RotoWorld 6, 2022

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VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • 2022

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ROTATIONAL MOULDING RECYCLING OF POLYETHYLENE USING RECYCLATE Sibele Piedade Cestari, Queen’s University Belfast

2021 ROTOPLAS & ARM FALL MEETING Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

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Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

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CONTENTS

FEATURES FEATURE STORY

50

An Investigation into Rotational Moulding Recycling of Polyethylene Using Recyclate Sibele Piedade Cestari, Queen’s University of Belfast

Improving the formulation of virgin/recycled PE blends for the rotomoulding industry can be a pathway to increasing post-consumer plastics in the Circular Economy.

32

2021 Rotoplas & ARM Fall Meeting Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc. Celebrating, learning, and networking in person!

48

Empathy is the Most Important Leadership Skill According to Research Tracy Brower, phd sociologist and contributor to Forbes and Fast Co. Taking on empathy can drive significant business results.

4 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

www.rotoworldmag.com 5

CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS 8 From the Publisher Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc. Recycling & the Circular Economy

12 Global Contributing Editors

Global Contributors, Department Contributors, and Issue Contributors

14 Upfront

Industry News, Trends, and Products

27 Travel Updates Travel Trend Forecasts for 2022

42 At Issue

Martin Coles, Matrix Polymers Rotomoulding - Making the World a Better Place!

44 ARM Report

Rotoplas brings rotomolders and their suppliers face to face.

55 Design Comment

Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems, Inc. Integrating Product Design and Marketing - Building Brand Identity

56 ARMO News

ARMA | ARM-CE | ARMSA | BPF | IT-RO | NORDIC ARM | StAR Letters from the ARMA President & CEO

60 Global Calendar 62 Advertisers’ Index

6 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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FROM THE

PUBLISHER Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Recycling & the Circular Economy The use of recycled materials is an important goal in today’s plalstics manufacturing world. We are pleased to feature a study conducted by Sibele Cestari at Queen’s University Belfast on the rotational molding of polyethylene using Recyclate.

Over many years, an industry colleague and great contributor to RotoWorld®, Einar Voldner, wrote extensively about Recycling and Rotomolding, and many developments have occurred since then. Voldner said recycling is not easy for rotomolders. He said, “unlike other processes that force polyethylene into shape through heat and pressure, and thus blends recycled resins with relative ease, the ‘no shear’ aspect of rotomolding compels us to consider many more precautions and limitations”.

Voldner said there are four reasons why a rotomolder would want to use recycled resins: 1) one’s environmental beliefs, 2) meeting customer’s requirements, 3) to satisfy laws/regulations, and 4) to save money. Voldner’s goal was to teach rotomolders how to make great products using recycled materials. He laid a foundation for that process by defining, in his terms, the following aspects of the process: Recyclable: This describes your ability to re-use a resin. In most cases, it means re-melting it, i.e., taking full advantage of the thermoplastic property of polyethylene. Thermoplastic products like rubber and cross-linked polyethylene cannot be re-melted, but they can be re-used as fillers and in some cases modifiers. So, in that sense they too are recyclable.

Recycled: A recycled resin comes from any molded product that has reached the end of its useful life, whether a quality reject or a worn out bottle crate. Recycled content describes the percent by weight used in blending with virgin resins.

Regrind: These are recycled resins that have been recovered from parts not shipped by the molder, usually for quality reasons. The resin has never seen use or outdoor exposure, i.e., it has only been molded.

Post-Consumer (PCR): The original definition of this phrase included only those resins recovered from the post-consumer, i.e., household garbage stream: blow molded bottles – water, soft drinks, and laundry products. More recently this phrase has come to include a broader range of recycled products: the post-industrial stream from industrial products, which Voldner referred to as “PIR”.

Dry Blending (PIR): When you mix two or more resins in powder form together you are dry blending. For simplicity, we limit the definition to the use of rotomolding with virgin resin (with a full complement of stabilizers) as a powder, blended with pulverized regrind, which has been recovered directly from your operation, granulated, and then pulverized. Neither PCR nor PIR should be used in dry blending.

It is our plan to delve into a lot more information on Recycling and the Circular Economy through RotoWorld® in 2022 so stay tuned. To read Einar’s summary article on Recycling & Rotomolding, go to https://rotoworldmag.com/recycling-rotational-molding/.

Susan Gibson Publisher & Editor

8 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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www.rotoworldmag.com 9

Susan D. Gibson

Publisher & Editor 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 Michael Paloian

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

Celal Beysel

Global Contributing Editors

Martin Coles

Chairman - Floteks Plastik beysel@superonline.com Matrix Polymers martin.coles@matrixpolymers.com

Adam Covington Mark Kearns Ravi Mehra

Ferry Industries acovington@ferryindustries.com

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

Managing Director - Norstar International LLC maramehra@aol.com

Advertising and Art Production Marketing/Advertising Director Jennifer Gibson Hebert Vice President, JSJ Productions, Inc. Chief Art Director Anya Wilcox

jennifer@jsjproductionsinc.com

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, $60 US, $90 Canada/Mexico, $135 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 p ­ ermission of the publisher is not permitted.

10 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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CONTRIBUTING

EDITORS ROTOWORLD ®

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Correlation of Numerical Simulations/ Static and Creep Test of a Rotomolded HDPE Structure (Part 2)

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 4 • 2021

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 2 • 2021

Eric Lainé, Jean-Christophe Dupré, Jean-Claude Grandidier, Eric Maziers

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 5 • 2020

“If you build it, they will come”

RBG! CONNECT A Special Section

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Ian Hansen, Rota Consult

7 Ways to use your Website as a PR Tool Kim Harrison, Cutting Edge PR

Rotational Molding … has anything changed 2 years on?

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

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our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Chemical Tanks: Knowledge is Power

Patricial Pannell, Michelle Butler, and Shannon Coleman Cryer, Gotcha Covered HR, LLC

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Gotcha Covered HR…on Hiring, Conflict Resolution and Record Keeping

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About Rotomolding

Roy Crawford, University of Waikato, New Zealand, Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc., and Dr. Paul Nugent, MNOP

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Put Your Money...

Brian Olesen, Centro Inc., President & CEO

What Rotomolders Need to Know about Polymer Chemistry

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

Eric Lainé, Jean-Claude Grandidier, Eric Maziers, Steve Lewis, Rua Woller, and Alistair Bell

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more PEwith products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with technology team.

Clouds

DESIGN

Alex Fradera

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

the

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

Ian Hansen, Rota Consult

TECHNOLOGY

RBG! CONNECT

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Small acts ofproven kindness at workperformance Case Study of a Long-Term Delivering benefit the giver, the receiver, Filled Industrial Storage Tank – Prediction at 20 years (Part 3) with confidence.

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G u i d e

Sunil Raithatha, Prashant Trivedi & Umakant Savadekar

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • 2020/2021

The Use of Virtual Reality in the Development of a New Rotational Moulding Factory

2020 Where Your ARM Money is!

Annual Meeting Online WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

B u y e r s ’

TECHNOLOGY

®

in Indian Agriculture…

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more withDr. Nick Henwood, Rotomotive Limited our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

LEADERSHIP

R o t o W o r l d

Rotoculture takes roots

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

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2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2

Rotate for

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ROTOPLAS 2021 is on!

and the whole innovate organisation so you can Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

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ogo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

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Karem Akoul, Peter Ross, Brian Allen and David Seall CP Cases, London; Mark Kearns and Dr. Peter Martin, Queen’s University, Belfast

Rob Miller, Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. / ROTOLOADTM

ARMA Rotoconnect’s

Shift to Digital Michelle Rose, ARMA

Viscosity and Melt Index

Influence Material Selection

Alvin Spence, Centro, Incorporated

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Maintaining healthy reputations During a Pandemic

Andrea Lekushoff, Broad Reach Communications

rotomolding:

The Next 10 Years Paul Nugent, MNOP

Part 1: MACcreeP

of Rotomolded Polymer Structures

Eric Lainé, Eric Maziers, Jean-Claude Grandidier

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Alvin Spence, Centro Incorporated

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TECHNICAL EDITOR

PROCESS EDITOR

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

DESIGN EDITOR

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

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

12 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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

CONTRIBUTING

EDITORS

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

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

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

Ravi Mehra

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mark Kearns

M.Kearns@qub.ac.uk

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.

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 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Rob Miller Rob Miller is Owner/President, Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. Rotoload. Rob started in the plastics pneumatic conveying industry in 1986. He has spent his entire career developing, engineering, and designing all types of catalog, standard, and custom pneumatic conveying systems for the plastics industry. He started in the rotational molding industry in 2013, has enjoyed learning the idiosyncrasies of the industry and market, and most of all meeting the people and building relationships for the future.

Rob.Miller@wittmann-group.ca

Sibele Cestari Sibele Cestari is a polymers scientist who works as an Enterprise Fellowship Researcher at Queen’s University Belfast, developing construction materials using recycled plastics and other forms of industrial waste materials. As an architect and materials scientist, her goal is to develop sustainable building materials made of plastic waste in a transdisciplinary way, combining organic chemistry, materials science, sustainability, and construction knowledge. Her expertise in plastics recycling includes experiences in Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom (Northern Ireland). She has published 19 papers in reputed journals, one Brazilian patent, 5 book chapters, media articles, and delivers talks about polymers and sustainability.

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UPFRONT Interplastica 2022 from 25 to 28 January 2022 in Moscow Renowned international exhibitors on board +++ numerous national pavilions +++ dedicated “Recycling Solutions” segment returns +++ Special ADDITIVE MINDED +++ Polymer Plaza lecture forum

Russia is an important market for the plastics and rubber industries in difficult times. Interest in high-quality and innovative machinery, systems, and materials continues unabated. Demand for packaging solutions, recycling systems, and waste avoidance is particularly high. Innovative products, current best practices and the direct exchange with international industry experts rank high on the agenda in user industries.

Therefore, interplastica, the International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, held from 25 to 28 January 2022 at Expocentre AO in Moscow as the most relevant meeting point for Russia and its neighbouring states, comes at the perfect time.

Top players in the industry will be represented as exhibitors in Moscow such as Arburg, BMB, Dow, Engel, Erema, Haitian, KraussMaffei, Reifenhäuser, Sibur, Starlinger, Windmöller & Hölscher and Wittmann Battenfeld. Furthermore, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland will be represented by joint stands at interplastica 2022 while Germany is advertising for the “Made in Germany” quality seal with an official German participation.

A total of around 600 exhibitors from 26 nations are taking part in interplastica and upakovka, Russia’s leading trade fair for processing and packaging, which takes place simultaneously.

Interplastica 2022 will again provide a representative overview 14 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

of the latest machinery and equipment for the plastics and rubber industries, raw and auxiliary materials, plastics, and rubber products, as well as services. Beyond this, it will pick up on the current challenges for the sector so that “Recycling Solutions” will feature as a stand-alone segment again after its successful debut at the previous interplastica.

The exhibitors’ ranges will be accompanied by a technical supporting programme. One of the highlights will be the project “ADDITIVE MINDED” powered by 3D fab+print. Here, Russian, and international experts will discuss the developments, possibilities, and challenges of this technology while exhibitors will showcase their corresponding innovative products and solutions.

Again, proving a magnet for the trade audience will be the Polymer Plaza. Featuring talks and discussions on raw material production, applications and processing, this lecture forum means extreme value added for trade visitors. One thematic day will be dedicated entirely to the circular economy and recycling.

The Expocentr AO in Moscow provides all visitors, exhibitors, and employees with a framework for successful and safe trade fair participation thanks to already proven and constantly updated hygiene and infection protection standards. For more information on interplastica go to www.interplastica.de

UPFRONT Clariant joins the EU Circular Plastics Alliance MUTTENZ, SWITZERLAND — Clariant, a focused,

sustainable, and innovative specialty chemical company, recently announced it has officially joined the EU Circular Plastics Alliance. The alliance aims to enhance plastics recycling in line with the objectives of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the Green Deal program. Clariant’s engagement is part of the company’s active support for the transition towards a more circular plastics economy.

“Shifting towards a global circular plastics economy is an immense challenge that can only be brought forward through ambitious commitments, collaborations, and an active stakeholder dialog. As part of the Circular Plastics Alliance, Clariant is looking forward to working closely with other key players in advancing plastics circularity throughout Europe,” said Bernd Hoegemann, Clariant’s Chief Transformation Officer.

Clariant is committed to the Alliance’s goal to boost the EU market for recycled plastics to 10 million tons by 2025. The company’s focus is on addressing the obstacles that are hampering a higher circularity of products within the plastics value chain, in line with the waste hierarchy principles. Clariant’s strategy is

based on a smart combination of design for reduction, recycling, and reuse options, as well as solutions for mechanical or chemical recycling.

“Specialty chemicals can act as enablers for new solutions that enhance circularity of plastics by maintaining the value of products, materials, and resources in the economy for as long as possible, and by minimizing the generation of waste. Clariant aims to be a leading provider of specialty chemicals that are indispensable to transform a one-way plastics value chain into a circular plastics economy,” added Richard Haldimann, Head of Sustainability Transformation.

In 2019, Clariant also established EcoCircle, a company-wide initiative that goes beyond a product focus, looking at the entire value chain, identifying the most sustainable and viable solutions for a circular plastics economy. “With EcoCircle we have the right platform and competencies to identify solutions for closing the loop and to engage with key stakeholders to accelerate plastics circularity,” added Richard Haldimann.

www.rotoworldmag.com 15

UPFRONT Tank Holding Acquires Rotational Molding of Utah Inc. Tank Holding, North America’s largest rotational molder, acquired Utah based rotational molder Rotational Molding of Utah earlier this year. RMU designs and manufactures high-quality proprietary tanks, pallets, and refuse products as well as a variety of other custom products.

“RMU brings valued long term customer relationships and continues an important part of Tank Holding’s overall growth strategy, which is to strengthen leading positions in core and adjacent markets, including expansion of our custom molding division. The manufacturing facility will provide compression molding technology as well as additional rotational molding capacity in the southwest region. This acquisition affords us the opportunity to leverage our industry knowledge and expertise to create greater value for our customers,” said Greg Wade, CEO of Tank Holding.

The RMU acquisition provides additional synergy opportunities with several of Tank Holding’s recent acquisitions while complementing core tank and material handling product lines.

Together, these market leading brands and product offerings provide the industry with the broadest product portfolio and the largest footprint of manufacturing facilities. The transaction includes the facility located in Brigham City, Utah.

“Tank Holding is the ideal partner to accelerate our growth objectives and expand our market reach. Both companies’ values are well aligned, and I am confident we will continue the success for both our customers and employees for years to come,” said

Joe Brough, Chairman of Rotational Molding of Utah.

The RMU announcement represents Tank Holding’s 14th acquisition in the past two years, and further enhances the company’s far-reaching portfolio of products to serve a wide variety of end markets through a growing number of distribution channels.

Besides being a world leader in the design and manufacturing of polyethylene tank and container products, Tank Holding also maintains major market positions with many other proprietary products, including intermediate bulk containers, insulated material handling bins, laundry and linen carts, refuse containers, specialty pallets, and custom products.

Tank Holding, which includes the brands of Norwesco, Snyder Industries, Bonar Plastics, Bushman, Chem-tainer, Meese, Stratis Pallets, RMI, and Dura-Cast, owned by Olympus Partners and the management team, currently operates 36 manufacturing plant locations, and employs over 1,000 people throughout North America, prior to the RMU acquisition.

Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for growing companies. Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds, and state-sponsored retirement programs.

Founded in 1988, Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, food services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services, and manufacturing.

The Re|focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit The Re|focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit will take place May 23 – 25, 2022 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference addresses the real-world challenges you face as your company pushes recycled content and sustainable manufacturing. As an active participant in the plastics industry, you know that our industry is turning a corner, moving from being one that aspires to sustainability to one that puts our commitment to recycling 16 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

and reusing into action. Our industry is transforming itself and re|focus will home in on the fact that recycling and sustainability are more than just goals and promises.

Re|focus will continue to challenge brand owners, processors, engineers, product developers and the entire supply chain to “refocus” on product design, technology, and manufacturing with an eye toward recycled and sustainable content, designed for recycling and driving sustainability.

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UPFRONT LyondellBasell Appoints Peter Vanacker as Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lane, Executive Vice President, Global Olefins & Polyolefins, Will Serve as Interim CEO During Transition Period

HOUSTON AND LONDON — PRNewswire -

LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) recently announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Peter Vanacker, President and CEO of Neste Corporation, as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Vanacker succeeds Bhavesh V. “Bob” Patel, who will retire from the Company on December 31, 2021, as previously announced.

Mr. Vanacker will assume his role no later than June 2022, upon satisfaction of the notice period under his current employment agreement, at which time he will also join the Company’s Board of Directors. The Board also announced that Kenneth (Ken) Lane, executive vice president, Global Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) for LyondellBasell, will serve as interim CEO upon Mr. Patel’s retirement.

“Peter’s outstanding leadership and industry experience made him the Board’s choice in an exceptional field of candidates who were considered as part of the comprehensive search process,” said Jacques Aigrain, Board Chair. “The Board is confident that his success in delivering value to shareholders, along with his strategic and forward-thinking mindset, will serve the Company well as we continue to drive growth and advance our climate and circularity goals.”

Mr. Vanacker brings more than 30 years of industry experience to his new role, including serving as President and CEO of Neste, an industry-leading renewable products company that has seen substantial growth and transformation under his leadership since 2018. Prior to that role, Mr. Vanacker was CEO and Managing Director of the CABB Group, a leader in the fine chemicals global market, and he was CEO and Managing Director of Treofan Group, a global leader in the polypropylene films business. He previously had a succession of roles at Bayer AG, including as EVP and Head of the Global Polyurethanes business and member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Material Science, now Covestro. During his tenure with Bayer, Peter worked across various subsidiaries, including in Belgium, Brazil, Germany, and the United States. He is the Chair of the Advisory Board for the European Institute for Industrial Leadership and a member of the Supervisory Board of Symrise AG. “I am thrilled to join LyondellBasell at such an exciting time for the Company,” said Mr. Vanacker. “I have long admired it as an industry leader in technology, product innovation and, more recently, circularity. Pulling from my own experiences, I will strive to build on the Company’s momentum and work to continue offering great value to shareholders while advancing the Company’s sustainability goals. I look forward to joining this strong leadership team, engaging with its devoted employees, and moving the Company forward, together.”

“We are very pleased that Ken will serve as Interim CEO during the transition period. He brings a wealth of Company 18 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

knowledge, leadership, and dedication to his work. On behalf of the Board, I thank him for stepping up to help ensure business continuity and continued robust financial and operational performance during the transition period. I would also like to thank Bob again for his service to the Company, its people, and other stakeholders, and wish him the very best for the future,” Mr. Aigrain said.

Mr. Lane joined LyondellBasell in July 2019 and oversees the O&P Americas and O&P Europe, Asia & International (EAI) segments.

Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Mr. Lane held a variety of positions with BASF, including president of the Monomers Division and President of BASF Catalysts. Before BASF, Mr. Lane also held a number of positions with BP Chemicals. He will continue to serve in his current role while also acting as interim CEO. LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort, and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world’s largest producer of polypropylene compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In 2021, LyondellBasell was named to FORTUNE Magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” for the fourth consecutive year. More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.lyondellbasell.com.

UPFRONT Myers Industries Acquires Rotational Molding Supplier Trilogy Plastics AKRON, OH, USA — Myers Industries announced earlier this

year that it has acquired the assets of Trilogy Plastics and financed the transaction with its revolving credit facility. Trilogy Plastics is a custom rotational molder specializing in high quality, high tolerance parts and assemblies. The acquisition is the latest action taken as part of the “One Myers” long-term strategic plan, which is focused on transforming the Company into a high-growth, customercentric innovator of value-added engineered plastic solutions. This acquisition accelerates Horizon 1 of the long-term strategy focused on value-added bolt-on acquisitions.

“The addition of Trilogy to Myers’ rotational molding platform represents an important milestone in the continued execution of our ‘One Myers’ strategy that we believe will unlock additional growth and expansion opportunities for the Company. Trilogy has an outstanding record of providing its customers high quality, high tolerance products and superior service making it an excellent addition to the high-performance culture we are continually building at Myers,” said Mike McGaugh, President and CEO of Myers Industries. “This marks our second acquisition in the last nine months, and I am proud of our team for executing exceptionally well on the initial stage of our strategic vision. We look forward to integrating the Trilogy business into the Myers family and continuing to grow organically and through additional acquisitions.”

Founded in 1987, Trilogy Plastics manufactures custom products for the industrial, consumer, lawn and garden, heavy truck, medical, and other markets. Trilogy has established itself as an internationally recognized U.S. based rotational molder specializing in high appearance, tight tolerance parts, and assemblies. The combination of Trilogy with Myers’ Ameri-Kart and Elkhart businesses will create one of the largest rotational molding manufacturers in the United States and will provide Myers’ customers with access to a more complete portfolio of diverse products.

“We decided to partner with Myers because of our shared strategic vision and corporate culture,” said Stephen Osborn, Chairman of Trilogy Plastics. “The combination will allow us to continue our steady growth, improve our ability to support our customers and provide more opportunities to our team members.” Trilogy Plastics will operate as a part of the rotational molding platform within Myers’ Material Handling Segment. Headquartered in Alliance, Ohio. Trilogy has two U.S. manufacturing facilities and employs approximately 265 people. Trilogy’s annual revenues are approximately $35 million, and the acquisition is expected to be slightly accretive to earnings in 2021.

Myers expects the transaction to generate cost synergies of approximately three percent of sales. These cost synergies will stem primarily from supply chain optimization. In addition, the Company expects to realize growth synergies due to the broader geographic footprint created by the combined rotational molding businesses..

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www.rotoworldmag.com 19

UPFRONT Chevron Phillips Chemical Announces Executive Leadership Changes Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC recently announced that Scott Sharp, executive vice president, projects & environmental, health, safety, and security (EHS&S), will retire after 42 years of distinguished service with Chevron Phillips Chemical and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). During his tenure with Chevron Phillips Chemical, Sharp oversaw operations at the company’s joint ventures in Qatar and led the successful completion of its U.S. Gulf Coast expansion projects in Baytown and Old Ocean, Texas. Most recently, he played an instrumental role in developing and advancing potential growth projects in the U.S. and Qatar.

“Scott has been an influential leader across our global operations, and his unrelenting focus on safe, reliable operations leaves a

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UPFRONT tremendous legacy. We thank him for his many contributions to passion for the safety of our people and communities position Chevron Phillips Chemical and wish him the best in retirement,” him well to lead our EHS&S organization,” said Chinn. said Chevron Phillips Chemical CEO Bruce Chinn.

Steve Prusak, senior vice president, corporate planning, and In conjunction with Sharp’s technology, will assume additional retirement, the company also responsibility for the company’s announced the realignment of projects organization, which includes We thank him for executive leadership responsibilities overseeing the development of his many contributions to as follows, effective Nov 1, 2021: expansion projects in the U.S. and Elliott Johnson, currently vice Qatar. Prusak has 31 years of industry Chevron Phillips Chemical. president, EHS&S, will join the experience and has held commercial, — Bruce Chinn, Chevron Phillips Chemical company’s executive leadership team project and strategy roles during as senior vice president, EHS&S, his tenure with Chevron Phillips reporting to Chinn. Johnson has 23 Chemical. Notably, he served as a years of experience with the company in operations and technical project director for the company’s U.S. Gulf Coast expansion positions across multiple domestic manufacturing facilities, project completed in 2018. including as plant manager at the company’s facility in Orange, “Steve has proven to be an outstanding leader, dedicated to Texas, and operations manager at the Cedar Bayou facility. excellence and driven to innovate and continuously improve “Elliott’s extensive experience in manufacturing, disciplined our business,” said Chinn. “We look forward to advancing our approach to operations and environmental responsibility, and growth projects with him at the helm.”

www.rotoworldmag.com 21

UPFRONT SPE Announces Winners of Student Radio Controlled Car Design and Racing Competition CAROL STREAM, IL, USA — The Society of Plastics

Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division has announced the winners of its third student radio-controlled car design and racing competition.

Twelve students from five schools across the U.S. were charged with designing, manufacturing, and decorating the bodies of radio-controlled cars whose chassis were furnished by the Division, with support from corporate sponsors, including Kal Plastics, LyondellBasell, MAAC Machinery, McConnell Company, Monark Equipment, MSA Components, and Primex Plastics. The car body had to be formed using clear plastic, such as PET, PETG, acrylic, or polycarbonate, and produced using the vacuum/thermoforming process.

Students also participated in a race conducted on a built-tospecification indoor racetrack located on the exhibit hall floor during the Thermoforming Division’s biennial conference, held September 20-22 in Grand Rapids, MI (click here to watch video of the race).

Cash prizes were awarded in three different categories: People’s Choice, Best Design, and the race itself. This year’s winners are: • First Place in the Race ($1,000 cash prize): Purdue

Polytechnic Richmond, the team from Purdue Polytechnic Institute: Drake Cunningham, Tyler Dudley, Matthew Johnson, and Brayton McKnight.

• Second Place in the Race ($750 cash prize): Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) Team Two: Szymon Salamon and David Soller.

• Third Place in the Race, Best Design and People’s Choice ($1,500 cash prize): Blue Devil Racing, the team from Central Connecticut State University: Timothy McGough and Avery Tolboe.

• Second Place, Best Design: Szymon Salamon and David Soller, MIAD. “Each year, the RC Car Race becomes more exciting, and more competitive,” said Dan Sproles, SPE Thermoforming Division Student Activities Chair. “The enthusiasm demonstrated by the faculty advisors and the students made this a particularly fun competition. The designs were also really impressive, and we hope that even more schools will participate in the 2023 event.”

More information is available by contacting Lesley Kyle at 1-914-671-9524 or lesley@openmindworks.com.

Scientific Council of K 2022 Convenes First Meeting Renewable energies, resource-saving processes, climate neutrality – rising to major challenges is key. These global tasks require creative minds, innovative technologies, and high-performance materials. From 19 to 26 October 2022 the international plastics and rubber industry will meet at K 2022 in Düsseldorf to present their contributions to a solution. As the world’s most relevant trade fair for the sector and industrial applications K in Düsseldorf brings together the trends and topics of the future, thereby giving the industry fresh guidance especially in these challenging times. It is the innovation and business platform for raw material producers, manufacturers of plastics and rubber machinery, and processing companies as well as an indispensable information and networking platform for all interested parties from the most important user segments.

Furthermore, it offers the plastics and rubber industries ideal prerequisites for discussing, and actively tackling, current challenges on a global level, with a focus on solutions. This is also evidenced by the three leading themes of K 2022: climate protection, circular economy, and digitalisation. These leading themes that will sustainably determine developments in the plastic and rubber industries over the coming years will be addressed by exhibitors’ displays at K 2022 from 19 to 26 October and serve as 22 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

the recurring themes for the official Special Show “Plastics Shape the Future”, the Circular Economy Forum as well as the Science Campus at the trade fair.

Quality support for finetuning these guiding themes at K in Düsseldorf will come care of a high-calibre expert body, the Scientific Council of K 2022. The Council already met twice this year, in July and November, with a view to highlighting the most important aspects of the individual guiding themes, phrasing current and forward-looking questions, and charting the course for their implementation at the trade fair.

The scientists have already drawn up a comprehensive list of the aspects to be considered. This list for instance includes recycling of components, standardisation of recyclates, micro-particles in the environment, bio-degradable plastics, CO2 as a polymer component, Industry 4.0, digital markers, digitalisation as an enabler for the circular economy, lightweight construction, and e-mobility.

In addition to honing the guiding themes, the Scientific Council of K 2022 also explicitly supports measures to promote young talent in the plastics and rubber industries.

For more information on K 2022 go to: www.k-online.com

UPFRONT Big News at Fibertech Have you heard? Fibertech has been acquired by South Central Inc. What does that mean for our valued customers and employees? In short, it means that we will remain committed to the same servicefocused philosophy that our customers expect and appreciate while continuing to provide an environment where our dedicated and highly skilled employees feel safe, encouraged, and rewarded for their performance. In the long run, having South Central Inc, a 75-year-old, family-owned company based nearby in Evansville, Indiana, and its team at the ready to deliver support and guidance, will provide the solid foundation that Fibertech needs to grow into the next generation and beyond. This acquisition will allow us to invest in the latest production lines and technology in order to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of our current and future customers, while adding valuable jobs.

This is not only an investment in Fibertech, but an investment in the community. This acquisition will also mark a milestone for our beloved founder, Bill Scott. After 32 years at Fibertech’s helm – which he built from a small repair shop with one customer to the industry powerhouse it is today – Bill will be retiring.

Congratulations, Bill! Well-deserved. Through it all, Fibertech

will maintain its commitment to being valued and respected by industry leaders, customers, employees, and the community.

Fibertech, Inc. an industry-leading manufacturer of highquality, custom-engineered, rotational-molded plastic products including bulk containers, plastic pallets, plastic lockers, and more – is pleased to announce the recent addition of a Rotoline 260 press to its state-of-the-art facility, located at 11744 Blue Bell Road in Elberfeld, Indiana. The addition of this new machine will necessitate additional staff, so Fibertech will be adding 10 additional full-time employees to the team.

“We are committed to investing in the latest technological advancements in order to meet and exceed the needs of our customers,” said Brent Rasche, Fibertech’s Chief Operating Officer.

“With the addition of this new, state-of-the-art machine and a recent expansion of our facility, we are now fully equipped to create and innovate with the latest in roto molding technology for years to come.” The carousel Rotoline 260 machine will allow Fibertech to expand its already thriving custom contracts division to produce even more custom small to medium size parts. This machine is incremental to Fibertechs current capacity.

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UPFRONT Transparency Market Research ALBANY, NY, USA — Rotational molding technologies are

used to manufacture plastics for a wide spectrum of applications.

Key thermoplastics used in the process are polyethylene and polypropylene. The growing use of new technologies and instrumentation such as 3D (dimensional) CAD (Computer Aided Design) design has helped companies in the rotomolding market to develop cost-effective products at scale. Key applications where rotomolding products find widespread use are water treatment, agriculture, and construction industries.

Emerging applications include automotive, toy making, and material handling. Sustainable production practices will likely shape the contours of the rotomolding market in coming years.

The global market is projected to clock CAGR of ~6% during 2020-2030 and surpass valuation of US$ 7.7 Bn by the periodend. The versatility of plastic rotational molding is a key trend that will drive the demand in several applications where plastics are used.

Request for Covid-19 Impact Analysis on Rotomolding can be found at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/Covid19. php Key Findings of Rotomolding Market Study Companies Diversifying Their Activities Against COVID-19 Shocks In the backdrop of large outbreaks of COVID-19 especially in 2020, companies in the rotomolding market have been consolidating their efforts in applications that need urgent attention. They are thus keen on offering rotomolded products to customers to meet the applications of sewage treatment, medical sector, and traffic management. The shift has helped them maintain their business agility and bottom line. Further, they are focusing on selling cost-effective products to their B2B clients.

Players Leaning Toward Biodegradable Products One of the key trends that have gathered steam among manufacturers of rotomolding is the focus on developing sustainable products. Thus, the rotomolding market has witnessed the demand for products made with biodegradable resins and use of more bio derivative materials. These will also help project the image of these companies as socially and ecologically responsible brand. Stakeholders are also investing sizably in plastic recycling infrastructure to this end. The trend will retain its lustre in coming years as well. However, there is a major challenge of the limited choice of raw materials. Since rotomolding involves intensive thermal processes, mostly polybased resins have been used. New technologies have thus come to the fore to meet these operational challenges for manufacturers. In an attempt to meet the customization, need of the manufacturing process, mold pressurization process has been extensively studied among researchers, for instance.

24 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

Custom-Made Rotomolded Products to Gain Traction In many new or emerging markets, particularly India, there is a proliferation of demands for custom-made rotomolded products.

The processing technique is widely being used in making products, such as fuel tanks, chemical tanks, and thermoplastics for solid waste management applications. Also, the demand for rotomolding with remarkable durability, color-fading resistant, and brightness is gathering attention among their business buyers.

Rotomolding Market: Key Drivers • Sheer pace of urbanization in some of the developing regions of the world has spurred the applications of rotomolded products • Rise in governments’ investments on building public infrastructures in numerous emerging economies is boosting the demand for rotomolded products • Rise in demand for residential projects is a key trend bolstering the sales in the rotomolding market Rotomolding Market: Regional Dynamics Asia Pacific is a potentially lucrative regional market. The growth in opportunities can be ascribed mainly to the rise in demand for such products in the building and construction sector. Rise in demand for public and private sector for affordable housing is a key trend boosting the growth avenue in emerging economies of the region.

Rotomolding Market: Key Players Companies with prominent presence are PartnerPlast Group, Roto Dynamics Inc., Dutchland Plastics, and Elkhart Plastics, Inc. Some of the other well-entrenched players are Sherman Roto Tank, Carris Pipes & Tubes Private Limited, and Rotoplast SAS. Polyethylene Pipes & Fittings Market - https://www. transparencymarketresearch.com/polyethylene-pipes-fittingsmarket.html Polyethylene Wax Market - https://www. transparencymarketresearch.com/polyethylene-wax-market.html Explore More Upcoming Reports: https://www. transparencymarketresearch.com/upcoming.htm Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

UPFRONT Resin Reports Subscriptions WASHINGTON D.C., USA

— U.S. production of major plastic resins totaled 7.8 billion pounds during October 2021, an increase of 9.3 percent compared to the prior month, and an increase of 0.2 percent compared to the same month in 2020, according to statistics released by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Year-to-date production was 75.5 billion pounds, a 0.7 percent increase as compared to the same period in 2020.

Sales and captive (internal) use of major plastic resins totaled 7.4 billion pounds during October 2021, an increase of 4.0 percent compared to the prior month, and a decrease of 0.2 percent from the same month one year earlier.

Year-to-date sales and captive use were 74.2 billion pounds, a 2.3

percent decrease as compared to the same period in 2020.

The American Chemistry Council’s resin reports are an extensive resource on the North American plastic resins industry. Based on surveys of major North American resin manufacturers, the reports are compiled for ACC’s Plastics Industry Producers’ Statistics Group (PIPS) by a third-party contractor. All reports produced

by ACC’s PIPS Group are available for purchase via annual subscription.

Learn more at: https://www. americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/data-industrystatistics/statistics-on-the-plastic-resins-industry/resin-reportsubscriptions

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www.rotoworldmag.com 25

UPFRONT Phillips Named New Midwest Manufacturing Manager for Jerico WADSWORTH, OH, USA — Jerico

Plastic Industries, Inc. recently brought on Tracy Phillips as the new Midwest Manufacturing Manager, where he oversees manufacturing, equipment, and plant maintenance, along with new projects.

Working closely with personnel, Phillips believes in managing with a pillar philosophy, where each person is a pillar. When everyone is firmly rooted in their role, it allows Jerico to grow and expand to the next level.

Phillips spent 27 years with a leading U.S. color concentrate company, having begun as a production employee and then supervisor of production. Most recently, he assisted in acquiring and onboarding a liquid color company and he held the positions of plant manager and manager of technical service.

He is a graduate of Bangor High School in Bangor, Michigan, and attended DeVry Institute of Technology studying computer programming. “We have already noticed increased productivity and workflow due to Tracy’s acute industry knowledge, hands-on

Opportunity in the Carribean region.

We have an immediate opening for a production manager capable of overseeing a large production facility consisting of open flame, shuttle type and carousel machines.

We welcome your interest and application.

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management style, and high expectations for himself and others,” noted Brandi Frey, VicePresident of Manufacturing.

Married for 28 years to his wife, Johnnie, they have two daughters, a son-in-law, and one granddaughter.

With manufacturing facilities in Minerva, Ohio, and Greensboro, Georgia, Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. is 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, non-traditional engineered sustainable compounds for rotational and injection molding.

For more information, contact Brandi Frey, Vice-President of Manufacturing — 330-334-5244, info@jericoplastic.com or Stephen Copeland, President — steve@jericoplastic.com

Matrix Polymers launches new region-specific & mobile-friendly website

Despite the significant challenges of the past two years, the rotational moulding Experts In Rotomoulding Materials market has continued to thrive, contributing to the continued rapid growth of Matrix Polymers and its parent company, Revolve Group.

The specialist rotomoulding raw material supplier has just launched a new regional website to better reflect group’s local approach, providing our customers with the most relevant experience possible and showcasing our global product portfolio.

Global customers can now browse the wide range of products and services offered, quickly and easily, no matter where they are. The new site is easy to navigate, interactive, and smartphone • Crosslink Poly Polyethylene Granules you need. friendly, making it even • easier to find the information & Powders CEO of Matrix Polymers, Martin Coles, commented: “We • will Dedicated T • inAncillary Products facilities and Support Tea continue to invest heavily our manufacturing additional production capacity, whilst continually reviewing• and Multi-lingual • Polypropylene Granules improving our communication channels with our customers.” & Powders • 5 Production

Global supplier of raw materials to the rotational moulding industry

• Polyamide Powders 26 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

3 Continents

UK | Poland | Australia | New Zea

TRAVEL UPDATES Travel Age West

Travel Trend Forecasts for 2022

Forecasting the future is always tricky, and 2022 is no normal year. So, in our effort to look ahead, we recruited the help of several tourism industry veterans with longtime expertise in the airline, hotel, cruise, and tour operator sectors.

Perhaps not surprisingly, those conversations focused frequently on the wide-ranging impact of COVID-19, along with the pandemic’s remarkable propensity to accelerate change.

In an era of so many ever-shifting challenges, however, one prediction appears to be certain for the tourism industry in 2022: It’s shaping up to be a year unlike any other.

Flight Costs Are Set to Fly “Given the rise in fuel and the fact that fares were extremely low in 2020 and even up to now [in 2021], I think there will be a significant price increase in 2022,” said Peter Vlitas, executive vice president of Internova Travel Group. “What will a consumer do? Will they stay with the mainline carriers? Will they look to connect where it’s cheaper? Will they go to a low-cost carrier? No one really knows,” said Vlitas.

Business Travel May Boost Premium Economy Although corporate travel is a long way from a full recovery, Internova’s Vlitas said the airline industry is seeing indications that many more people are now flying for work, and he expects that momentum to build next year.

That uptick is likely to help spur an increased number of premium economy cabins on planes in 2022, according to Vlitas, who expects the higher-end seats and value proposition to be popular among both vacationers and corporate travelers.

“I think the premium economy cabin is going to be very popular among leisure travelers, who want to spend a little more to get more space because we’re now accustomed to that due to the pandemic,” he said. “I also think it’s going to be very popular for businesses that want to send somebody on a trip, but because of the pandemic don’t necessarily want to spend the money for www.rotoworldmag.com 27

TRAVEL UPDATES

business class. Airlines that are now putting out these premium economy cabins are going to do very, very well.

Watch that space.”

Canceled Flights Due to Labor Shortage The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released economic data on October 22 indicating that the slow rebound of the global aviation industry — along with staffing and rehiring challenges — could mean the U.S. will finish 2021 and begin 2022 with 3 million fewer airline industry employees than it had in 2019. Those vacancies and cuts may include not only fewer pilots and flight attendants, but also fewer ground crew workers, catering services positions, and a host of other job vacancies and losses where employees previously supported the domestic air travel system.

Internova’s Vlitas said many airlines have found rehiring employees to be a challenge in recent months, and the vacant pilot and flight attendant positions have already had an impact.

When you have a shortage of crew, then you don’t have the possibility of saying, ‘Let me bring more flight attendants, let me bring another pilot.’

28 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

We’ve already seen some of that this year, where bad weather led to an unusual number of cancellations.

“What happens when you have weather that creates delays, and the delays make the crew ineligible to fly?” Vlitas asked. “When you have a shortage of crew, then you don’t have the possibility of saying, ‘Let me bring more flight attendants, let me bring another pilot.’ We’ve already seen some of that this year, where bad weather led to an unusual number of cancellations. Crews became ineligible, and airlines didn’t have backup crews to take the plane out. That will continue into 2022.”

The Labor Shortage will Continue to Limit Hotel Services In September, research from American Hotels & Lodging Association (AHLA) revealed that the U.S. hotel industry is likely to finish 2021 with 500,000 fewer jobs than in 2019, and that an additional 1.3 million jobs in restaurants, supply businesses, and retail stores supported by hotels are also at risk.

Like airlines, hoteliers have been struggling to hire back employees. According to Ignacio Maza, executive vice president at Signature Travel Network, the resulting reduction in guest services at properties around the world is likely to continue.

“Daily housekeeping will be an option in many hotels but not necessarily the standard,” Maza said. “And things like 24-hour

TRAVEL UPDATES room service will also be curtailed in many properties. Guests are just going to have to be patient, and travel advisors are going to have to manage expectations prior to guests arriving on property.”

New Hotel Technology Comes to the Rescue Signature Travel’s Maza said the pandemic has accelerated the use of technology throughout the hotel industry, and he expects that to continue in 2022, including more use of tech improvements by properties looking to combat employee shortages.

“We’re seeing more keyless doors, where you can check in with a QR code on your smartphone,” Maza said, noting these upgrades allow for fewer front desk staff. “At some hotels now, you have the ability to pick your room ahead of time and avoid stopping at the front desk entirely.”

It is imperative for hotels to figure out ways to put their best foot forward at a time when they are not fully staffed — and won’t be anytime soon.

Maza added that the pandemic has also accelerated the introduction of smart rooms, where guests can control the temperature, request room service, make dining reservations, ask for towels, and more all from an app on their smartphone. There will always be guests who expect more personal service — especially at luxury properties — according to Maza, who noted new tech hasn’t been an immediate fix for some hotels.

“Hotels cannot convert to all this new technology overnight,” he said. “But the staff shortages are not going to go away anytime soon. It is imperative for hotels to figure out ways to put their best foot forward at a time when they are not fully staffed — and won’t be anytime soon.”

City Hotels Are Innovating with New Programming Occupancies at urban hotels haven’t yet returned to prepandemic levels, according to Signature Travel’s Maza, but they are improving, and some of that is thanks to city properties reinventing themselves.

“They are coming up with different programming to attract people living in metropolitan areas who want to stay close to home in a hotel and enjoy the pool, the spa, and the restaurant facilities,” Maza said, adding that many city hotels are creating new, imaginative programs to attract guests.

“For example, there is a wonderful hotel in Boston called The Newbury, and they are working with art curators and celebrated local art personalities so as part of your stay you can visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with a curator or have privileged access to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with an art expert,” Maza explained, noting he expects vacations close to home to remain popular in 2022. “Or you can have a tour of different food venues and restaurants in Boston with a food critic. Interesting new options like these almost turn the city hotel into a resort.”

No Signs of Slowing for New build Hotel Openings “Despite all the challenges the industry is facing, large hotel brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and InterContinental are all building hundreds of new hotels worldwide,” Maza said.

“These are opening come hell or high water. For example, St. Regis is building 29 new properties from now until 2023 or 2024, which is a big increase to its footprint. Hyatt is building 300 hotels worldwide.”

Expedition Cruise Products on Course for Growth Much like river cruising boomed over the last decade, expedition cruise products are certainly exhibiting potential for similar dramatic growth. www.rotoworldmag.com 29

TRAVEL UPDATES And while the poles are top of mind for many consumers, warmer destinations that only small, expedition-style ships are capable of visiting have also captured the attention of a great many travelers.

Dan Blanchard, CEO of UnCruise Adventures, said his business is seeing signs of increased interest for 2022 itineraries from clientele attracted by expedition products.

“We’ve seen an uptick in new clients,” Blanchard said, noting UnCruise’s 2022 summer bookings are already ahead of 2019’s pace. “We’re actually seeing our traditional returning numbers come in, but we’re seeing a higher number of new bookings from people who haven’t sailed with us before. It’s telling us there is definitely a trend toward expedition and adventure travel.”

Permanent Changes may Come for the PVSA Signed into law in 1886, the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) requires foreign passenger vessels sailing between U.S. ports to make at least one stop in a foreign port. So, in February of 2020, when Canadian officials banned large cruise ships from the country’s ports, no foreign-flagged or -built cruise vessels could sail to Alaska from U.S. West Coast cities without violating the PVSA maritime law.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced a temporary exemption to the PVSA earlier this year that Congress passed in time to allow for an abbreviated cruise season in Alaska this summer, a move UnCruise’s Blanchard sees as both good and bad.

“On one hand, as an Alaskan, I sit there and go, ‘I’m glad they did something to help revive my economy,’” he explained.

“Long-term, I like to describe it to people as if you have a McDonald’s on one corner that is U.S. staffed and U.S. built.

And on the other corner, you have a foreign McDonald’s built on foreign costs and not paying taxes and staffed with foreign employees. How could you compete? Essentially, as small, U.S.flag operators, we’ve been doing that for 30 years.”

Talk of making changes to the PVSA has been a hot topic in Alaska and the cruise industry at large. Blanchard said he still believes a final version of those changes is yet to be decided, but he does expect Murkowski to introduce legislation in 2022 that would make lasting changes to the PVSA maritime law.

It is a bit of an unlevel playing field when you say, ‘Ships of all sizes that are foreign flagged can come in and compete in coast-wise operations’.

“It is a bit of an unlevel playing field when you say, ‘Ships of all sizes that are foreign flagged can come in and compete in coastwise operations,’” Blanchard said. “If this same bill were to be put forth long-term, I would object strongly.”

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Sustainable, Authentic Travel Appeals to Americans In research data released by Booking.com on Oct. 19, more than 53% of 1,000 Americans surveyed in an online poll this summer said it’s important that their vacation is beneficial to the local communities they visit.

That same Booking.com survey revealed that 64% of Americans polled want money they spend when traveling to go back to the local community they visit, and 65% of U.S. respondents want to have authentic experiences representative of the local culture they’re visiting.

Keith Sproule, executive director for Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) Philanthropy, said he’s been witnessing firsthand that increased demand for more conscientious vacations, fielding an unprecedented number of requests from travel consultants to include visits to one of A&K’s global philanthropic projects on 2022 itineraries.

“It’s a conscious desire to positively impact the destinations where they’re traveling,” Sproule said, offering as an example an American family of four planning to spend a day in Kenya, delivering water filters to schools.

“We partner with an organization called LifeStraw, which makes water filters that remove 99.99% of bacteria and 99.99% of viruses,” Sproule said. “The women who run that activity on behalf of LifeStraw are just terrific animators. People have been sitting at home thinking about what’s important, and as they’re thinking about these bucket-list-type trips, they want to make sure conscious, responsible travel is part of their vacation.”

Racial Diversity in the Travel Industry Must Improve A&K partnered this summer with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago on a jobs initiative program aimed at introducing innercity kids to the travel and tourism industry, and Sproule said the project followed internal discussions initiated by A&K leadership, looking to apply the model of some of their overseas philanthropy to domestic issues.

“Historically, the travel industry has not been strong in terms of racial diversity,” Sproule said, noting many in the travel trade have already initiated projects aimed at promoting more gender and racial diversity, and he expects to see many more in 2022.

One such effort is the Pathways Project, a Tourism Cares initiative launched in August in partnership with The Travel Corporation, TripSchool, and the Media Arts Institute of Alabama to recruit and train historically underrepresented individuals to pursue careers in travel — especially as tour guides.

“Representation matters, and there is not enough of it in our industry,” said Richard Launder, director for The Travel Corporation USA, in a statement. “While this is true at all levels, it is especially so amongst our storytellers, guides, local specialists, and travel directors — the faces of travel in this country. We are very proud to work with our other partners on the Pathways Project, an important step toward further change.”

TRAVEL UPDATES Travel Advisors are Still Hurting The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) estimates that prior to the pandemic, there were nearly 15,000 retail travel agency locations in the U.S. employing more than 108,000 people, and another 60,000 self-employed travel advisors working as independent contractors. According to Eben Peck, ASTA’s executive vice president of advocacy, more than 60,000 travel advisors had lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic.

Without any support provided, or pulling back on support that’s already been promised, you’re going to see more experienced, talented people leaving the industry because the business conditions don’t support them having a stable job.

“Some of those folks have been brought back,” Peck said.

“But plenty haven’t.” Recovery has been painfully slow for many travel agencies and advisors, with average revenue levels still down 82% as of July 2021 compared to 2019, according to ASTA member surveys.

“Without any support provided, or pulling back on support that’s already been promised, you’re going to see more experienced, talented people leaving the industry because the business conditions don’t support them having a stable job,” Peck said.

Will the SAVE Act Pass?

ASTA is urging federal lawmakers to pass the Securing Access for Venue Equity (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2120), a bill introduced earlier this year with bipartisan support that would make travel agencies eligible for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, which was established by the Continuing Appropriations Act at the end of 2020.

Under this program, eligible applicants can qualify for grants of up to $10 million, equal to 45% of their 2019 gross revenue, according to Peck.

“We are fully aware the SVOG encountered challenges upon launch earlier this year, that its funding is running low and that the size and scope of future relief legislation is uncertain,” Peck explained. “That said, [the SAVE Act] is the only pending legislation that would provide direct support to travel agencies during our time of need.”

Fighting to Extend the Employee Retention Tax Credit ASTA has also been busy lobbying lawmakers for an extension of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which provides a refundable tax credit of up to $7,000 per employee, per quarter, for businesses whose revenue has been reduced by at least 20% during the pandemic, as compared to 2019.

Some in Washington, D.C., have, however, been arguing to end the ERTC. ASTA, on the other hand, has been urging federal lawmakers to let the ERTC not only run its course through the fourth quarter of 2021, but to also extend the legislation into 2022 and to provide extra benefits on a sliding scale for businesses suffering a 50%-75% loss in 2020 and 2021, according to Peck.

“We did a survey a couple of months ago,” Peck said. “And the question was, ‘If additional support is provided by Congress, I will restore my staffing levels to something close to 2019. Do you agree or disagree?’ The vast majority said they agree. The sense I get is the workload is there now for agencies and advisors; the bookings are there. It’s just the revenue is not there. Providing a little bit of support to this part of the travel industry now will mean more people back on the payroll and fewer people on unemployment programs.” www.rotoworldmag.com 31

2021 ROTOPLAS & ARM Fall Meeting Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

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1: Matt Bushman honors Past President Rick Carlsen 2: Rick Carlsen, Solar Plastics 3: Daven Claerbout, Dutchland Plastics 4: John McElligott, York Exponential

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Celebrating, learning, and networking in person!

ROTOPLAS 2021, the largest exposition for the rotational molding industry, took place September 20-24 at the Donald E. Stephens Conference Center in Rosemont, Illinois. It ran alongside the annual 2021 ARM Fall Meeting. The successful event drew a strong attendance representing many countries as members met for the first time since the pandemic began. There were some 44 trade exhibits for Rotoplas, the business of the Association took place, and numerous awards were presented to deserving individuals for their contributions to the industry.

The conference was highly rated by the attendees as one of ARM’s best meetings ever and especially in the realm of automation and the future, which was the focus for education.

The conference was preceded by three education seminars: Rotomolding 101 (Dru Laws, Tango Manufacturing); Value Added Selling (Paul Reilly, Reilly Sales Training); and Design Yin and Yang (Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems). Networking and collaboration were at an all-time high as industry colleagues shared their knowledge and experience in person once again.

Automation in Manufacturing - How Robotics are Changing the Way we Manufacture was the focus for keynote speaker John McElligott. He talked about embracing disruption and the seeds of disruption. “We are out of time. The time now to realize every industry will be disrupted and the developments over the next 10 years will define the next 100 years,” he said. We are now in Industry 4.0 but will soon be enter Industry 5.0. Robotics and automation are now a need if you want to complete your tasks efficiently and economically.” McElligott pointed out the first humanoid robotic was developed in 2016, and just five years later we have Atlas, a bipedal humanoid robot primarily developed by American Robotics Company Boston Dynamics with funding and oversight from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. “There have been many breakthroughs during the pandemic. The physical and digital worlds are about to collide in a big way. It will be the manufacturers that will save the world. We should be terrified but let’s be proactive instead of reactive. He said we must: 1) augment existing labor force www.rotoworldmag.com 33

with digital technology while we go through this transition; 2) create a baseline for community understanding; 3) foster communication, collaboration, and coalition; and 4) not waste time and energy on solving obsolete or near obsolete challenges.

“Disruption isn’t coming – it is here. Manufacturers will lead the way and with great power comes great responsibility,” he said.

McElligott was employed as a combat engineer during 9/11, specializing in demolitions, explosives, construction, and engineering, He also served as a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner and ultimately Squad Leader in the Marines.

He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant. As Co-founder of Royal Square Development and CEO of the Squared Collective, McElligott spearheaded technology, marketing, community engagement, and investor relations, as well as being a driving force in business and economic development. A national speaker on the impact of exponential technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence, McElligott left Royal Square three years ago and is the CEO of York

Exponential, a collaborative robotic company.

The Future of Automation in Rotational Molding was presented by Bob Sly and Matt Jeffries of Rotoline. The two said rotational molding will be automated for increased safety, reduced human interaction, efficiency, labor savings, less waste, and less mold damage. They highlighted the Rotoline SO 1.60, a 4-arm carousel machine that requires no labor and has full robot capabilities. Automated tooling reduces damage, increases efficiency, requires no bolts, or clamps, and provides precise locations. It can facilitate 3, 4, or 5 molds with a fast oven cycle times as low as 6 minutes and demold times as low as 5 minutes.

“We haven’t seen many changes in rotomoulding machines until the last 3 or 4 years. Automation is coming,” Sly said.

Embracing Change through Technology was presented by Darin Balderson of Trilogy Plastics. The company began in 1994 with goals of improved safety, labor reduction, maximizing throughput, increased efficiencies and productivity, increased margins, improved wages and benefits, and bottom-line success

1: Dru Laws and Daven Claerbout 2: Dru Laws and Evan Silo 3: Rick Carlsen and Alvin Spence 4: Matt Bushman honors past President Dru Laws

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1: Phil Dodge and Alvin Spence 2: Rock Lake Robotics Booth 3: Jim Hummel and Darin Balderson 4: Carlos Garcia, Sonia Ross, Patricia Garcia, and Ralph Ross 5: Jose Gomez 6: Conchita Miranda 7: Jessica and Dru Laws 8: Orla Nugent and Jennifer Gibson Hebert

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for all. The company has made incremental improvements over the years with CNC technology.

Today they operate with 13 molding machines and 6 CNC work centers. 80% of the plant’s engineered products flow through 5 CNC routers. He noted the fundamentals of CNC success are in advanced planning, communication, and execution. “You must have an organized work area, target EOQ runs, work in tandem with secondary and CNC teams. Keep routers running during breaks and lunch, be prepared for a table swap,

ARM President Rick Carlsen presented Distinguished Service Award to Michael Paloian of Integrated Design System, Inc.

insight into operational efficiency, and improved customer satisfaction.

“PSI is all about brand… it is in our blood. The future of all manufacturing is connecting the product with the rotomolder and connecting the rotomolder with the end user. This reduces cost and time and increases productivity,” Huff said.

Control Cycle Parameters and Reduce Variables Using Process Control and Live Telemetry was the topic presented by Adam Covington of Ferry Industries. Covington shared how process control

Robotics and automation are now a need if you want to complete your tasks efficiently and economically. and do a daily review and assessment of CNC production via an engineering database,” Balderson said.

Getting Connected – What is the Best Track and Trace Method was presented

by Toby Huff, PSI. Huff discussed the best traceability solution suited to rotomolders.

“Track and traceability are very important for rotomolders, and it is undeniably known as the future of all Robert Mueller and David Smith manufacturing,” Huff said. He explained that considering the significant cost, resource, and productivity advantages it provides, it is not hard to see why traceability offers so many benefits to connect products with the manufacturer and the end-user. Benefits include quick and efficient identification of affected products in recalls, a higher level of quality control, 36 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

and live telemetry can go beyond simple reporting to allow rotomolders to take better control of their cooking and cooling processes. “Labor is tough, and our future depends on how we understand the past,” said Covington. “In early machines we had limited control, whereas in current machines, we have technologies like 2 Rotocure System Manager, Infra-Red Thermometry, data driven machines, maintenance, and remedies. “The best way to predict the future is to create it, Covington said. “There are new opportunities to do this now.

It is important to have a dashboard to understand performance.

What gets measured, gets managed. All this drives to the bottom line.”

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1: Rotoplas Show Floor 2: Doug Cunningham 3: Susan GIbson and Scott Saxman 4: Norstar Aluminum Molds Booth 5: Carlos and Patricia Garcia 6: Auctioneer Daven Claerbout 7: Roto Polymers Booth 8: Stoner Molding Solutions Booth

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1: Glenn Beall, Joyce and Ron Johannou, and Evan Silo 2: Ken Bather 3: Adam Covington 4: Harry Covington

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An Automation Journey was presented by Ken Bather of Seljan Company. Having been in the rotational molding business for 37 years, Bather traveled down memory lane and shared his insights about automation from his own experience. He talked about accomplishments with the automation we already have cut parts, saving money, something that never tires, and replaced people. Bather referred back to “a Birmingham screwdriver, a.k.a. Maslow’s Hammer or Kaplans Law. He said the same issues still exist, dimensional stability and physical access – and the solution is integration”. Robots are already doing parting lines. “We have to do so much more, and in many respects, we are our own worst enemy. Management’s job is to support the front line. Look hard at what molds you accept into the door. We can do it: we can change,” Bather said.

Why Automate was discussed by Rob Miller of RotoLoad.

Miller shared the concepts of common automation technologies and practices within injection, extrusion, and blow molding processes to inspire rotomolders to think about which concepts they may be able to implement in their manufacturing process.

“This is a great opportunity for molders to think outside the box, to improve efficiencies, and tackle labor shortages,” Miller said.

Smart: Rotomolding solutions towards new market trends was the topic for Jeff Herwig of Persico. Herwig shared a video used to promote the process of durable products built to perform for a number of years. He covered a fully automatic production cell 38 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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made of 3x Smart machines with robotic and automated molds.

Herwig also discussed a new market trend related to hydrogen tanks for electric vehicles, manufactured with Smart machinery.

“Rotomolders will identify new markets for rotomoulding and understanding the possibilities of fully automatic production cells is important,” Herwig said.

Molding quality parts by staying in your processing window was the topic for Allen Schrob of NOVA Chemical.

Schrob shared the benefits of producing parts with the correct processing window and the shortcomings when a part is not molded within the optimum processing window. Through recent observations, while optimizing processing conditions for the new NOVA TRx resins, they have learned that operating outside of the optimum processing window can have more dramatic implications to a rotomolded part than previously understood.

Schrob reviewed the effects of some standard properties as well as ESCR, creep, and tensile properties when the rotomolding cycle has fallen outside the processing window. This included a review of both undercured and overcured part properties.

“Materials with broad process windows are the molders’ best friend,” Schrob said.

Rotomoldable Acetal for Tank Applications was the topic for Adam Larkin of Celanese. Adam Larkin of Celanese, informed attendees about a single layer, low fuel permeation acetal material, developed specifically for rotational molding of tanks

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1: Bill Christain and Student Design Winner 2021 First Place Winner Bryce Lee (MIAD) 2: Bill Christain and 2021 Second Place Winner Amanda Evans (MIAD) 3: Bill Christain and 2021 Third Place Winner Szymon Salamon (MIAD) 4. ARM Hall of Fame Members 5: Jerico Plastic Industries Team hosts Rotoplas After Party 6: Tony Short 7: Anne Rowland and Jim Hummell 8: Bill Spenceley and Chris Lefas 5

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for a wide variety of applications. Hostafom® acetal copolymer President Matt Bushman said “We weathered the storm. It has possesses a linear structure with a highly crystalline quality been a challenging time but the fact that we are all here speaks that provide a variety of characteristics: outstanding wear; longwell for the organization and the industry. The last 2 years have term fatigue; toughness and creep resistance; as well as excellent changed the way we do business. We are seeing rising costs and resistance to moisture, solvents, and strong alkalis. Larkin said the challenges of passing these costs on. The day has come to its chemical structure provides a higher stability to thermal utilize automation. We have to learn how to have less employees and oxidative degradation compared to acetal homopolymers. and manufacture better.”

Recent developments have provided new acetal compounds that There were many important awards presented during the have been optimized for rotomoulding applications. The new ARM Conference. Tom Murdough, Simplay3, and Dru Laws, formulas provide the opportunity for a single layer solution Tango Manufacturing, were presented the highest honor the or alternative to secondary processes such as fluorination in Association bestows with induction into the ARM Hall of applications such as fuel tanks. The newly developed formulas Fame. (See article in the coming issue of RotoWorld®.) The increase the impact resistance while still maintaining excellent Distinguished Service Award was presented to Michael Paloian, resistance to fuels. These formulas have been formulated to Integrated Design Systems. The Product of the Year awards: be processed on typical rotomolding equipment and process Centro Inc. in the Innovative/State of the Art category for the windows.

Vector product, Duracast for the Pilon Master in Conversion Hydrogen Cylinders – Roto’s Role in Hydrogen Fuel Category, and Roto Dynamics for Rowdy Hound took the Revolution was the topic for Aldo Quaratino, Matrix Polymers, coveted Product of the Year Award. Safety Awards went to who inspired attendees Formed Plastics and to look at a new market Gregstrom Plastics. segment, and understand Student Design new technology to Competition Awards be implemented in went to Bryce Lee, rotomoulding. Billions Amanda Evans, and of dollars across the Szymon Salamon, all globe are being invested from the Milwaukee — John McElligott, York Exponential in developing hydrogen Institute of Art and technology to produce Design. clean, renewable, and Networking and caron-free energy – and rotomoulding has a huge part to play. celebratory events included a Golf Tournament at The Golf As of early 2021, over 30 countries have released hydrogen Club at Eaglewood in Chicago, the Annual Reception and roadmaps and governments worldwide have committed public Gala/Awards Dinner, and the Jerico Plastic After Party where funding in support of decarbonization strategy through attendees dressed the part and enjoyed a 70’s Music Festival hydrogen technologies. These include large-scale industrial theme, karaoke, and dancing. usage, transport application, integrated hydrogen economy, Thank you to the following sponsors for making the and infrastructure. Matrix Polymers is working with several conference a success: Premier Sponsor – Roto Polymers, Elite Rotomolders and OEMs to produce cylinders for storing Sponsor – NOVA Chemicals, Platinum Sponsor – ExxonMobil, hydrogen for use in all forms of transportation and power Gold Sponsor – Celanese, along with Sponsors Jerico Plastic, generation. “This is a massive opportunity, which has the Entec Polymers, M. Holland, Dow, Ferry Industries, Mosaic potential to take rotomolding to a new level,” Quaratino said.

Roto, Muehlstein, Nexeo Plastics, Stoner, Hightower Products, Workshops for the event included: Automation Concepts for Rotomachinery Group, LyondellBasell, Quantum Polymers, and Conventional and Robomoulds; CNC Routers vs. Robot: How Shell. We apologize if we have missed anyone! to Choose; Defining Automation; Setting Standard Operating Congratulations to the ARM Board and Committees and the Conditions for New Resins or New Parts; and What’s Your Webb Evans team for such a successful in-person conference for Problem. the industry.

ARM President Rick Carlsen presided over the Annual ARM Mark your calendars now to attend the 2022 ARM Executive Business Luncheon. The meeting included the annual ARM Forum to be held March 14-16 at the Omni Amelia Island in financial report, announcements, and committee updates. First Florida.

Past President Dru Laws presented the slate of board nominees for the coming term including President (Matt Bushman, Plasticraft Corporation); Vice President (Alvin Spence, Centro Incorporated); and Secretary (Daven Claerbout, Dutchman Plastics). Going off the board was Evan Silo and Mario Poma.

Newly elected to the board was Ken Bather, Siljan Company, and Scott Waterman, Axel Plastics.

Disruption isn’t coming – it is here.

Manufacturers will lead the way and with great power comes great responsibility.

40 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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www.rotoworldmag.com 41

AT ISSUE Martin Coles, Matrix Polymers

Rotomoulding - Making the World a Better Place!

Image courtesy of National Poly Industries, Australia

It’s easy to fall prey to all the negativity surrounding the plastics industry, with what seems like constant media focus on singleuse plastics, plastics in the ocean, recycling plastic waste, CO2 emissions, and climate change. Plastic seems to be a handy scapegoat for most of society’s problems!

The reality is that rotomoulding has many very good stories to tell and as an industry, we must recognise our positive contribution to the world and start to rebalance the arguments and perceptions.

I’d like to highlight a few areas for us to think about.

Rotomoulding reduces disease and saves lives Access to clean and safe water is essential to a healthy life and it is said that half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied with people suffering from a water-related disease and 20% of deaths of children under 5 in developing countries are linked to dirty water and poor sanitary conditions.

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These are frightening statistics, but it is important to know that rotomoulded products are making a significant impact across the world by helping deliver clean and healthy water supplies and contributing to the safe disposal of waste water and sewage.

Whilst it may not be as glamourous as many other rotomoulded products that we like to talk about, the humble water storage tank is a real lifesaver. It is inexpensive, robust, lightweight, non-toxic, and recyclable.

Of course, water storage tanks come in many shapes and dimensions and one of the major benefits of rotomoulding is that you can manufacture products of almost any size. The biggest tank I’ve come across is 70,000 litres (around 18,500 US Gallons), which will hold 70 Metric Tonnes of water when full – that’s the weight of 6 London double-decker buses!

Many of these really large tanks are used to store water in some of the driest rural regions of our planet such as Australia, where they play a crucial role in ensuring farms have enough

AT ISSUE water to support their crops and keep their animals alive. These products are critical to ensuring reliable food supply to people, and I can’t think of many things more important than that.

Protecting our health There are a host of roto products that are made for the healthcare industry and I mentioned some of these in my article “Zeroes to Heroes” which was published in RotoWorld® last year. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of rotomoulding (and also the wider plastics sector) with applications ranging from insulated containers for storing and transporting COVID19 vaccines at very low controlled temperatures, to parts of beds and privacy screens used for COVID and other patients in hospitals.

do not make single-use products.

Insulated fish boxes, floor cleaners, pallets, chemical tanks, and thousands of rotomoulded applications are built to last, give service multiple times and over many years.

Polyethylene is inert, non-toxic, and recyclable Finally, I think it’s worth pointing out that our industry is mostly using Polyethylene and most grades are safe for food and water contact and are relatively easy to recycle. Therefore,

Benefiting the Environment Rotomoulding is the process of choice if you want to make large, hollow, and tough objects. It’s not surprising then that recycling centres (glass, plastic, and paper banks), large refuse bins, street litter bins, stormwater surge systems and grease traps are made by rotomoulders. Rotomoulded products help us collect and reduce the amount of litter and waste that is entering the environment.

The amount of fuel used in vehicles is closely linked to the vehicle’s weight. Many components for trucks, tractors, buses, and trains are made by rotomoulding and are replacing much heavier steel. Diesel fuel tanks, tractor Image courtesy of Kilkee Poly Products cab roofs and dashboards, truck mudguards and air ducts are helping manufacturers to make compared with other manufacturing methods such as steel lighter vehicles with consequent reductions in fuel consumption fabrication and glass-fibre, rotomoulding produces products and CO2 emissions. that are low cost, tough, do not rust or corrode, and are more Our sector is also leading the way in the move towards using environmentally friendly. green energy. There are billions of dollars of investment being made in hydrogen technology and rotomoulding is playing its We must spread the word! part in the production of cylinders to store hydrogen for use in As I’ve said many times previously, rotomoulding is a fantastic vehicles and electricity generators. process, and we need to attract the best talent to our industry and keep it. It’s becoming increasingly hard in a very competitive Durable and not single-use labour market.

Rotomoulded products are typically expected to last 10, 20, or We need great designers with vision and enterprising OEMs even 30 years and I’m not aware of any that are designed to be who will continue to develop and purchase new products. “single-use”.

I believe that it is incumbent on all of us to explain clearly I think it is really important that our industry differentiates rotomoulding’s purpose, to promote our industry and show how itself from other plastics processes and we make it clear that we vital it is in delivering significant benefits to society. www.rotoworldmag.com 43

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.

Rotoplas brings rotomolders and their suppliers face to face.

Tom Murdough, Simplay3, presented the Hall of Fame Award by Harry Covington and Stephen Osborn

Dru Laws, Tango Manufacturing, presented the 2021 Hall of Fame Award

by Daven Claerbout

Rotoplas attendees told us the ARM was proud to recognize Annual Meeting exceeded the following 2021 Award their expectations and Winners. everyone was thrilled to see each other once again. Here Hall of Fame: Dru Laws and are a few of the takeaways: Tom Murdough “I liked the practical applications of automation Distinguished Service Award: and robotics, networking Michael Paloian of Industrial with industry leaders and Design Systems counterparts, and the introduction to alternative Product Competition Awards: materials.”

Centro Inc. in the Innovative/ “Suppliers are showing State of the Art category for us a path to automation. We the Vector product, Duracast Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems, presented the Distinguished have to embrace it and start for the Pilon Master in the Service Award by Rick Carlsen imagining what we can do Conversion Category, and to with it.”

Roto Dynamics for Rowdy Hound, the Product of the Year.

“The information and contacts were well worth the trip, new technology and suppliers dedicated to our industry help us make Safety Awards: Formed Plastics and Gregstrom Plastics better choices and products for our customers.”

Student Design Scholarship: Bryce Lee, Amanda Evans, and “Change is coming more so than ever and this is the place to Szymon Salamon, all from the Milwaukee Institute of Art be to see how it is being handled by your fellow molders.” and Design 44 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

ARM

REPORT Looking Ahead: Creating Efficiencies in 2022

The theme for ARM in 2022 is Creating Efficiencies. The focus for our meetings this coming year improving and creating efficiencies in your process.

The 2022 Executive Forum will be held at the Omni Amelia Island in Florida, March 14-16. We are excited to bring leaders in the industry together following a few years off due to COVID-19. The education sessions are geared towards business owners and Human Resources managers navigating the new world of manufacturing including issues such as Logistics, Process Scheduling, Entrepreneurialism, Employee Retention, and more.

Join the Executive Forum to learn and share how rotomolders can create efficiencies from the top down. There are many fun and interactive opportunities to network including tours, a golf tournament, and multiple meal functions.

ARM invades the ATL for our 2022 Annual Meeting at the Westin O’Hare Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta from November 6 -9. Mark your calendar for this can’t-miss meeting. Committee

meetings and seminars begin on November 6. General Sessions, workshops and the exhibit hall take place on November 7, 8 and 9.

From outstanding keynote speakers to technical presentations and industry news and awards, you don’t want to miss this meeting.

Our call for Papers and more will be available in early 2022.

This is a great opportunity to bring employees from different parts of your operation to learn from one another and develop skills to improve your process. Keeping with the 2022 theme, there will be different tracks for creating efficiencies in each area of your business. www.rotoworldmag.com 45

ARM

REPORT Roto & The Environment The ARM Education Committee has created a video to share the benefits of rotomolding as it applies to the environment.

The video explains that rotational molding is becoming a preferred plastics manufacturing method, not only for its cost benefits, but because in many cases it utilizes significantly less plastic resin than other processes to achieve the needed strength and durability of a product. This video is a great opportunity to spread the benefits of rotomolding.

You can watch the full video at www.rotomolding.org.

ARM Focuses on Health & Safety Series ARM is delivering our next training series directly to members’ inboxes. Technical Director Nick Henwood has created presentations on health and safety that you can use for staff training. Topics covered include: risk management, machinery safety, heat, explosions, slips, trips, and more.

The first four presentations were released in October and November 2021.

The final four presentations in the safety series will be released in the first quarter of 2022.

This new series on Health and Safety follows previous webinar series on Operator Training, Finishing, and Design. All are available free and on demand to ARM members, in addition to hundreds of additional training, technical, and roto industry webinars and videos.

46 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

ARM

REPORT 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

www.rotoworldmag.com 47

Empathy is the most Important Leadership Skill According to Research Tracy Brower, Contributor to Forbes & Fast Co.

Empathy has always been a critical skill for leaders, but it is taking on a new level of meaning and priority. Far from a soft approach it can drive significant business results.

You always knew demonstrating empathy is positive for people, but new research demonstrates its importance for everything from innovation to retention. Great leadership requires a fine mix of all kinds of skills to create the conditions for engagement, happiness and performance, and empathy tops the list of what leaders must get right.

The Effects of Stress The reason empathy is so necessary is that people are 48 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

experiencing multiple kinds of stress, and data suggests it is affected by the pandemic—and the ways our lives and our work have been turned upside down.

• Mental Health. A global study by Qualtrics found 42% of people have experienced a decline in mental health.

Specifically, 67% of people are experiencing increases in stress while 57% have increased anxiety, and 54% are emotionally exhausted. 53% of people are sad, 50% are irritable, 28% are having trouble concentrating, 20% are taking longer to finish tasks, 15% are having trouble thinking, and 12% are challenged to juggle their responsibilities.

• Personal Lives. A study in Occupational Health Science found our sleep is compromised when we feel stressed at work.

Research at the University of Illinois found when employees receive rude emails at work, they tend to experience negativity and spillover into their personal lives and particularly with their partners. In addition, a study at Carleton University found when people experience incivility at work, they tend to feel less capable in their parenting.

• Performance, Turnover, and Customer Experience. A study published in the Academy of Management Journal found when people are on the receiving end of rudeness at work, their performance suffers and they are less likely to help others.

And a new study at Georgetown University found workplace incivility is rising and the effects are extensive, including reduced performance and collaboration, deteriorating customer experiences and increased turnover.

Empathy Contributes to Positive Outcomes But as we go through tough times, struggle with burnout or find it challenging to find happiness at work, empathy can be a powerful antidote and contribute to positive experiences for individuals and teams. A new study of 889 employees by Catalyst found empathy has some significant constructive effects: • Innovation. When people reported their leaders were empathetic, they were more likely to report they were able to be innovative—61% of employees compared to only 13% of employees with less empathetic leaders.

• Engagement. 76% of people who experienced empathy from their leaders reported they were engaged compared with only 32% who experienced less empathy.

• Retention. 57% of white women and 62% of women of color said they were unlikely to think of leaving their companies when they felt their life circumstances were respected and valued by their companies. However, when they didn’t feel that level of value or respect for their life circumstances, only 14% and 30% of white women and women of color respectively said they were unlikely to consider leaving.

• Inclusivity. 50% of people with empathetic leaders reported their workplace was inclusive, compared with only 17% of those with less empathetic leadership.

• Work-Life. When people felt their leaders were more empathetic, 86% reported they are able to navigate the demands of their work and life—successfully juggling their personal, family, and work obligations. This is compared with 60% of those who perceived less empathy.

Cooperation is also a factor. According to a study published in Evolutionary Biology, when empathy was introduced into decision making, it increased cooperation and even caused people to be more empathetic. Empathy fostered more empathy.

Mental health. The study by Qualtrics found when leaders were perceived as more empathetic, people reported greater levels of mental health.

Wired for Empathy In addition, empathy seems to be inborn. In a study by Lund University, children as young as two demonstrated an appreciation that others hold different perspectives than their own. And research at the University of Virginia found when people saw their friends experiencing threats, they experienced activity in the same part of their brain which was affected when they were personally threatened. People felt for their friends and teammates as deeply as they felt for themselves. All of this makes empathy an important part of our human condition—at work and in our personal lives.

Leading with Empathy Leaders can demonstrate empathy in two ways. First, they can consider someone else’s thoughts through cognitive empathy (“If I were in his/her position, what would I be thinking right now?”).

Leaders can also focus on a person’s feelings using emotional empathy (“Being in his/her position would make me feel ___”).

But leaders will be most successful not just when they personally consider others, but when they express their concerns and inquire about challenges directly, and then listen to employees’ responses.

Leaders don’t have to be experts in mental health in order to demonstrate they care and are paying attention. It’s enough to check in, ask questions, and take cues from the employee about how much they want to share. Leaders can also be educated about the company’s supports for mental health so they can provide information about resources to additional help.

Great leadership also requires action. One leader likes to say, “You’re behaving so loudly, I can hardly hear what you’re saying.”

People will trust leaders and feel a greater sense of engagement and commitment when there is alignment between what the leader says and does. All that understanding of someone else’s situation should turn into compassion and action. Empathy in action is understanding an employee’s struggles and offering to help. It is appreciating a person’s point of view and engaging in a healthy debate that builds to a better solution. It is considering a team member’s perspectives and making a new recommendation that helps achieve greater success. As the popular saying goes, people may not remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel.

In Sum Empathy contributes to positive relationships and organizational cultures and it also drives results. Empathy may not be a brand new skill, but it has a new level of importance and the fresh research makes it especially clear how empathy is the leadership competency to develop and demonstrate now and in the future of work. www.rotoworldmag.com 49

An Investigation into Rotational Moulding Recycling of Polyethylene Using Recyclates Sibele Piedade Cestari, Queen’s University of Belfast One of the biggest challenges to polymer recycling is the broad range of post-consumer plastics whose recycling has not yet been developed. The existing sorting methods and recycling technology cannot be applied to all types of plastic. Some developments are being made in the United Kingdom, where the waste collection system leads to the existence of two separate household plastic wastes (bottles and mixed plastics/plastic films), transforming mixed household waste plastic into useful products [1]. Blending recycled plastics with virgin resins is one of the most straightforward approaches to recovering a reprocessed polymer’s properties. Amongst several plastics processing techniques, rotational moulding (or rotomoulding) is a relatively low-cost and competitive method to obtain hollow plastic products. It enables the production of complex shapes with even thickness and minimal need for external finishing, with no wastage of plastic in the process. However, due to high processing temperatures and longer cycle times, not all polymers can be created using this technique. Nowadays, the most frequently used polymer in rotomoulding is polyethylene (PE) in powdered grades, with flow properties especially tailored for this application and having better thermal stability. This article provides a summary of a recent publication which investigated the combination of virgin Polyethylene with various recyclates [2].

Materials, Equipment and Test Procedures Aiming to further plastics recycling via rotational molding, blends of virgin and recycled polyethylene were sourced from post-consumer plastics. The virgin polymer used in the blends was Revolve N-250 from Matrix Polymers, a rotomoulding medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) general purpose grade, with melt flow rate (MFR) of 7 g/10min, density of 0.934 g/cm³, flexural modulus of 645 MPa, and impact strength of 90 J. The recyclates were all high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) sourced from bottles (01), pipes (02) and mixed household waste (03).

Materials 01 and 02 were supplied by Van Werven Recycling UK and material 03 by Impact Laboratories Ltd. The ideal amount of recyclate was chosen based upon the impact resistance of different contents (25, 50 and 75%) of recycled plastic, with the 50/50 blend found to have the best performance. Compression molded and rotationally molded samples were analyzed through falling dart impact test, flexural test, melt flow rate (MFR) and differential scanning calorimetry analysis.

The blends were compounded in a Collins ZK 25 co-rotating twin-screw extruder. Compression moulded impact test specimens were prepared in a Collins P200P platen press (heated to 190-220°C, 5 MPa, 2 min, cooled to 20°C, 2 MPa, 6 min), producing laminates of around 2.5 mm of thickness. Test cubes of pure MDPE and the three 50/50 blends, measuring 330 x 330 50 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

x 300 mm, were produced on a Ferry Rotospeed 1600 carousel type rotational molding machine equipped with a stainless-steel mold, using ground pellets. The oven temperature was set to 300°C, and a ‘Rotopaq’ temperature-monitoring system was used to record the mold internal air temperature. In all cases, the test moldings reached a peak internal air temperature of approximately 200°C resulting in a cycle time of approximately 30 minutes. Impact and flexural test specimens were cut from the test cubes, having a thickness of 3.5 mm (MDPE) and between 5-7 mm (blends).

The impact test was performed on 60mm square specimens, according to the British standard EN ISO 6603-2 in a falling dart impact tester, with a 18.63 kg weight, using eight specimens for each material test. The compression molded samples had around 2.5 mm thickness, and the rotomoulded samples had approximately 3.5 (MDPE) and 5-7 mm (blends) of thickness.

The flexural test was conducted according to the British standard EN ISO 178 standard, A method, 2.56 mm/min speed, 3.5% deformation, deformation rate of 1%/min. Five rotationally molded samples of each material (MDPE and 50/50 blends) of 120 x 15 mm, with around 3.5 (MDPE) and 5-7 mm (blends) thickness were tested. The melt flow rate of the materials was carried out on a Kayeness Galaxy Model 7053 Indexer at 190ºC, using a load of 2.16kg in accordance with ASTM D1238[3].

Impact Properties of Compression Moulded Recyclate Blends Table 1 shows the impact properties of MDPE/rHDPE01 blends having 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% recycled material. The impact results for the 25/75 and 50/50 blends displayed a peak impact energy similar to MDPE, suggesting that nearly the same impact property with up to 50% less virgin polymer can be achieved.

For higher amounts of rHDPE, the blends became brittle and less resistant to impact, decreasing 42-74%. The trend curve in Figure 1 indicates that within the studied blends, the 50/50 ratio presented the best relationship between impact resistance and recyclate content, representing the ideal amount of recyclate to prepare the remaining rHDPE02 and rHDPE03 mixes.

Material

Peak Impact Energy (J/mm)

MDPE/rHDPE01 100/0

7.9 ± 0.2

MDPE/rHDPE01 75/25

7.5 ± 0.5

MDPE/rHDPE01 50/50

8.0 ± 0.8

MDPE/rHDPE01 25/75

4.6 ± 1.2

MDPE/rHDPE01 0/100

2.9 ± 0.4

Table 1: Impact resistance of compression moulded MDPE/rHDPE01 blends

Figure 1: Trend curve of peak impact energy of compression moulded MDPE/rHDPE01 blends

Concerning the 50/50 MDPE/rHDPE blends (Table 2), the presence of recyclates maintained/improved the impact resistance of pure MDPE (Figure 2), with rHDPE03 being the one with the highest percentage (18%) of increase. As the recyclates were sourced from different post-consumed sources, the higher impact resistance of rHDPE02 and 03 can be ascribed to a softer structure that may be a consequence of factors like the presence of other polymers/contaminants, broader polydispersion, degradation of polymeric chains, amongst others. These factors may have reduced the degree of crystallinity, increasing the blend’s impact resistance as a whole.

Material

Peak Impact Energy (J/mm)

MDPE/rHDPE01 50/50

8.0 ± 0.8

MDPE/rHDPE02 50/50

9.1 ± 0.4

MDPE/rHDPE03 50/50

9.3 ± 0.3

Impact Properties of Rotationally Moulded Recyclate Blends The impact resistance of the rotomoulded samples (Figure 3) was much lower, around 85-87% than that of pure MDPE. This decrease may be due to the lack of orientation and shear in the rotational moulding processing compared to the compression moulded samples. In addition, the crystallization process of the blends inside the mould happened in conditions (time and temperature) different than that of the platen press. Longer cooling times and higher temperatures might have led to the formation of a less cohesive structure with lower impact properties. As seen in literature, binary polymer blends having one component less crystalline than the other, tends to segregate the amorphous diluent during the solidification process when given favourable time/temperature conditions [4–6]. Therefore, additional issues might have contributed to lowering the impact properties of the rotomoulded blends. In comparison with the MDPE samples (Figure 4a), the samples from the various blends were thicker (5-7 mm) than expected (4 mm), having a rough inner surface (Figures 4b to 4d). This uneven surface could indicate the heterogeneous structure formed in the rotomoulded part, where inner layers did not melt fully, creating a discontinuous structure that fractured more easily when submitted to the tensile efforts of the punctural impact test.

Table 2: Impact resistance of compression moulded 50/50 blends

Figure 3: Peak impact energy of rotomoulded MDPE and 50/50 MDPE/ rHDPE blends

Figure 2: Peak impact energy of compression moulded MDPE and 50/50 MDPE/rHDPE blends

Flexural Modulus Properties of Rotationally Moulded Recyclate Blends There was a decrease of 20-30% in the flexural modulus of all blends compared to pure MDPE. Due to the high standard deviation of rHDPE01 results (Figure 5), no significant difference can be inferred from this test regarding the effect on the flexural modulus of each individual rHDPE. However, there was a slightly higher flexural modulus in the rHDPE01 blend. In combination with the difference in the peak impact energy from the impact test, the rHDPE01 blend seems slightly stiffer than the other two blends. In general, the same issues that affected the impact test’s samples (wall thickness and discontinuous structure of the part) might have influenced the flexural results. www.rotoworldmag.com 51

A

B

C

D

Melt Flow Properties of the Recyclate Blends A dramatic decrease in the blend’s flowability was observed as the rHDPE01 recyclate content was increased (Table 3). This may be explained by the molecular structure of HDPE with higher molar mass and longer linear chains, having the tendency to entangle and reduce the flow capability of the molten blend. In binary polymer blends the material with higher MFR tends to

work as a diluent, increasing the flowability of higher molar mass polymer in the melt state[5].

In the 50/50 blends, the higher MFR results of rHDPE02 and rHDPE03 indicate that these recyclates might be mixed with other polymers of greater flowability than HDPE. It may explain their higher impact results in the peak impact energy of the compression moulded samples for the rHDPE02 and rHDPE03 blends.

Figure 4: Perforated impact samples of (A) MDPE, (B) 50/50 MDPE/rHDPE01, (C) 50/50 MDPE/rHDPE02 and (D) 50/50 MDPE/rHDPE03 blends

52 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

Figure 5: Flexural moduli of rotomoulded MDPE and 50/50 MDPE/rHDPE blends

Material

MFR (g/10 min)

MDPE/rHDPE01 100/0

6.37

MDPE/rHDPE01 75/25

1.95

MDPE/rHDPE01 50/50

0.67

MDPE/rHDPE01 25/75

0.22

MDPE/rHDPE01 0/100

0.12

MDPE/rHDPE02 50/50

1.12

MDPE/rHDPE02 0/100

0.16

MDPE/rHDPE03 50/50

1.05

MDPE/rHDPE03 0/100

0.18

Material

Tm (°C)

Tc (°C)

ΔHm (J.g-1)

Xc (%)

MDPE/rHDPE01 100/0

122

105

133

45

MDPE/rHDPE01 75/25

127

111

125

43

MDPE/rHDPE01 50/50

129

112

159

54

MDPE/rHDPE01 25/75

131

114

161

55

MDPE/rHDPE01 0/100

133

114

170

58

MDPE/rHDPE02 50/50

128

112

119

41

MDPE/rHDPE03 50/50

128

112

119

41

Table 4: Differential Scanning Calorimetry data of the materials

The DSC curves of rHDPE02 and rHDPE03 (Figure 6) showed a small melting peak around 160°C, typical of polypropylene (PP), indicating some PP in the 02 and 03 recyclates and may explain their higher MFR and impact results of these blends.

Table 3: Melt-flow rate of the materials

Differential Scanning Calorimetry Analysis of the Recyclate Blends Although not usually relevant to rotational molding, the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis was crucial to understanding the mechanical performance of the blends.

The main thermal transitions (crystallization temperature (Tc), crystalline melting temperature (Tm) and the degree of crystallinity (Xc)) of MDPE, rHDPEs and blends were obtained to understand better the crystalline dynamics of the materials and their effects on the final properties. Concerning the MDPE/ rHDPE01 blends (Table 4), the results showed that the blends displayed single Tm temperatures peaks (127, 129 and 131°C) closer to that of pure rHDPE01 (133°C), indicating the crystalline material melting in the blend was predominantly HDPE structures. However, the crystallinity in the 50/50 blend increased by 20%, denoting that the MDPE facilitated the motion of rHDPE01 molecules in the melt towards the growing crystals. The Tc temperatures showed that the blend’s crystallization process was dominated by HDPE molecules, which crystallized first at 119°C and solidified the polymer mass, creating a barrier to the MDPE chains moving towards the crystallization centres. The quick solidification process of rHDPE01 that left MDPE more amorphous can be related to the better impact results of the 50/50 blend.

Figure 6: 2nd heating DSC curves of 50/50 MDPE/rHDPEs blends

Conclusions For the blends having different MDPE/rHDPE01 contents, the Tm temperatures obtained in the DSC analysis suggested that HDPE has dominated the crystallization process of the blends, leaving the MDPE more amorphous and compensating for the stiffness of HDPE in the impact resistance. Regarding the different types of rHDPE, the results highlighted the presence of another polymer mixed to the rHDPE02 and 03, which is probably PP due to a peak observed around 160°C. The blends containing these less crystalline recyclates showed higher MFR and better impact performance. Using the impact resistance results of compression moulded samples as the criterion, the scanning for the ideal amount of recyclate in the rHDPE01 blends showed that the 50/50 ratio displayed results similar to those of www.rotoworldmag.com 53

pure MDPE. The other 50/50 blends had slightly higher impact resistance, probably containing some PP in the rHDPE02 and rHDPE03 recyclates. In this case, where the impact resistance is one of the most important mechanical properties of rotomoulded parts, the usually unwanted PP contamination of the recycled HDPE has positively affected the blend’s intended application.

Although the rotomoulded samples did not achieve the same performance as the compression moulded ones in the impact test, measures like reducing the wall thickness of the part and the particle size of the ground powder could lead to more reliable results. Improving the formulation of virgin/recycled PE blends for the rotomoulding industry can be a pathway to increasing post-consumer plastics in the Circular Economy.

Acknowledgements The authors thank the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for financially supporting the QUB’s Advancing Creative Circular Economies for Plastics via Technological-Social Transitions (ACCEPT Transitions) Project, within which this research was developed.

54 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

References 1. Nolan, G. Researchers pioneer new technique to convert singleuse plastic waste into useful products https://interplasinsights. com/plastics-industry-news/researchers-pioneer-newtechnique-to-convert-single-use-plas/ (accessed Jun 15, 2021).

2. Cestari, S.P.; Martin, P.J.; Hanna, P.R.; Kearns, M.P.; Mendes, L.C.; Millar, B. Use of Virgin/Recycled Polyethylene Blends in Rotational Moulding. J. Polym. Eng., 2021, 41, 509–516.

3. ASTM D1238-20. Standard Test Method for Melt Flow Rates of Thermoplastics by Extrusion Plastometer.

4. Munaro, M.; Akcelrud, L. Correlations between Composition and Crystallinity of LDPE/HDPE Blends. J. Polym. Res., 2008, 15, 83–88.

5. Di Lorenzo, M.L. Spherulite Growth Rates in Binary Polymer Blends. Prog. Polym. Sci., 2003, 28, 663–689.

6. Cho, K.; Lee, B.H.; Hwang, K.-M.; Lee, H.; Choe, S. Rheological and Mechanical Properties in Polyethylene Blends.

Polym. Eng. Sci., 1998, 38, 1969–1975.

DESIGN

COMMENT

Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems, Inc.

Integrating Product Design and Marketing - Building Brand Identity How do you climb to the top of your market and maintain a leadership position? Answer..

Build a strong product brand.

This goal sounds great and may also appear to be simple, but it’s not. Every company wants to maintain a leadership position in their market, which allows them to sell products at a higher profit and greater sales volume than their competitors. However, attaining the number one position is difficult. It requires a consistent pursuit of excellence in quality, service, marketing, sales, distribution, and product performance. It also requires welldesigned and crafted products that have been promoted consistently based on a simple message that generates a desire to purchase one or more. This strategy is referred to as product branding.

Successful companies begin the product branding strategy during the early stages of product development. Industrial designers develop concepts consistent with the product branding strategy. The overall product image, color selection, and prominent product features are skillfully designed to reinforce the brand’s visual impact. Creative designers explore numerous concepts which are intended to capture a look and feel that directly communicates the intended brand to the end-user. This process requires a combination of creativity, excellent communication, and design craftsmanship.

For example, designers must understand the market, competition, and end-user. This information is combined with the desired corporate product brand message and creatively expressed within a visual context. Design concepts are typically reviewed internally and eventually tested within focus groups. Feedback from focus groups is analyzed and applied to the ideas, which are further refined. This cycle may be repeated a few times until a suitable design is attained.

After the desired product look has been achieved, the design is further refined and developed into a manufacturable product.

Although this development phase is primarily technical, it requires the engineering design team to collaborate closely with

the industrial design group so the design intent is not lost. The engineering group must also apply creativity and imagination throughout this process. Their objectives are to transform the concept design into a fully functional product that can be costeffectively manufactured, is highly reliable, highly functional, and produced with the highest quality. This critical stage in the design process is even more important than the first. If the product fails to meet any of the previously mentioned goals, it faces a high risk of failure in the marketplace.

Assuming the final production design has successfully complied with all its specifications, the files are released for tooling and eventual full-scale manufacturing. All the advertising and promotions are carefully designed and worded during product introduction to convey a simple message that reinforces the product brand. Photographs, videos, and text are meshed with the product’s appearance forming a cohesive message.

I hope this brief overview of product branding and product design has enlightened you about the planning and investment required to launch a successful branding program. If you have any comments, criticisms, or questions, please feel free to contact me at paloian@idsys.com. www.rotoworldmag.com 55

ARMO

NEWS

ARMA | ARM-CE | ARMSA | BPF | IT-RO | NORDIC ARM | StAR

ASSOCIATION OF ROTATIONAL MOULDERS AUSTRALASIA LTD • ARMA

From the President – Trudi Duncan As 2021 has come to a close, I am sure that we all hope it will be with greater flexibility, less confinement, greater health and a positive outlook that we welcome in the year 2022.

The last year has been filled with un-expected occurrences, on-the-fly decision making, navigating a world of online conference calling... which reminds me, if you haven’t checked out Zoom’s “A Video Conference Call in Real Life” video, it is a brilliantly dry take on what the last 12 months of “working from home during a crisis” has looked like for many of us. Check it out here https://youtu.be/JMOOG7rWTPg You would be forgiven for thinking that, alongside a changing of the guard, 2021 would have been about survival mode for ARMA, however, I am pleased to bring you a positive update on recent and planned activities. Much of it has been spent navigating the dynamics of an “online only” board and being remotely isolated from our ever-capable CEO Michelle. After navigating the complexities, not to be diminished, of moving from an incorporated society to a Limited Liability Company, ARMA undertook to develop the association around 5 key elements, from which there have been many highlights.

It seems an age ago that the impact of COVID-19 felt perhaps a ‘temporary’ blip on our radar.

At the time of writing, New Zealand is in its longest lockdown yet and from across the ditch, it has felt like Australia has spent most of the year in lockdown as the ever-important vaccination targets remains just out of reach.

If there is one thing for certain, it is that we have never felt more disconnected from the world. Previously, an online purchaser only briefly considered the country of origin, fast was the process of international fulfillment and freight. Life is different now, shipping delays, uncertainties surrounding production capacity in varying parts of the world, and compounded global shortages are creating headaches everywhere. With these threats, however, come great opportunity and reports of large numbers of businesses receiving enquiry to bring manufacturing back to domestic shores heralds the new wave of business, if only you have the time to recognise it.

My summary of ARMAs 2021 year • Rising to the challenge • Agility • New opportunity • Shoring up of systems • Setting industry-wide targets • Collaborating with others for industry-wide benefit • Utilising networks for support and advice For now, I hope to see you in person in the not too distant future. We have some catching up to do.

56 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

ARMO

NEWS ASSOCIATION OF ROTATIONAL MOULDERS AUSTRALASIA LTD • ARMA

From the CEO – Michelle Rose It’s been a massive 12 months for ARMA with COVID-19 impacting in ways that none of us expected. At the end of 2020 we all hoped that we would enter a very different 2021 but it soon became more of the same for a lot of us. As I write this, being based in Victoria, we just hit a world record that no one wanted, the longest locked down city in the world.

But even though personally we all went through our own struggles, most of the rotational moulding industry has managed to thrive. From discussions with members, some companies are extremely busy and struggling to find and retain staff. While this is not the case for all, especially for those that had to close completely in some countries, the biggest hurdle has been how to manage social distancing, masks and sanitiser, staff that are working from home and the constantly changing rules and regulations that the government makes with little notice.

Last year I was posting out face masks and this year they have become a normal part of everyday life.

While the industry overall is doing well, the impact on ARMA, has been more obvious. In December, I stepped into CEO role and 2021 brought not only a “changing of the guards” but a complete change in structure, moving from an association incorporated in Queensland to a Company Limited by Guarantee. This also meant an update of all our policies and procedures, in line with our new Constitution and structure.

Along with this, we welcomed ARMA’s first female President, Trudi Duncan, and together we have worked through these adjustments and, along with the rest of the Board, focussed our strategic direction on the basics of ARMA and what we provide here in the Oceanic regions.

Of course, while all of this was happening, we were still working hard on all our other projects. The Masterclass at the Machine series was professionally filmed within 3 rotomoulding factories in Victoria and the finalised videos were released on our new training platform. And even though we were unable to conference, we did manage to hold networking events in Auckland, Brisbane, and Melbourne, providing the chance to see some friendly faces for the first time in 2 years.

Our 2 active sub-committees have hit the ground running this year, with major progressions around safety and the environment, and our QUB research project has developed further with a focus on the application of robotics using graphics.

We also recently launched our Online Member Portal which provides our members and supporters with the ability to keep company details up to date, to add and remove contacts, pay invoices, and access the Technical Library, both from a desktop and their mobile phone app.

The future of ARMA looks bright! Even with a change in management, we strive to offer great service and benefits for all members and have worked hard to manage our resources to ensure we can maintain confidence through these turbulent times.

I have had the pleasure of knowing a lot of you through my 15 years with ARMA and would like to take this moment to say thank you, not only for your support of ARMA, but also for your support of me personally as I have stepped into this new role.

I look forward to what the next 12 months brings and to hopefully seeing you soon.

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ARMO

NEWS ASSOCIATION OF ROTATIONAL MOULDERS AUSTRALASIA LTD • ARMA

Meet the Current ARMA Board of Directors PRESIDENT Trudi Duncan, Gyro Plastics After failing to find a job as a postgraduate, my now husband got tired of me riding horses for a living and I defaulted to working in the family business. After years of having my shoulder looked over, I eventually took full helm, made some good decisions, and some terrible ones - if you have any great hiring tips, I’m all ears. My life is characterised by a perpetual need to locate my cellphone, and when I eventually do, I’m usually out of reception. Yet, despite this, I love this industry, the people in it, and our company and I get passionate about how I can make a difference.

VICE PRESIDENT Chris Glenn, Bushmans Group 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 Bushman’s, Chris was the Managing Director of ASX listed Coventry Group and prior to that, senior roles in international companies. Chris brings to the board a wide range of experience in business operations, corporate governance, and finance.

TREASURER Ian Gough, Gough Plastics A country kid from Ingham, travelled a bit and came to work in the family Roto business in 1992 and has been loving the industry ever since.

58 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

PAST PRESIDENT Graeme Hall, Viscount Rotational Moulding Graeme Hall is the Applications Development Manager for Viscount Rotational Mouldings Pty Ltd, part of the Pact group of companies. He has worked in plastic associated manufacturing in engineering functions, operational management, and product/materials development for over forty years, specifically specialising in rotational moulding for past twenty-three years.

BOARD MEMBER Karen Durkin, Safescape Karen Durkin is the Production Manager for Safescape. Safescape is the designer, manufacturer and supplier of, rotationally moulded, mining safety products, Laddertube, Edge Protector, and Multibund. Karen began working for Safescape in 2012 when they first set up their roto moulding facility in Western Australia. She has 10 years’ experience on the factory floor and managing the production team. Karen’s passion is to foster a happy and healthy workplace and focuses heavily on innovation and continual improvement in the areas of safety, quality, and the environment.

BOARD MEMBER Mark Medew, PFG Group Mark Medew is the Operations Manager for Victorian based PFG Group, previously known as Kiel Industries. Mark has 16 years’ experience in the roto industry completing his Certificate 3 in Plastics in 2008. In conjunction with his mechanical trade qualification, Mark has the perfect mix of factory floor practicality and leadership skills which make him a valuable contributor to his organisation. His passion to improve roto-moulded processes and to push the boundaries of what is possible have helped make his work site a perfect location for custom required products.

ARMO

NEWS ASSOCIATION OF ROTATIONAL MOULDERS AUSTRALASIA LTD • ARMA

BOARD MEMBER Anant Yuvarajah, ASC Water Tanks Anant Yuvarajah is the Managing Director of ASC Water Tanks and parent company ASC27 PTY LTD. Anant has been in the rotomoulding industry for over fifteen years and serving on the board of ARMA for the last three. Being a part of the ARMA board, along with the Pump Industry Association (PIA) and the Rainwater Harvesting Association (RHA), is important for Anant to ensure the industry continues to develop and head in a net positive direction. In his role at ASC Water Tanks, Anant heads marketing and procurement, both domestically and internationally.

SUPPLIER BOARD MEMBER Grant Palling, Matrix Polymers A Mechanical Engineer by background, Grant has over 20 years’ experience in manufacturing, predominantly in the packaging and food industries. Grant has worked for global manufacturing firms Amcor, Orora, Mars, and PACT. While

relatively new to the Roto Industry, Grant is enjoying getting to know the people and businesses that make up the Rotomoulding community. He is focussing with his team on bringing innovation in Rotomoulding Powder technology to the industry and offering a point of difference in supply to moulders.

and Marketing.

SUPPLIER BOARD MEMBER Kate McKie, Qenos Kate McKie is Market Segment Manager at Qenos for the Roto, Film, and Injection Moulding segments. Kate is a Chemical Engineer who started her career in Operations at the Qenos Plastics site in Altona before moving into Strategic Planning

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

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.nordicrotomoulding.org www.rotomoulding-europe.org

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

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GLOBAL

CALENDAR JANUARY 25-28, 2022

INTERPLASTICA 2022 Expocentre Moscow Moscow, Russia

FEBRUARY 17-21, 2022

OCTOBER 19-26, 2022

PLASTINDIA

K – SHOW

Plastindia Foundation New Delhi, India

MARCH 14-16, 2022

ARM EXECUTIVE FORUM Omni Amelia Island Resort Amelia Island, Florida rotomolding.org

60 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

Fairgrounds Düsseldorf, Germany www.k-online.com

GLOBAL

CALENDAR

NOVEMBER 6-9, 2022

FEBRUARY 17-21, 2023

ARM ANNUAL MEETING

PLASTIMAGEN

Westin Peachtree Plaza Atlanta, Georgia rotomolding.org

Banamex Mexico Mexico City, Mexico

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ADVERTISERS’

INDEX

15 Diversified Mold & Castings 19800 Miles Rd. Warrensville Hts., OH 44128-4118 USA 216.663.1814 | 888.642.1222 info@diversifiedmolds.com www.diversifiedmolds.com 25 DRAM S.r.l.

Via Privata Eligio Brigatti 12 20152 Milan Italy info@dramsrl.com dramsrl.com 64 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 7 Ferry Industries, Inc. 4445 Allen Road Stow, OH 44224-1093 USA 330.920.9200 sales@ferryindustries.com www.ferryindustries.com 9, 41 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

17 Maag / Reduction Engineering Scheer USA Headquarters 235 Progress Blvd.

Kent, OH 44240 USA 1.800.844.2927 /330.677.2225 Maag.KEN.Info@maag.com www.maag.com Europe Headquarters Ostring 19 63762 Grossostheim, Germany +49.6026.503.354 info@maag.com www.maag.com 11 Matrix Polymers The Priory Orchard Hill Little Billing Northhampton, NN9 9AG United Kingdom +44.1604.789100 sales@matrixpolymers.com www.matrixpolymers.com 19 NOVA Chemicals 1555 Coraopolis Heights Road Moon Township, PA 15108 412.490.4311 Doug.Biela@novachem.com www.novachem.com 5 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 54 Polnac Lázaro Cárdenas, No. 49, Col. San Jerónimo Tepetlacalco, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, Mexico C.P. 54090 +52.55.5362.5360 ext. 275 glenn@polnac.com www.polnac.com 21 Poliplast S.p.A. Via Carrali, 8 24020 Casnigo (BG) Italy +39.035.724145 info@poliplastspa.com www.poliplastspa.com

62 ROTOWORLD® DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

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 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 20 RotoQuip 4 Platina Crescent New Era, Springs, 1560 Gauteng, South Africa +27 11 813 1346 sales@rotoquip.co.za www.rotoquip.co.za 63 Rotomachinery Group Via Crosa, 53 28065 Cerano (NO) Italy +39.0321.772021 polivinil@polivinil.com www.rotomachinerygroup.com 61 VMP, Inc. 24830 Avenue Tibbitts Valencia, CA 91355-3404 USA 888.4.VMP.INC 661.294.9934 info@vmpinc.com www.vmpinc.com 23 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

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VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • 2022

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ROTATIONAL MOULDING RECYCLING OF POLYETHYLENE USING RECYCLATE Sibele Piedade Cestari, Queen’s University Belfast

2021 ROTOPLAS & ARM FALL MEETING Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

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