RotoWorld 1, 2023

CONTENTS FEATURES

COVER STORY

38

Plastics Products Visionary Giò Colonna Romano

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Innovative luminous, and colored furniture with a distinct and iconic design, was the creation of Giò Colonna Romana and the SLIDE collection.

30

ARM Annual Meeting Highlights

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

The 2022 meeting gathered an international attendance of over 340 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia.

58

Exploration of Sensor Technologies for Electrically Heated Tooling

Alex J. Pritchard, David Castellanos, Mark P. McCourt, Peter J. Martin, and Mark P. Kearns, Polymer Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland

As robotically controlled rotational moulding machine intelligence continues to advance, the complexity of the mouldings made possible by these machines also increases.

CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS

8 From the Publisher

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc. Contemporary Design for Rotomolded Products

12 Global Contributing Editors

Global Contributors, Department Contributors, and Issue Contributors

15

Upfront

Industry News, Trends, and Products

37 At Issue

Tom Innis, Xcelerant Growth Partners

Despite the challenges ahead, there are reasons to be optimistic over the long term

44 X-Factor

Tom Innis, Xcelerant Growth Partners

Pivot to New Product Design to Enhance Market Position

48 Leadership

Cutting Edge PR

Employee online security fundamentals: These will keep your organization safer from cyber attacks

50 Roto Around the World

Ian Hansen, RotaConsult

Imagine the Possibilities – Luxurious Holiday Villas

53 Design Comment

Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems, Inc. Goodbye: My Last Editorial

54 ARM Report

Major Goals for 2023

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Contemporary Design for Rotomolded Products

Whether the application is for industrial, commercial, or residential use, product design elements often project a simple yet luxury style. Products often project a statement that includes a minimalistic design. The industrial design world blends right in, which can be seen by many of today’s exciting rotationally molded plastic products.

By blending a minimalist appeal and a more rugged, factoryinspired style, the trend that began to surge in popularity years ago was seen as aesthetics. This trend began to surge as developers began to renovate old loft apartments, with exposed brick, metal ceilings, and classic industrial piping. Product designers throughout the world, and particularly in Italy, began pairing these design elements with more modern and clean lines like rotomolded furniture (indoor and outdoor). This includes products like garden pots, sculptures, stools, lighting, and a whole host of fun, eclectic products that project a clean look and create a fun space with a lot of character.

While many of such fun of contemporary industrial products bring a sense of lightness and joy, they are also designed for purpose. The use of ‘opposite aesthetics’ is equally important in creating cohesion and usefulness. Whether the contemporary rotationally molded product is a sea of revolving chairs in New York City’s Midtown District, a huge chess game set in San Jose, Statement Lighting in Paris, or fun loft furniture in Madrid, it works, and the appeal is growing.

We are pleased to bring you the story of Giò Colonna Romano inside this issue. Giò was a groundbreaking pioneer in contemporary rotomolded product design. In just over twenty years, Giò and his son Marco Colonna Romano have transcended the more mundane, albeit very important, rotomolded products to a whole market of eclectic, fun, and artistic products seen throughout the world. Although we are saddened by the recent loss of Giò Romano who passed away in November of 2022, his vision is here to stay, and his son Marco is certain to take it to the next level. I enjoyed visiting the SLIDE factory in Buccinasco, Italy

(right outside of Milan) where I first met Giò and Marco. It was so exciting to see their world of unexpected rotomolded products being manufactured for purpose in Italy. It has been my honor to collaborate with SLIDE over the years.

We are excited to extend a big welcome to Tom Innis, Xcelerant Growth Partners, as our newest Contributing Editor to RotoWorld® Tom has a wealth of rotomoulding industry experience, and our readers will benefit greatly from the articles he is going to share. His first article is on the re-design of the Agri-Inject Insectigator used for exterminating crops. This article details just how much a re-design effort can update the product and affect its quality and efficiency, not to mention its marketability. I can’t wait to see what is to come from Tom. Let him hear from you about what he writes in RotoWorld® this year!

It is with much less excitement, but a whole lot of gratitude that Michael Paloian of Integrated Design Systems will now step down as RotoWorld® Design Editor. Michael has been ingrained in our work for years and we appreciate him for his contributions. He will continue by contributing some articles on design technology. So, it is not really good-bye!

Finally, I want to close by saying our hearts go out to our colleagues in Turkey. Turkey has sustained unimaginable disaster as a result of more than one earthquake in the Southern part of the country. Our prayers and well wishes are with them as they find their way forward.

Susan Gibson

Publisher & Editor

“Whether the contemporary rotationally molded product is a sea of revolving chairs in New York City’s Midtown District, a huge chess game set in San Jose, Statement Lighting in Paris, or fun loft furniture in Madrid, it works, and the appeal is growing.”

Jerico maintains our focus on developing custom compounds and formulations like J-Sustain, which meets the growing demands of the sustainability marketplace.

We have developed and refined a complete line of aesthetic compounded materials that provide a natural granite or stone look for your molded products. These Stone Effect specialty color compounds and color concentrates lend

themselves well to outdoor applications like hot tubs, lawn and garden accessories, coolers, and patio furniture.

Our Weathered Effect compounds bring a natural, weathered look to most outdoor applications. They are fully-formulated and ready to use in standard and custom colors. They are joined by J-Bond, our adhesion compound, which brings a new dimension in color and UV stability.

From water sports and camping to gardening, products made with Jerico compounds are ready for the great outdoors and our team is prepared to meet your needs. Stick

Publisher & Editor

Susan D. Gibson President - JSJ Productions, Inc. susan@jsjproductionsinc.com

Technical Editor

Alvin Spence PhD MEng aspence@centroinc.com

Process Editor

Paul Nugent PhD MEng paul@paulnugent.com

Design Editor

Michael Paloian President - Integrated Design Systems, Inc. paloian@idsys.com

Global Contributing Editors

Celal Beysel Chairman - Floteks Plastik beysel@superonline.com

Tom Innis Excelerant Growth Partners tinnis@xcelerantgrowthpartners.com

Martin Coles Matrix Polymers martin.coles@matrixpolymers.com

Adam Covington Ferry Industries acovington@ferryindustries.com

Mark Kearns Moulding Research Manager m.kearns@qub.ac.uk

Ravi Mehra Managing Director - Norstar International LLC maramehra@aol.com

Advertising and Art Production

Marketing/Advertising Director Jennifer Gibson Hebert Vice President, JSJ Productions, Inc. jennifer@jsjproductionsinc.com

Chief Art Director Anya Wilcox JSJ Productions, Inc. awilcox@designintersection.com

Circulation & Distribution Administration

Sheryl Bjorn JSJ Productions, Inc. sheryl@jsjproductionsinc.com

Editing & Translations

Suzanne Ketron | Oliver Wandres | Sheryl Bjorn

Website & Online Technology

Jason Cooper JSJ Productions, Inc. jason@bound.by

RotoWorld ® is a JSJ Productions, Inc. Trade Publication JSJ Productions, Inc. 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901 Phone: (512) 894.4106; Fax (512) 858.0486

Email: rotoworldmag@rotoworldmag.com and Website: www.rotoworldmag.com

Subscriptions One-year subscription (six issues), print or digital, $80 US, $100 Canada/Mexico, $155 All Other Countries. To subscribe or to submit change of address information, call us at (512) 894.4106; fax us at (512) 858.0486; visit us online at www.rotoworldmag.com; or email us at sheryl@jsjproductionsinc.com. You may also write to RotoWorld ® Subscriptions, JSJ Productions, Inc., 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901

Advertising For information on advertising, please contact Advertising Director Jennifer Gibson Hebert, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Email Jennifer Gibson at jennifer@jsjproductionsinc.com

Letters We welcome letters about our contents. Write Letters to the Editor, JSJ Productions, Inc., 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901 512.894.4106 phone 512.858.0486 fax, or Email susan@jsjproductionsinc.com.

Editorial Queries We consider unsolicited contributions. Send manuscript submissions as email attachment to Susan Gibson at susan@jsjproductionsinc.com.

JSJ Productions, Inc. bears no responsibility for claim or factual data represented in contributed articles.

Postmaster Send changes of address to RotoWorld®, JSJ Productions, Inc., 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901

RotoWorld® is a JSJ Productions, Inc. independently owned, bi-monthly trade magazine for the international rotational molding and plastics design industries. JSJ Productions, Inc. owns all copyrights on articles published herein unless ownership is otherwise stated. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the publisher is not permitted.

PROCESS EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Alvin Spence

Alvin Spence is Vice President Engineering at Centro, Inc., North Liberty, Iowa. He provides leadership for Centro’s product development team and quality resources. Alvin received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and PhD from Queen’s University Belfast. aspence@centroinc.com

Paul Nugent

Paul is a consultant who travels extensively across six continents assisting clients in many roles from training to expert witnessing. He received his Eng. degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast. Paul developed the Rotolog system, the first complete computer simulation (RotoSim), and authored a book entitled Rotational Molding: A Practical Guide paul@paulnugent.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Celal Beysel

Celal is Chairman of Floteks Plastik, the pioneer and innovative leader of the rotational molding industry in Turkey and a Global Contributing Editor for RotoWorld® magazine. Being an ARM member for more than 20 years, he has made many presentations at ARM meetings in various countries. He is also active in business and political organizations in his country. Celal has authored numerous articles published in various newspapers and magazines about politics, plastics, rotomolding, and innovation. beysel@superonline.com

Michael Paloian

Michael is President of Integrated Design Systems, Inc., Great Neck, New York. Over the past 25 years, Mike has developed a broad range of plastic products utilizing various processing methods including rotational molding. Mike’s B.S. degree in Plastics Engineering and Masters in Industrial Design, combined with his extensive experience, has formed the basis for his branded and unique insights into the field of plastics part design. paloian@idsys.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Martin Coles

Martin Coles, CEO of Matrix Polymers co-founded the business 30 years ago and is the company’s largest shareholder. Shortly after graduating from London University, he began his career in the plastics industry working for a major Italian petrochemical and soon became passionate about the unique world of rotomoulding. Matrix Polymers are experts in rotomoulding materials and have become a global supplier with compounding and grinding plants in the UK, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia. The company sells more than $150 million of rotomoulding materials each year and has 230 employees. martin.coles@matrixpolymers.com

DESIGN EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Adam Covington

Adam Covington is President of Ferry Industries, Inc. in Akron, Ohio U.S.A. Covington has been with Ferry Industries for over 11 years, advanced through the manufacturing, engineering, sales, and service positions within the company and was appointed President in 2019. Adam strives to find solutions for customer’s needs and advance machine technology for the rotomolding industry. He is a graduate of Ohio University’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology. acovington@ferryindustries.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mark Kearns

Mark Kearns is the Rotational Moulding Research Manager of the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen’s University of Belfast. He is a Chartered Chemical Engineer with a M. Phil Degree in Rotational Moulding. Mark manages rotational moulding research and development projects for companies across Europe, Australasia, and North America. M.Kearns@qub.ac.uk

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Tom Innis

Tom Innis is owner and Principal CEO of Xcelerant Growth Partners, LLC (Madison, WI), a multi-discipline consulting firm with specific focus in the global plastics sector. Leveraging industry experience and relationships built over 25+ years in the international manufacturing realm, Xcelerant connects the links in the industry supply chain to accelerate speed-to-market and deliver turnkey personnel, product development and manufacturing solutions to an international audience. tinnis@xcelerantgrowthpartners.com

Ravi Mehra

Ravi Mehra has been associated with the rotational molding industry since the early 1970’s. He is a Past President of ARM – Association of Rotational Molders, and has been inducted into the ARM Hall of Fame. He is the Founding Chairman of StAR – the rotational moulding Trade Association of India. He was the Chairman of ARMO – Affiliation of Rotational Moulding Organizations from 2012 to 2014. Ravi consults internationally with companies in the rotational moulding arena to help their global strategy, facilitate technology tie-ups, and business alliances. maramehra@aol.com

DEPARTMENT EDITOR

Ian

Hansen

Ian Hansen has over 30 years of experience in the rotational moulding industry and has presented to conferences around the world on the subject of quality, safety, and tank design standards. Rotomoulders around the globe have problems from time to time. Rota Consult delivers production solutions so rotomoulders can improve productivity and profitability, without wasting more of their valuable time. ianhansenconsult@gmail.com, www.ianhansenconsult.com

DEPARTMENT EDITOR

Jim

Crawshaw

Jim Crawshaw is the General Manager of PSI Brand, the permanent graphics for plastics division of their family business, Polymer Systems International in New Zealand. Starting out as an engineer and rotomoulding operator, the past 20 years has involved leading a team, developing graphic systems to service global brands, and assisting rotomoulders decorate their plastic products to deliver long-lasting brand experiences. jim@psibrand.com

EDITORS

Alex Pritchard

Dr. Alex Pritchard is a post-doctoral researcher at the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen’s University, Belfast. He is currently working on the development of Type IV H2 Tanks. Alex received his Master’s degree in Product Design Engineering and PhD (on rotationally moulded foams) from QUB.

a.pritchard@qub.ac.uk

Mark McCourt

Dr. Mark McCourt has been involved in commercial rotational moulding research and development projects for 20 years at Queen’s University, carrying out R&D projects and onsite training for small, medium, and multinational companies across the island of Ireland, UK, Europe, Asia, and North America. Mark’s particular area of expertise is in the research and development of new materials and processes relating to the rotational moulding industry. m.mccourt@qub.ac.uk

Peter Martin

Dr. Peter Martin is a Reader in Advanced Materials, a Chartered Engineer, and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He is Director of the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen’s University, Belfast. To date he has supervised more than 30 PhD students in polymer processing and has published around 200 research papers.

P.J.Martin@qub.ac.uk

David Castellanos

Dr. David Castellanos was a Doctoral Researcher in Rotational Moulding at Queen´s University Belfast under the INTERREG VA Programme “Renewable Engine”. David is an Associate Member of IChemE with a BEng degree in Industrial Chemical Engineering from Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). David’s research is in developing novel polymer fibre composites structures for rotational moulding. dcastellanosaleman01@qub.ac.uk

OQ Polymers Meet Soaring Demand in Asia, Thanks to Powerful India-Oman Partnership

• Indian sub-continent is one of the fastest growing regions for polymer demand

• Oman’s total trade with India nearly doubled last year to USD$9.9bn

• OQ to create new and strengthen existing Oman-India business partnerships

MUSCAT, OMAN — OQ, the Omanbased energy transition enabler, that specializes in PP and PE grades for flexible and rigid packaging solutions, continues building on a long-lived trading partnership between its home country and India as the company greeted familiar faces at the PlastIndia event in New Delhi in early February.

Oman’s total trade with India almost doubled last year and was estimated at USD$9.9bn in 2021-2022 compared to USD$5.4bn in 2020-2021. OQ believes the trade opportunities will only further prosper as India’s population, its demand for plastic products and countries’ collaborations, continue to grow momentum. An advantageous prospect of a free trade agreement between the two countries is in the works, with discussions at an advanced stage.

The Indian sub-continent is one of the fastest-growing regions for polymer demand with a CAGR of 6 per cent projected for the 2022-2030 period. In addition, by mid-2023, India is expected to become the most populous country in the world – and with rising income levels being seen across the region, demand for plastic products is set to increase exponentially. Harnessing years of success and confidence in the face of challenges, OQ is primed for demand and ready to take action in support of their close partnership with India.

Speaking from OQ’s stand at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, Dr. Ali Al Lawati, VP for Global Sales at OQ, said: “With unique products manufactured at a world-class plant in Oman, OQ provides multiple industry solutions across several key market segments in India. From flexible and rigid packaging and infrastructure to agriculture and automotive industries, we are excited to empower our business relationship with India and add to what is already a unified and thriving imports partnership between our two nations.”

According to Oman’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Indian enterprises and establishments in the country account for an estimated investment of USD$7.5bn across several key industries covering finance, aviation, iron/steel, cement, chemicals, automotive, fertilizers, and more.

India and Oman share a collective vision to promote economic

well-being across their countries, building a collaborative network to transport goods throughout a global supply chain, and attracting highly skilled talent to join their journey towards greater domestic innovation in the polymer market. Landmark examples of Indian business activity in Oman include:

• Port of Duqm special economic zone: Around USD$1.8bn contribution to significant investments made by Indian companies and Duqm port authorities.

• SOHAR Port and Free Zone: Several Indian firms have emerged as leading investors, further supporting global trade routes between Europe and Asia.

India and Oman are connected by geography, history, and culture, enjoying warm and advantageous relations. Much of this can be attributed to historical maritime trade linkages and the continuing role played by the Indian community in contributing to the progress of Oman.

Contact between Indian and Omani civilizations can be traced back 5,000 years. In 1955, diplomatic relations were established, with the relationship being upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008. Since then, investment flows have been consistent and further gathering momentum. Today, India is among Oman’s top three trading partners along with the UAE and China and is the country’s third-largest non-oil export market.

Contact OQ, P.O. Box 3568, P.C. 112, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, Oman for further information.

Project Air to receive EUR 97 million under agreement with Innovation Fund

MALMÖ, SWEDEN — Representatives from Perstorp, Uniper, and CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency) met recently to officially sign the agreement granting the project support from the Innovation Fund. The agreement states that Project Air will receive EUR 97 million in support to enable its ground-breaking technology, which is a critical enabler for the European chemicals industry to become carbon neutral.

Project Air is a combination of a carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) process for converting CO2, residue streams, renewable hydrogen, and biomethane, which is to be applied for the first-ofa-kind, large-scale production of sustainable methanol. The project is expected to lead to a relative decrease of 123% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoidance in comparison with conventional methanol synthesis. It will have far-reaching effects throughout many industrial value chains and will contribute to ending Europe’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.

“CINEA is honoured to welcome Project Air into the Innovation Fund projects family, a portfolio that currently includes 52 projects implemented across 16 countries. CINEA has a long track record of financing infrastructure and innovation projects in support of the European Green Deal’s carbon-neutrality objective.

I am confident that projects like Project Air will significantly contribute to our objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and diminishing the EU’s dependency on imported fossil fuels. I

look forward to the implementation of this project enabler for the EU chemical industry to become carbon neutral,” said Paloma Aba Garrote, Acting Director at CINEA.

“Today marks an important milestone, not just for Project Air but for the chemical industry, as we are now demonstrating that it is possible to break our industry’s dependence on fossil fuels. We hope that more will follow our lead with similar technologies, enabling circular production processes that utilize residue streams and captured carbon,” commented Jan Secher, CEO of Perstorp Group. “We are happy and grateful that the EU and the Innovation Fund recognise the importance of the chemical industry and its sustainable transformation with this support, which will enable the sustainable transformation of thousands of end products and value chains.”

“Europe is experiencing an unprecedented energy squeeze, where the focus is on securing energy supplies, almost daily. Recognizing that we have a common future will be pivotal to tackling the climate challenge. We need to substitute fossil resources with sustainable alternatives to achieve climate neutrality, and from that perspective Project Air is a game-changer for the transition of the chemical industry. I am very proud that Uniper is a part of the project, and I’m very grateful that the EU commission and CINEA have acknowledged the potential of Project Air”, said David Bryson, Chief Operating Officer Uniper.

For further information, contact Lovisa Hermansson at +46 729 77 97 41 or email lovisa.hermansson@perstop.com

Representatives from Perstop, Uniper, and CINEA

Ferry Industries adds Sales Manager for Growth

STOW, OHIO, USA —Ferry Industries, Inc., has appointed Doug Petek as Regional Sales Manager of Ferry’s RotoSpeed rotational molding machines. “We are pleased to have Doug join Ferry Industries to serve our customers’ needs in the rotational molding market. Doug’s career and experience will continue to strengthen our team’s focus to support existing and new customers with rotomolding machinery and technology,” says Adam Covington, President Ferry Industries, Inc., a Madison Industries company.

Doug has over 25 years of experience in highly technical sales, beginning his career in orthopedic surgical implants, and then computer-controlled prosthetics. Now in the later part of his career he’s been designing and selling engineered systems in dry material handling with an emphasis in plastics.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining Ferry, the global leader in rotational molding machines and support equipment. Over my 25 years of sales and territory management experience, I’ve grown to really enjoy helping people solve complex, technical issues in their business processes. Here at Ferry, it’s the vision of the company to maintain that leadership by continuing to forge ahead in

technological advancements that made it so appealing to join the company. Ferry is taking the pulse of the market, both domestically and internationally, and advancing the technology and performance of its RotoSpeed machines. Automation, ergonomics, and process development are all hot topics in the industry. I look forward to bringing my experience to a company committed to leading the way in answering the industry’s call.”

Ferry Industries’ RotoSpeed brand is the industry leader and global supplier of rotational molding machines. The company designs and manufactures Carousel (Independent-Arm & FixedArm Turret), In-Line Shuttle, and Rocking Oven rotational molding machines as well as engineers custom machines for its expanding domestic and international markets. Ferry has an installed base of more than 1,500 machines operating in more than 60 countries. Ferry also serves the market with ancillary support equipment for automation and streamlining production processes for speed, economy, and consistency.

Ferry Industries - When Performance Counts! For further information, visit www.ferryindustries.com, email sales@ ferryindustries.com or call +1.330.920.9200.

Nexeo Plastics to Distribute Teknor Apex Portfolio of Thermoplastic Elastomers in Europe

BARCELONA, SPAIN — Nexeo Plastics is pleased to announce an expansion of its relationship with Teknor Apex. Nexeo Plastics will become a key distributor for Teknor Apex in Europe* (effective January 1, 2023) of its portfolio of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) under the Sarlink® and Monprene® brands.

This partnership provides Nexeo Plastics customers with a broad portfolio of TPE technologies, including styrenic block copolymer (SBC or TPS), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), and specialty adhesion-modified grades for multi-shot molding onto a wide variety of engineering resins.

The Teknor Apex TPE portfolio encompasses several product lines developed over time to meet specific industry requirements:

• Sarlink® TPEs are ideal for sealing applications that require superior elasticity and long-term performance that well serve the automotive, industrial, consumer, and building & construction markets. Sarlink® styrenic-based TPEs provide automotive OEMs with more design flexibility and superior colorability for interior applications.

• Monprene® TPEs are extremely versatile with a wide hardness range and broad thermal performance. These materials are ideal for consumer products, industrial applications, and packaging, and include grades formulated for food-contact applications.

“This partnership with Teknor Apex enlarges our portfolio of high-value TPEs and complements the solutions we offer key industries, such as automotive, packaging, consumer, industrial, and building and construction,” said Joost d’ Hooghe, vice president EMEA at Nexeo Plastics.

“Nexeo Plastics and Teknor Apex complement each other well with our highly customer centric approach and similar broad customer base and market coverage. The European market is well served by our partnership, providing real value with our state-of-the-art systems and a high level of technical support capabilities,” said Stef Hordijk, director of sales and marketing for the TPE Division in Europe. Their extensive distribution in Europe significantly expands our reach in important target markets.

Nexeo Plastics began accepting orders for Teknor’s TPE products beginning Jan. 1, 2023. *This partnership does not include distribution in Scandinavia or the Baltic region.

Nexeo Plastics is a leading global thermoplastic resins distributor, representing quality products from world-class suppliers, and serving a diverse customer base across North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

From material selection assistance to identifying supply chain and inventory solutions, we go beyond traditional logistics to provide value-added services across many industries, including automotive, healthcare, packaging, wire and cable, 3D printing, and more. Learn more at www.nexeoplastics.com.

Lysis Technologies Receives Runner-up Health and Safety Award from the British Plastics Federation (BPF)

LYMINGTON, UNITED KINGDOM — This year, Lysis Technologies wins the runner-up Health and Safety award from BPF. That was for its significant contribution in improving operations in the plastics industry.

We achieved that through our R&D work and development of innovative and effective products. We are passionate to help the industry produce high quality products and reduce significantly

dangerous substances such as harmful solvents and propellants. Thank you very much for this opportunity. You are giving us the challenges to design and make the products of the future!

The Lysis Technologies and Tesoplas team. For more information, contact Lysis Technologies, Unit 11c, Kings Farm, Lymington, SO41 0HD, Lymington, UK, +44 (0) 1425 200 461, info@lysistechnologies.com

RotoEdge Pro

INCREASE PROFITABILITY & EFFICIENCY

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INCREASE LABOR PRODUCTIVITY

• Save on labor for counting and finding parts

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• No need to leave your work station to get inventory! Automatically calculate inventory demand for machines and workstations

• Designed for help implementing a performance bonus program

• Struggling with finding employees? Increase productivity with the employees you have

DECREASE WASTE & ERRORS

• Integrates with your accounting system to eliminate order entry errors

• Calculates powder demand per shift, machine and even mold. Great for pre-packing!

• Decreases Scrap

PROVEN & SIMPLE TO USE

• No expensive computer equipment required, can be up and running in weeks

• Proven 7 years in use

Real-Time Plant Management Software in an SAAS package

Designed for Rotational Molders by a Rotational Molder!

Penn Color Celebrates Technology Center Grand Opening in Singapore

HATFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Penn Color Inc., celebrated another milestone in its path to expanding its footprint in Asia with the official Grand Opening ceremony for its new Technology Center in Singapore on January 10th.

“This is an inspiring studio where designers, brand managers, business leaders, process engineers, converters, equipment manufacturers, materials suppliers, and technical experts come together to harness their collective creative power and expertise,” says Kevin Putman Jr., president and CEO of Penn Color.

“Thanks to our worldclass capabilities and enabling technologies, new product development teams will condense weeks of development into days, and production-ready products will be available faster than ever before, says Putman Jr. “We envisioned a space where development is agile and transparent, with teams working in the best possible conditions to create those moments of illumination, bringing to life unique and differentiated products, which stand out from the competition, especially in the fields of packaging and consumer goods.

“With this unique combination of a great customer experience and the expertise of Penn Color in color and functional additives, we aim to foster imaginative and forward-thinking ideas that propel our customers’ products into the future,” concludes Putman Jr.

The vibrant atmosphere at the grand opening ceremony was palpable – multiple local representatives, customers, and partners gathered, all keen to find out what opportunities lay ahead. “At Penn Color, we build the bridge between ambitions and reality,” says Phil Riccardi, Penn Color’s Commercial Director, APAC. “Amazing things are accomplished when the right mindset brings innovative technology and imaginative people together around a common purpose. At Penn Color, we are reinventing color development.”

This sentiment was echoed by several customers, who commented on how the energy brought by the Penn Color team already inspired them for future development.

Set for further growth

Located at the Singapore Science Park (SSP), a lively hub for R&D and technology in Asia that is home to over 350 multinationals,

companies, and laboratories; the Singapore Technology Center was designed by DP Design.

DP Design is a company headquartered in Singapore and involved in the creation of some of Singapore’s most recognizable buildings, including Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Paragon Shopping Centre, Orchard Central, Yotel Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa, and Tampines Hub Library, as well as The Dubai Mall in UAE, Emaar Square Mall in Turkey, and Cinemaxx Junior in Indonesia.

The Technology Center, as outlined by Mike Lim, principal designer of DP Design, and winner of the Design Excellence Awards

2018/2019 Designer of the Year award, incorporates a laboratory with industrial equipment alongside office areas, in a welcoming and comfortable environment. The site will stimulate and encourage creativity, agility, and transparent collaboration, three essential elements of Penn Color’s unique customer experience.

This addition to the company’s existing Technology Centers in Hatfield PA, USA, and Venray, Netherlands, the Singapore Technology Center is a testament to Penn Color’s commitment to its strategy for global growth. The new facility is state-of-the-art, and its location in the heart of one of the most dynamic markets in the world provides an ideal platform of operations for Penn Color’s global customer base.

With this investment, Penn Color reaffirms its dedication to providing exceptional products and world-class services to existing global customers operating in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as bringing its unique value proposition to new customers, further solidifying its position as a global leader in the color and functional additive masterbatch industry.

Headquartered in Hatfield PA, USA, Penn Color is a familyowned leading global supplier of colors and functional additives in masterbatches and compounds for thermoplastics, as well as high performance pigment dispersions for inks and coatings. With a diversity of technologies and expertise that is unique in the industry, Penn Color serves applications for consumer goods, building and construction, transportation, and infrastructure industries.

Penn Color has customers in 68 countries and operates multiple sales, R&D, and manufacturing sites in the USA, Europe, and Asia.

For further information, please visit: www.penncolor.com.

“Thanks to our worldclass capabilities and enabling technologies, new product development teams will condense weeks of development into days, and production-ready products will be available faster than ever before.”

— Kevin Putnam Jr.

Welcoming Tom Wise as Senior Account Manager for Northeast Region!

WADSWORTH, OHIO, USA —

Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. is pleased to announce Tom Wise as the new senior account manager for Northeastern United States, where he is responsible for the development of new accounts and growing sales in the region including the New England states, the East Coast, and MidAtlantic states. He will focus on strengthening existing customer relationships, developing new client relationships, and continuing to advance Jerico’s role in the rotational molding industry through innovative design and product recommendations.

Tom has extensive experience in the industry having worked for rotomolders and thermoforming companies in the U.S. and Canada. “Tom brings a strong background in both technical engineering and manufacturing in rotomolding, which will complement Jerico’s existing team structure well. We look forward

to starting off the new year with Tom onboard,” offered Steve Copeland, President of Jerico Plastic. In his long career, Tom has earned seven United States Utility Patents for unique material handling container solutions that employed the use of rotational molding and plastics. Additionally, he has assisted countless customers in various industries with their custom plastic part applications and designs.

Tom earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial arts technology from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. During his senior year, he studied the process of rotational molding, which led directly to employment in the rotomolding industry, where he has spent his entire career.

For more information, contact Brandi Frey, Vice-President of Operations — (330) 868-4600, info@jericoplastic.com or Stephen Copeland, President — steve@jericoplastic.com

Jerico Adds Inside Sales and Customer Service Manager

MINERVA, OHIO, USA — Jerico Plastic Industries recently brought Mark A. Lebus on board to handle Inside Sales and Customer Service for all manufacturing locations. Lebus communicates with customers and team members regarding production updates and general plant communications, ensuring orders are processed in a timely manner, and lead times on materials are met. He works closely with the Jerico sales team and coordinates with the lab to manage and maintain project flow throughout the company’s Ohio and Georgia facilities.

In this role, he also qualifies and develops potential leads using data-driven research from digital resources and other inbound channels. Internally, he will assist in the development, training, and implementation of processes within the organization.

His previous experience as a Team Leader in the Healthcare Reimbursement industry has proven effective in the customer service and customer relations aspects of Jerico Plastic Industries.

“Mark has been a positive addition to our company, bringing a clear understanding of customer needs and balancing them with the many aspects of our production,” commented Brandi Frey, Vice President of Operations.

With two manufacturing facilities in Minerva, Ohio, and one in Greensboro, Georgia, Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. was established in 1997 and remains steadfastly committed to excellence in compounding for rotational molding. As a custom manufacturer of color compounds, specialty resins, and recycled products, the company currently offers rotational molding PP, cross-linkable PE, flame retardant PE and special effects PE compounds, PE adhesion compounds, and nontraditional engineered sustainable compounds for rotational and injection molding.

For more information, contact Brandi Frey, Vice-President of Operations — (330) 868-4600, info@jericoplastic.com or Stephen Copeland, President — steve@jericoplastic.com

ROTOLOAD™ powder weighing & dispensing systems

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IDSA Appoints Chief Operating Officer to Serve as Interim Executive Director

IDSA’s Board of Directors has selected IDSA’s Chief Operating Officer, Jerry Layne, CAE to serve as IDSA’s Interim Executive Director effective January 1, 2023. This comes after the November 2022 announcement that Chris Livaudais was stepping down from the position at the end of the year. Jerry will serve in this role while a formal search is conducted to identify a new full-time Executive Director.

Jerry joined the IDSA staff in 2013 and over the course of his 10-year tenure, he has become deeply involved with nearly every aspect of the association. A seasoned association professional, his career started in the retail industry as a General Manager for AMC Theatres where he developed a passion for human resources. He leveraged this passion and transitioned into association management with the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) managing Human Resources and Office Services before joining IDSA. In the role of IDSA’s Chief Operating Officer, Jerry has maintained day-to-day oversight over Human Resources and Administration, Membership, Chapters and Sections, Technology, and Governance.

When asked about the opportunity ahead, Jerry states: “I am humbled by this decision and excited to lead IDSA staff and work with the Board during this transition period. Throughout my tenure, I’ve been fortunate to interact with many of our members and look forward to getting to know as many of you as I can on a deeper level. My knowledge of IDSA’s history and operations uniquely positions me to serve IDSA in this new role. My chief responsibility is to ensure our community continues to experience the level of service and value they’ve come to expect through our programs. Simultaneously, I hope to deliver noticeable improvements throughout the year.”

The Long Island, NY native earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany and a Master’s degree in management: leadership, and organizational effectiveness from the University of South Florida. In 2020 he earned his Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the highest professional credential in the association industry, and a distinction less than five percent of all association professionals have achieved.

Hamilton manufacturer Kaivac expands by acquiring plastics maker

HAMILTON, OHIO, USA — Kaivac, a Hamilton-based science-based cleaning systems manufacturer, has acquired a Clermont County plastics manufacturer. The $30 million company announced the acquisition of Eger Products and will add a manufacturing division and part of its supply chain in-house. Eger Products will be rebranded as Expert Roto Molding, A Division of Kaivac.

Kaivac Chief Growth Officer Bob Robinson Jr. said this purchase “will help protect our supply chain and make Kaivac more competitive. We are pleased that this acquisition will also help protect the team at Eger and keep these good American jobs secure for the long term.”

Eger Products, which was founded in 1969, had been a familyowned business specializing in plastics and manufacturing processes, including rotational molding, dip molding, and thermoforming. The acquisition will add 30 employees to Kaivac’s 120 employees, and the Expert Roto Molding division will remain in Clermont County for the foreseeable future, according to the company.

Kaivac has had a relationship with Eger early in the company’s history, and Eger has been the primary vendor for plastic body parts on Kaivac systems. Kaivac developed products and cleaning systems that address just about any surface for just about any

industry, including education, healthcare, retail, food service, manufacturing, transportation, industrial, fitness, sports venues, veterinary, and pet care.

In addition to supporting Kaivac’s needs, the Expert Roto Molding division will continue to serve Eger Products’ customer base. “We have learned so much from Eger over the years,” said CEO Bob Robinson Sr. “We’re going to be lending our management expertise to them. They, in turn, will be teaching us the technologies in plastic molding. The unification of our companies will enhance each other.”

Eger Production Manager Ashley Gilkison, granddaughter of Eger founder Dick Koebbe, said Kaivac was her grandfather’s first big account. “He always said that when he first met Bob Robinson Sr., he knew his ideas were something special,” she said. “Now we get to continue the legacy of my grandfather and uncle with Kaivac support.”

Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith said Kaivac has a strong leadership team, and the city is fortunate to have it in the community. “Their recent growth, both internally and through acquisitions, has been impressive,” Smith said. “We look forward to them providing additional job opportunities as they grow in East Hamilton.” (Source: Dayton Daily News)

Matrix Polymers Launches FIRST Industry Magazine

Introducing Expanding Horizons, the first edition of the Matrix Polymers magazine. The magazine focuses on Matrix Polymers’ special relationship with its manufacturing partners through a series of stories. These stores arise and develop across a wide range of sectors and multiple countries, each confronted with a complex, challenging, and exciting problem. Through these case studies, Expanding Horizons explains the critical role Matrix Polymers plays in the rotational moulding value chain.

Rotational Moulding (Rotomoulding) is a unique plastics process that enables the designer to develop an amazing range of products of almost limitless size and complexity – all in one moulding. Most people are not aware of the diversity of products this industry makes and the objective of this series of magazines is to help designers, rotomoulders, and OEMs get a better understanding of what is possible.

We hope you get new thoughts and ideas from the case studies we feature, and you are inspired to develop your own new applications using this incredibly versatile and low-cost process.

• Target includes production from SABIC’s first commercial advanced recycling unit in Geleen, The Netherlands which is in the final stages of construction with commercial delivery of first circular polymers expected in 2023.

• As next step on the roadmap to meet this 2030 target, SABIC has also announced that it is exploring a new worldscale commercial advanced recycling investment.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA —SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating the circular carbon economy during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos by unveiling its ambition to process one million metric tons (1000kt) of TRUCIRCLE™ solutions annually by 2030.

SABIC used its reception hosted in the company’s iconic ICEhouse™ (Innovation for the Circular Economy) with global business figures and policymakers to outline its new advances on its sustainability journey.

Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC CEO (A) said, “At SABIC, we are committed to helping provide our customers with more sustainable solutions, and our target of one million metric tons of TRUCIRCLE™ solutions by 2030 intends to help usher in the new circular economy.” He added, “Driving circularity for plastics will require a rapid transformation of the entire value chain, which is only possible through collective action, innovation, and collaboration across the industry and eco system of waste management. Therefore, we are working hard with downstream and upstream partners to accelerate this process.”

SABIC pioneered the industry back in Davos in 2019, when it announced plans to build a world-first small-scale commercial unit to produce certified circular polymers from the advanced recycling of used plastics. Since then, SABIC has been employing existing facilities to process smaller volumes of advanced recycled materials for brand owners and customers for a variety of applications already available in the market.

Construction of the company’s first commercial unit in Geleen, the Netherlands is now entering the final stages and deliveries of first circular polymers are expected in 2023.

As a next step on the roadmap to meet this 2030 target, SABIC will upscale volumes globally of advanced and mechanical recycling as well as bio-based materials. In that context, SABIC also announced that it is exploring a new world-scale commercial

advanced recycling investment that would have a potential capacity to process around 200 kilotons (KT) of circular materials per year, as well as other projects such as a small-scale advanced recycling plant in Saudi Arabia.

Since 2020, SABIC’s certified circular polypropylene has been used in ice cream tubs from the Unilever’s A-brand ice cream brand, Magnum, the first to use recycled plastic in the ice cream industry. In another successful collaboration, SABIC teamed up with Mars and Landbell in an innovative closed-loop recycling project designed to close the loop on KIND® snack bar wrap based on certified circular polypropylene.

SABIC’s circular polymers and technologies are offered through TRUCIRCLE™, a set of solutions launched to help give value chain partners access to more sustainable materials. The TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio includes not only certified circular products, but also certified bio-based products, based on certified 2nd and 3rd generation renewable feedstock, and mechanical recycled polymers, ocean and ocean bound recycled solutions, as well as closed loop services and design for recyclability.

SABIC’s certified circular and certified renewable products are verified and authenticated in a mass balancing approach under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS scheme.

TRUCIRCLE™ solutions were showcased in Davos, Switzerland, at SABIC’s Innovation for the Circular Economy (ICEhouse™), a distinctive concept-structure designed to demonstrate new possibilities for building in closed-loop carbon systems that reduce energy and material waste.

Sabic reaffirms commitment to the circular carbon economy with a target of one million metric tons of trucircle™ solutions annually by 2030

“Driving circularity for plastics will require a rapid transformation of the entire value chain.”

— Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh

Tank Holding Acquires Solar Plastics

Tank Holding, North America’s largest rotational molder, has acquired Solar Plastics, a Minnesota based rotational molder owned by ATEK Companies, Inc. of Eden Prairie, MN. Solar Plastics manufactures a variety of high volume rotationally molded products serving a variety of original equipment manufacturers across multiple industries including agriculture, construction, recreational, and petro-lube. Solar Plastics has built a reputation of high quality, turnkey solutions, and services utilizing the rotational molding process. The acquisition did not include the recently opened SPL Monterrey, Mexico facility.

“Solar Plastics is a premier rotational molding company with great people and a great reputation in the industry. They bring significant capacity, long-term customer relationships, and valuable talent and expertise to the Tank Holding team. Solar maintains long-term customer relationships in strategic areas that are important to our overall growth strategy. The two manufacturing facilities located in Delano, MN and Davenport, IA provide additional capabilities, capacity, and logistical options for our customers. The Solar team will continue to provide the same great products and services while also leveraging knowledge, expertise,

and manufacturing synergies from the broader Tank Holding network to create the best overall value for the customers,” said Greg Wade, CEO of Tank Holding.

The Solar acquisition provides Tank Holding additional synergy opportunities with several of their recent acquisitions, which were a combination of contract manufacturing and proprietary products in rotational, blow, injection, and compression molding. Together, their market leading brands and manufacturing capabilities provide the industry with one of the broadest product portfolios and manufacturing footprints.

Wade says, “We continue looking to expand our manufacturing platform through acquisitions of great companies, superior products, long-term customer relationships, and industry leading talent in the markets we serve. We continue actively pursuing opportunities not only in rotational molding, but also beyond, including our recent acquisitions in blow and injection molded products and services. We believe these manufacturing technologies transcend across our entire customer and product portfolio and create significant value and opportunity for Tank Holding and our customers.”

Lyondellbasell and Kirkbi Invest in APK to Develop Recycling Technology

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, BILLUND, DENMARK, AND MERSEBURG, GERMANY —

PRNewswire/Recently, LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), a global leader in the chemical industry and KIRKBI A/S, the familyowned holding and investment company of the LEGO® brand, announced they have signed an agreement to make an investment in APK, which specializes in a unique solvent-based recycling technology for low density polyethylene (LDPE).

APK aims to increase the recycling of multi-layer flexible packaging materials – which today make up the majority of mixed plastic waste from the consumer sector. To this end, APK has developed the unique solvent-based Newcycling® process, which separates the different polymers of multi-layer packaging materials and produces recycled materials with a high degree of purity suitable for new packaging materials.

Under the agreement, LyondellBasell and KIRKBI will become minority shareholders in APK and together with other co-investors will invest approximately 130 million Euros in APK. Further Newcyling® Plants are planned to be built to increase the production capacity.

“We need to advance the recycling of all types of plastic waste material generated today to support the goal of a circular economy and meet the increasing demand for high quality recycled products,” says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell Executive Vice President, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. “Advancing this technology, through our investment in APK, will enable more plastic packaging waste to be reintroduced back into

the value chain and will address the demand from consumers and brand owners for more sustainable packaging. Products made using this unique Newcycling® solvent-based technology will be a great complementary addition to our existing Circulen product portfolio, which currently offers mechanical and advanced recycling solutions to our customers.”

“We are happy to announce our investment in APK. KIRKBI believes APK offers a promising scalable technology in LDPE recycling that can help increase the circularity of plastics and minimize plastic waste, to contribute to a more sustainable environment in the future. We look forward to providing strategic, financial, and commercial support while APK establishes technology that will compliment mechanical and chemical recycling,” says Damir Hamzic, head of the Circular Plastics Investment area in KIRKBI, which focuses on investments that contribute to the transition to a more circular plastics economy.

“Our Newcycling® technology makes it possible to close the loop even with complex waste streams and to produce high-quality LDPE recyclates from mixed plastic waste - highly efficient and offering both economic and ecological advantages. We have been proving for years that this is also possible on an industrial scale at our plant in Merseburg,” says Susanne Küppers, member of the Executive Board of APK, AG, and Managing Director of APK NCC. “We are pleased to now ignite the next stage and are proud to have LyondellBasell and KIRKBI as two strong supporters at our side, who bring a lot of additional expertise, for example in the areas of polymer design and application know how.”

Krones Wins Two German Design Awards in 2023

Krones has won the internationally renowned German Design Award in the Excellent Product Design Industry category for its Contiform stretch blow-molding machine and the Mobile Production Robotics system.

Sometimes it is the small changes or ideas which have the greatest impact. The Krones Contiform family of stretch blow-molders is used to produce PET bottles and is now in its fourth generation. The focus in this latest evolution was on sustainability and digitalisation – two issues currently pre-occupying all players in the industrial

sector. Intelligent features such as Contiloop AI, Air Wizard

Triple and Skip-and-Run combine to reduce the new generation’s CO2emissions by 16 per cent. Thanks to a synergised symbiosis of human-centered operating options, any malfunctions are displayed not only on the control panel but also on mobile terminals.

The second prize-winner, a mobile robotics system, supports operators in supplying materials to the filling and packaging lines. In one such application, it is used for the automatic refilling of film reels in packers.

We need to advance the recycling of all types of plastic waste material generated today to support the goal of a circular economy and meet the increasing demand for high quality recycled products.”

— Yvonne va der Laan

Bruce M. Muller (1942-2022)

Bruce’s efforts were acknowledged with the Charles D. Frederick Distinguished Service Award in 2001 and his induction into the Rotational Molding Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association. The goals of this prestigious group of plastics industry veterans are to: 1. Collect and distribute funds to support plastics education, 2. Collect and preserve the history of the plastics industry, and 3. Meet twice a year to enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded members of the plastics industry.

Bruce and Sheri sold Accurate Color and Accurate Compounding in 1995, and after a few more years in Ohio, they relocated to Palm City, Florida, where Bruce started a new company, Plastics Consulting, Inc. He continually consulted for companies large and small, domestic and international, until he was overtaken by cancer at the age of 80.

Bruce is survived by his wife Sheri of 60 years, his son Bru and his wife Aina, his son Scott and his wife Camille, and his three brothers, Conrad, Wayne & Brien & Brien’s wife Emily.

The rotational molding industry lost a loyal friend, a plastic material, coloring, and processing expert - with the passing of Bruce Muller on December 20th, 2022.

Bruce was born in Huntington, West Virginia in 1942. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1964 while pursuing a college education at night school, and marrying Sheri Philpot in June of 1962.

Following his military service, Bruce took a position in the plastics research division at General Tire Company, based in Akron, Ohio, and from that initial job, he pursued a lifelong career in the plastics industry.

In 1978, Bruce and Sheri founded Accurate Color, Inc. in Lodi, Ohio. Bruce recognized that the relatively small volume, rotational molding industry, was not getting the attention of pigment suppliers. Seizing upon this newfound opportunity, Accurate Color began compounding pigment specifically for the rotational molding process and became a successful international supplier of pigments for rotational molding, as well as other molding processes. Bruce and Sheri also started and ran a successful sister company, Accurate Compounding, across the street from Accurate Color in Lodi, OH.

In 1969, Bruce joined the Society of Plastics Engineers. He was actively involved in the Ohio Fireland Section, and the Color and Appearance, and Extrusion, Polymers, and Additive Divisions. He was a charter member of SPE’s Rotational Molding Division and received the Past Divisions Presidents Award in 2012 and was elected a Fellow of SPE in 2004.

Bruce joined the Association of Rotational Molders (ARM) in 1981. He served on the Board of Directors as Chairman of the Special Materials and PVC Committees, and he was a frequent speaker and exhibitor at ARM conferences.

In lieu of flowers, donations honoring Bruce can be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 2655 SW Immanuel Drive, Palm City, FL 34990.

2022 ARM ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

The ARM Annual Meeting takes place each fall bringing together industry rotomolders, suppliers, and professionals for education, troubleshooting, and networking. The 2022 meeting gathered an international attendance of over 340 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. There were over 40 exhibitors on hand for the two-day trade exhibition.

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Bob Mueller, Norstar Aluminum Molds honored with Charles D. Frederick Award.

Dru Laws accepts Product of the Year Award for Tango Manufacturing.

ARM President Matt Bushman Brian Gooding Scott Daly Martin Coles

Among the many industry-important topics covered at the meeting were: an overall plastic industry economic outlook; a study on consumer insights and consumer perceptions into plastics products and sustainability; an in-depth review of energy issues including the viability of future alternatives; and competitive advantages offered through molder and supplier collaborations. The meeting included optional seminars on Rotomolding 101 in English and Spanish, Advanced Rotomolding, and Design in Rotomolding.

General Session

ARM President Matt Bushman welcomed attendees to the conference and recognized Vice President Alvin Spence for organizing the program. A new ARM Benefits Video and enhanced website was introduced.

Scott Daly, keynote speaker for the event, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams where he served as an Operator, Chief Petty Officer, Master Training Specialist, and Officer in Charge. Daly graduated from Ohio State University and spent years training junior officers and enlisted SEALs on how to perform at elite levels physically, emotionally, and tactically in the world’s most demanding environments. Today, he is Director of Training Elite Leaders, Culture, and Behavior at Focus 3. Focus 3 is a program that teaches discipline-driven behavioral skills that are critical to an organization’s growth, but also focusses on individual and team development.

Daly shared his unique perspective on organizational performance. He conveyed the value of critical decision-making and using a systematic approach to leadership, culture, and behavior for the ultimate purpose of producing exceptional

Daven Claerbout, Dutchland Plastics, Ron Joannou Jr., Formed Plastics, inducted into the ARM Hall of Fame, and Pat Long, Formed Plastics

Celal Beysel

Sergio Zilioli

“You have to go build an exceptional culture, you can’t wait to find it.”

— Scott Daly, Focus 3

Dr. Nick Henwood, Rotomotive, inducted into the ARM Hall of Fame, and Daven Claerout, Dutchland Plastics

Ron Cooke, Exxon Mobil, inducted into the ARM Hall of Fame, and Daven Claerbout, Dutchland Plastics

Sandy Scaccia and Peter Connors

results. “You have to go build an exceptional culture, you can’t wait to find it,” Daly said. He emphasized the power of your own 20 square feet. “What you do in your 20 sf is exceptionally powerful,” he said. “You must manage your 20 sf in the most impactful manner so others will perform. You cannot allow a frustration outside of your 20 sf to influence your 20 sf.”

Perc Pineda, PhD and Chief Economist of the Plastics Industry Association gave an overall industry economic update. Even though there are signs of a softening labor market, there were 3,000 new workers added to the plastics industry at the end of 2021. Manufacturing was up by 1.1%, and plastics was the 6th largest industry. The U.S. economic output is slowing, inflation remains high, and materials remain the largest cost for manufacturing, he reported. “Expect headwinds to increase with the risk of recession, and supply chain recovery to remain uneven,” Pineda said. Molders were encouraged to optimize inventory management and recognize inflation pressures will linger.

Eugen Tabone, market manager, durables, and Eric Vignola, leader, market management, NOVA Chemicals, presented insights derived from a study the company conducted relating to plastics, sustainability, and evolving consumer perceptions.

With a lot of negative information in the market about plastics, it is sometimes hard to find positives, they said. However, with education, consumers agreed plastics packaging is important because it helps to keep products safe and sustainable. The study concluded the benefits of plastics outweigh the risks, a trend that has grown significantly between 2019 – 2022. Consumers are willing to pay for recyclable packaging, and with education, 15% of people agree most plastics are sustainable. More than 50% of consumers would purchase packaging with PCR content. The industry should see a 60% decrease in negatives regarding plastics in the year 2023.

Martin Coles, Group CEO Matrix Polymers, talked about looming environmental regulations and whether they present a threat or opportunity for Roto. New Zealand’s proposed ban on all new installations of natural gas to reduce CO2 emissions has come as quite a shock to the rotomoulding community. “This has the potential to be a major threat to the future of the process not only in New Zealand, but also to the global roto industry,” Coles said. “Gas is the industry’s energy choice because it is available and inexpensive, however,

Susan and Doug Cunningham

Tom Innis

Jim Crashaw, Alain St. Pierre, and Barbara and Toby Huff

Dustin Tergeon

“Expect headwinds to increase with the risk of recession and supply chain recovery to remain uneven.”

—Perc Pindea, Plastics Industry Association

Bill Christain

Mike Santos, Rishi Saran, and Matt Bushman

Mike Santos

Jimi Mauri Corey Claussen and Dave Long

Scott Waterman

Zach Hudgins and Vince Costello

if gas bans come, we must be prepared with alternatives along with understanding how realistic and practical these alternatives would be.”

The threats to roto include increasing packaging costs, future tax extensions, talk of products needing to be made with minimum percentage of recycled content, and the feasibility and cost of making Roto products with 30% recycled content. Opportunities, on the other hand, include more collection of waste (more storage and materials handling products needed), reduced single-use packaging (more multi-use durable packaging needed), and industry initiatives (such as ARMA’s goal of 3,600 MT - 8 million lbs. of recycle used in Australia and New Zealand Roto products by 2025).

“Regulations and new laws relating to the environment are coming,” Coles said. “We had better be prepared, and we need to get ahead of the curve now. We all have a responsibility to improve our environment.”

Dr. Gareth McDowell, 493K, talked about where energy goes during the rotomolding process. “From an energy standpoint, it goes right up the chimney,” he said. Gas prices are on the increase, and to reduce energy

McDowell encouraged molders to keep ovens full, insulate ovens and arms, reduce view rooms, keep oven doors locked, and employ oven door gaskets. “Molders can realize a lot of savings just by scheduling more efficiently,” McDowell said.

Rishi Saran, Roto Dynamics, presented a case study on the company’s 2021 Product of the Year winning product - Rowdy Hound. The first of its kind, Rowdy Hound is a rotomolded motorcycle pet crate. “68% of households own a pet, and 84.6 million homes have pets,” Saran said. This was a new and needed product for the market. It consists of impact resistant polycarbonate windows, a powder coated steel frame, heavy duty sliders, a top section that can slide back and lock into various positions. It allows for various accessories to be mounted to the outside of the unit and contains a 3-point safety harness inside the unit.

Tom Innis, Xcelerant Growth Partners, talked about the competitive advantages of smart product design. He demonstrated the process with the Agri-Inject Insectigator™. Agri-Inject, led by CEO Erik Tribelhorn and located in Yuma, Colorado, had been utilizing a 30+ year old design and outsourcing its roto production until 2013. The tools were aged and tired. The

Eduardo Guizar, Tony Short, and Tom Innis

Dave Smith and Matt Bushman

Adam Covington, Ferry Industries Booth

Daven and Carl Claerbout

“Regulations and new laws relating to the environment are coming. We better be prepared, and we need to get ahead of the curve now.”

— Martin Coles, Matrix Polymers

chemigation unit pairs with irrigation units to deliver insecticide to crops. Through a full re-design, they were able to develop a more effective system for the crop-dusting market. They were able to become competitive with other manufacturing processes.

Celal Beysel, Floteks, Bursa, Turkey, discussed the environmental and commercial concerns of fossil fuels and solutions. Research through Floteks R&D department into hydrogen tanks replacing fossil fuel tanks has been ongoing for the past 8 years. In the beginning it was only about the manufacturing of liners for composite pressure tanks. However, with the energy challenges facing the rotomoulding industry, replacing fossil fuels now directly affects the future. “Regions with fossil fuels resources are not reliable, and peace is very delicate in those regions due to the lack of democracy. This is leaving a huge threat to fossil fuel stocks,” Beysel said. “Notwithstanding, fossil fuel is not unlimited,

be sent via pipelines or in pressure vessels to the spots they will be used. “Therefore, the most reliant energy seems to be hidden in H2 energy, which is unlimitedly available. Energy value per volume of Hydrogen at ambient pressure and temperature is very low.”

Brian Gooding, Saeplast, a division of Rotovia, and Dustin Turgeon, NOVA Chemicals, presented a case study demonstrating how a rotomolder working with their material supplier can extract the most value from new materials. The presentation highlighted the value extracted from NOVAPOL® TRx-0338, which included oven temperature optimization, cycle time improvement, operations flexibility, improved energy savings, and light weighting potential – all creating sustainability.

“Food is a big part of what we do,” and “renewable energy has become a big part of what we do,” Gooding said. “We are proud of trying to make our products better, and our products are

and it is polluting the world. To solve this huge problem and create a sustainable environment and maintain our lifestyle, rotomolders need to react because one day we will be questioned about the high energy loss caused by our production method,” Beysel said. Today, only 8% of the energy used in conventional rotomoulding ovens are used for melting the raw material. Sun, wind, and hydraulic energy are not effective enough to produce the electricity needed. Nuclear energy is questionable. Batteries storing electrical energy are also polluting, among many other issues. The best solution is Hydrogen. There are serious budgets for the research and development into Hydrogen. H2 can be produced using sun and wind energy as ‘green Hydrogen’. In energy farms, H2 can either

sustainable. Our products are circular, and everything has a life cycle. We are putting recycled material back into our containers. Light weighting is something our customers expect.”

Suppliers to the process offered several new materials and energy efficiency options. Matt Jeffries, Rotoline, compared gas and electric consumption among Rotoline machines. Darin Grinsteinner, Celanese, presented the benefits of using rotomoldable acetal with low fuel permeation and high impact. Sergio Zilioli, Persico Spa, presented a case related to an automatic production cell with Smart machinery and robot for the manufacturing of fuel tanks. Connor Prat, JS Engineering, talked about the advantages of using pneumatic clamps to open and close

Jim Crawshaw, PSI Booth

Scott Saxman and Matt Bushman

“With the energy challenges facing the rotomoulding industry, replacing fossil fuels now directly affects the future.” — Celal Beysel, Floteks

Jose Gomes, Roto Polymers, receives ‘Excellence in Member Recruitment’ award

molds utilizing the company’s Clamp-X for increased safety and efficiency. Bryce Anzelma, PhD, Director of Product Management Lyten, introduced Lyten’s 3D Graphene® for various composite applications citing system improvements including increased strength and stiffness, decreased weight, and improved thermal and electrical properties.

ARM Annual Business Lunch

During the annual ARM Business Lunch, officers for the coming term were presented: Matt Bushman, president; Alvin Spence, vice president, Darren Balderson, Secretary/Treasurer, and new director, Jose Gomez, Roto Polymers. Outgoing board members Daven Claerbout, Dutchland Plastics, and Doug Biela, Nova Chemicals were recognized for their service. Committee reports were given with special recognition of 33 new members joining ARM in 2022.

Education Workshops

Educational workshops for the event featured: Development of a New Family of Rotomolding Materials (Dr. Nick Henwood, ARM Technical Director); Defining Automation through our 3D Philosophy with Beer (Lisa Greentree, Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc.); Cool Aide Study (Corey Eystad, Revolv Manufacturing); Heather Fennell (Shell Polymers), Ron Joannou Jr. and Joey Morsi (Formed Plastics); and Bob Mueller (Norstar Aluminum Molds); What’s Your Problem (Sandy Scaccia, Norstar, and Jon Ratzlaff, Chevron Philips); What’s Your Problem in Spanish (Roto Polymers); Five Factors Affecting Employee Retention in Rotational Molding Plastic Manufacturing (Dr. Paula Orcutt); and Determining Your True Cost (Stephen Osborn).

ARM Awards Gala & After Party

During the ARM Gala Awards Dinner, several companies were recognized for Excellence in Member Recruitment including: Claerbout Consulting, Entec, M. Holland, Rotoline, RotoPolymers, and Saxman Solutions. The Charles D. Frederick Distinguished Service Award was presented to Bob Mueller of Norstar Aluminum Molds. Student Design Awards were given to Abolfazi Ghaderi of Purdue University, Owen Jelinek of University of Wisconsin Stout, and Reed Sell of Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Safety Awards were presented to Flexahopper Plastics and Formed Plastics. The Product Competition Awards went to: Tango Manufacturing for Halltech Hornet in the Conversion category; Centro Inc. for the Spartan in the Innovative/State of the Art

category; Roto Dynamics for the Fish Farm Stanchion in the Large Product category. Winning the Product of the Year Award was Tango Manufacturing.

The Gala event featured an auction and famous auctioneer Daven Claerbout of Dutchland Plastics led the charge raising money for the Roy Crawford Foundation. The Foundation conducts rotomoulding research and development in addition to providing scholarships for high school students.

Jerico Plastic hosted a “Back to the Future” reception and karaoke party allowing attendees to wind down and relax after all their hard work.

A big thank you to the 2022 ARM Annual Meeting Sponsors which included: RotoPolymers (Premier Sponsor); NOVA Chemicals (Elite Sponsor); Brunk, Dow, Entec, ExxonMobil, Ferry Industries, Jerico Plastic, Lone Star Chemical, M. Holland, McCann Plastics, Mosaic Roto, Muehlstein, Nexeo Plastics, Quantum Polymers, RotoLoad, Rotomachinery Group, Shell Polymers, and Stoner Molding Solutions.

Save the date for 2023 ARM Executive Forum, which will take place March 20 -22, 2023 at the Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, CA.

Larry Whitemore, Stoner Booth

Lyten Booth

AT ISSUE

Martin Coles, Matrix Polymers

2022 was a very challenging year for many rotomoulders and, indeed, for most of the plastics industry. Still, it is imperative to view things long-term and remain positive.

When COVID hit the world in the first quarter of 2020, it was a shocking and fearful time for everyone. There was immense uncertainty – firstly, about the threat to the health of ourselves and our loved ones. In addition, there was the massive economic damage that the pandemic looked like it might cause. There were lockdowns, furloughs, shutdowns, and lay-offs – were we going to be able to survive and look after our families?

Most governments around the world rightly tried to protect their citizens (and voters), pumped vast sums into their healthcare and vaccination programmes worked to protect jobs and industries and borrowed heavily to stimulate the economy. We were navigating through totally unchartered waters, and it was impossible to know all the consequences of our actions.

Today the world is facing an energy crisis, ongoing supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, much higher interest rates, significant inflation, low growth, and economic recession in many regions.

Many of these problems are due directly and indirectly to the dislocations caused by COVID. These problems are due to the unintended consequences of governments providing stimulus, which may, in hindsight, have been taken too far. There’s always an easy way after an event!

I’m a fervent believer in free market economics, and undoubtedly many of the significant issues we face will self-correct. Sea-freight costs have been sky-high for the past two and a half years, and I’ve mentioned before about shipping rates being over ten times higher than pre-Covid levels on some routes, but finally, the tide is turning, and there has been a big freeing up in capacity, much quicker delivery times, and in some cases plummeting shipping prices.

We saw the same phenomenon with polymer prices throughout the second half of this year. Most polymer producers have had a very successful couple of years but are struggling now. This is due to steep falls in prices and many having to run at reduced operating rates due to oversupply in the market. Perhaps the next big problem we’ll be facing is deflation.

I have high optimism about our rotomoulding industry and the resilience of rotomoulders to cope and adapt to the ever-changing landscape and challenges. Recently, I presented at the ARM conference in Atlanta and the ROMA roto conference in India. Both events were very well supported. Most moulders I spoke to are in reasonable shape and busy working on various projects.

There are undoubtedly many opportunities for rotomoulders to explore and significant potential for markets like hydrogen tanks on the horizon. We must continue to be adaptable and positive and work through the current challenging environment. Still, I remain hopeful that the world will re-stabilise, and we will start returning to some degree of normality over the coming months.

Despite the challenges ahead, there are reasons to be optimistic over the long term

Giò Colonna Romano PLASTICS PRODUCTS VISIONARY

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Giò Colonna Romano and son Marco Colonna Romano

Giò Colonna Romano was a visionary, entrepreneur, creative, and the founder of SLIDE Design.

SLIDE founder Giuseppe (Giò) Colonna Romano was born in Alcamo, Sicily. Giò moved to Milan after obtaining a degree in Mechanical Engineering in Palermo. He started to work as a professor in Industrial Planning at Bocconi University in Milan. Giò was the manager of a textile and toys company from 1977 to 1983. In 1983, he founded Green House that produced plastic home supplies, where he was an artistic director. One of the prototypes he realized was exposed at MOMA in New York. In 1991, he founded Sigre, the first company of the present group that produced garden vases in plastic material with the appearance of terracotta and the advantages of light and indestructible material.

In 2002, SLIDE was founded, when Giò decided to exploit the know-how in the industry to create a totally innovative product format - lighting furniture in polyethylene. This innovative luminous and colored furniture with a distinct and iconic design was the beginning of the SLIDE collection. A design and rotational molding visionary, Giò sadly passed away on November 1, 2022.

Giò’s 30-year history in the manufacturing of plastic resins included producing rotationally molded products for the housewares and gardening sectors. His manufacturing experience with the rotational molding process provided a great benefit toward the company’s enormous success. He used his experiences to create modern product ranges that aspire to be essential, fun, and functional.

Giò combined his fervid imagination and know-how in the processing of plastic materials. He

employed his simple, but ingenious intuition that soon led SLIDE to become a world-famous brand, designing and manufacturing luminous furniture. It was when Giò tried to insert a light bulb into a sphere of polyethylene, a translucent material, that magic was born.

Giò gave extreme care to the design of his products, paying close attention to every detail. His design idea was the creation of essential lines that bring joy but are also usable in different ways.

From the genius of luminous furniture to the most colorful objects for the home, Giò’s style is one of the most characteristic of all SLIDE products.

SLIDE became a popular company for outdoor furniture and lighting. The innovative spirit of SLIDE attracts internationally renowned designers of the caliber of Alessandro Mendini, Paola Navone, Stefano Giovannoni, Fabio Novembre, Marcel Wanders, Karim Rashid, Marc Sadler, and Marcantonio Malerba, to name a few.

SLIDE Innovations

In 2015, and perhaps the most representative product of the SLIDE line, Giò designed the Amore bench. He said of his creation, “This is not just a product, but it is a universal message of love, a unique and inimitable sign that creates emotion”. Created with a strong symbolic value, AMORE became an object between art and design. This piece of furniture is a symbol of SLIDE’s ability to transform plastic to create beautiful, emotional, and functional items.

Giò’s son, SLIDE CEO Marco Colonna Romano, and all the employees of SLIDE will carry on the senior Colonna Romano’s teachings and spirit. “May his love for colour, uniqueness, and his ironic spirit and enthusiasm be our guide, so that his ideas and his person may live on forever and continue to be present in SLIDE, which he always wanted to consider a family more than a company,” said Marco Colonna Romano.

Marco was born in 1981 in Milan and moved to Nice for a time where he continued his studies. Back to Italy in university years, he graduated in Business Administration at Luigi Bocconi University in Milan. Marco’s experience in multinational corporations allowed him to have the wide vision in the field of business management. When he started working in the family company in 2006, Marco brought this cultural background with him and became the commercial director. He took over as Managing Director in 2015, with the same desire to experiment and renew as his father Giò. Marco has focused on consolidating the corporate image and marketing, developing a more contemporary and attractive image to the brand. As a young entrepreneur, Marco has surrounded himself with young and famous designers such as Francesco Favaretto and Marcantonio Malerba. He is developing the company into a sustainable path.

“May his love for colour, uniqueness, and his ironic spirit and enthusiasm be our guide, so that his ideas and his person may live on forever and continue to be present in SLIDE, which he always wanted to consider a family more than a company.”

— Marco Colonna Romano

Simple and Magical

Since 2002, the Italian design company SLIDE, has been producing iconic illuminated polyethylene rotationally molded furniture for homes, commercial spaces, and events (indoor and outdoor spaces). The company is fully representative of cutting-edge products bearing the slogan “Made in Italy”, a value proposition recognized worldwide for its history, culture, taste, and quality. SLIDE’s products are exported throughout the world, and the product brand is complimented by SLIDE EVENTS, a private and corporate event planning services branch, as well ask the SLIDEart project, which is a high-end travelling art exhibition.

Today, SLIDE produces the first luminous furniture with linear shapes such as Globo spheres and Cubo cubes, created from translucent materials. Thanks to a unique intuition, SLIDE has redefined furnishing items by creating luminous polyethylene furniture so that it is not merely an accessory but the protagonist of spaces.

As a pioneer in the field of luminous furniture, for years SLIDE has continued to earn world leadership in the creation

of furnishing items that are becoming icons of contemporary design. The company distributes its products in one hundred and thirty countries around the world from its base in Buccinasco, near Milan, where all SLIDE production takes place under the guidance of CEO Marco Colonna Romano.

Throughout its 20-plus-year history, SLIDE has grown, improved, and differentiated, and now it offers a complete indoor, outdoor, and lighting furniture for residential and contract projects. This is how such world renown products such as the Kami, Chubby, Design of Love, and Low Lita collections were born.

Thanks to the collaboration with some of the most famous designers in the world and the continuous research on new materials and shapes, Slide is developing a virtuous path of circular economy through ethical choices towards a more sustainable environment. Here are some of the iconic products designed by world-renown designers for SLIDE.

Designer Marcantonio Malerba is known for his design connections between ‘Man and Nature’. Recently he said: “Irony is a serious matter.” His irreverent design produces products that are space protagonists including crocodile-shaped benches, stackable totems, or stools – all part of SLIDE’s long tradition of playful and eye-catching products.

“It was when Giò tried to insert a light bulb into a sphere of polyethylene, a translucent material, that magic was born.”

Designer and architect, Paola Navone, is known for her love for the South of the world. She has created some new items of existing ‘Ribs Up’ collection including a new bar stool that recalls the shapes of the Ribs Chair, and the Ottocento Table, which features a new top created in recycled polystyrene and organic material such as pine needles, showing the company’s continuous research and innovation.

Designer Lorenza Bozzoli is known for her use of innovative and sustainable materials. She has designed a new look for her Mara Collection including the Mara Masai cushions, which are made in collaboration with the historic company Ratti, that has created new colorful, waterproof fabrics.

Designer Antonio Lanzillo, known for creating a new version of past iconic products, has created elegant candelabras replicating candelabras of times past. The new version burns irregularly with the triptych of lights that illuminate softly. All is transposed into a contemporary, portable, lightweight, rechargeable, dimmable, soft touch lamp. For more information on SLIDE, go to https://slidedesign.it

“Thanks to a unique intuition, SLIDE has redefined furnishing items by creating luminous polyethylene furniture so that it is not merely an accessory but the protagonist of spaces.”

X-FACTOR

Tom Innis, Xcelerant Growth Partners

Agri-Inject’s Product Redesign Yields Enhanced Market Position

We’ve all heard the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” aptly describing resistance to change when things are going quite well, thank you very much. It’s understandable, right? For example, why would a business with an industry-leading product want to change it, while enjoying an already significant market share advantage over its competition?

Adding a rotomolding flavor to this quandary, consider the case of Agri-Inject, a worldwide industry leader in fertigation and chemigation systems based in Yuma, Colorado. Agri-Inject’s Insectigator® product line, featuring rotomolded components manufactured by the company, has enjoyed a dominant market share in the chemigation sector (the process of applying fertilizer or pesticide by injection through an irrigation system - such as a center pivot) for more than 30 years, all while manufacturing and marketing a product that’s gone virtually unchanged during this timeframe.

While conventional wisdom would dictate leaving well

enough alone, Agri-Inject instead decided to apply its proactive, “if it ain’t broke, IMPROVE IT” cultural mindset and engage in a comprehensive redesign of the Insectigator™ product line. Featuring improved functionality, safety, ergonomics, and aesthetics, the newly designed Insectigator® will do more than just protect Agri-Inject’s market share by delivering a better product to its existing customer base, it will position them to capture previously untapped market space by realizing its biggest growth opportunity: converting current non-users to chemigation technology.

Converting agnostics to evangelists

Though chemigation via center pivot irrigation (crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a center pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers) is demonstrably the most effective means of delivering fertilizer, insecticide, and other crop management chemicals precisely where they’re needed, it still remains a

Agri-Inject CEO, Erik Tribelhorn (center) and his team deployed their collective proactive mindset in redesigning the Insectigator™ chemigation system

relatively under-utilized defense against crop-damaging insects, such as the Western Bean Cutworm (Striacosta albicosta) which if left unchecked, can reduce grain yield by 15-20%. Instead, crop dusting, ground rig spraying and other less-effective methods continue to be the predominant approaches to agricultural chemical application in the U.S.

“It’s likely a combination of old habits, reluctance to change and an ‘everything is good enough’ mentality that drives this,” commented Erik Tribelhorn, Agri-Inject’s CEO, describing the challenge facing his team in positioning chemigation as a preferred solution. “WE know it (chemigation) works better and saves the farmer money, and they all know about chemigation, but it’s still our responsibility to proactively offer better products that help deliver that message more effectively.”

So, despite the challenge, the Agri-Inject team remains undeterred, and bolstered by the newly redesigned Insectigator®, believes that capturing and converting the “agnostics” to chemigation technology is within reach. “The numbers clearly indicate there’s significant upside potential to our chemigation product line, added Tribelhorn, “and moving forward with a complete redesign of our Insectigator® underscores our belief that we can realize this opportunity.”

“The numbers” alluded to by Tribelhorn fueling Agri-Inject’s evangelical zeal are hard data illustrating the magnitude of this opportunity: currently, it’s estimated there are 250,000 to 275,000 center pivot systems in use on U.S. farms, which because of their ready integration with the Insectigator® chemigation system, quantifies a market opportunity exponentially larger than its current share, particularly considering that only 5-10% of all center pivot systems are currently paired with chemigation units. Further expanding this opportunity is the significant efficiency and resultant cost-effectiveness advantage of chemigation compared to aerial chemical application (i.e., crop dusting). As Tribelhorn explains, “research shows that using chemigation vs. aerial application saves a minimum of $7.00 per acre per application – meaning the payback on an Insectigator® unit is almost instantaneous.” And this is where Tribelhorn’s bullishness is palpable: “I mean, chemigation works better and costs less, and yet we still have only 5-10% usage with an opportunity 10 times its current size - the sky is literally the limit for this technology.”

Align. Define. Design.

With the growth potential now defined, and with its marketleading position still intact, it would be entirely understandable for Agri-Inject to attack the opportunity with the same tried-andtrue Insectigator® product. So, what other factors contributed to Agri-Inject’s decision to re-design its flagship product? Who was involved in defining the redesign direction? And what aspects of the existing Insectigator® were changed?

It’s important to pause here and note that several years ago, Agri-Inject had embarked on a redesign initiative that didn’t quite make it to the finish line. After almost a full year of considering

options and investing significant time, finances and resources into the project, Tribelhorn and team decided to put the redesign process on hold. “Probably the best way to describe it (unfinished product redesign) is that the team just wasn’t quite satisfied with the results,” commented Tribelhorn. “We were all excited and went into it with good intentions, but we maybe lacked ‘connective tissue’ in pulling it all together and aiming the new design at our business objectives.”

Despite pausing the initial redesign effort, Tribelhorn continued to work diligently with his team and all stakeholders to build complete alignment and ensure shared satisfaction and excitement with the redesign results. “We knew we would eventually re-engage in the process,” said Tribelhorn, “so we kept the dialog going and included everyone whose input mattered: customers, salespeople, ownership, manufacturing team, etc.” Added Tribelhorn, “we wanted more than preaching a better product to the same choir –by aligning our design approach with our objective of ‘converting

Agri-Inject’s Insectigator™, prior to redesign, in its natural habitat: integrating with a center pivot irrigation system to deliver crop-saving chemicals precisely where needed.

the agnostics’, we really felt we could define a clear and shared vision for a redesigned Insectigator®.”

Thus, fully aligned and armed with input from all stakeholders documented, the Agri-Inject team defined a list of “must-haves” relative to the redesigned Insectigator®, which included:

• Enhanced uniformity of chemical dispersion in Insectigator® tank via improved mixing performance.

• Improved ease of use and access to electronic controls via consolidation and relocation of components.

• Improved ease of use and transport with handles integrated into tank and base.

• Improved ease of electrical cord management via ability to wind around base, plus capture cord in the tank channel.

• Facilitate securing the Insectigator™ during transit via integrating tie-downs into base.

• Facilitate shipment through integrating a channel on underside of base, allowing it to secure to 2” x 6” on a pallet.

• More visually appealing product through improved aesthetic design.

• Improved rotomolding and manufacturing outcomes: reduced flash, eliminate warpage and deformation of Insectigator™ tank, minimize tool maintenance costs, improve dimensional fit between tank and base, etc.

• Reduced manufacturing costs: integrated handles eliminate need to source and install stainless steel handles, fewer inserts to secure handles, lower inventory costs, etc.

The “X” factor

Following the disappointing conclusion to its initial redesign initiative, Agri-Inject bolstered its in-house design capabilities via investment in solid modeling design software. “It helped,” said Tribelhorn, “but it wasn’t enough, and it was evident we needed to get some outside help to get this to the finish line.” At this stage, Agri-Inject contracted Xcelerant Growth Partners (Madison, Wisconsin) to serve as the previously eluded-to “connective tissue,” and complete a design integrating all the “must haves,” while capturing the hearts (and market share) of the aforementioned chemigation agnostics.

“We were a little hesitant to re-engage in this process, based on past experience, and maybe a feeling that we might be messing with success,” commented Tribelhorn. “But working with Xcelerant, we laid out a clear path and process, stayed focused on our objectives and emerged with a redesigned Insectigator® that we’re all pretty stoked about.”

Once the decision was made to proceed, the process to which Tribelhorn alluded proved to be a significant and positive departure from the previous design experience, with Xcelerant providing the following phased approach:

• Phase 1: determine why previous redesign initiative failed.

• Phase 2: define specific objectives, budget, and timelines.

• Phase 3: initial consultation to define general design direction.

The newly designed Insectigator™ base is engineered to fully enclose system controls, an industry-first that optimizes performance and safety.

In addition to improved product performnce, the newly-designed Insectigator will also improve Agri-Inject’s manufacturing outcomes.

• Phase 4: input & involvement from key stakeholders (internal and external).

• Phase 5: ongoing interaction throughout process to maintain alignment with objectives.

• Phase 6: review design vs. objectives. When objectives have been met, complete design.

All told, following delivery of initial redesign renderings, the project involved 11 different iterations prior to final approval. “The Insectigator® is fairly complex, with electronic components and controls, mixer and motor, etc., so the process took some time and wasn’t without its moments,” commented Tribelhorn. “That said, the entire process was disciplined and efficient, our team was engaged and accepted accountability for the outcome, and we checked off all the boxes on our list.”

The best way to predict the future? Invent it.

As Agri-Inject prepares to launch its newly designed and vastly improved Insectigator®, it’s interesting to consider the various components that converged to drive a successful result. Among them, and important to emphasize, is the collective, proactive mindset that Tribelhorn’s team deployed in tackling the redesign initiative. “We talk a lot about a proactive mindset as a tool to manage change and future-proof our business,” reflected Tribelhorn,” and the team really applied this approach in redesigning the Insectigator®.”

Combined with a clear vision, solid gameplan and capable external partners, the Agri-Inject team decided it wasn’t satisfied with having the best chemigation product in today’s market, it wanted to redefine what “best product in the market” meant within a context much broader than just todays. “Of course, we wanted to deliver a better product to our current customers,” said Tribelhorn, “we also decided that a redesigned Insectigator® needs to make believers of folks who haven’t used chemigation in the past. And we’re excited and confident that this new design will do just that.”

New Insectigator design (on left) features cylindrical tank design with augmented mixing motor angle for optimal chemical dispersion.

The new Insectigator™ integrates upgraded aesthetics with enhanced functional features such as integrated handles, enhanced cord management, and improved access to controls, positioning the product for broader appeal among current and prospective customers.

Employee online security fundamentals

These will keep your organization safer from cyber attacks

Cutting Edge PR

Robust business cybersecurity is the cornerstone of good organizational performance in this age of increased cyber-attacks. The importance of good online security is reflected in the way that an average of 270 cyber-attacks per organization was experienced in 2021 by organizations participating in an Accenture global cybersecurity survey. This was a 31% increase over the previous year. Cyber-attacks include unauthorized access of data, applications, services, networks, or devices. That’s why taking care of your employee online security fundamentals is especially important.

The situation worsened during the Covid-19 lockdown. Many businesses had to rapidly change to a WFH workforce, which opened new vulnerabilities because cyber criminals then focused on insecure home networks, broadening the range of potential attacks. Verizon’s 2022 data breach report reveals that 82% of databreach incidents involved a human error. Here’s how making your employee online security fundamentals stronger, will make your organization safer from cypher attacks.

Cybersecurity training

The first and most important step does not involve any specific software. Cybersecurity is an ongoing process that requires continuous vigilance. Being aware of online dangers is essential if you want to keep your business network protected.

For example, phishing is the most common business hacking method. It relies heavily on human error. Cybercriminals have significantly improved their phishing emails, enriching them with personalized details gleaned from social networks.

In addition, artificial Intelligence technologies can be now used to generate deep fake videos, which are already successfully deployed to extract huge amounts of money. For instance, the CEO of a UK company was tricked into transferring $US243,000 into a scammer’s bank account after the scammer had used artificial intelligence to replicate the CEO’s voice on the phone, asking for the funds to be urgently transferred to a Hungarian supplier.

Research has found over half of remote workers use a personal

device to access work data, and two-thirds of cyber-attacks target remote employees. The first line of defense is comprehensive cybersecurity training. Participants don’t need a strong technical background. For best results, participants should receive a combination of online interactive training, non-interactive training, and some classroom-based methods. Such training for a cyber security response plan teaches your employees how to:

• recognize

• avoid

• report

• remove

• and recover from a cyber-attack.

Employees learn how to identify phishing emails, secure their BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices, e.g., mobile phones), and generate secure passwords. It’s been proven that employees who undergo such training are less likely to click on an infectious backlink.

Is such training worthwhile? The ROI (return on investment) for security awareness training is significant, according to Osterman

Research in a 2019 white paper. Obviously, the ROI for security awareness training can vary widely. But Osterman found that, on average, smaller organizations (50 to 999 employees) can achieve an ROI of 69% from a security awareness training program, while larger organizations (1,000+ employees) can achieve an ROI of 562%. Impressive results.

This article will explain a more general approach to remote access protection.

The most common threat to remote communication is a man-inthe-middle attack. Hackers target unprotected home networks with spyware that monitors their activity. For example, if your employees have a router with a weak password, hackers can brute force the password and gain unauthorized access.

The results can be devastating. If an employee uses workrelated passwords, the passwords will end up in the wrong hands and grant criminals’ access to your workplace network. The same applies to the security of cloud operations. Uploading unencrypted files to the cloud over an insecure home network will expose the files to third parties.

It’s best to ensure sophisticated encryption algorithms protect your employee’s remote communication. Business Virtual Private Network is the most popular software that will encrypt employee online traffic, hiding it from unwanted attention. Ensure they use a VPN whenever they connect to work intranets from home.

It’s best to verify that the cloud service provider applies additional encryption to their storage. Furthermore, they should also accept files in an encrypted form. Instruct your employees to use data encryption software, and to exchange sensitive information only when it’s secured.

Remote access protection and safe communication

Cybersecurity is a technical capability managed by technology professionals. Such professionals are not always aware of the most effective ways to communicate with varied internal audiences, who would be participating from many different departments, and with different business experience, from many different age groups, locations, learning preferences and skills.

Therefore, it is essential to prepare a communication plan that considers the need to relate effectively to your main internal audiences. Your plan should:

1. Determine the current knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of your audience about cybersecurity.

2. Develop objectives – measurable objectives based on improving on foundational levels of awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of employees about cybersecurity.

3. Tailor your main messages to your audience.

4. Prepare briefing material and use latest industry data on the importance of employee attitudes and behavior to cybersecurity.

5. Use recent real-life examples to demonstrate the costs and benefits of cyber awareness to individuals and employers.

6. Establish effective feedback processes for your audience to make about the communication activities, and ensure these employees know how to respond to cybersecurity issues.

One of the biggest issues regarding WFH policies is securing remote access to corporate networks. Employees who connect to corporate networks from home might share sensitive files over unprotected channels. If you want to learn more about a safe way to transfer sensitive documents, you can read our article on the topic.

Layered cybersecurity model

Corporate networks are massive and extremely complex. Firstly, it’s best to have a qualified systems administrator and dedicated cybersecurity person for network security. Large organizations require a separate cybersecurity department. Keep in mind cybersecurity is not something one person can handle. It would be best to consider application security, network security, employee device security, and much more. They all require different knowledge.

To make this process easier, apply the Layered Cybersecurity Model to segment your corporate network. This method borrows underlying philosophy from the defense-in-depth military model, which assumes that any defense mechanisms can be breached. Regarding computers, it means that all network parts must be separated and protected individually.

For example, a business firewall should be set up at the network’s perimeter so it can inspect all incoming traffic. You should also install an antivirus on employee devices to provide protection if the firewall fails. Moreover, it’s best to back up business data if antivirus fails and the network is hit by ransomware. To summarize, this process should form an elaborate circle where each part protects the other if it fails.

It is sound practice to hire cybersecurity professionals to avoid future troubles. However, small, and medium businesses often lack sufficient resources because cybersecurity professionals are highly paid. The steps discussed above don’t require deep technical knowledge or a big budget and will provide security from the most common cyber-attacks. These steps will enable you to better understand the importance of employee online security fundamentals.

Ian Hansen, RotaConsult

Imagine the Possibilities – Luxurious Vacation Villas

With vacation season upon us, many people will be thinking of making plans. Everyone wants to go to a place where they can spend quality time with their family or friends. There is now a rotomoulded high-end modern villa that could be perfect for your next vacation.

Let’s agree on some of the key factors required to find a modern vacation villa. Of course, you need a great location. The size of the villa is decided by the number of people staying there and the size of your budget. The architectural style is a significant factor to improve the look, and in this rotomoulded villa, small can look luxurious and glamorous. The final one is the elusive X factor. The vacation villa needs to offer a special something that makes it an unrivalled kind of getaway.

Zhejiang BST Technology (BST) have designed the Galaxy Villa to enable you to obtain that X factor. You just need to add the great location. The rotomoulded outer shell of the villa looks like a space capsule giving it a modern and unique appearance.

The initial demand has been for hotel vacation villas, but they are equally suited for individual vacation homes for couples wanting that perfect getaway. The Galaxy Villa design is an architectural beauty which can’t be described in just simple words. Only pictures do it any justice. BST believe in the philosophy that great design always moves a product in the direction of value.

BST, located in Zhejiang province, China, was established in 2017 with the primary goal to research, design, and develop business opportunities for large plastic products using the

rotational moulding process. Their clients have been mainly OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers). More recently they have also been developing some of their own innovative products. The Galaxy Villa is an example of their own product.

Tourism has been a burgeoning industry in China, becoming a significant part of the Chinese economy in the 21st century. China Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported there was a total of 5.5 billion domestic tourist trips in 2018, with an annual increase of 10%. BST identified the opportunities this tourist market offered rotational moulding and decided to allocate resources to design

Exterior shells rotomoulded in a variety of distinctive colours

Internal fit out option for the Galaxy Villa

unique luxury vacation apartments with the elusive X factor.

Chen Jian was the senior designer of the Galaxy Villa project. He is an industrial design graduate from Jiliang University, now working as the deputy director of the BST innovation center. Chen also co-operated with Professor Zhou Xiaojiang, a member of China Industrial Design Association.

its space capsule shape.

The initial Galaxy Villas, with all the necessary parts to assemble at the clients location, were packed as individual components. A bit like a ‘flat pack’. This was desirable to minimise transport costs to clients. However, BST identified that most client locations were in rural or remote locations. They found it difficult to get skilled tradespeople to clients’ site, and the working environment was often extreme during summer and winter.

With this experience the villas are now pre-assembled at the Rising Sun manufacturing site, then split in half for transport. With a building site prepared, assembly of the villa is now significantly faster and requires workers with only an intermediate level of skill.

While there are designs for large villas with 172sqm floor space, the ‘small’ round villa with 34sqm has been the initial model successfully sold within China. The indoor height of Galaxy Villa is 2.6m and its indoor diameter is 6m. A panoramic sunroof and large French windows are incorporated to bring the outdoors inside. There is the option to revolve the whole villa 360° through a programmed setting, allowing you to follow the sun or the moon. There is also the option to rotomould a wastewater tank which can be fitted under the villa floor.

The polyethylene shell of the villa, combined with aluminium silicate cotton and aluminium foil bubble, provides excellent thermal insulation compared to a brick structure.

The research & development, design, and final testing program took almost 4 years to reach the point where BST could launch the product onto the market.

BST contacted Wenling Rising Sun Rotomolding Technology Co., Ltd (Rising Sun) in Zhejiang Province, China to finalise the mould design for the project. Rising Sun manufactured cast aluminium tooling. While tooling costs were higher than sheet steel the ability to produce more complex forms with attractive surfaces made cast tooling the better option, as the shell pieces are in full view of the end user. Rising Sun were also contracted provide a full ‘turnkey’ service which included the moulding of the shells, the villa basic fit-outs and ultimately delivering the completed product to the end user.

BST advise during the testing phase in 2019 they had one Galaxy Villa exposed to Super Typhoon Lekima, which had wind gusts up 221k/h (137Mph). The villa survived very well because of

Overall structure of the 34sqm Galaxy Villa

Galaxy villas in various stages of assembly in the warehouse

Coloured rotomoulded shells

Assembled villa, split in half, loaded on flatbed truck

This is a vacation villa where couples can enjoy a contemporary and luxurious indoor atmosphere while bringing the silence of the natural surrounding this architecturally designed masterpiece. The use of colour panels, or LED lighting which can be adapted and customised, provides the market with a visionary new option for luxury vacation homes.

Rotational moulding continues to be a process when well executed, and presented superbly well, offers fantastic possibilities.

Qingyun Mountain, Fujian Province

Sand Lake Scenic Resort, Ningxia

Sand Lake Scenic Resort, Ningxia

Zhangyejiajie, Hunan Province

DESIGN COMMENT

Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems, Inc.

Goodbye: My Last Editorial

I’ve had the privilege of writing design-related articles for this excellent publication for more than 20 years. Throughout this period Susan Gibson, chief editor, and publisher, has been very generous in the freedom she has provided to me to write articles on a wide range of topics. However, the time has come for me to step down and allow another designer to share his or her opinions about design with you. Although I have endless ideas and many opinions, I think a new voice would benefit this publication as well as its readership. This last editorial will focus on the future of rotational molding and the boundless opportunities for designers, molders, material suppliers, and tool makers.

When I had my first experience designing a rotationally molded part almost thirty years ago, I had no idea it would have led me to eventually design hundreds of rotationally molded parts, write countless articles, lecture about the process, and have the pleasure of meeting hundreds of great people within this flourishing business. Throughout this period, I’ve seen the introduction of new materials, improvements in the process, highly innovative designs, and expansion into markets that continuously surprise me. Throughout my 45-year career, I’ve designed hundreds of products in every plastics manufacturing process. Rotational molding is the only process that has always been the most challenging for me because of the wide variety of products, their size, complex shapes, and demanding structural requirements.

Based on my observations of the people that make up this industry and its inherent benefits to the OEMs, the future of rotational molding is exceptionally bright. I encourage designers and everyone in the industry to work with optimism, imagination, and risk-taking to penetrate new markets that have remained explored. Industrial designers, mechanical engineers, materials engineers, tooling engineers, and industrial engineers represent the kernel of creativity that can transform a simple idea into a multi-million-dollar industry.

Designers must continually educate themselves about new materials, advancements in manufacturing, tool-making, market trends, and aesthetic styles to be at the top of their game. The industry is gradually appreciating the value of good design and embracing well-designed products as part of its product planning. It’s been proven countless times that well-designed products save money and development time with better-selling products at higher profits.

As advancements in new materials truly become popular alternatives to polyethylene and, productivity improvements are attained, rotational molding will make major penetrations into medical, aerospace, and construction markets. These major markets could increase the industry by tenfold within 20 years.

The tools today, including advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, material science, design simulation, 3D printing, and factory automation, will make this happen.

In closing, it’s been a pleasure sharing my editorials with all of you. I plan to contribute to RotoWorld® with one or two articles yearly throughout the coming years. I want to thank all of you for reading these articles. Goodbye for now. I’d like to hear from anyone who wishes to contact me. Simply email me at paloian@ idsys.com and I’ll respond to your email.

“Based on my observations of the people that make up this industry and its inherent benefits to the OEMs, the future of rotational molding is exceptionally bright.”

ARM REPORT

Serving the Rotational Molding Industry Worldwide for Over 40 Years

The mission of the Association of Rotational Molders is to promote, educate, and inspire the rotomolding industry. For more information, visit ARM’s website at www.rotomolding.org or contact the Association at 630-942-6589 or info@rotomolding.org.

Major Goals for 2023

Each new year provides many opportunities and challenges. As we begin 2023, many of us will create a list of resolutions for the positive changes we intend to achieve. I am not big on resolutions, but I do find it productive to assemble a list of major goals to accomplish throughout the year. This “template” provides guidance and sets a tone for action. As for ARM, my goals are:

• Maintain the momentum and continue to increase ARM membership

• Conserve our strong financial position

• Boost young member participation on committees

• Augment the excellent technical and educational content presented at meetings and webinars

• Determine a worthwhile research project to invest in which will benefit all ARM members

As to the technical and educational content goal, we have a large library of online content. We will continue to add new titles as we do each year. Additionally, our Education Committee will help us to review and refine the existing content. We want to ensure that the most important topics are complete and available in high quality.

The Board is considering a number of ideas for the research goal. If you have suggestions on a project that will benefit all ARM members, please contact our staff at info@ rotomolding.org.

I look forward to seeing you all at the Executive Forum in Carlsbad, CA March 20-22, 2023! Details on that program are available on the next page.

Happy New Year!

Matt Bushman President, Association of Rotational Molding President, Plasticraft Corporation

“I do find it productive to assemble a list of major goals to accomplish throughout the year.”

Executive Forum: Quiet Quitting, Leader Standard Work, Creating Committed Talent, and Chemically Recycled PE

Registration is now open for the ARM Executive Forum, March 20-22 in Carlsbad, CA. Join leaders in the rotomolding industry for this education and networking event. The intimate crowd allows for many opportunities for deep-dives into strategic management, leadership, and the future of rotomolding.

Last year, 100% of attendees reported that the meeting met or exceeded their expectations. Attendees were able to bring actionable information back to their shops as well as make connections with suppliers and other rotomolders.

Monday, March 20

1:45 PM Whale Watching Tour

2:00 PM Board of Directors Meeting

5:30 PM Welcome Reception

Tuesday, March 21

7:00 AM 5K Run/Walk

8:00 AM Breakfast

9:30 AM Spouse Tour to Flower Fields

9:00 AM Education Sessions

12:00 PM Lunch

1:00 PM Education Sessions

6:00 PM Group Dinner on Property

Wednesday, March 22

8:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 AM Education Sessions

12:00 PM Golf Tournament

We are excited to welcome keynote, Michael Levitt, who specializes in burnout prevention, workplace culture, and preventing the “Great Resignation” and “quiet quitting” in organizations.

The manufacturing sector has faced unique challenges since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, including but not limited to:

• Long working hours due to increasing demand for products

• Significant supply chain disruptions caused delays in manufacturing

• The inability for employees to “work from home” like many other sectors, caused some jealousy and resentment among employees in the manufacturing sector

• Inflation costs for all involved

This talk will address these challenges and provide senior leadership with pathways to navigate through external and internal issues that might be impacting their companies. The talk will identify what burnout is, what the signs of burnout are, and provide actionable steps to help employees and management prevent and recover from burnout.

Additional topics on the schedule:

• Robin Longebaugh (Reel Craft, Director of HR) on Creating Committed Talent

• NOVA Chemicals on Reducing Environmental Footprint and Chemically Recycled PE

More topics will be announced by the time you read this. Learn more and register at https://bit.ly/armCarlsbad or scan the QR code

Coming up in 2023

NEW WEBINARS Where Energy Goes in Roto on February 23

ADVANCED ROTOMOLDING SEMINAR in Chicago, IL

Introduction to ROTOMOLDING SEMINAR touring the US

WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?

Troubleshooting Calls every 6-8 weeks

MARCH 20-22

EXECUTIVE FORUM in Carlsbad, CA

SEPTEMBER 27-30

ANNUAL MEETING in Kansas City, MO

SCHOLARSHIPS for Members’ High School Seniors

Updated DESIGN GUIDE

INDUSTRY EMAIL NEWSLETTER delivered twice a week

The Benefits of Membership

Train your employees, reduce scrap, connect with customers, learn from experts and peers. This is what comes with membership and the return on your investment is tremendous.

Complimentary Registration for the 2022 Annual Meeting

Provided for one employee for each new member company. This is your free entry to the world’s preeminent rotomolding meeting, held once every three years.

Sales Inquiry Notifications

We review sales leads typically from companies seeking molders – and email them to our member companies. We actively advertise for leads on behalf of our members.

Sample Operator Instructions

An 80+ page document calling out the highlights of nine company’s operator instructions. Also more than 700 documents and presentations from past Annual Meetings.

Immediate Free Access to more than 100+ on-demand webinars

Topics range from Determining Your True Cost to Proper Sampling Techniques. Twenty new titles were added in 2022.

Immediate Free Access to ARM’s classic training video library

Includes programs on curing, venting, and good manufacturing practices. All videos include Spanish subtitles.

Free Access to Troubleshooting Calls

These moderated teleconferences are conducted every six weeks (eight

per year) and allow you to troubleshoot your process and discuss HR issues with other molders, suppliers, and rotomolding experts.

Networking with Industry Peers

The greatest ARM benefit: Informal learning at a coffee break could revolutionize your process or reduce your expenses by tens of thousands of dollars. We hear it from members again and again.

Awards and Awareness

Showcase your company in our online member directory and through awards including Safety Award, Product Competition, and more.

Discounted Registration to all ARM Meetings

Includes regional meetings, the in-depth Hands-On Rotomolding Workshop at Penn College, and our Executive Forum which will be held in Italy.

Rotolink

Our twice weekly e-newsletter shares important industry news.

Annual Meeting

The premier event for rotomolders, their suppliers, designers and educators. Programming includes professional and industry speakers, valuable networking, group workshops, and exhibition.

To apply for membership, please visit www.rotomolding.org

Exploration of Sensor Technologies for Electrically Heated Tooling

As robotically controlled rotational moulding machine intelligence continues to advance, the complexity of the mouldings made possible by these machines also increases. Previously challenging tasks, such as creating thickness variation in different regions, combining different materials in one single layer, or creating multilayer mouldings comprising of foam layers or fibre reinforcement can be achieved much more efficiently and safely using the direct tool heating (DTH) systems[1–3]. Figure 1 shows the Advanced Rotational Moulding Automation Cell (ARMAC) facility recently installed at the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), thanks to a close collaboration with Automation & Manufacturing Services (AMS)[4]. The new cell is composed of two industrial robots. One robot has been modified to carry out rotational moulding using an electrically heated mould, whilst the other robot uses a vision system for part location and placement.

Industries such as injection moulding or extrusion are already using technologies such as image analysis or ultrasound technology to feedback real time information to moulders to assess and develop new products[6–9]. Specifically, ultrasound transducers are used to accurately control part dimensions and image analysis is used for part inspection, damage detection and general quality control.

The development of sensor technologies in rotational moulding by comparison has been challenging, due to the complications of heat shielding requirements for electronic sensors when exposed to extreme oven temperatures. The move towards DTH provides a unique advantage over oven-based machinery, as it is much easier to install sensor technologies on the mould. When coupled with the increased complexity of the mouldings, there now is a real demand from the industry to explore new process monitoring tools.

Industry 4.0 already utilises data from other processes to feedback corrected inputs. Different control algorithms can be used to improve traceability, dimension accuracy and lower scrap rates. A good example of this is in the manufacture of rotationally moulded hydrogen tank liners, where thickness changes in local regions of the moulding need to be controlled precisely. Currently, ultrasound assessment of the polymer thickness is conducted as a post-moulding process. The aim of the current work at QUB is to explore sensor technologies suitable for use with DTH machinery during the moulding process to provide data for machine control, accuracy, repeatability, and to provide increased traceability of mouldings.

Visual Imaging

This equipment allows the rotational moulding process to make use of Industry 4.0 technologies. Accurate rotation and heating control as well as arm assisted external tasks increase the complexity of parts possible[4,5]. Due to the increase in complexity of possible parts produced, process monitoring using only internal air temperature is no longer going to be sufficient to control the process. To continue advancing and developing products for industries with increasingly high demands on accuracy, repeatability, and traceability, more data will be required through process monitoring using a variety of methods.

Another problem related to the nature of rotational moulding is that the moulding happens within an enclosed mould. The difficulties in accessing the interior of the mould makes it complicated to measure the process. Measuring the process is fundamental to understand the formation of anything from multilayers to fibre reinforced composite or foam structures. At present, there has been minimal research published on the use of internal mould camera systems to study the rotomoulding process due to the limitations previously described[9,10]. An internal camera system is particularly useful when studying nonstandard rotomoulding techniques, such as the use of fibre reinforcement to improve the stiffness of moulded parts, or when diagnosing the effectiveness of adhesion between the polymer and metal inserts[11].

A visual imaging system (VIS) named RotoCam™, shown in Figure 2, was developed at QUB to observe how reinforcing fibres can adhere to the polymer during the process and to measure

Alex J. Pritchard, David Castellanos, Mark P. McCourt, Peter J. Martin, and Mark P. Kearns Polymer Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland

Figure 1: The new Advanced Rotational Moulding Automation Cell (ARMAC) facility at Queen’s University Belfast.

the quantity of fibres that adhere to the plastic under various conditions. Images taken during the process demonstrate how the polymer powder softens and melts against the interior of the mould wall.

Ultrasonic Process Monitoring

Ultrasound is a non-destructive technique commonly applied to tasks such as flaw detection in aerospace composite manufacture. The technique is extremely useful as it allows for diagnosing processes when you are not able to visibly see what is going on under the surface. Ultrasound process monitoring can be seen in various industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical and the food industry.

shown that the technique could be used to monitor the curing behaviour of the thermosetting resin during moulding[12]

There are a number of inspection methods for performing ultrasonic testing, the two most popular being (a) pulse-echo and (b) through-transmission (see Figure 3). Pulse-echo mode is most relevant to monitoring the rotational moulding process, as the same transducer is used to propagate the wave and receive the returning reflections. In the past, applying ultrasound techniques to hot polymer moulding processes has been challenging due to the low operating temperatures of the transducers available. To overcome this, researchers use a device called a “wave guide” to separate the transducer from the heat of the sample being measured.

The move to DTH systems presents a new opportunity to explore the ultrasound method further. Ultrasound transducer operating temperature limits have improved significantly in the last decade, and it is now possible to purchase transducers with operating temperatures in the range of -55 to 550°C. These transducers are manufactured for the oil and gas industry, where they are used for thickness and corrosion monitoring in refining, oil & gas, energy, nuclear, and process sectors.

Wireless Data Capture System

An initial study was conducted to assess the ability of the imaging and ultrasound sensors for process monitoring using DTH. By increasing the amount of data being captured during a moulding, there is a need to manage the capturing process and centralise all of data streams. In order to do this, a Dell Embedded Box PC 5000 was mounted to the tool. The PC was powered continuously by low voltage 24V circuit. The devices required for visual imaging and ultrasound systems were also powered from the same 24V circuit. The visual imaging system comprised of a digital industrial camera and illumination source. The camera was connected to the PC by USB. Illumination inside the mould was provided by a light ring and a light box. The ultrasound system comprised of an ultrasound transducer, a pulser-receiver, and a Power over Ethernet injector. The ultrasound system was powered by the Power over Ethernet

Ultrasound in rotational moulding is mainly used as a post moulding thickness inspection tool due to the temperature limits of the transducers. The ultrasound method has also been used as a process monitoring tool in the reactive rotational moulding process where the processing temperatures are lower. Here it was

Figure 2: The Rotocam™ system mounted to the mould.

Figure 3: Schematic of the (A) Pulse-Echo inspection method, and (B) Through-Transmission inspection method.

Figure 4: Images showing (A) layout of the data capture system, (B) the frame used to attach the data capture system to the electrically heated mould, and (C) a view of the inside the cabinet showing the industrial PC.

injector and data was sent from the pulser-receiver by an Ethernet connection.

A wireless network was established to provide connectivity to a PC outside of the robot cage, providing real-time control of the on-board PC. Figure 4 shows the arrangement of the equipment used. LabVIEW was used to create a user interface to control the ultrasound and camera data capture simultaneously. A temperature logger connected by USB to the on-board PC provided live temperature information by thermocouples. The data was managed and saved by the LabVIEW software.

Post-Moulding Image Analysis Method

In addition to the live video feed from the internal camera, the captured image data underwent post moulding image analysis. Image processing was required to separate the region of interest (ROI) from the rest of the image using MIPAR software. An algorithm was developed for this propose and it comprised of three stages: pre-processing, segmentation and clean-up. The algorithm was capable of identifying a limited number of fibres as ROI to be subsequently measured.

During pre-processing, a series of mathematical operations were completed to highlight the differences between the pixels of

interest and the rest of the image. The next step was segmentation. During segmentation, a threshold is established for all pixels in the image and the software marked those under the threshold as ROI. Finally, a series of final steps were conducted to eliminate certain regions marked by mistake and to generally clear the ROI detected. Once the ROI was isolated, the MIPAR software can be used to produce a wide range of measurements, including surface area, average fibre size and fibre orientation.

Materials

A standard commercially available rotational moulding grade of Metallocene medium density polyethylene (PE) resin (mMDPE Lumicene mM3583 UV) from Total Petrochemicals & Refining S.A./ N.V. (Brussels, Belgium) was used in all experiments. Silane (4.5mm x 13μm. average diameter) treated sized glass 952 by OCV™ Reinforcements (Owens Corning) was used.

Results & Discussion

Rotocam™ System Results

RotoCam™ system was used to study a series of fibre-reinforced mouldings to quantify the number of fibres successfully incorporated into a composite structure. The number of fibres

Figure 5: Different stages of the standard moulding process illustrated by images taken using RotoCam™.

Figure 6: Illustration of different stages of the process when including fibre reinforcements using RotoCam™.

Figure 7: ROI of fibres within the melt during polymer sintering.

Figure 8: Change of the fibres ROI during cycle time.

(also known as the disperse phase) in a composite directly determines the composition of the final structure as well as its properties. As observed in Figure 5, the images show how the polymer powder tumbles around the mould, until eventually the heat applied softens the plastic to start a sintering process.

Sintering is the mechanism by which the molten polymer particles merge to form a continuous mass of material. During sintering the particles stick to each other, and to the mould wall, which eventually creates a polymer film. Finally, once the polymer film densifies and solidifies, the part is ready for demoulding. The incorporation of glass fibres as reinforcement alters the normal sintering process, creating new cores for the polymer to agglomerate. Agglomeration has been highlighted by previous researchers as one of the main drawbacks when trying to rotomould fibrous composites[13,14]. Figure 6 shows an example of the images taken when these fibres are added to the process.

Figure 7 shows an example of an image after the algorithm was run to detect the reinforcing fibres. As observed in Figure 6, several fibres are detected by the algorithm while others remain undetected. It is mainly caused due to the difficulty to increase the contrast without adding noise during pre-processing. However, between 7 to 10 fibres per image were successfully detected.

Figure 8 shows the representation of the ROI of total area against processing time. From minute 0 and minute 5 the area of the ROI captured barely changes. From minute 5, the area increases gradually up to a limit of approximately 200 mm2. It can be observed that the slope at which the fibres adhere to the wall changes depending on the fibre content of the shot. However, there is minimal change when the threshold of 200 mm2 is reached. One explanation for this may be that the space available for the fibres to stick to the wall remains constant and this limits further adhesion. During polymer solidification, the transparency of the polymer melt changes, preventing the camera from observing the fibres suspended within the polymer, reducing the ROI area detected.

Ultrasound Results

Figure 9 shows a diagram of the sound wave path from the Ionix transducer mounted on the mould wall during the experiments conducted in this section.

Figure 10 shows the A-Scan results for the Ionix transducer in a preliminary comparison where polymer plates of various thickness are placed on the internal mould wall to replicate the build-up of plastic. T1 is an echo from the end of the transducer delay line and can be seen even when the transducer is not mounted to the mould surface. The mould wall creates a repeating echo, labelled M1 - M3, which were found to have the biggest response during testing.

In process monitoring, M mode scans were used to monitor process time vs time of flight, where the change in amplitude are shown as a change in colour. Figure 11 shows the M mode scans for a 20% glass fibre (GF) moulding. M mode scans are useful for the machine operator, as trends in the data are reflected by colour changes, which can be easily detected by eye. In the 20% GF moulding, the ultrasound sensor captures a change in amplitude of the mould wall echoes (M2-M3), with the signal fading (A)

and then re-appearing (B) later in the moulding process. The trends in changes in colour during the trails have been associated with polymer changes such as adherence to the mould wall, melt thickness change, densification, and solidification from point (A)

Figure 9: Diagram showing the path of the sound wave created by the Ionix transducer and the returning echo.

Figure 10: A-Scan data of increasing increments of polymer plate thickness placed on the inside surface of the electrically heated mould.

Figure 11: M mode plot for a moulding with 20% Glass Fibre content showing (A) the layup of fibre and polymer and fibres on the mould wall by a change from light blue to dark blue up to point (B) where the signal returns back to its original intensity as the polymer solidifies and demoulds from the mould wall.

to point (B), followed by shrinkage from point (B) onwards.

The change in amplitude of these echoes, known as attenuation, can also be plotted. Figure 12 shows the attenuation of the 3rd echo (M3) for the 20% moulding in comparison to an empty mould. The changes in this signal are plotted against process temperature, Figure 12A shows the presence of the polymer melt on the mould wall as a reduction in amplitude, which is due to the dampening effect of the polymer on the mould wall reflection (From Point 1 to Point 2). This behaviour is similar in part to the sound change when placing a wet sponge on a ringing bell.

As the polymer solidifies (Figure 12B) the amplitude of the signal returns at Point 3. Towards the end of cooling the signal ramps up, showing that the polymer has shrunk from the wall.

Conclusions

These initial trials show that both the QUB ultrasound and camera system can be used to monitor changes during a rotational

moulding cycle. The results from this study have demonstrated that:

• The ultrasound demonstrates many advantages as a method for monitoring the rotational moulding process. In future work it is hoped that ultrasound could use to detect the thickness of the polymer melt layer on the mould wall, allowing the data to be used for machine control purposes

• The RotoCam™ imaging system was proven successful on monitoring the entire cycle, providing information to verify the observations on the US traces.

• Preliminary results suggest that by optimising fibre chemical treatment and resin viscosity, a better fibre adhesion can be achieved, increasing composite fibre content.

Future work is planned to explore feedback loops using the new sensors. This would allow the robot to automatically make adjustments to the subsequent moulding cycles, providing increased accuracy over polymer thickness for example.

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), with match funding provided by the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation in Ireland.

Thanks also must go to Dr. Elaine Brown and Professor Phil Coates at the Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Centre, University of Bradford, for their guidance and assistance provided during the preliminary exploration of ultrasonics technologies at the start of the work.

References

[1] M.J. Wright and R.J. Crawford, A Comparison between forced air convection heating and direct electrical heating of moulds in rotational moulding, SPE ANTEC, Vol. 1, pp. 1452–1456, 1999.

[2] W.A. Khan, J. Methven, Control of the uniformity of direct electrical heating for Rotational Moulding, Proc. 36th Int. MATADOR Conference, 2010.

[3] M.P. McCourt, M.P. Kearns, D. Castellanos, A. Prichard, J. Peter, Rotational Moulding using an Electrically Heated

Figure 12: Plots showing the M3 echo amplitude change VS temperature during (A) the heating cycle, and (B) the cooling cycle. Point 1 to point 2 indicates the onset of adherence and layup of polymer and fibres on the mould wall. Point 2 to point 3 shows the solidification process and point 3 onwards shows onset of shrinkage.

Mould, International Polymers and Moulds Innovations (PMI) Conference, Guimaraes, Portugal, 2018.

[4] M. P. McCourt, A. J. Pritchard, M. Kearns and P. J. Martin “What can Rotational Moulding Learn from the Impact Robotics are having in Manufacturing” RotoWorld, Vol. XVIII, Issue 4, pp. 27-29, 2022.

[5] M.P. McCourt, M.P. Kearns, P.J. Martin, J. Butterfield, A Comparison between conventional and robotic rotational moulding machines, 34th International Manufacturing Conference, Ireland, 2017.

[6] M. Kaczmarek, B. Piwakowski, R. Drelich, Noncontact Ultrasonic Nondestructive Techniques: State of the Art and Their Use in Civil Engineering, J. Infrastructure Systems, Vol. 23, Issue 1, 2016.

[7] J. Barbosa, H. Puga, Ultrasonic melt processing in the low pressure investment casting of Al alloys, Journal of Material Process Technology, pp. 150-156, 2017.

[8] J. Moreno, Juez, R. Artoni, B. Cazacliu, Monitoring of

the melt densification stage of polymer sintering processes, Journal of Polymer Testing, Vol. 60, pp. 242–249, 2017.

[10] R. Syler, B. Muller, A. Dumlao, A mold with a view – A look inside the mold, ARM - Association of Rotational Moulders Conference, Cleveland, OH, 1999. https://youtu. be/l5OcL8ss2fA.

[11] Pritchard, A. J., McCourt, M. P., Kearns, M. P., & Martin, P. J. The Encapsulation of Metal Boss Components within Rotomoulded Liners for Type IV H2 Tanks, AIP Proceedings 37th International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, 2022.

[12] N. Corrigan, E. Harkin-Jones, E. Brown, P. D. Coates, and R. J. Crawford, Development of Reactive Rotational Moulding Process. Plastics, Rubber and Composites, Vol. 33, Issue 1, pp. 37–42, 2004.

[13] G. H. Fler, R.J.T. Lin, K. Jayaraman, Rotational moulding and mechanical characterisation of halloysite reinforced polyethylenes, Vol. 25, Journal of Polymer Research, 2018.

ARMA Board of Directors 2023 Appointed

Chris Glenn steps into the ARMA President role for the next 2 years and has recently led the new Board through its strategic planning session, focussing on the direction ARMA will take moving forward.

Chris has been the Managing Director of the Bushmans Group since 2009. Bushmans manufactures a wide range of tanks and associated products across Eastern and Central Australia. Prior to Bushmans, Chris was the Managing Director of ASX listed Coventry Group and prior to that, held senior roles in international companies.

Chris brings to the Board a wide range of experience in business operations, corporate governance, and finance. There were so many nominations for the Board this year that the members had the opportunity to vote, and we are pleased to announce 3 new ARMA Board members.

Brad Smyth – Barron & Rawson

Brad is the Managing Director of Barron & Rawson, a founding member of ARMA and has been involved in the industry for 19 years, including attending Rototours and conferences. He started in the industry in 2003 in the maintenance department. Back then BR compounded and ground their own powder, so he has knowledge of mills and extruders, as well as moulds and machines.

In 2007, BR acquired a thermoforming business which included 4 thermoforming machines and two 5-axis CNC’s and Brad later took charge of the CNC programming using G & M code. In 2012, Brad was promoted to Operations Manager and has a certificate IV in Small Business Management as well as training on 3D CAD design. Brad looks forward to contributing to the future of both ARMA and the rotational moulding industry, and believes this is his time to give back.

ASSOCIATION OF ROTATIONAL MOULDERS AUSTRALASIA INC. • ARMA

Chris Glenn, President

Ben Hopley – Viscount Rotational Moulding

Ben is currently the Design and Product Development Manager for the Materials Handling division of the Pact Group, Pact Reuse. He is part of the Operational Management and Technical teams for business units, Viscount Rotational Mouldings, Viscount Plastics, Sulo MGB Australia, and Viscount Pooling Systems. He has been in the Australian Rotational Moulding industry and an active participant of ARMA for the last 15 years and is passionate about local manufacturing, introducing new technologies and looking for internal projects to improve processing, safety, and quality control.

President: Chris Glenn Bushmans Group (Australia)

Typical of most designers, Ben has always been hands on and heavily involved in R&D, programming machines, tooling design and trials, anything involved with handing over a production ready part. Experienced in warranty, maintenance, plastic fabrication, the design of Rotational Moulding machines, and management of their construction and installation. He has automated testing processes, set up CNC trimming, introduced process monitoring improvements, and delivered production training.

Vice President: Ian Gough Gough Plastics (Australia)

Board Member: Karen Durkin Safescape (Australia)

development, financial management, and driving operational excellence, Varun possesses a wealth of knowledge in the nuances of doing business in the South Pacific. He is well versed with the cultural differences that exist in the Pacific Islands and the challenges they pose to doing business, especially in a certified environment. Outside the box thinking and solutions to achieve a common objective are the norm.

Board of Directors 2023

Past President: Trudi Duncan Gyro Plastics (New Zealand)

Treasurer: Mark Medew PFG Group (Australia)

Board Member: Varun Chand Rotomould Group of Companies (Fiji)

Board Member: Ben Hopley Viscount Rotational Moulding (Australia)

Supplier Board Member: Kate McKie Qenos (Australia)

Board Member: Brad Smyth Barron & Rawson (Australia)

Ben is now at a stage in his career where he has more to offer the broader industry and genuinely enjoys the engagement with other moulders and sees this as an opportunity to strengthen his connection with the industry.

Varun Chand – Rotomould Group of Companies

With 17 years of experience in rotomoulding, business

Nordic Rototour 2023

ARMA is pleased to announce another industry first –NORDIC ROTOTOUR in September 2023! A once in a lifetime experience touring rotomoulding factories in countries such as Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Poland. The tour will also include the international ARMO Conference in Poland.

While we are still confirming the final factories and program, final details and booking processes will be launched in April.

The full tour will run from the 1st to the 13th of September and more information will be available in at www.rototour.com

From setting up rotomoulding operations in different countries (and according to their specific laws) to dealing with NGOs, politicians, and religious organisations to planning the logistics for deliveries to islands with no wharves, jetties, or roads and with the threat of hurricane season looming over the busiest time of the year – Varun thrives on the challenge of running low capital investment, low potential for scalability, but profitable businesses. He has a powerful network of contacts in the Pacific area and is fluent in several local languages. Varun looks forward to sharing his diverse view with the ARMA Board and the wider industry.

Be sure to put the dates in your diary now and register your interest to info@rotationalmoulding.com

Rotomould 2023 Queenstown

We are excited to invite you to save the date for Rotomould23 taking place in Queenstown, New Zealand from the 25-27 June 2023. Our conference venue and accommodation will be at the Millennium Hotel, located just a short walk from downtown Queenstown.

Surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled on the shores of crystal-clear Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is best known for its breathtaking scenery, diverse range of experiences, relaxed vibe, and friendly people. With a smorgasbord of outdoor activities, Queenstown is the home of the ultimate adventure bucket list. There’s skiing from winter through to spring, bungy jumping, skydiving, canyon swinging, jet boating, horse trekking, and river rafting all year round. For those less adventurous, there’s walking and hiking trails to experience, sightseeing tours or spa treatments, boutique shopping, and excellent food and wine.

Planning is well underway for next year’s conference and will incorporate a number of changes to the way the program runs with more interactive sessions and discussion groups. Rotomould23 will also re-introduce the half-day technical workshop.

The 2023 program will commence on the morning of Sunday 25 June and finish at lunch time on Tuesday, 27 June, followed by optional tours. When booking flights and accommodation, please allow enough time for arrival, which may mean travelling the days prior to and after the conference.

If you are interested in presenting or sponsoring, contact our event manager, Karly on events@rotationalmoulding.com

We encourage you to save the date in your calendar and look forward to sharing more information with you in the coming months at www.rotomouldconference.com.au

PLASTICS FEDERATION ROTATIONAL MOULDING GROUP • BPF

Government Releases Environment Improvement Plan

The government have released an Environment Improvement Plan which is a refreshment of the 25 Year Environment Plan, which came out in 2018. It uses the same original 10 goals and looks at progress against these and how they will be delivered going forward. Included are some cross cutting themes which includes:

• Green jobs and skills – collection and packaging reforms will support 21,000 jobs

• Green choices – making green choices easier and more affordable so they become the default option

• There is an Outcome Indicator Framework with 66 indicators to look at the environmental change linked to the ten goals.

Below is a brief overview of the 3 most relevant goals for the plastics industry:

Goal 4 – Managing exposure to chemicals and pesticides

The key delivery points as part of this are: (1) To publish a new Chemical Strategy in 2023, including approaches on polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) and Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), (2) Continue to use REACH to evaluate and manage the risk posed by chemicals, (3) Improve our understanding of chemicals in the environment building on the prioritization and early warning system to target the greatest risk.

There is also a target stated to ‘Substantially increase the amount of POPs material being destroyed or irreversibly transformed by 2030”. They commented on working with industry to register and remove all equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by 2025. They will also support partners to work on POPs in carpet

and automotive waste. Furthermore, there will be a programme to look at POPs level in construction and demolition waste.

Goal 5 – Maximise our resource, minimise our waste

The report cites many of the actions which have already taken place within this area such as publishing the Resource and Waste Strategy, publishing the net zero strategy, and introducing the plastic packaging tax.

It reiterates the targets from the Environment Plan such as eliminating avoidable plastic waste by 2042. There are further targets for eliminating waste crime by 2042, and halving residual waste produced per person by the same date. There are interim residual waste targets for 2028 such as reducing the residual waste produced per person by 24%.

Achievement of the targets is based on many of the legislative changes that are already in development: consistent collections, deposit return schemes, banning single use plastic items (like plates and cutlery), and having mandatory digital waste tracking.

Other relevant targets are to significantly reduce and where possible prevent all kinds of marine plastic pollution which is especially in reference to material which has come from land and to substantially reduce litter and littering behaviour.

They will also be continuing to support RecycleNow to help people to take the right action and making it easier to recycle electrical items. There will be a call for evidence on wet wipes, cigarette filters, and sachets, and a separate one on the near eliminated of biodegradable waste from landfill.

Defra will publish a new maximising resources and minimising

ASSOCIATION OF ROTATIONAL MOULDERS AUSTRALASIA INC. • ARMA

BRITISH

waste programme in England which includes construction, electronics, plastic packaging, and single use items. It will look at waste exports, mentioning a ban on export of plastic waste to nonOECD countries. From 1st January 2025 WEEE will only be able to be exported if the destination country agrees.

Goal 7 - Mitigating and adapting to climate change

This goal cites the Net Zero Strategy and the UK holding the presidency for COP 26. There will be an update in 2023 on the progress and plans to reach net zero. It also mentions producing a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment to identify risk and a National Adaptation Programme to address those risk every 5 years.

The other goals in the plan are:

Goal 1 – Thriving plants and wildlife

Goal 2 – Clean Air

Goal 3 – Clean and plentiful waste

Goal 6 – Using resources from nature sustainably

Goal 8 – Reduced risk of harm from environmental hazards

Goal 9 – Enhancing biosecurity

Goal 10 – Enhancing beauty, heritage, and engagement with the natural environment

The full report is available here – Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

BPF Releases Free Guide for Plastics Processors Wanting to Achieve Net Zero

Building upon its recent activities assisting plastics processors work towards achieving net zero, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) has made its latest document freely available online: Net Zero for Plastic Processors: A Practical Guide to Delivering Net Zero.

The trade association has already published documents in this area, including the preceding Net Zero Briefing which provided an explanatory overview of net zero, including scope one, two, and three emissions. The BPF also hosts a ‘Net Zero Hub’, which brings together a variety of documents and online tools.

With the drive towards achieving net zero of growing importance, not only to mitigate climate change but also to optimise efficiency at a time of volatile raw material and energy

costs, the emphasis of the latest guide is on practical advice.

The concise but informative document was written by Dr. Robin Kent of Tangram Technology, who is an expert in energy efficiency in plastics processing that has also written extensively on sustainability issues.

It covers the basics of becoming carbon neutral, the use of renewable energy, reducing the impact of raw materials, reducing supply chain emissions, as well as covering other areas where efficiency could potentially be improved. The end of the guide provides the framework to assist in creating an action plan, as well information about how to conduct a self-assessment to help companies and sites understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia Inc.

Tel: +61 (0) 7 3812 1450

www.rotationalmoulding.com

CEO: Michelle Rose

Cheif Executive Officer: Michelle Rose michellerose@rotationalmoulding.com

Association of Rotational Moulders Southern Africa PO Box 6966

Birchleigh 1621

Gauteng, South Africa

Tel: +27 82 772 3769

Fax +27 12 541 1738

Chairman: Grant Heroldt info@armsa.co.za www.armsa.co.za

IT-RO Italia Rotazionale

Katia Zoppetti

Via E. Brigatti 12

20152 Milano (MI)

Italy

Tel: +039 348 7652560 www.it-ro.it

Society of Asian Rotomoulders (StAR) 40/145, Ground Floor, Chittaranjan Park

New Delhi 110019

Tel: + 91-11-41630157

Fax: +91-11-41634952

Mob: + 91- 9810305356

sb.zaman@staraisa.org

arnacz@satyam.net.in

www.starasia.org

Association of Rotational Moulding (Central Europe) e.V. (ARM-CE)

MAUS GmbH - Rotationsgießformen

Am Viehweg 9 - D-76229 Karlsruhe

Amtsgericht Mannheim, HRB 103433

Tel.: +49 (0) 7 21 / 9 48 74 12

Fax: +49 (0) 7 21 / 9 48 74 44

Mr. Oliver Wandres, ARM-CE Chairman

info@rotational-moulding.de www.rotational-moulding.de

British Plastics Federation

Rotational Moulding Group

6 Bath Place

Rivington Street

London EC2A 3JE

United Kingdom

Tel: 020 7457 5000

Fax: 020 7457 5045

Chairman: Mr. Philip Maddox PhilipM@LeafieldEnv.com

The Nordic Association of Rotational Moulders

Executive Board Chairman: Mr. Ronny Ervik

ul. Zielona 8, 61-851 Poznan, Poland

Tel: +48 607-126-004

Fax: +48 61-858-8611 info@rotomoulding-europe.org

www.nordicarm.org

MARCH 20-22, 2023

JUNE 25-27, 2023

AUGUST 23-25, 2023

Marriott Marquee, New York City, NY internationaldesignconference.com

SEPTEMBER 10-12, 2023

Rotomould 2023 Millennium Hotel Queenstown, New Zealand

2023 ARM Executive Forum Omni La Costa, Carlsbad, CA rotomolding.org

International Design Conference & IDSA Education Symposium

2023 ARMO Conference Poznan, Poland armo-global.org

SEPTEMBER

NOVEMBER 7-10, 2023

MAY 6-10, 2024

SEPTEMBER 24-26, 2024

Rotoplas & 2024 ARM Annual Meeting Stephens Convention Center & Hilton Rosemont Rosemont, IL rotomolding.org

Plastimagen Banamex Mexico Mexico City, Mexico

2023 ARM Annual Meeting Marriott Kansas City rotomolding.org

27-30, 2023

NPE 2024 Orange Country Convention Center Orlando, FL npe.org

23 GRAFE Advanced Polymers GmbH

Waldecker Straße 21 99444 Blankenhain GERMANY

+49 (36459) 45-287

mobile +49 151 16 34 20 44 manfred.fischer@grafe.com www.grafe.com

17 Diversified Mold & Castings

19800 Miles Road Warrensville Hts., OH 44128-4118 USA

216.663.1814 | 888.642.1222 info@diversifiedmolds.com www.diversifiedmolds.com

29 Xcelerant Growth Partners

624 W. Washington Ave. #411 Madison, WI 53703 440.384.7654 info@xcelerantgrowthpartners.com www.excelerantgrowthpartners.com

72 ExxonMobil Chemical Co. PO Box 96126 West Springs Calgary, Alberta Canada, T3H 0L3 800.668.0177 kevin.c.jamieson@exxonmobil.com https://www.exxonmobilchemical.com /en/products-and-services/ polyethylene

5 Ferry Industries, Inc. 4445 Allen Road Stow, OH 44224-1093 USA 330.920.9200

sales@ferryindustries.com www.ferryindustries.com

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

9, 43 Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. 7970 Boneta Road Wadsworth, OH 44281 USA 330.334.5244 Minerva Plant: 330.868.4600 steve@jericoplastic.com www.jericoplastic.com

11 Matrix Polymers

The Priory Orchard Hill Little Billing Northhampton, NN9 9AG United Kingdom +44.1604.789100 sales@matrixpolymers.com www.matrixpolymers.com

7 OREX Rotomoulding SP. Z O.O. Cieszyriska 6, 43-520 CHYBIE Poland

+48 32 440 83 15 magda.wantola@orex.pl www.orex-rotomoulding.com

21 PSI Brand 16 Thames Street Napier 4110 New Zealand

+64 6-834 4808

sales@psibrand.com www.psibrand.com

63 Poliplast S.p.A. Via Carrali, 8 24020 Casnigo (BG) Italy

+39.035.724145

info@poliplastspa.com

www.poliplastspa.com

3 Powder King, LLC 41780 N. Vision Way Unit 120 Bldg. 2 Anthem, AZ 85086 USA 623.551.9897

sales@powder-king.com www.powder-king.com

25 Rock Lake Robotics 100 S. CP. Avenue Lake Mills, WI 53551 USA 920.648.3402

sales@rocklakerobotics.com www.rocklakerobotics.com

2 Roto Polymers 26210 Emery Road, Suite 202 Cleveland, OH 44128 USA

1.844.POLIMER (1.844.765.4637) info@rotopolymers.com www.rotopolymers.com

71 Rotomachinery Group Via Crosa, 53 28065 Cerano (NO) Italy +39.0321.772021 polivinil@polivinil.com www.rotomachinerygroup.com

19 SMAK Plastics, Inc. / RotoEdge Pro 9116 NE 130th Avenue, Suite 106 Vancouver, WA 98682 360.882.0410 Ext. 1707

27 VMP, Inc. 24830 Avenue Tibbitts Valencia, CA 91355-3404 USA 888.4.VMP.INC 661.294.9934 info@vmpinc.com www.vmpinc.com

22 Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. / ROTOLOADTM 35 Leek Crescent Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4C2, Canada 905.887.5355

Toll Free: 1.888.466.8266 info@wittmann-group.ca

www.wittmann-group.ca