12 sizes. Since its launch, turfcord has made it an aim to sell only to licensed and accredited farriers.

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Turfcord is attached using a special adhesive, and farriers can apply the shoe during regular trimming sessions

With Turfcord, we wanted to create an entirely new kind of hoof protection – one that would serve the same function as horseshoes but without the accompanying downsides for horses’ walking characteristics and hoof health

“With Turfcord, we wanted to create an entirely new kind of hoof protection – one that would serve the same function as horseshoes but without the accompanying downsides for horses’ walking characteristics and hoof health,” Turfcord’s Erich Buschmann said.

The resulting design caught the attention of judges at Germany’s Pferd & Jagd exhibition for the equestrian and hunting industries. There, the Turcord horseshoe was given the equine ‘Innovation Pferd’ product award for product excellence.

JUNE / JULY 2018

2018/06/07 08:21

- passionate about the plastic industry.

Tel: +27 11 824 3103 - Fax: +27 11 824 6018 email: sales@sescc.co.za - www.sescc.co.za Unit 1, 16 Davidson Place, Wadeville, 1428

Supplier of:

ty t o G

Injection Moulding Machine

Servo Klockner

Rebuild

JIANGSU VICTOR MACHINERY

The Home of Size Reduction

Classifieds Feb/Mar'18.indd 92

2018/01/29 12:33