SA Plastics, Composites & Rubber by SA POLYMER TECHNOLOGY

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BY THE WAY ...

Under-spec ﬁlm Publisher: Martin Wells (martin@summitpub.co.za) Editor: Tessa O’Hara (tessa@summitpub.co.za) Editorial assistant: Heather Peplow (heather@summitpub.co.za) Financial manager: Lisa Mulligan (lisa@summitpub.co.za) Designer: Bronwen Moys Blinc Design (bronwen.clarke@gmail.com) Summit Publishing cc t: +27 (21) 712 1408 f: 086 519 6089 c: +27 (82) 822 8115 e: saplastics@iafrica.com Postnet Suite 42, Private Bag X16, Constantia 7848, Cape Town, South Africa 70 Newton Drive, Meadowridge, Cape Town

www.saplastics.co.za

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

continues to rile T

HE problem of under-spec film being supplied on reels continues to be an issue for film manufacturers, with convertors operating to high standards fearing they are being purposefully confused with talk of weight, thickness, length and number. Weight is the most consistent and reliable measure to use for plastic film sales, according to some of South Africa’s major film manufacturers who have battled long and hard over the years to settle on an equitable benchmark for the industry. If film manufacturers sell by weight, the retailer or customer can then take responsibility to measure the thickness and length of films they buy, or the number of bags on the reel or in the stack. The more outspoken protagonists for the weight benchmark say the have no confidence in regulatory authority (such as the National Regulator Weight is the most for Compulsory Specifications, NRCS, consistent and reliable which is a division of the SABS) or measure to use for in customers (retailers) attempting to plastic film sales ensure a measure of conformity in products supplied. What does the consumer really want? My guess is that three bits of information are vital: 1) hygiene (that the product has been stored/ transported and put on retail shelves in conditions ensuring it is fit for purpose); 2) that the weight/quantity/volume is correct; and 3) that the product is labelled correctly. The above information allows me as a consumer to make informed choices as to quality/price and which brand to avoid or buy in future. The solution seems simple: A roll of plastic with x/y/z dimensions should weigh xyz kg. If the mass per product were to be more prominent in the labelling and retailers and consumers more aware of this, it would have two consequences: mass is easy to measure and therefore makes it more difficult to cheat; and, secondly, the consumer can decide whether 2kg of Company A’s plastic is as good/durable /strong as Company B’s 2kg.

Twist of sand BEWARE as they say, a deal that’s ‘too good to be true’. This can quite literally create problems where material purchases are concerned. We hear of a number of cases recently of convertors purchasing material at very attractive prices direct from the Far East. What seems to have happened is that one or two containers arrive in ﬁne form, whereas the next container unexpectedly contains bags of sand. How such shipments, incredibly, passed through customs without raising questions is anyone’s guess … but the problem for the customers is to retrieve the lost funds, which can be for amounts of R400,000 or even more.

ISSN number: 1684-2855 (ISDS Centre, Paris) Summit Publishing: CK 9863581/23 VAT reg: 4600187902

Plastics Institute of Southern Africa

Ladders are dangerous, very dangerous FABLE has it that one shouldn’t walk under a ladder, but it’s becoming apparent that it’s even more dangerous to be on a ladder. At least ﬁve people in the industry have sustained serious injuries from falls off ladders over the past two years – and that’s just what we’ve heard. So, please, do not ascend a ladder unattended, and don’t attempt anything heroic when elevated either – it could be painful, and costly.

Association of Rotational Moulders of South Africa

Plastics Converters Association

PET Plastic Recycling

Plastics Federation

South Africa

of SA

Institute of Materials

METHING HAVE SO … IF YOU TO SAY de: if you e bright si Look at th isdom to w e gem of at have som rite to us w se ea impart, pl ica.com fr ia s@ saplastic

Volume 11 No 2

APRIL – MAY 2013

Contents Find out more at www.saplastics.co.za

INDUSTRY NEWS J Bay composites focusses on automotive, aircraft parts!

Photovoltaic panel production starts in KZN

Manuchar opens Cape warehouse

First Tech Group outlines strategy

Envirosan saves energy, increases capacity

Industry research project begins to show results

PLASTICS│SA CONFERENCE Plastics industry at ‘Future for Growth’ conference

small space small part big solution

PROPAK Top performances at Pro-Plas/Propak

AFRICAN MARINE DEBRIS SUMMIT African lessons to inspire local action

ASSOCIATION NEWS Opportunities in global ‘mega trends’ for PVC 3

IOM celebrates its 21st

44 48

WORLD Borealis’ new European investments

MJ09 Nozzle System

DIARY Events coming up in 2013

SPORTS A Duzi of a race

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ON THE COVER A FERROMATIK Milacron hybrid F80 and an all-electric Elektron 50 injection moulding machines have been ‘touring’ Europe since February this year, showing off the group’s latest injection technology at stops Spain, Italy, Denmark and Britain. The tour is part of Ferromatik Milacron’s plan to augment its participation at the K2013 show later this year. These children’s building blocks, shot weight 36g, are produced in a 20-cavity mould on the Elektron 50 machine. See page 62 for more information.

www.ferromatik.com

For more information please contact:

Form Mould Services 24 Carter Street Delporton Krugersdorp, R.S.A Contact: Oliver Funk Ph +27 83 263 0148 email: oliver@fms-sa.co.za

www.mastip.com

THIS ISSUE

Bag levy increase is

Martin Wells

, Publisher

big challenge for industry Funds need to be used within the industry N A BRIEF brazen moment a few years ago, when it was becoming apparent that Buyisa-e-Bag was going nowhere and the Treasury was ‘hijacking’ the funds from the bag levy, I suggested we hire a bus and head for Pretoria to toyi toyi at the ofﬁces of, speciﬁcally, the departments of Finance and DEAT.

COMMENT

My reasoning was that we would have been more likely to get a favorable result for the industry. And, no, this didn’t take place at a braai on a Saturday night: it was at an industry function with quite a number of the bigwigs present. “What’s he on now?” I could see various individuals thinking. But the simple fact of the matter is that the funds yielded by the bag levy since have grown significantly … and the industry has not benefited a jot. An increase in the bag levy was proposed earlier this year in the Budget, from 4c to 6c per bag (a 50% increase), and has since been gazetted, so it is going to happen. This is not welcomed in the industry, which is not surprising. But whose responsibility is this scenario? It’s nearly a decade since Buyisa came into being, saying all the right things: recycling, sustainability, creating jobs, empowering people … you name it. Most of us will by now be aware that those words were mainly hollow. Setting up a post-use collection and recycling model for an industry such as ours would be a difficult task at the best of times. The people who were entrusted with the undertaking, while enthusiastic, were out of their depth. It’s a BIG CHALLENGE for several reasons, not least that collection and recycling are expensive, and then finding uses for the resulting material is even more daunting. Over here, common sense has since prevailed and I realize that one is not likely to get a good result out of protest – in fact, the opposite may often occur. But the people involved (and this does not only affect the bag manufacturers) need to come up with a better solution for working with government, where we get a more prac-

APRIL / MAY 2013

tical outcome. SARS has simply moved on and said that, 10 years later, it’s about time the bag levy was increased. Plastics│SA, the bag manufacturing and recycling sector and the material suppliers need to put their heads together and possibly reﬂoat Buyisa and start from scratch … the main objective being to access the funds from the levy for use within the industry. Read more about this on pages 6 and 7. Industry survey: Higher than interesting results expected THERE’S a lot of interest lately expenditure on in determining the size of the R+D among industry, with little if any really accurate data available. But responding a start was made recently in companies … a programme sponsored by who are also the industry’s training body employing more MERSETA, and although a low young people than response was achieved, the was anticipated researchers found some interesting trends. The most relevant appear to be that there was higher than expected expenditure on R+D among the responding companies, and it was also noted that these companies were employing more young people than was anticipated. Read about this on pages 18-20. Top performance at Propak / Pro-Plas THE quality of the exhibition stands at Propak Africa and Pro-Plas Expo in Johannesburg in March was outstanding. It wasn’t just about looking good, however: it was about doing business and sealing contracts and orders, so congrats to all of the individuals who handled this so professionally! Read more about the shows on pages 28-38.

the science of colour At the intersection of art and science, you’ll ﬁnd MBSA C

6 760

Masterbatch SA creates, manufactures and supplies masterbatch, pigments and performance enhancing additives to the plastics industry.

7576

MBSA’s products incorporate scientific and technical excellence with a passion for creating colour in a responsible manner. That’s why MBSA is the only South African masterbatch manufacturer to hold all ISO accreditations for food safety, health & safety, environmental and quality management systems.

Johannesburg 011 975 0222 Cape Town 021 552 0627 Durban 031 700 2464 Port Elizabeth 083 974 2074 East London 083 282 8850 Zambia +260 21 125 7686

MBSA takes pride in investing in local talent, promoting some of South Africa’s most promising artists and their projects.

info@masterbatch.co.za www.masterbatch.co.za

Contact MBSA for all your colouring needs.

0 18

646C

1817C

7418C

7606C

128C

‘Feel The Pressure’ 2012 by Neil Pauw of The Parlotones

JUST BRIEFLY Afripack group buys Polisak, share of Pouch Dynamics AFRIPACK group has been gathering momentum since its entry to the plastics industry in 2009 and gave notice of this with the purchase recently of PP woven bag manufacturer Polisak of Brits and a part share of Pouch Dynamics of Cape Town. Both companies are leaders in their respective fields. Afripack has been manufacturing paper bags, particularly for cement packaging, since 1933, but the shift to woven PP bags for cement may have been partly behind its motivation to enter the flexible (plastics) industry, which it accomplished in 2009 through the purchase of a number of Astrapak companies. PPC (Pretoria Portland Cement) is in fact one of the main shareholders in Afripack, which was up till 1996 known as Kohler Sacks. Polisak, based in Brits to the west of Pretoria, is one of southern Africa’s leading manufacturers of woven PP bags with printing and laminating capabilities. It operates some of the most sophisticated woven bag making equipment available. Pouch Dynamics manufactures ‘quad sealed’ pouches, which means that the pouches are made from a single web with all four panels in register and with only one critical seal. It is able to make heavyduty bags up to 20kgs. The company in Capricorn Park near Muizenberg also offers high standard printing. The Afripack flexibles group trades as Afripack Consumer Flexibles (ACF). www.afripack.co.za

Haitian opens SA office HAITIAN of China, whose injection moulding machines have been very popular in South Africa, has opened its own office in the country. Haitian Huayuan South Africa Machinery, based in Spartan, Johannesburg, offers direct machine sales as well as a spare parts and technical back-up service to all Haitian customers in southern Africa. The company decided to open its own office after the contract with its previous local agent, GF Plastic Machinery Services, expired in August 2012. The Haitian machines were among the first injection moulding machines from China to become popular in South Africa, combing a good balance between technology, reliability, price and back-up – with price and reliability being the main criteria. • Haitian SA, phone 011 974 1127

6 APRIL / MAY 2013

Bag levy increase

creates tough challenge for industry Quandary is whether to dispute proposal or start new recycling venture THE pending and unexpected increase in the plastic bag levy is creating an unwelcome and difﬁcult challenge for the industry. The quandary the industry now faces is whether to dispute the proposal and try to prevent the implementation of the increase, or bide its time and possibly regroup and attempt to restart a new recycling venture where Buyisa-e-Bag so disappointingly failed. The increase in the bag levy was sneaked in almost surreptitiously in the Budget in February, and SARS has since had the proposed increase gazetted. Funds from the levy did initially ﬂow back

into the industry after the formation of Buyisa in 2004, but mismanagement and indecision led to the failure of the initiative. Buyisa was wound up in mid-2011. The levy payments have continued since that time, but the total funds generated are apparently not ‘ring-fenced’ by the Treasury and hence there is uncertainty about how much has accrued and, in fact, even where the funds are. High and possibly wild estimates about the amounts that have been generated from the bag levy circulate in the industry, but even if it’s ‘just’ R25-million a year, such funds could be used very effectively to drive industry programmes and generate better services for businesses in the industry. When asked recently, Plastics│SA direc-

Polar starts cap printing line New specialised machine is up and running POLAR Plastics of Johannesburg has just commissioned a new cap printing machine and is offering this service to its closure customers countrywide. What started as a request from one of its customers to ‘brand’ caps led Mike and the Polar team on a search for solutions, and they eventually opted for a system from PSG of China.

www.polarplastics.co.za

The machine can print up to 20,000 caps an hour and print up to four colours. The investment further expands Polar’s capabilities in the new 28mm (‘1810’) beverage closure market. Established in 1996, Polar specialises in plastic screw-on closures for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, mineral water, beverage and general purpose liquid sectors. It manufactures closures from 20-48mm diameter. • TEL: 011 674 2987 Mike Vorster of Polar Plastics in Robertville, Johannesburg, with the new machine which can print up to 20,000 caps an hour

The often used phrase ‘Plastics don’t litter, people do’ is starting to wear thin, as plastic products are now so widely used that they’re interwoven with modern society. Scenes such as this – at a school – would be less common if the industry managed more clean-ups itself

Like grandfather, like father, like son – Stuart Sutherland is following in the footsteps of both his father, John, and his grandfather, the late great Jimmy Sutherland

Sutherland ‘jnr’ starts service company AFTER more than 15 years involved in the servicing and rebuilding of moulding machines, Stuart Sutherland has opened his own company, SCS Plastics & Services, in Johannesburg. Stuart joined the top machine company PMS Plastics in Boksburg in 1997 and gained a wealth of experience over the years under the mentorship of PMS proprietor Philip Maye. He is now recognised as a highly qualiﬁed service technician, offering a wide range of services to the industry. His father, John Sutherland, is very proud of the fact that Stuart is keeping the family name alive and well in the industry. Stuart’s grandfather, Jimmy Sutherland, was one of the pioneers of the injection moulding and tool making business in South Africa. SCS is based in Kempton Park near the airport but services machines throughout Gauteng. • STUART CAN BE CONTACTED ON 083 626 1791 stuart.tandc@me.com

J Bay composites specialist focusses on automotive, aircraft parts Arno Seyfert of Custom Works/Composite Engineering of Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape has been involved in composite construction since his youth in Germany. After moving to ‘J Bay’, a global surf hotspot, he at ﬁrst became involved in windsurf board design and construction, but since then has moved into the high-tech composites market, focusing on the automotive sector – and the formula racing and rally areas in particular. He has been involved fulltime in this area since 1998. Manufacturing technologies used include infusion, prepreg and autoclave curing. Here we see Arno with an infused 900g carbon ﬁbre door panel for a rally car. Custom Works has also built parts such as wheel arches, nose cones and aerofoils for racing vehicles, one of the toughest testing grounds for composite parts. Arno keeps up to date with technology by attending www.customworks.co.za

international composite shows and seminars. Custom Works also serves customers in the aircraft/engineering/mining industries with specialized tubing, housings, wear resistant, non-corrosive and non-magnetic parts. These are areas where a high level of expertise is required, so production runs tend to be specialised and short. • CUSTOM WORKS, PHONE 042 293 3944

Huhtamaki to close Cape plastics factory HUHTAMAKI is to close its plastic extrusion and thermoforming factory in Epping, Cape Town. This continues the rationalization of the Finnish group’s activities in South Africa. A large portion of the Cape factory’s customer base is also in Gauteng, which was a factor in the decision. About 50 permanent employees are affected by the closure. Equipment from the Epping plant is to be shifted to the main Huhtamaki site in Springs, where the group is consolidating operations and in fact expanding output. Huhtamaki remains committed to its core customers and the South African market, said group MD Richard Trickett. Huhtamaki sold its tubs injection moulding business to Polyoak group a few years ago. www.huhtamaki.co.za APRIL / MAY 2013 7

INDUSTRY NEWS

tor Anton Hanekom was keeping his cards covered, but it’s understood that he and his team have been coordinating a response from the bag makers. The film and bag sector is probably the largest in terms of tonnage in the local plastics industry – with more than a 25% share of the estimated 1.3 million tons of polymer converted in the country annually. Not all the film extrusion businesses make bags, but the percentage of tonnage that goes into bags is nevertheless significant. A further complication is that only shopping type bags are affected by the levy. People in the industry are indignant about the proposed increase, since it’s felt that the funds yielded have not been used for any of the projects for which the levy

was intended nearly a decade ago. In the interim, however, a number of other sectors of the industry have developed material specific management structures, including PETCO, PolyCo and the PSPC (Polystyrene Packaging Council). “The local plastics industry has come a long way since the first discussions took place around the issue of carrier bags and visible plastics litter. Since then, various specialised polymer groups were formed within the industry to address and promote the recycling of all forms of plastic (not only plastic carrier bags) in a way that is environmentally responsible and sustainable,” said Hanekom at the time, adding that the decision to dissolve Buyisa-e-Bag in 2011 “was the first step in the right direction that will hopefully end with government allowing industry to responsibly manage its own waste”. The proposed levy hence comes in spite of the many industry initiatives since, and failure to dissuade SARS may put pressure on the industry to come up with a variation on Buyisa. It’s a daunting challenge: although plastics consumption and litter scenarios differ in countries around the world, developing an effective and sustainable entity for collection and recycling in South Africa could potentially be a ‘world first’.

INDUSTRY NEWS

JUST BRIEFLY Formeset group enters plastic packaging sector PRINTING group Formeset has entered the plastics packaging business following its purchase of the assets of Polypak of Cape Town, which was liquidated last year. Polypak was, until its quite unexpected demise, a top manufacturer and supplier of a range of polyethylene and polypropylene bags, with high quality printing being its main value-add. Previous owner Sam Shaik engineered an MBO arrangement, which duly took place in 2010. A spiraling repayment schedule undermined activity, however, and the ﬁnancers pulled the plug early in 2012. Formeset started as a small printing operation with a staff compliment of 20 in Beaconvale, Cape Town, in 1991. Today it’s a thriving empowerment success story, employing more than 800 people and competing with large ‘previously advantaged’ printing groups as a quality service printing group and a leader in the printing industry. Formeset has scorched a path through the print sector over the past two decades, acquiring sole ownership or majority stakes in several other print businesses, including Printkor (printing division of PEP Stores, in 1996); Derek Butcher & Co (1997); Klem Lloyd (1999, now Formeset Johannesburg); Prism Digital Repro, a digital repro house (now Formeset Digital Tshwane, in 2001); and fact several other printing operations in the decade since. The ex-Polypak extrusion and ancillary equipment is now operating from premises in Beaconvale too in a close to perfect ﬁt for the group’s entry to the plastic packaging sector. www.formeset.co.za

Nampak invests R1.6 billion in beverage packaging NAMPAK will invest R1.6 billion in two of its core businesses which produce bottles and cans for the growing beverage market. The ﬁrst project will see the company invest almost R1 billion in an additional furnace at its glass bottle business based at Roodekop, Germiston. The second project is an investment of almost R600 million to add aluminium beverage can capacity and convert existing lines from tinplate to aluminium. 8 APRIL / MAY 2013

International recognition for student’s pop-up yoghurt cup STELLENBOSCH University (SU) Food Science student Sarah Erasmus’ eyecatching design of a collapsible plastic cup in which to mix instant yoghurt was placed among the top 13 entrees in the international Student WorldStar packaging design competition. More than 230 entries from 17 countries were received for this international student competition, which is hosted by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). Although Sarah’s idea was not placed under the top 3 ultimate winners, she received a spot along with entries from China and Sri Lanka in the Merit category. Two other South African students, Judy Kriel of Northwest University and Erick Strydom of the Central University of Tech-

nology, were also among the 10 students listed in this category. Another SU student, Stephanie Bosman, received a certiﬁcate of acknowledgement for her design of recyclable dip packaging that can be reused to plant seedlings in. For the past four years, Stellenbosch Food Science students have entered the Student Gold Pack competition of the Institute of Packaging South Africa (IPSA). Sarah received a gold medal at this local competition in 2012, while Stephanie received a silver award. They also qualiﬁed for the international competition. www.iopp.org/worldstarstudent

Sarah Erasmus’ eye-catching design of a collapsible plastic cup in which to mix instant yoghurt

DPI Plastics launches 2013 Product & Technical CD ARCHITECTS, engineers, contractors and university students alike can all benefit from the new Product and Technical CD that has been launched by DPI Plastics – a leading manufacturer of water reticulation, drainage and pipe-fitting systems in South Africa. The DPI Plastics 2013 Product and Technical CD, which was launched in February, contains comprehensive information, including; a 48-page pressure pipe and a 28-page sewer design guideline manual, flow and friction loss charts and

building fitting computer aided draft (CAD) drawings. DPI Plastics marketing manager Martine Goodchild explains that the 2013 Product and Technical CD, which is available nationwide free of charge, serves as a user friendly and value added product for a wide variety of users. The CAD drawings stored on the CD include examples of; sewer fittings, gutter fittings, waste fittings and soil and vent fittings. The pressure pipe and sewer design guideline manuals include additional

Photovoltaic panel production starts in KZN ART Solar gives SA market access to high quality locally manufactured PV panels THE first photovoltaic solar panel manufacturing plant in KwaZulu-Natal has recently commenced production in New Germany. ART Solar – which is the only South African-owned photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturer – specialises in the production of solar PV modules for the sustainable generation of electrical power. The company is set to play a significant role in renewable energy, initially in South Africa, followed by the sub-Saharan market and the African continent. “ART Solar uses the latest PV technology to convert solar energy to electricity. By using this environmentally-friendly technology to generate electrical power, the company provides longterm solutions to the current and predicted electricity issues facing South Africa,” said Dr Ronald Lange, chief operating officer for ART Solar. “PV modules – which use daylight to generate electricity – are gaining popularity globally as a form of renewable energy that is clean, emission and noisefree, sustainable, safe and cost efficient. “These modules are easy to install and require no maintenance, apart from occasional cleaning. Other important features are the 25-year guarantee offered by ART Solar and an estimated 40-year lifetime of the module. The company also offers a technical advisory and support service throughout the country. The company has made a significant investment in the latest equipment from Swiss equipment manufacturer – Meyer Burger Swiss Solar Systems – and benefits from shared technology with global PV specialists. The photovoltaic cells are imported, while about half of the remainder of the components utilized are locally sourced. PV modules, which adhere to stringent International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) specifications, are certified at ART Solar by the leading and independent test institute TüV Rheinland in Germany.

information on solvent cement welding, modiﬁcations to references of standards and an introduction to the code of ethics and conduct drawn up by SAPPMA. The manual is ideally suited to design engineers, municipal engineers and contractors installing piping systems, and serves as a one stop guide for all the relevant and comprehensive information relating to PVC pipes. The guidelines in the manuals cover the physical properties, design requirements, chemical resistance, correct laying methods and advice on installation, in concise manuscripts that will beneﬁt numerous industry players.

ART Solar plant – The ﬁrst photovoltaic solar panel manufacturing plant in KwaZulu-Natal has recently been established in New Germany. PV modules provide a form of renewable energy that is clean, emission and noise-free, sustainable, safe and cost efﬁcient. The modules are easy to install and require no maintenance, apart from occasional cleaning

www.artsolar.net

The CD also contains sections on environmental issues. The Product and Technical CD contains several tables of comparison that show power consumption, material efﬁciency and pumping costs for various piping systems. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ORDER A COPY OF THE DPI PLASTICS PRODUCT AND TECHNICAL CD, EMAIL MARKETING@ DPIPLASTICS.CO.ZA

www.dpiplastics.co.za APRIL / MAY 2013 9

INDUSTRY NEWS

MANUCHAR

www.manuchar.com

opens Cape warehouse Group is agent for PA manufacturer Alfa of Turkey and additives supplier Ampacet MANUCHAR group, the Belgianinternational materials supply group, has recently opened a warehouse for polymer sales in Paardeneiland, Cape Town. As a trading operation, Manuchar stocks a wide range of materials – including mainly polyoleﬁns – from a wide group of international suppliers, with its focus being mainly on grades for speciﬁc applications, rather than on particular brands. The group is extending its service to the wider polymer market and was recently appointed the South African agent for Alfa Polimer of Turkey, an established supplier of engineering compounds (including PA6 and 6.6 and PBT) with an output of about 30 000 tons p/a. Manuchar is also supplying the range of colour concentrates, additive masterbatches and processing aids from Ampacet, an American-international manufacturer. Materials from Ampacet’s operation in Belgium are being sold locally. It has built up its polymers expertise in South Africa with a number of appointments

over the past year, notably those of Vishnu Colan in KZN and, most recently, Peter Rebello in Cape Town. Colan has been involved in polymers and masterbatch/ additive supply to both the packaging and technical moulding sectors in Natal for the past 20 years. Rebello is a polymers specialist, with 35 years experience in the industry, who spent the early part of his career with Sasol Polymers. www.ampacet.com

Ahmet Abdulaziz and Peter Rebello in the new Manuchar warehouse in Paardeneiland, close to the Cape Town harbour. A full range of polyoleﬁns as well as engineering plastics and colour masterbatch and additives are stocked

Manuchar, with its head ofﬁce in Antwerp, supplies a logistics, distribution and ﬁnancing service to the polymers, steel and construction and chemicals/fertilizer as well as a variety of other commodity sectors. It also operates a large warehouse in Durban and is steadily ramping up its service to the polymer sector across southern Africa.

www.alfaplastik.com.tr

No sweat! as Nampak, Plastics|SA clean up after ‘Oceans’ Rate of recycling increases year on year NAMPAK Liquid has achieved a steadily increasing recycling rate at major sports event such as the Two Oceans Marathon, where it supplies many of the items used by competitors and also manages cleanups after the events. The recent Two Oceans Marathon around the Cape Peninsula was especially successful in this respect. Several separate events were run concurrently at the ‘Oceans,’ including a 56km ‘ultra’ marathon, a 21km half marathon and a trail run on Table Mountain. With over 20,000 athletes 10 APRIL / MAY 2013

competing, a lot of waste – over 20,000kgs – was generated, and thankfully collected afterwards by Nampak Liquid and its partner in the programme, the Sustainability division of Plastics|SA. Nampak Liquid and Plastics|SA supported the extensive clean-up operations that form part of the event’s successful management strategy. In line with their commitments, Nampak Liquid supplied 136,000 250ml HDPE bottles and Plastics|SA employed 110 people to help clean the Chapman’s Peak leg of the ultra marathon (Chapmans is a

Nampak Liquid clean-up The 110-strong cleanup team managed to collect over 20 tons of material following the Two Oceans events, including plastic and paper containers

marine conservation area). Other businesses in the Nampak group were involved as well: Nampak Corrugated provided 1000 cardboard bins and Nampak Recycling spearheaded an awareness campaign to stop runners from littering along the 56km route. All waste was sorted for recycling. According to Waste Plan, which is responsible for the event’s comprehensive waste management programme, the recycling rate has increased from 84% in 2010 to 88% in 2011 and 89% in 2012.

JUST BRIEFLY Lomotek stops production in Gauteng LOMOLD is to centralise the compounding activities of its Lomotek business in Cape Town and has consequently ceased production in Gauteng. CEO Pieter du Toit said Lomotek would continue to offer a milling service in Gauteng and also operate a depot from there. The switch was partly due to the expiry in March of its lease at the property it was using in Commercia, Midrand. “We have lots of space and extruding capacity open after we acquired the Plastamid manufacturing facilities in Cape Town,” said Du Toit. “This will enable us to give a better quality service to our clients and use the excellent lab facilities in Cape Town to formulate enhanced rotational moulding grades that should make our clients more competitive in the marketplace.” • Lomold group has also made changes to its manufacturing business in China, said Du Toit: “We are thinking of moving the pallet manufacturing equipment, especially the moulds, to South Africa, as the 1200 x 1000mm pallet size that the mould delivers is the exact size we need in South Africa. With our Proplas recycling business next door to the pallet manufacturing facility, we could be offering an unbeatable proposition to the South African market place with outstanding pallets, using recycle and long glass ﬁbre and at a cost that competes favourably with new wooden pallets.”

Penpak achieves global safety rating PENINSULA Packaging (Penpak), the Cape Town-based subsidiary of the Astrapak Group, has received an ‘A’ rating from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) at the first attempt. This international standard assures Penpak customers consistent product quality and safety in the field of plain and printed flexible plastic packaging. BRC Global Standards is a leading international safety and quality certification programme used by suppliers and retailers around the world to facilitate standardisation of quality, safety and operational criteria while providing assurance that manufacturers have fulfilled obligatory legal requirements. Penpak is the third Astrapak business to achieve BRC accreditation. The others are Knilam and Thermopac. 12 APRIL / MAY 2013

First Tech Group outlines strategy Industrial entity has extensive interests in plastics sector THE First Tech Group, which is the sole owner of 18 companies and operators of 19 production facilities around the country, recently celebrated its 20th year in operation with a ‘launch’ function in Johannesburg at which it outlined its plans to become a major infrastructural supplier on the African continent. First Tech is the owner of the plastic converting operations Flexicon, Gazelle Plastics and Ogatin as well as manufacturing entities in related industries. Up until now, over the past two decades that is, First Tech Group (FTG) has been building and implementing its structures. Based on the vision of founders Andy Bertulis and Jeff Wiggill to create a dynamic, ‘one-stop’ entity for a number of market sectors, First Tech has acquired the 18 market-leading businesses to form this major commercial and infrastructural group. About 5000 people are employed by the group companies. “By carefully identifying companies that have synergistic offerings with our existing portfolio, we have been able to grow the group in a modular yet still strongly synergistic manner,” said CEO Bertulis. Its four focus divisions are Construction, Manufacturing, Piping and Mass Distribution. The group has established a long-standing portfolio of blue chip clients in the mining and minerals, petrochemical, power generation, oil and gas, rail,

HVAC (heating, ventilation air conditioning), civil engineering/building/construction, electrical, lighting, agricultural and information technology (IT) industries. The First Tech Construction group of companies includes Energotec (installer of electrical solutions, primarily within the petrochemical industry); Celik Engineering (supply, fabrication and erection of various industrial piping and ﬁttings, as well as related mechanical works); Flint Construction/Railcon (rail and civil engineering contractor); First Tech Corrosion (painting and sandblasting division); and Cosira (structural steel fabricator and erector). The First Tech Group Manufacturing division includes First Tech Manufacturing (electrical and infrastructural products); Wire Systems Technology (winding wire and electrical insulating materials); Barlec-Zenith (leading international and local electrical brands); Barlec-Zenith Panels (panels and switchboards); Europair (air distribution, air diffusion, air handling, air conditioning, and ﬁre

Eagle soars down to the sea TED Morawski of Eagle Plastics is putting lessons learned in the pultrusion environment in Gauteng to good effect in the more relaxed environment of a farm near the Crags at Plettenberg Bay. Originally involved in the production of wooden ladders in a business started by his father in Johannesburg, their company began to make ladders in GRP in 1975, just a year after the process was developed in the USA. The company’s range gradually expanded to include a variety of pultruded products, such as walkway grids and panels – and in fact any complicated large components or structures which required reinforcement. The range was drastically simpliﬁed after the move to the coast, however, and

variations of the pultrusion process have been evolved! In the process used here, the glassfibre is first saturated in polyester resin and then manually compressed into the mould. A coating of silica granules is applied finally to offer surface traction. The panels are used in thoroughfares or manufacturing environments, including elevated platforms or walkways, where drainage or visibility is required. Eagle Plastics also produces a series of pultruded profiles, among other reinforced products.

• EAGLE PLASTICS, PHONE 083 285 9794

First Tech Group’s management team – including John da Silva (CEO of Cosira), Marius Botes (CEO of First Tech Construction), Pieter de Frey (CEO of First Tech Piping), Andy Bertulis (CEO of the First Tech Group), Mike Imray (COO for Mass Distribution) and Andrew Leigh (divisional executive of First Tech Manufacturing) – at the function at the Forum in Newtown, Johannesburg in January

Training The recent establishment of the Alex Rose-First Tech Group Training Academy allows the group to provide employees with both in-house and externally-sourced

Jeff Wiggill, a merchant banker and chartered accountant, is chairman of the group

training on all levels, from labourers up to management. “In addition to formalised training programmes, we believe that knowledge sharing plays a large role in job succession. We add further impetus to the development of intellectual property through inter-company cooperation,” said chairman Wiggill. “While we are proud of our roots and heritage as a South African company, we are proactively establishing a footprint in Africa. It is our intention to continue in-

APRIL / MAY 2013 13

Demonstrative Andy Bertulis has been one of the main catalysts behind the growth of the group. He completed his apprenticeship as an electrician in the United Kingdom in 1971 and has been involved in the electrical industry in South Africa since 1974, leading to the establishment of First Technology in 1992; he is now CEO of the group

creasing our penetration of pan-African countries. Further growth is planned for our group companies in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Bertulis. The Group is growing its network through the identiﬁcation and appointment of distribution outlets in sub-Saharan Africa on an on-going basis. www.ﬁrsttechgroup.co.za

INDUSTRY NEWS

protection products and components for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry); and Acrylic Art (lighting poles and light fittings). First Tech Piping includes Flexicon Piping of Witbank, Gazelle Plastics (HDPE piping and fittings) and Sibanyoni. The Mass Distribution division includes Ogatin (manufacturer of PVC conduit, PVC products, mini-trunking and accessories, as well as a distributor of PVC film); R&D Metal works (luminaires); Switch Board Utilities (electrical enclosures) and Bari Lighting (metal spinning and the manufacture of industrial and commercial luminaires). The Group’s service divisions include First Travel; FT Global Logistics and First Tech Exports. SABS certification, ISO accreditation and Level 3 BEE certification underline the Group’s commitment to providing exemplary service to clients in a diversity of industries.

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Contact us: www.performance.co.za GAUTENG: Tel: + 27 11 961 2700 | Fax: + 27 11 961 2799 | Cnr. Koornhof & Essex Roads, Meadowdale Ext. 1, 1401 CAPE TOWN: Tel: + 27 21 928 2800 | Fax: + 27 21 931 9088 | 5 Linus Road, Beaconvale Industria, Parrow 7500 DURBAN: Tel: + 27 31 701 1202 | Fax: + 27 31 701 2296 | Reed Place Maxmead Ind. Park Unit 22, Pinetown 3620 EAST LONDON: Tel: + 27 43 736 2076 | Fax: + 27 43 736 2036 7 | Reitz Avenue, Greenﬁelds, East London Colour Conversations: should you wish to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, please contact Lurika – lurika.joubertcoloursystems.co.za

Envirosan moulds ‘dry toilet’ Envirosan’s Brian Lewis says the machines were commissioned in March and are operating perfectly, have increased capacity and are “paying for themselves” in improved energy savings

Envirosan saves energy, increases capacity and are operating perfectly, have increased capacity and are “paying for themselves” in improved energy savings. Envirosan uses the most technologically advanced injection moulding machinery and superior moulding techniques to manufacture its range of sanitation systems. “The new and improved technology is great and we are very happy with MJH and their great back-up service,” adds Brian.

“We are a customer-driven enterprise and go out of our way to ﬁnd the best and most cost effective solutions to respond to our clients’ needs, thus our investment in the MJH machines.” www.envirosan.co.za www.mjhmachinetools.com

Songwon appoints

Sun Ace as distributor for Sun Ace SA appointed agent for Songwon The Sun Ace manufacturing and logistics centre in Jet Park, Johannesburg

Sub-Saharan region

Johannesburg-based Sun Ace now responsible for sales in west, east and southern Africa SONGWON Industrial Group has appointed Sun Ace South Africa as its exclusive distributor for the SubSaharan Africa region for its ranges of antioxidants, UV’s (both Sabostab® hindered amine light stabilizers and Songsorb® ultraviolet light absorbers), one-pack systems (OPS), rubber chemicals, tin Intermediates, SAP and ink binders. Sun Ace is part of a network of specialty additives and chemical manufacturing facilities and has ofﬁces in the Asia Paciﬁc, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Under the new agreement, Sun Ace will be responsible for the sales and distribution of Songwon’s products in the Sub-Saharan Africa region including West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory

Coast), Central Africa (Congo, Uganda), East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi) and Southern African (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa itself). Dieter Morath, vice president for global sales for Songwon Industrial, said: “We are committed to continuously improve the quality of service and security of supply to our customers. Choosing Sun Ace as our partner will allow us to increase the availability of both products and knowledge for our customers in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This agreement recognizes the importance of this rapidly developing region and our customers will beneﬁt from the expertise and extensive network that Sun Ace has established over the last two decades, which has been built on their values of quality, reliability, creativity and

commitment.” Gary van Eyk, managing director of Sun Ace South Africa, said: “The demand for polymers and additives is being driven by a rapidly growing population in the region and the need to provide infrastructure, communications, housing, transportation, packaging and many more applications from local suppliers. The potential for growth is exceptional with the Sub-Saharan Africa region demonstrating robust progress. Together with Songwon we will be in a position to give excellent added value to our customers, providing a broad portfolio of globally proven solutions as well as providing a level of technical and commercial service.” www.sunace.co.za www.songwon.com

APRIL / MAY 2013 15

INDUSTRY NEWS

DURBAN-based Envirosan, which manufactures a range of sanitation systems, recently upped its injection moulding capacity – and saved on energy simultaneously – when it bought two new machines, Hiaxing 788 and 368 ton units, from MJH Machine Tools of New Germany. Envirosan’s Brian Lewis says the machines were commissioned in March

JUST BRIEFLY Plastamid repositions within AECI THE AECI engineering polymers business Plastamid has been repositioned within the group and now falls under the Chemfit business unit. Based at AECI’s Chempark site in Chloorkop, Johannesburg, Plastamid now forms one of three business units grouped in Chemfit. It’s three years since Plastamid exited its Cape Town head office and plant, when the business sold its core compounding operation and completely downscaled to focus only on its specialist polymer and elastomer activities. (The closure by AECI group of its nylon technical fibres and PET manufacturing entity SANS led to the discontinuation of Plastamid’s main source of cost-effective nylon 66 and PET feedstocks.) Just 10 of the more than 150 staff remained and Plastamid was then grouped with Industrial Urethanes at Chempark. It has since been deemed that the company would achieve better synergies within the Chemfit business. Surviving in the tough market conditions over the past few years suggests that Plastamid’s core activities and market relations are solid, leading Chemfit MD Ryan Harrison to follow through on an offer for Plastamid to join his unit. Plastamid takes on board the Polymer Additives division of Chemfit and can now offer polymer stabiliser and flame retardant technologies from Chemtura and Buddenheim, lubricant technologies from Fine Organics and PVC stabilisation technologies from Galata, amongst others. Plastamid business unit manager, Charles Goldman, said the change was good news for Plastamid: “We are now able to share our extensive formulation knowledge and experience of polymer additive technologies with our clients. The response from the market has been overwhelmingly positive and heralds in an exciting period in the evolution of Plastamid.” Plastamid continues to supply a range of engineering polymers, polypropylene and ethylene copolymers, styrenic copolymers and TPEs. It is the agent for DuPont Performance Polymers, Teijin Chemicals, Formosa Chemicals, RTP Company, UBE Engineering Plastics, SK Chemicals and Milliken. www.chemfit.co.za www.plastamid.co.za 16 APRIL / MAY 2013

Boxmore moves to much

Boxmore group has made a completely fresh start in the Western Cape and moved to a far larger site in Somerset West Business Park, close to the N2 freeway

bigger Cape site Industrial entity has extensive interests in plastics sector BOXMORE Packaging has consolidated its presence in the Western Cape with its move to a new, custom designed 9000m² manufacturing plant in Somerset West. After around 10 years in Bellville South, continued business growth made a move to bigger and better premises a necessity. The brand new factory – custom designed for injection and stretch-blow moulding – is tangible evidence of Boxmore’s position as a leader in the PET industry and their commitment to the Western Cape region. The site includes both production and warehousing facilities to reduce double handling and, having recently added a closures portfolio to their offering through the purchase of the MCG’s plastic closures business in 2012, the new site will also serve as logistics base for the closures business. Another standout feature of the move is that all 70 employees from the Bellville site chose to move with the company and relocated, so the business virtually achieved the change with regained momentum. Currently the site produces blown bottles for regional bottle customers and preforms for both the local and export markets, including multilayer barrier preforms.

Many of the customers require labels; here we see Eugene Barnes, MD of Boxmore Cape, with the Krones labelling line

In addition to the Cape Town facility, Boxmore Packaging operates manufacturing facilities in Harrismith, Johannesburg, Port Louis, Mauritius with production in a new Lusaka site scheduled to start in May 2013. www.boxmore.co.za

SA Plastics own ‘e-newsletter’ out soon! We know our readers wait in anticipation every 8 weeks to read their latest issue of SA Plastics … and that’s why we’ve decided to launch an e-newsletter. We’ll email the e-newsletter to all our readers

and advertisers in the time between each issue of the magazine … keeping you up to date with the latest, relevant and useful news, opinion and comment. Watch your inbox … the ﬁrst e-newsletter should be in soon!

INDUSTRY NEWS

Trioplastics to start production of PET, PVC films Widest PET films in SA to be produced; calendared PVC films offer high consistency competitive prices, but will also massively deTRIOPLASTICS, which specialises in the crease lead times for the products it supplies. supply of quality rigid films and sheets for Established in 2007, Trioplastics has been thermo and vacuum forming applications, successfully servicing the packaging industry mainly for pharmaceutical and food grade through the supply of imported rigid plastic packaging as well as in stationary and box films in roll form such as PVC and PET rolls. folding applications, is to commence local It is to start a PVC calproduction of both By adhering to the endaring plant in the PET and PVC company’s three strong near future, which will sheet. enable it to produce By adhering to pillars, Price, Quality and high-grade PVC films. the company’s Service, Trioplastics has The calendaring three strong pillars, expanded steadily and now process results in a Price, Quality and operates from a world class higher quality PVC Service, Trioplasproduct and allows for tics has expanded manufacturing facility in better gauge consissteadily and now Chamdor, Krugersdorp. tency as compared operates from a to extrusion. Extruded PVC films can have world class manufacturing facility in Chamup to a 20% rejection rate, whereas the dor, Krugersdorp. Manufacturing locally will films produced via the calendaring process not only mean that Trioplastics will be able reduces this rejection rate to a single percent. to produce a world class quality product at

This waste minimization has resulted in calendared films being preferred by local and international clients. The new PET line will enable Trio to manufacture the widest PET films available in South Africa, giving Trio the capability to match world-class quality standards previously only found in imported films. The PET film production facility will be able to produce roll width of up to 1.5m, unmatched in the current African supply of PET films. The PET facility will focus on the production of high quality aPET, rPET, GAG and sheeting. By manufacturing locally, Trioplastics is looking forward to servicing all the needs of existing and new clients with world-class films. www.trioplastics.co.za APRIL / MAY 2013 17

INDUSTRY NEWS

Industry research project begins to show results Interesting trends emerge THE research programme aimed at establishing the size and shape of the plastics, rubber and associated industries had a low response – but interesting trends have begun to emerge from the data. The programme was commissioned by Lastly, a forecasting dimension is the Plastics Chamber at the MERSETA. needed in the industry: what does the The industry’s training authority, the future hold for the plastics industry in MERSETA appointed Plastics│SA to South Africa, in the light of challenges such manage the project and it in turn appointed as Chinese imports; global downsizing; skills development specialists Chris Vorthe green economy; waste issues and werk and Fiona Farquharson, an educathe perceived lack of entrepreneurs and tion, training and skills development expert innovation? and research fellow at the University of The research consisted of two KwaZulu-Natal, to conduct the research. components: Other members of the team were an on-line survey to collect the ‘hard Anton Hanekom (executive director of data’ related to company and employee Plastics│SA) and Kirtida Bhana (training profiles; executive, Plastics│SA). regional workshops to collect data Only 62 companies completed the about perceived current strengths and on-line survey, but weaknesses and Two main surprises the researchers future threats and identified some opportunities. emerged: Contrary to interesting trends. what many expected, the Workshops were Interesting trends industry seems to have also held in the discovered become ‘younger’ major centres. ParOf the 62 comticipants discussed panies which … and more employees what factors were did participate, a are involved in R+D function impacting on the surprisingly large than in HR and procurement future of their number were businesses and smaller companies: the industry, what they saw as key drivers 51,6% of companies employed between for change in the industry and how this 1-49 people, 27,4% employed between impacted on skills priorities. 50-149 people, and 21% employed more “Many interesting findings came out of than 150 people. these workshops and the survey data and By far the largest proportion (58,1%) of we will be reporting on these soon once the companies participating in the survey the Plastics Chamber has accepted the have been in business for 15 years and report,” said Vorwerk, who is leading the more. project. The survey questions related to comA ‘lucky draw’ competipany activities and employment data. tion was held to publicise Purpose of the research Vorwerk explained that estimates of the number of people employed in the industry vary from 45 000-63 000 and little is known about industry demographics such as race, age, gender and disability, or about the skills profile and needs of employees. Several jobs in the plastics industry are not adequately ‘mapped’ to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO) and more needs to be understood about these jobs.

18 APRIL / MAY 2013

the on-line survey, aimed at encouraging businesses to complete the survey questionnaire. The winner was Clive Shea of CS & Associates, a consultant to the industry, who won an iPAD. Here Clive accepts the iPAD from Bronwin Abrahams, client relations manager for the MERSETA in Cape Town and Plastics│SA director Anton Hanekom was at the presentation

Fiona Farquharson, an education, training and skills development expert and research fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and skills development specialist Chris Vorwerk helped to conduct the research

This suggests that the survey data comes from companies that are reasonably mature, with business processes that are well bedded down. The researchers could conclude that the data supplied by these companies should therefore have a higher degree of credibility. Who does the industry employ? The overall racial distribution of the 62 participating companies is 51.85% African; 27.11% coloured; 13.25% white and 7.79% Indian, making up a total of 8 122 employees across the 62 participat-

- passionate about the plastic industry.

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where quality is action

A-PET

INDUSTRY NEWS

Industry research project Continued from 18

ing companies. The gender balance in the sample was 72.63% males to 27.38% females. What was something of a surprise was the age profile of employees in the industry. Contrary to what many role players had expected, the industry seems to have become ‘younger’. The ‘old-timers’ seem to have retired or left the industry. These survey numbers have been informally confirmed by other industry managers. The educational profile of the industry shows very few people in the industry have post-Grade 12 qualifications; however, the majority of the workforce has at least a Grade 12 certificate. Employee numbers per business function A total of 77,4% of the employees surveyed work in production, while 13,2% work in marketing, finance administration and management, 5,65% in maintenance, 1,62% in research and product development, 1,27% in procurement and just 0,86% in human resources. What did surprise researchers was the fact that there were more employees in the R+D function than in HR and procurement. This was significant also because of the high proportion of small companies in the survey. The lack of comparative figures and the sample size figures are too small to draw firm conclusions. However, it does seem as if there is a greater focus on research and development than in the past. The regional workshops also reflected a greater focus on research and development, with several companies commenting on the importance of this function in pursuing new markets, better products and higher levels of quality. Conclusions Main observations drawn from the process include: the skewed age profile in the industry will have implications if older colleagues are used for mentoring, coaching and on-thejob training. Such individuals will be rare and become more so in the next five to ten years; It suggests that management is younger and possibly more open to new ventures, new initiatives and more collaborative work. The downside is that they may need to be exposed to a wider variety of dedicated skills development processes; it would also appear that there is a greater reliance on networks of suppliers and service providers amongst convertors and fabricators;

The project actually involved a lot of discussion between researchers Vorwerk and Farquharson and respondents

ﬁnally, the education proﬁle of the industry has changed somewhat from the 1990s and early 2000s, where the owners or general managers of many companies were trained artisans, many of whom started their careers in the late 1960s and 1970s. This generation has retired and a new, more formally educated and younger generation of managers now seems to be at the helm. The combination of factors points to the emergence of a different education and training climate, as well as a different management climate. Possible scenarios for the plastics industry in the foreseeable future Three scenarios emerged out of the discussions: Scenario 1: Going down the plughole – Lack of incentive to compete against cheap imports, resignation, no innovation or renewal, the industry slows down, factories close; Scenario 2: The clogged highway – Continue as we are, putting up with all the constraints, blockages, toll gates and wild drivers. Eventually this will become Scenario 1; Scenario 3: The take-off: – Provide an injection of something into the industry so that it starts growing again; new products; niche markets; export products blossom and industry booms again etc. Scenario 2 probably best describes the current position of the industry. Given this state of affairs and given that the plastics industry doesn’t want to slip into Scenario 1, it will get to the point where the players will have to make a choice: will they close their doors, or will they start to innovate? The industry as a whole is currently quite risk averse and if it wants to change it will have to start to take some risks in order to innovate. Scenario 3 is considered as the only feasible option for survival, let alone growth. It would require a combination of interventions to shift from Scenario 2 to Scenario 3. Training has a key role to play, but not as it is currently conceptualised, implemented or incentivised.

✻ The full report can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/ZDxSk8

Impact on skills development The impact, in turn, of the key drivers on skills development would be as follows: A shift from the short-course paradigm to an extended training period for new entrants in apprentice-style programmes. Change the current training paradigm to encourage knowledge transfer outside of formal courses and a just-in-time focus. The development of a coherent strategy and approach to attracting talent. Growing disillusionment with formal education Embedded in and threaded through the participants’ stories was a growing disillusionment with formal education. Similarly, faith in the effectiveness of formal training is also clearly waning. Courses which are constructed as hermetic packages result in little knowledge transfer or uptake. The fault for this does not necessarily lie with the training provider. Companies are also at fault by not encouraging the use and application of the knowledge gained. There was a very clear sense amongst participants that training on-the-job plays a significant role in the development of their staff and their level of proficiency. Their notion of training has been extended to include workplace learning. The researchers proposed that the merSETA should not just look at formal training interventions, but also at new models of learning and knowledge transfer. One such model, the 70:20:10 learning model has attracted much attention, where: 70 represents the learning obtained by experience and practice through tasks and assignments that stretch the learner 20 represents the learning obtained through other people, role models, conversation, networks, reflecting on experiences 10 represents the learning from formal programmes, books and on-line resources Adopting such a model and supporting it with appropriate grants and programmes would require innovative changes to the current dispensation. However, if the industry is to grow and provide more employment opportunities the challenge needs to be met head on! APRIL / MAY 2013 21

INDUSTRY NEWS

established, revolutionary mould injection software Decreased calculation times from new enmeshment concept NEW injection moulding software released by SIGMA GmbH at Fakuma 2012 has drastically reduced times for simulation by means of entirely new solver technology and an innovative enmeshment concept. This makes it possible to use the simulation not only during the construction of a part, but also as a daily tool for troubleshooting on the production floor. SIGMASOFTv5.0 reduces the calculation time up to 50% for thermoplastic applications and up to 80% for elastomeric applications compared to the previous version. At the same time, all advantages regarding accuracy and user-friendliness of the 3D-simulation approach remain unchanged. The decreased calculation times result from a new enmeshment concept, allowing the creation of ‘unstructured, intelligent meshes’. The refinement of these meshes is automatically improved in regions with complex thermal and flow conditions, such as boundaries or thin walls. In regions with less interaction, as in the outer parts of the mould, the algorithm produces a coarser mesh. The user can thus create the meshes for complete moulds in a matter of minutes, without the need for further manual improvements. In this way, the productivity of the software increases, while the numeric complexity and the user effort are reduced. The new solver technology significantly improves the simulation due to fully parallelized calculations. Instead of using 2 CPUs 22 APRIL / MAY 2013

The ‘intelligent, unstructured’ meshes used in the new injection moulding simulation SIGMASOFT® Version 5.0 are automatically reﬁned in regions where important thermal and rheological effects take place, and save elements in regions with less interaction

as a maximum, as in previous versions, in SIGMASOFT v 5.0 up to 8 CPUs can be used for calculating with an extension of the software license. In this way the current version of SIGMASOFT uses the full potential of the multi-core-technology, available in state-of-the-art computers.

Figure 1 – In SIGMASOFT® the mould temperature can be displayed over several cycles. In the curve, a production time out after the ninth cycle is clearly visible. Here the temperature falls over 10°C close to the cavity

Tool to analyse all variables The new technology provides moulders with a tool to analyse all variables in the process. For instance, in the extremely challenging field of medical component manufacture, virtual reproduction of the injection moulding process using SIGMASOFT helps to organise the production as efficiently as possible, minimising scrap and maintaining precision and quality – all before the mould is actually built! In this way correction loops during tool making are avoided and the mould is produced faster. Because all mould components and process times can be included in the calculation, even over several cycles, SIGMASOFT can also model the restart after a production time-out. Thus scrap after unexpected or scheduled interruptions can be significantly reduced, while at the same time a stable optimum for certification can be specified.

The temperature in hot runner and parts during ﬁlling with SIGMASOFT®

Figure 1 shows an interruption of the process after nine cycles in the curve. Here the mould temperature falls to 149 °C near the cavity during the time-out. Four cycles after the interruption the mould is once more in a stable, thermal state and the produced parts can be used again. • AMETEX (PTY) LTD IS THE PARTNER FOR SIGMA® AND MAGMA® FOR BOTH SUB SAHARAN AFRICAN AND SOUTH AFRICA. EMAIL: INFO@ AMETEX.CO.ZA, TEL: 011 914 2540 www.sigmasoft.de APRIL / MAY 2013 23

PLASTICS | SA CONFERENCE

Plastics industry has its say at ‘Future for Growth’ conference Debate at Plastics|SA conference provides interesting insights ROLE players and decision makers in the South African plastics industry made use of the opportunity to air their views on matters relating to the growth of the industry, sustainability and recycling during the ﬁrst-ever, industry speciﬁc conference held during Propak Africa in March. The one-day ‘Plastics: The Future for Growth’ conference was hosted by Plastics|SA, the umbrella body for the local plastics industry and attracted more than 300 delegates.

24 APRIL / MAY 2013

According to Plastics|SA executive director, Anton Hanekom, the event drew participants from various sectors making up the local plastics industry. “Although the majority (36%) of the audience were involved in the supply of raw materials, we had good representation from plastics converters (22%), recyclers (10%), machine suppliers (2%) and other interested sectors such as government, the media and the general public who were eager to learn more and participate in the discussions,” said Hanekom. Learning from international best practice Delivering the keynote address, Dr Wilfried Haensel, executive director of PlasticsEurope in Brussels, gave a presentation titled ‘Plastics and the world we live in: Lessons Learnt,’ in which he focused on the plastics industry from a European perspective, although he pointed out that “plastics is a global affair and there are sure to be similarities in the different regions”.

Lights, camera, action! ... and for once television show host Jeremy Maggs, deprived of the mike, was at a loss for words

The rest of the day’s discussions were focused around three topical debates which were moderated by celebrity, investigative journalists Freek Robinson, Jeremy Maggs and Ruda Landman. They excelled in guiding the discussions and ensuring that everybody’s point of view was heard. According to Hanekom, the panelists who were invited to participate in the debates were considered experts in their respective ﬁelds and didn’t necessarily share the same points of view on topics relating to exports and imports, marketing the industry, sustainability and recycling, training and skills development. “We tried to take a brutal look at the issues that mostly affect our industry and the direction we are heading in by encouraging audience members to comment and vote in real-time on the issues that were being debated by the panel members on stage,” added Hanekom.

Debate 1 Growing the South African plastics industry The audience was quick to rise to the

Of the three panels in action, the team assembled for the second debate, focused on ‘What impacts plastic packaging?,’ drew the most interest from delegates, not surprisingly as it contained representatives of brand holders, retailers and convertors. The panel experts included (standing) Eddie van Os of Unilever, Charles Muller of Astrapak (since gone on his own) and Jeremy Mackintosh of Polyoak; and (seated) Andrew Marthinussen of PACSA (Packaging Council), TV personality Jeremy Maggs and Kiril Dimitrov of Woolworths

The Plastics|SA comprised Monique Holtzhausen-Hinds, Adri Spangenberg, Dianne Blumberg, Monya Vermaak and Anton Hanekom

occasion and did not hold back when asked to send in their views or suggestions. When asked what they felt would most grow the local plastics industry, 38% of the audience members felt that innovation, developing new products and technology would offer the most opportunities. Natural gas utilization and becoming competitive followed closely, along with the local industry and government supporting a culture of exports. The areas that the audience felt offered the most growth potential in the local plastics industry was packaging (45%), followed by engineering, building and construction (24%) and transport and automotive (11%). “The audience members agreed that the South African plastics industry as a whole needs to become more original and innovative. There are a host of small companies making the same product. Industry should be thinking about how it can diversify and enter a more niche market with an original product. This will decrease competition and increase innovation,” said the PlasticsSA chief.

Former Carte Blanche host Ruda Landman was the interviewer in one of the sessions, which included panel experts Annabé Pretorius (SAPRO), Susan Dittke (EnviroSense), Prof Walter Focke (Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pretoria and director of the Institute for Applied Materials), Casper Durandt (Coca-Cola SA and chairman of PETCO) and Chandru Wadhwani, joint MD of Extrupet

African Marine Debris Summit

Waves of Change: African Lessons to Inspire Local Action 6 – 8 June 2013 | CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA Goals of this summit ü Highlight the issue of marine debris on the shores of the African continent and nearby Indian and Atlantic Ocean Islands ü To establish a network of organisations/individuals that focus on marine debris in Africa ü Showcase best practices to tackle the issue of marine debris Summit Outline Day 1: Marine Debris – An International Problem A growing problem in Africa Venue: SANBI (SA National Biodiversity Institute) Day 2: Solutions to Alleviate Marine Debris, Venue: SANBI Day 3: Rapid Beach Litter Assessment Training and Cleanup on Robben Island Contact us: Further information on attendance or participation may be obtained from John.Kieser@plasticsSA.co.za.

Thank you to our sponsors for their support!

www.plasticsinfo.co.za

PLASTICS | SA CONFERENCE Philip de Weerdt, chairman of the PlasticsSA board, presented the Chairman’s Award to Bernhard Mahl of Safripol - right Douw Steyn, director of the sustainability division of Plastics|SA, presented the Sustainability Award to Jeremy Macintosh - far right

Recognising the industry’s stars Awards programme from the 1970s – or was it 1870s – revived IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME since the industry in South Africa recognised its leaders and stalwarts, but this tradition of old was revived by Plastics|SA, hosts of the conference, when it hosted a cocktail function at the end of the day’s activities at which three awards for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the local industry were presented. CHAIRMAN’S AWARD Bernard Mahl, commercial director of Safripol, the manufacturer of various HDPE and PP grades, received the Plastics|SA Chairman’s Award for 2013. Bernhard has and continues to play a critical role in Plastics|SA. He has been on the Plastics|SA board and the executive committee for many years, serving as chairperson and deputy chairperson. He also played a momentous role in the new vision and direction on which Plastics|SA, the industry’s ‘umbrella’ organisation, has now embarked.

Debate 2 What impacts plastics packaging? The second debate of the day took a closer look at the issue of food packaging and what impacts it in the South African context. Explains Hanekom: “Packaging has come to symbolize the issue of waste in our modern day society. Looking at the issue of plastic packaging specifically, we know that it ensures hygiene and reduces the risk of product wastage due to contamination, providing a physical barrier between a product and the external environment. Unfortunately, however, such convenience has come at an environmental price and the rise in environmental consciousness in recent decades has brought the issue of packaging firmly under the spotlight”. When asked what role brand owners should play in plastic packaging, 51% of the audience members felt they had a responsibility to design the packaging with effective recycling in mind; and 32% felt the brand owner also had a responsibility to educate consumers about the recyclability and recycled content of its products. “It is clear that there is a great need to raise the profile of the plastics industry and the work that is being done by brand owners and converters to ensure that plastics are manufactured in a way that is sustain26 APRIL / MAY 2013

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD Jeremy Mackintosh, managing director of Polyoak Packaging Group, received this important new award. Jeremy has played a crucial role since 2000 in the promotion and expansion of the recycling initiatives of the then Plastics Federation. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Sustainability Council and redirecting the strategy from being more recycling focussed to a more inclusive sustainability drive. TRAINING AWARD Rehau Polymers, an international group which

able and environmentally responsible,” said Hanekom. Another hot topic that was discussed by the panel was the issue of bio-plastics and whether or not it had a real role to play as an alternative in the plastics packaging industry. The vast majority of the audience members felt that bio-plastics are not an option due to the high costs and the negative impact that bio-plastics have on the recycling stream.

Debate 3 Are plastics sustainable? The third and final debate took an in-depth look at the issue of plastics and sustainability. “Meeting the needs of tomorrow is the foundation of the concept of sustainable development,” explained Hanekom. “Plastics represent one of the fastest growing categories of materials used and disposed of in our society. They play a major role in delivering and sustaining the quality, comfort and safety of modern lifestyles. The impressive ratio of cost to performance also means that people of all income groups can enjoy these benefits. However, meeting the needs of society is not just about ‘today, future generations also have the right to material and other benefits.” Discussing the problems surrounding the issue of plastic waste disposal, 61%

operates plants in East London and Port Elizabeth, manufacturing mainly for the automotive industry, received the Training Award for its on-going work in this area. Rehau has identiﬁed the need for the training and development of their staff and also recognized the eagerness and enthusiasm of the learners to be part of the education programmes and learnerships. Rehau has shown commitment, dedication and enthusiasm throughout the program and made it possible for their staff members to develop. Rehau is committed to training and development.

of the audience members responded that they felt the answer should lie with improved waste management. 36% felt that there should be more recycling initiatives by local municipalities. “We feel that the ﬁrst industry conference was a success”, said Hanekom. “Delegates and panelists attending made it clear that it was a timely and much needed event. They appreciated being given the opportunity to participate in the discussions and voting on topics that directly affect them”. Although the panel members were unable to address many of the comments and questions that were sent through, Hanekom and the Plastics|SA team have given their assurance that these issues will be dealt with during the next year. “Some very valuable topics were raised which we would like to include as talking points in the next conference. Until that time, however, we will use our quarterly newsletters, website and green papers to focus attention on the issues that were raised and hopefully, provide answers to the questions at hand”. • A special word of thanks to the generous sponsors who made the event possible, namely ColorMatrix, Engen Petroleum, PETCO, Polyoak Packaging, Polystyrene Packaging Council, Safripol and Sasol Polymers.

www.plasticsinfo.co.za

Opinion poll APPROXIMATELY 300 delegates attended the conference during Propak at Nasrec and were able to ‘vote’ electronically to questions posed on the stage screen. Some interesting trends emerged in the process.

Growth sectors – Response from delegates to the question: In which sector do you see the highest potential for growth?

Delegate breakdown – Industry sectors represented at the conference showed a possibly disproportionately large number from the raw material supply side, but that may be because individuals in this sector take close interest in trends in the converting market … and the plus is that they are quite likely in due course to inform customers

This is how delegates responded to the question ‘What role do brand owners play in plastics packaging?’

Bio-plastics – Response to question: Do you think bio-plastics are an option?

Best opportunity for growth – Response from delegates to the question: What will offer the most opportunity to achieve growth in the local industry?

Disposal issue – Response to question: Where should we look for an answer to better plastic disposal?

APRIL / MAY 2013 27

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PROPAK / PRO-PLAS EXPO

Propak, Pro-Plas get bigger, better World class stand presentation by exhibitors at packaging showcase

28 APRIL / MAY 2013

PROPAK Africa, the premier show for the plastics packaging sector in southern Africa, provided convincing proof of the improved standards being achieved by both convertors and suppliers to the industry. Exhibition stands were on a par with anything you’ll see at shows around the world, but it wasn’t just about fun and looks – exhibitors were there to do business.

into many sales being made from the stands and additional sales leads generated for post-show follow-up,” said Gary Corin, managing director of Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery. “This was good news for our 530 exhibitors who were using the exhibition as a platform to introduce their latest machinery, equipment, products and services,” added Corin. “Visitors were able to converse with the most progressive local and international companies and view latest global trends, innovative technology developments and new products launched to market.”

Many of the country’s top converting businesses participated in the Propak Exhibitors successes at the show halls, and most of the suppliers were in the “We used Propak as a showcase for our Pro-Plas Expo hall alongside. Propak also products and as a branding exercise and included the Print Expo, FoodPro and Prowe’ve had a positive experience here. Label Africa events – covering the highly It’s a great platform and an opportunity to competitive food processing, printing and labelling industries – running simultaneously create and build relationships. We had a lot of decision makers coming through to our at the Expo Centre, Nasrec, Johannesburg, stand and had some from 12-15 March. good inquiries,” said Organised by Co-hosting of Propak Africa, Jeff Cawcutt, a director Specialised Exhibitions Print Expo, Pro-Plas Expo, of equipment supplier Montgomery, the Pro-Label Africa Maritime Marketing. exhibition attracted “To expose our and FoodPro draws over 13,010 local and products and to meet international visitors 13,000 visitors face to face with our interested in viewing customers is why Cabletech chose to be the latest products, machinery, equipment, at Propak,” said Pierre Jurgens, managing and consumables that the industry had to director of Cabletech. “Our objective was offer. to service the industry and to showcase “We tracked visitor attendance daily the quality of our products, mainly our and saw that we were consistently up on machinery. We enjoyed a very positive numbers from the previous show in 2009, response from the show. It was excellent, with exhibitors reporting interaction with with top quality visitors and we picked up high-level decision-makers. This translated

New Sysmetric agent – Adex of Johannesburg is the new agent for Israeli raw material feeding systems specialist Sysmetric. Here we see Sito Safran of Sysmetric ﬂanked by Nicholas and Paul Clark, the son and father team at Adex. Sysmetric also supplies control systems, management & data acquisition software www.sysmetric.com

Afripack-Pouch Dynamics – ACF (Afripack Consumer Flexibles) had one of the busiest stands at Propak, which wasn’t surprising since the group has been on the acquisition trail of late. Here we see Cliff Augustyn of Pouch Dynamics of Cape Town, in which ACF recently invested, and Cara Anderson of ACF Gauteng with some of the wide range of pouches (up to 20kgs) that ACF group now supplies www.pouchdynamics.co.za www.afripack.co.za

Plastichem business unit manager Elana de Goede, shows off one of the ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) photovoltaic roof tiles which Plastichem featured as one of its three ‘green living’ focuses during Propak. Designed for a total architectural integration, the Wegalux photovoltaic roof system is the ideal solution for historical districts and locations that require a minimal visual impact

some great leads.” Corne Pretorius, technical manager at Nissei ASB South Africa, said his company has been exhibiting at Propak for the past 14 years and uses the show to give support to the industry and to build existing company relationships. “We supply to the whole of Africa, especially eastern Africa, and have just opened an ofﬁce in Nigeria. The show has

Sheet show – Brandon Davidson, Leo Chen and Dwayne Wilcocks of Sheet Plastics on their stand. The ‘cardboard’ boxes in the background are produced from PP corrugated sheet produced by the Bloemfontein company www.sheetplastic.co.za

Tsepiso Letiklane and Steven Bird of Hosaf hosted Cheri Scholtz and Lisa Parkes of PETCO on their impressive stand

In the bag – Raj Patel of Plastic Industries bought a Günther bagmaking machine from Gerhard Mischinger of Technimac at the show. A side seal machine, the unit runs up to 1400mm ﬁlm width and can run at 200 cycles/minute

Energy-saving solution – One of the new energy-saving injection machines from Welltec was shown on the EDM Shop/Welltec Plastics stand, producing a high-precision letter opener in carbonate in a two-cavity mould … which was razor sharp too! Here we see Les Porter of EDM of Chamdor with the machine, which also sports novel new livery for the ‘green’ initiative. Welltec, based in Hong Kong, has been building machines since 1982 www.welltec.com.hk

been good for us with two sales made from our stand and we met new customers.” During the show, Rotocon announced the receipt of a purchase order from First Impression Labels, a converter in South Africa, for a Rotocontrol RSC 340mm web width vertical inspection slitter/rewinder finishing machine. This was the second Rotocontrol RSC finishing machine investment for First Impression Labels. The order was confirmed on the second day of Propak Africa by Vaughan Cumming, operations director of First Impression. Pascal Aengenvoort, director of Rotocon, commented: “The overall attendance at our

stand was exceptional and there has been considerable interest in the RSC finishing machine demonstration, in addition to MPS offset and flexo printing.” Thunderbolt’s objective was to increase its profile in packaging. Showcasing digital printing and its move into the packaging industry, Thunderbolt MD Peter van der Walt said “We had a very positive response and had triple the inquiries that we had expected to receive, with many decision-makers on our stand. The show has exceeded our expectations.” Leon Minnie, production manager at

Global co-op – George Dimond (right) of Continental Compounders of Durban and Julian Vital of Snetor Chimie of France chatted at Pro-Plas; their stands were alongside. Snetor, which is a trading and logistics operation that is active in the chemicals and polymers business, and Continental cooperate in some areas

Machine ‘revamp’ – Karl Seidel and Chris Kemp of SES show the electrical/control panel on a 1970s Ferromatik machine which they had extensively refurbished. In this case the original owner of the machine visited the stand and wanted to buy the machine back … but it had already been sold. All the refurb work is completed at SES’s Wadeville works

Propak Africa 2013 seemed to draw far more attractive ladies than has been the case for some years, and Denise Schoeman was certainly one of the most popular …

APRIL / MAY 2013 29

Bucket list – Tracey Jones and Johan Meiring on the Pail Pac stand where, you guessed it, buckets was the main subject. Pail Pac group is handling increasingly large IML jobs, yielding a very high print standard

Gordon Williams and Nick Weetman of Capture Flex of Pretoria visited Jeff Cawcutt of Maritime and Robbie Butschi of LIMAX to view the Malaysian built Gappa bag-making machine, exhibited on the Maritime stand

PROPAK / PRO-PLAS EXPO Konica, said the “quality of the visitors has been to a very high standard and they have generated leads”. Beswick Machinery’s director Bruce Beswick said that they exhibited to reinforce their position in the market and that they received “a lot of sales leads”. “We exhibited at Propak Africa to celebrate our 80th birthday and to expose our company’s vision whilst networking with new and existing customers,” said Tyrone Voller, innovations and marketing manager at Afripack Consumer Flexibles. “There was a high quality of visitors present at the expo and we have created a lot of leads. The show has deﬁnitely met our objectives.” International exhibitors International exhibitor representation at this year’s show increased over the previous show in 2009, and the show also attracted a number of pavilions, including from China, France, Italy and Taiwan and Turkey.

“Ten French companies were exhibiting in the French Pavilion, showcasing their know-how, their products, their equipment and their innovative technology,” said Tatiana Miron, senior trade adviser of the French Trade Commission Ubifrance in South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritius. “France is looking to strengthen its relationship with South African companies and to develop long-term partnerships.” Arielle Gernez, project manager at the French Pavilion, said: “Our objective was to bring French businesses across the borders and to create and build relationships. A high quality of visitor has been present at the expo and we had a lot of decision makers on our stand. Sales have been made and a lot of leads have been created”. Giovanni De Rosa, general manager of SIPA, which was part of the Italian trade commission, agreed: “We wanted to introduce ourselves to the South African market and we have had a very positive response. We are happy. There have been

Engineering compounds – Rawmac and Zig Sheng Industrial of Taiwan exhibited alongside each other on what was effectively a joint stand. Rawmac is now supplying the range of engineering compounds supplied by Zig Sheng. Here we see Wim Goebel of Rawmac and Bruce Lin as Zig Sheng www.zigsheng.com Woven bag experts – Claro Bermudez of StarFIBco of Brits met up with Andreas Ulrichshofer of Polystar Tape & Fabric at the show where they had opportunity to discuss … well, woven bag matters

very good quality visitors and we have created leads.” As added value to the show, the Institute of Packaging South Africa, Plastics│SA and the Printing Federations of SA hosted co-located conferences where robust industry discussion and panel debates brought industry issues and global trends to the fore. “We thank both our exhibitors and our visitors for partnering with us at the show and we look forward to taking it from strength to strength,” added Corin. • The next regional show, Propak Cape, will take place from 21-23 October 2014 at the CTICC in Cape Town, and Propak Africa returns to the Expo Centre, Nasrec, from 15-18 March 2016.

www.specialised.co.za • SPECIALISED EXHIBITIONS MONTGOMERY, VISIT www.specialised.com Ampacet-Manuchar – Vishnu Colan (left) and Ahmet Abdulaziz (right) of Manuchar SA with Haley Clark of Ampacet SA and Khalil Fadda of Ampacet Europe. Ampacet supplies black, white and colour masterbatches as well as a range of additives www.ampacet.com

New Starlinger man in SA – Stefan Ernst, who is to take over the running of Starlinger’s ofﬁce in South Africa, and Christian Leeb of Starlinger Vienna, Austria, on their stand. Starlinger is a global leader in the areas of PP tape extrusion and bag making as well as PET recycling Cabletech hosted guests from its principal Liansu of China. Liansu makes high-standard extruders that compare well with top European brands. Here we see Keith Chow (Liansu), Philip du Plessis (Mega Rollers), host Andy Woods of Cabletech, Wesley Wu (Liansu) and Flippie Oberholzer (also Mega Rollers)

Remote control and diagnostic at 400m/ min … Amod Patel of Pelican Rotoﬂex of India demonstrated the company’s ability to control its slitter-rewinders remotely. Pelican Rotoﬂex has been focusing on power saving and the main machine draws just 13 amps at 500 m/minute. The machine – servo-driven with Siemens PLC control – and technology were demo’d on the Adex Plastic & Machinery stand. www.adexsa.co.za www.pelican.in

Colour in! – Dennis Williams and Nick de Villiers of ColorMatrix/ PolyOne of South Africa and Claudia Finamore of the group’s UK ofﬁce on their stand. ColorMatrix was also a co-sponsor of the PlasticsSA conference 30

Ferrostaal-Eltromat – Floors Coetzee of Ferrostaal hosted Alfons Seack (Eltromat, Germany) at his stand. Eltromat supplies systems for print management and control, including the ‘TubeScan’ unit shown here for detecting print errors www.eltromat.de

LED meets transparency – Plastichem showed new technology in which Evonik of Germany is producing light diffusing grades of its PMMA Plexiglas material for homogenous illumination of light guide shapes. The crystal clear material appears fully transparent when not illuminated and opens a new degree of freedom for light and signage designers. A lighting application is easily produced using conventional injection moulding or proﬁle extrusion with this grade

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Maurizio Bergamaschini and Bryan Parry on the KYMC/Bobsa stand

Gavin Jackson (centre) of Pail Pac group, which exhibited in the Propak hall, visited Arnaud Nomblot of Sumitomo-Demag and Jacques Kleynhans on the DemaPlasTech stand at Pro-Plas. DemaPlasTech is the SA agent for Sumitomo-Demag, manufacturer of high-performance injection systems

Pierre Jurgens showed Sarel Opperman and Danie Potgieter of Apple Plastics the wide range of processing equipment on the Cabletech stand, basically something for virtually every application www.appletec.co.za

Pallet prices slashed – The Du Toit brothers, Ruan and Wouter, were very busy in the Pro-Plas hall, building up sales for Lomold group’s fantastic new range of nestable and rackable pallets. The entertaining brothers were able to encourage a lot of interest and orders

Hans Hechler of Heco Engineering (technical services for mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems), Danny Jiang of Ningbo Haixing Plastics and Matthias Graimeister of Matplast, agents for Aotal Allway machinery

32 APRIL / MAY 2013

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Samantha Eve, Rodger Damen, Misha Burk, Carlo Nucci and David Damen were on the Ocme stand. An Italian company established in Parma in 1954, Ocme manufactures ﬁllers and other packaging machinery internationally www.ocme.co.za

Safrique team – Mervyn Moodley of Africa exports specialist Safrique and his team – Feroza Bhyat, Llewellyn Moodley, Diana Oppong and Ravi Lyer – were well positioned on their stand at the entrance to Hall 5

PVC sheet – Shanial and Ashir Patel of Dispak Industries of Chamdor showed off both the PVC sheet they are now manufacturing and supplying to the market as well as some of their thermoformed packaging solutions www.dispakindustries.co.za

‘Kiwi’ comes back – Oliver Funk of Form Mould Services of Krugersdorp hosted Brett Reynolds of Mastip of New Zealand. FMS is the agent for Mastip, which is well-known internationally for its hot runners as well as other mould components. Brett relocated to New Zealand some years ago and has since become something of an international citizen, handling Mastip’s sales worldwide www.mastip.com

Hot runner success – Walter Doeseresk of Domatronic has had success with his hot runner control systems internationally, having sold 12- and 16-cavity systems to Australia and Holland of late. Domatronic, which makes even larger systems, exhibited on the Form Mould Services in conjunction with Oliver Funk at Pro-Plas www.domatronic.co.za

APRIL / MAY 2013 33

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PROPAK / PRO-PLAS EXPO

Grace Lin of Huarong visited South Africa again to show off the Taiwanese machine builder’s top technology. Huarong is looking for a South African agent www.huarong.com.tw

Erik Zimmermann and Andrew McFarlane of Ametex, supplier of the SIGMASOFT® injection moulding simulation programme, visited Dave Moore on his Mould Base stand

PROPAK / PRO-PLAS EXPO

Astrapak, Afripack in ‘MAP’ joint venture Aim is to meet growing demand for modified atmosphere packaging ASTRAPAK and Afripack have announced a joint venture to meet growing demand for quality packaging solutions in the perishable foods category using Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). “While not significant in terms of the scale of either group, the venture is strategically important as it cements our joint leadership in the key growth market,” said Robin Moore, CEO of Astrapak. The announcement at Propak in Johannesburg followed a technical presentation by Bas Groeneweg, of Netherlands-based PerfoTec, to introduce this world leading PerfoTec technology to the South African market. The PerfoTec technology offers improved product shelf life and thus reduced food waste to the local market. The laser-based micro-perforation system has a key role in the AstrapakAfripack plan to take advantage of growth opportunities in perishable foods packaging. The system creates minute breathing holes in plastic film and bags used to package fresh produce, achieving superior in-transit and on-shelf quality and product reliability for perishable foods. Afripack set up a venture in Kenya six months ago in partnership with Dillewijn of the Netherlands and General Printers of Kenya and installed the first PerfoTec line

Kelli Ropach of DynaPurge of New York with Ian Clark, Grant Brooklyn and Karin Clark of Keniplas on its stand www.dynapurge.com

The Plastamid team – including Tania Smit, Charles Goldman, Renee Brennan and Tshipane Nkwe – with Mark Lavin of Respitek and Christo Jordt (Plastamid) and Anton Coetzee (also Respitek) on their stand at Pro-Plas

The Afripack stand in the Propak hall was a hive of activity, literally

in Africa to service fresh fruit and vegetable growers supplying produce to Europe. Astrapak’s Knilam operation has for many years been the market leader in South Africa for MAP and recently attained British Retail Consortium (BRC) accreditation for its Cape Town facility. PerfoTec materials for the local market will initially be sourced by Knilam through the BRC-accredited Mapﬂex facility in Kenya. Investment in a production line in South Africa will be made when commercially viable. “We have seen a tremendous rally of

Brett Shelley of MJH Machinery with the Ningbo Shuangsheng injection machine on show. Shuangsheng, a sister company of Haixing, supplies smaller machines, from 25 to 50-ton category. The machine here is a SSF380, 38-ton model

www.afripack.co.za www.astrapak.co.za

Interested visitors to the show included Uwe Menne and Gavin Byrne of PM Manufacturing of Krugersdorp, Deon Holtzhausen of DH Polymers and Bob Austen of AS Plastics

Team Plastichem – Debbie Beaton, Elana de Goede, Thys du Plessis, Dean Delaporte, Helmut Oellermann and Sulize Pelser on their stand

Ceramic solution – Sarel Oosthuizen of Sareltech exhibited print solutions from his company’s principal AFS of Germany. Among the most recent developments by AFS are ceramic supports for its corona and plasma treaters (inset), which allow for longer usage when treating ﬁlms for static removal www.sareltech.com www.afs.biz 34

support for the technology from our initial investment in Kenya, with the likes of M&S in the UK accrediting the PerfoTec system as its preferred MAP supply. Based on our position in South Africa and local retailer requirements, it made absolute sense to accelerate the launch of this technology into South Africa,” said James Hynd, director of Afripack.

Userve-Tederic stand – Raimund Heep of DK Machinery and Mpho Mokoena, Theresa and Umberto Favini, all of Userve, and Linda Song of JiangsuVictor Machine were on the Userve Machinery stand, where Tederic injection technology was on show

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PROPAK / PRO-PLAS EXPO

Interest in mini-conferences for IML, snack, dairy/ice cream sectors VDS Media launched three interactive and informative contentbased platforms at Propak Africa. The events kicked off on 12 March with Snax Tech Africa and were followed by IML Tech Africa and then Dairy & Ice Cream Tech Africa. All three events covered aspects relating to the technical developments across the value chain in the snacks, in-mould labeling and dairy & ice cream industries. These platforms hosted a broad array of speakers from the Nielsen Company, FIMA, BMI Research, Clariant, Muller Martini, Xeikon, Tadbik, Danone, Nestle, SAPRO and Fairﬁeld Dairy, who shared insights and knowledge ranging from in-depth market overviews and packaging trends to recycling and technical issues relating to their respective disciplines. All three events were a success and VDS Media will be organising and coordinating associated events in the packaging, labeling and FMCG sector during the course of 2013, said Jolanda van de Spreng, managing director of VDS Media. jolanda@vdsmedia.co.za

Jolanda van de Spreng of VDS Media with colleagues Steven Sotiriou (design director) and Jonathan Stathacopolous (technical director) at Propak Africa

Wayne Knutsen of Bowler Plastics conducted some demonstrations on one of the Arburg machines on the Hestico stand, with Juanita StiehlerBrits and Earnest Green of Hestico

Bole machine – Mike Bonhage of LBA Technical Service of Cape Town showed one of the Bole injection machines, manufactured in China. The unit was pumping out microwave dishes. These machines, up till now little known in South Africa, are very reliable and solid, according to Mike, who has sold quite a number to moulders in the Cape. Dependability is the name of the game, says Mike www.bole-machinery.com.my

Material supply and logistics business MBT had a busy stand

Colin Whitaker with the Plasquip team, including Taryn Nel, Linette van Strader and Annamarie van der Merwe

Like a magician, Stuart Gibson of Plastichem pops up here and there, one minute in Mauritius, the next in Germany, the next at Propak. Here we see the man with LynondellBasell’s Mani Manikandan and Maryam Shirdel. Plastichem supplies LyondellBasell’s speciality materials for the automotive sector

Raj Govindasamy of Mpact Corrugated with Kirsty Whitehead and Alan de Haas of Mpact Wadeville were on the Mpact stand, where both plastics and paper and carton packaging solutions were shown

Rob Cassell and Gerard Makovec were on the Sub-Saharan Machinery Enterprises stand

Relloy hosts Erema team – Franz Weislbaumer of Erema Austria with Christian Graﬂ and Dean Toi of Relloy

Nena Tsai of TMC, Dave Mitchell of Specialised Filing Systems and Volker Hoffmeister of Maritime Marketing viewed some of the new technology from TMC on show

Wraptite – Sean Varrie of ﬁlms manufacturer Wraptite showcased his company’s multi-layer cast pallet wrap

Wietsche Fourie, CEO of Winhold, and Lorita Diem, Winhold sales director, were interested visitors

PROPAK / PRO-PLAS EXPO

Propak goes to Kenya Propak East Africa will run from 1-3 April 2014 in Nairobi FOLLOWING another successful Propak Africa, which attracted over 500 local and international exhibitors and more than 12,900 visitors, the organisers of Africa’s largest printing, packaging and plastics exhibition are ‘geo-cloning’ the event for the Kenyan market. Propak East Africa will be the ﬁrst dedicated international industry exhibition that will draw upon the success of last year’s launch of Propak West Africa, which was held in Lagos, Nigeria, in September 2012.

“Having spoken personally to all the African and international exhibitors, the interest in the event has been better than we ever expected. It is clear that our clients are greatly interested in the East African region and this event will provide them with a trusted platform,” said Alexander Angus, business development manager at Montgomery ECO, Montgomery’s East African division. Montgomery is the organiser of the Propak events. “With four events throughout Africa

What’s that? – Paul Ferreira on the Shini stand, part of the Cabletech presentation

Patrick ‘Mr Engel’ Bracke of Maritime, Angelo Reato of Piovan and Johann Eder, also Maritime, in front of the Engel ‘Victory’ injection moulding machine ﬁtted with a Piovan conveyorhopper-loader that was in production

alexander.angus@montex.co.uk www.propakeastafrica.com

Team Engen – Goodman Morapane, Colleen Jacobs, Fernando Lopez and Isaac Solomon-David of Engen Polymers attended the PlasticsƖSA conference, which their group cosponsored. The conference was arguably the most popular single conference event presented in the local industry to date

Colin Wilson of Colplast visited Karl Seidel on the SES stand

‘Securitape’ – Ari Shpigel of Skeitex Cape demonstrated his ‘Securitape’ PrintWiz solution to Gina Pereira of Sicad SA. The hand-held unit allows for the application of sealing tape with print. So, if you need a tamper evident seal for boxes, cartons or other containers, the PrintWiz lays down the print beneath the tape, and the print will remain on the surface of the container if the tape is lifted. This is obviously suited for the packaging of higher value products, but can also be seen as a marketing tool, to brand your packaging. Ari exhibited on the Future Packaging & Machinery stand www.futurpac.co.za www.securitape.co.za

Team Haitian – Haitian of China introduced the team at its new South African ofﬁce at Pro-Plas, with Mr Zhang, Mr Wu, Grant Pattinsen, Johan Venter, Leonie Grove, Mr Chen and Mr Hu Shunhui being in attendance. The group’s new ‘MARS 2’ and ‘MARS Economy’ series machines were exhibited at the show

now, Propak is a trusted brand that is known throughout the continent and internationally.” Propak East Africa will run from 1-3 April 2014 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre and will attract an estimated 100 local and international exhibiting companies.

Cowgirls – Caroline Tointon of PR Partnership, Trevor Meijboom of Sketch Advertising and Melissa Dolphin-Rowland were at the ‘Country & Western’ exhibitor party

Quieter motors – Anoop Singh of Kongskilde SA showed off his group’s range of conveying solutions, including the motor canopies here which help reduce sound generation signiﬁcantly. Kongskilde produces systems for the plastic and paper sectors, often in use in recycling situations, as well as for the agriculture and other sectors www.kongskilde.com

TMC technology – Jo Klip with the fast-cycling TMC machine on the Maritime stand. The 150E-SE unit was running a four-cavity mould for PP cups at 3,8-second cycles

Blending technology on Nissei ASB – The Nissei ASB machine at the show was demonstrated with a Movacolor blender (for colour and/or additives). Here Brian Sinclair of Banbury Chemicals, the Movacolor agent, with Corné Pretorius, Yvette Joubert and Michelle Shanahan, all of ISBM specialist Nissei ASB

ASB-50MB

More than one step ahead

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PM-70/65NII / PM-70/111N

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Leader in PET Technology The histories of Nissei ASB and PET containers have been tied together, as will their future be. Back in the early days of injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM), Nissei ASB was a pioneer in the field and PET was just becoming established as the material of choice for beverage and foodstuff containers. Today, both Nissei ASB and PET remain firmly at the forefront of the injection stretch blow moulding industry. As for the future, no one can predict which direction the industry will take, but there is one thing you can be sure of â&#x20AC;&#x201C; wherever it goes, Nissei ASB will be right there at the front continually innovating for tomorrowâ&#x20AC;Ś

NISSEI ASB SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD 97 Sovereign Drive, Route 21 Corporate Park Nelmapius Drive, Irene Ext 30 0062 P.O. Box 11785, Centurion 0046, South Africa Tel: +27 12 345 4924 Fax: +27 12 345 5667 E-mail: sales@nisseiasb.co.za

Small and medium bottle production PF6-2B / PF8-4B Capable of moulding containers up to 1.5L (PF84B) and 3L (PF6-2B). Optional neck orientation or preferential heating systems expands the capabilities for extreme oval designs. The PF8-4B is ideally suited to 500ml water or sports drinks containers, while the PF6-2B is ideal for containers in the 1.5L to 3L range. Preform production for small and medium bottle PM-70/65NII / PM-70/111N Ideally matched to the CM and HSB machines for production of hot fillable PET bottles. Also suited to any general moulding operation for a range of performs from 0.3L up to 5L, neck sizes up to 48mm (thread diameter) and from 8 to 24 cavities.

NISSEI ASB PTE. LTD. 85 Science Drive # 01-03 The Cavendish Singapore Science Park 1 Singapore 118259 Tel: (+65) 6778 4633 Fax: (+65) 6778 9440 E-mail: asbsin@signet.com.sg www.nisseiasb.co.jp

African lessons to inspire local actions

ENVIRONMENT

African Marine Debris Summit to provide opportunity for development of specific bilateral, multi-country strategies of Zoology, Percy Fitzpatrick THE First African Summit on Marine Ornithological Institute, University Debris will take place during World of Cape Town, will lead many of the Environmental Week and World Ocean presentations as well as other key Day, from 6-8 June, at the SANBI players in the marine debris field in South Conference Centre, Kirstenbosch Africa. Botanical Gardens, John Kieser, Plastics│SA’s in Cape Town. Environmental Plastics│SA, the Manager (Coastal Department of International co-operation Provinces) says the Environmental is needed to create public aim of the conference Affairs, the South awareness while developing is to share lessons African National ways to decrease the learned on strategies Biodiversity Institute amount of debris in oceans and best practices to and the United around the globe. reduce and prevent Nations Environment the impacts of marine Programme are codebris. organizers of the conference, bringing “Other objectives are to promote together marine debris researchers, international co-learning and identify natural resource managers, policy makers, industry representatives, and the possible areas for strengthening continental cooperation. We will look non-governmental community. at the MARPOL Convention, Honolulu The summit will highlight research Commitment, the Abidjan and Nairobi advances, allow sharing of strategies conventions and how it has an impact on and best practices to assess, reduce, mitigating the problem of marine debris,” and prevent the impacts of marine he explains. debris, and provide an opportunity for the “We also want to exchange innovative development of specific bilateral or multiideas, such as recycling initiatives country strategies. and communications strategies, with The first day of the three-day event a view towards scaling up successful will look at the problem of marine debris approaches. And last, but not least, as well as research on the issues. The we want to share the latest research second day will be dedicated to solutions projects, results, and methods.” to mitigate the problem of marine debris. World Ocean Day is on 8 of June and Why we need this summit? will be devoted to a training session on Marine debris is a historical problem that Robben Island on the methodology to continues to grow. Marine debris is an monitor marine debris on a standardised international concern not only because method decided at the 5th Marine Debris it washes up on beaches and shorelines Conference. worldwide, but also because debris Prof Peter Ryan, from the Department

Speakers Presentations at the African Marine Debris Summit will include a host of knowledgeable individuals. These include: Prof Henk Bouwman, Department of Environmental Sciences, North-West University, on “Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS)”. Yazeed Peterson, Department of Environmental Affairs, on “Monitoring water-quality on SA Coastline”. Mike Meyer, Department of Environmental Affairs, on “Entanglement of large marine mammals”. Dr George Hughes on “The State of Turtle Management”. Dr Linda Godfrey, CSIR on ‘Resource Intensive local job creation opportunities in Waste Cleansing & Collection’ Annabe Pretorius, South African Plastic Recycling Organization, on “The reality of Plastics Recycling”. Nick de Souza, World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) Hayley McLellan from Rethink The Bag, on “Outlawing once-use plastics?”. Luc Mellaerts – Vice President of Waste Free Oceans (WFO) (WFO and Foundation for the Sustainable Development of Fisheries) Dr Martin Engelmann – Director Advocacy & Resource Efﬁciency, PlasticsEurope, on ‘Global Action Team Marine Debris Declaration’ Prof Peter Ryan, University of Cape Town, Marine Debris in the Oceans around Africa.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch Once waterborne, debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one such example of this, comprising a vast region of the North Pacific Ocean rich with anthropogenic wastes. Estimated to be double the size of Texas, the area contains more than 3 million tons of plastic. Islands situated within gyres frequently have coastlines flooded by waste that washes ashore. Clean-up teams around the world patrol beaches to attack this environmental threat.

40 APRIL / MAY 2013

Marine debris is an international concern not only because it washes up on beaches and shorelines worldwide, but also because debris can be transferred from one country to another via ocean currents and because it impacts commercial ﬁsheries throughout the world.

can be transferred from one country to another via ocean currents and because it impacts commercial ﬁsheries throughout the world. International cooperation is needed to create public awareness while developing ways to decrease the amount of debris in oceans around the globe. Cooperation and coordination among many countries was fostered through ﬁve international marine debris conferences held between 1984 and 2011, as well as through smaller international agreements, meetings, and workshops. Each conference developed a suite of recommendations on how to move forward. Some recommendations were implemented, and many others showed up repeatedly at multiple conferences and meetings over the course of the past 29 years. “At all these conferences the absence of African countries was relevant and even though marine debris is not on the scale as in the northern hemisphere and more developed countries, the ills of littering and poor waste management is increasing on the continent as its economies grow,” says Kieser. “This conference will allow the sharing of information to establish a network of African countries to address the dilemma.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT JOHN KIESER ON TEL 073 775 8561, OR EMAIL JOHN.KIESER@PLASTICSSA.CO.ZA

Nurdles and plastic bags Nurdles are plastic pellets which strongly resemble ﬁsh eggs, typically under 5mm in diameter, that are a major component of marine debris. They are a raw material in plastics manufacturing, and enter the natural environment when spilled. Weathering produces ever smaller pieces. Pelagic plastic pieces in the centre of our ocean’s gyres outnumber live marine plankton, and are passed up the food chain to reach all marine life. A 1994 study of the seabed using trawl nets in the North-Western Mediterranean around the coasts of Spain, France and Italy reported mean concentrations of debris of 1,935 items per square kilometre. Plastic debris accounted for 77%, of which 93% was plastic bags.

APRIL / MAY 2013 41

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Riverboarding for nature

42 APRIL / MAY 2013

Orange River from source to sea to raise awareness about water pollution SELF-confessed adventure ‘junkie’ Ray Chaplin will be attempting a feat no one thought possible when he set off on Easter Sunday to complete the second longest riverboarding expedition of all time. Chaplin, a 32-year-old Cape Town resident and computer network engineer by profession, will be riverboarding the entire 2,300km length of the Orange River, South Africa’s longest river, from its source high up in the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho, to Alexander Bay on the Atlantic coast. His mission is to raise awareness of South Africa’s water quality and the threat of water pollution. Plastics|SA and Nampak Rigid Plastics are sponsoring Chaplin’s quest, which is expected to take five months. He will be travelling solo and without any support or back-up team to assist him. Instead, he will be relying on his 3mm wetsuit and plastic riverboard for safety and the kindness of local farmers and communities to resupply his food and water along the journey. Ray will be visiting schools and municipalities along the route to educate school learners and to create awareness of clean-up and plastics recycling events. Like so many sportspeople out there, Chaplin will be relying on plastics to practice his sport. From his riverboard to his helmet, wetsuit and fins – everything is made from plastics: Riverboard: made from LLD-PE Helmet: contains PP foam inner Fins: made from thermoplastics elastomer Wetsuit: made from neoprene When asked what some dangers he expects to encounter en route, Chaplin said extreme temperatures and chronic fatigue are his major concerns. “However, these threats are nothing in comparison to the threat our marine environment is facing due to pollution”, said Ray. “Thanks to the financial support of institutions such as Plastics|SA and Nampak Rigid Plastics, I am able to convey the message to people around the world that what we are

Plastics│SA / Nampak Rigid Plastics Orange River Project

Action man! – View from Ray’s board during one of his previous riverboarding missions

doing inland ultimately has an effect on the water sources around the country. Trash travels to the ocean by way of storm drains and waterways, ending up in our country’s rivers before making its way to the ocean. This entire fragile network is connected. Even litter that falls from our hands hundreds of kilometres away, eventually ﬁnds its way to the ocean.” Douw Steyn, director of sustainability at Plastics|SA, said Ray’s efforts and message echo the mission of Plastics|SA’s cleanup and recycle ‘berg2beach’ campaign which aims to encourage hikers, mountaineers, ﬁshermen, canoeists, kayakers and divers to ensure that our country is clean and green by showing a commitment and support of the plastics industry’s environmental initiatives.

SA’s Longest! – The Orange – or Gariep, as it’s also known – is South Africa’s longest river. Its source is in the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho and it eventually ﬂows into the Atlantic – 2300kmlater – on the opposite sides of the continent at Alexander Bay/Oranjemund

• RAY WILL BE GIVING REGULAR UPDATES ON HIS PROGRESS VIA FACEBOOK (WWW. FACEBOOK.COM/RAYCHAPLIN) AND TWITTER (@RAYCHAPLIN). www.raychaplin.com www.cleanup-SA.co.za

Douw Steyn says Ray’s efforts and message echo the mission of Plastics|SA’s cleanup and recycle ‘berg2beach’ campaign, which aims to encourage hikers, mountaineers, ﬁshermen, canoeists, kayakers and divers to ensure that our country is clean and green by showing a commitment and support of the plastics industry’s environmental initiatives. Pictured here, Ray Chaplin ﬂanked by Plastics│SA’s John Kieser and Douw Steyn

The riverboard is essentially a bodyboard for whitewater. The riverboard that Ray Chaplin will be using is made from LLD-PE and was designed and developed in South Africa by leading kayak company Fluid Kayaks, together with Charl van Rensburg. The plastic board allows for expeditions unlike older foam boards. The helmet contains a PP foam inner, the ﬁns are made from TPE materials and the wetsuit is made in Neoprene

We create chemistry that makes compost love plastic.

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www.wecreatechemistry.com

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Opportunities in global ‘mega trends’ for PVC Guest speaker at SAVA AGM outlines main advantages of vinyls THE Southern African Vinyls Association continued its programme of actively defending the PVC/vinyls sector’s market share with its choice of speaker at its AGM in February. Dr Jason Leadbitter is Sustainability & Compliance Manager at INEOS ChlorVinyls, one of Europe’s top PVC manufacturers. In his presentation, titled ‘Repositioning PVC to meet Global Mega-trends,’ Leadbitter looked at how the PVC industry “can reposition itself to become a fully attractive business?” Both threats and opportunities lie ahead, he suggested. The most obvious global mega trends include ever increasing population; greater and continued urbanization; increased environmental pressure; rising energy costs. “As global populations increase, so too will the pressure on natural resources. Meeting growing societies’ needs can be better met using resource efﬁcient materials such as PVC,” said Leadbitter. “The unprecedented period of wealth, peace and prosperity experienced during the last century set the conditions for an incredible population growth that is anticipated to grow to 9 billion by 2050. However, this growth will not be distributed evenly around the globe. Indeed here in Africa, the population is currently around 1 billion people and growing at twice the world population average. A signiﬁcant rise will also come from the BRIC countries and the rest of the world in comparison to Europe, US, Japan and Canada.

However, the advanced countries are likely to see signiﬁcant rise in ageism or population distribution.” PVC remains one of the polymers of choice in the medical sector, and with the increasing longevity, particularly in the

SAVA goes on vinyls

the association’s CEO Delanie Bezuidenhout, who has undertaken an active programme of welcoming the media to SAVA functions. SAVA is endeavouring to inform journalists about the value of PVC, or vinyls as products made from the material are widely known in the commercial area. This has become necessary as the material has been singled out for extensive criticism from, speciﬁcally, the environmental lobby. The media schmoozing kicked off with an invitation for the approximately 20 journalists present to join the SAVA CEO for champagne and snacks after the AGM,

media offensive Most of the journalists knew practically nothing about PVC MORE journalists attended the recent SAVA (Southern African Vinyls Association) AGM than at any other industry event ever before – yes, ever. Their presence at the well-attended function at the PlasticsSA auditorium in Midrand in February was at the behest of 44 APRIL / MAY 2013

Delanie Bezuidenhout, the CEO of SAVA, with guest speaker Dr Jason Leadbitter of INEOS Chlor-Vinyls of Europe. Leadbitter is sustainability & compliance manager at INEOS in England and gave a well-constructed and relevant presentation. He identiﬁed a number of ‘global megatrends’ (such as massive energy demands and population growth) and outlined how PVC was well positioned to respond to these, and hence how the PVC sector can reposition itself to become a fully attractive business

SAVA committee – The Vinyls Association’s management committee elected at the AGM includes Gary van Eyk (chairman), Maria Stephanou, George Dimond (who ‘escaped’ but has now been coerced into being a technical advisor to SAVA once more), Delanie Bezuidenhout (CEO), Andy Halls, Mark Holtes and Charl Fourie

quite possibly a never before heard of occurrence in this industry. And the press programme is surely necessary: the main observation that could be drawn was that most of the journalists knew practically nothing about PVC. Some were even unsure what PVC is or why they were invited. However, Delanie and the very patient guest speaker, Dr Jason Leadbitter of INEOS ChlorVinyls of Europe, did make progress in terms of explaining many of the advantages offered by the material, particularly in the medical, water reticulation, footwear, construction and other applications.

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

developed world countries, its use in this area is likely to grow further. Medical sector consumption of PVC remains one of the smaller volume markets for the material, however. With the growth in urbanization and insufficient arable land to support this burgeoning population, PVC pipe will continue to see good demand, he added. PVC pipe plays a key role in efficient water drainage and supply systems and results in less pipe failures. “PVC is likely to play a pivotal role in a number of telecommunication and electrical applications. What is also true is that there are likely to be significant increases in growth in those countries where the current PVC per capita consumption is relatively low, such as here in Africa as well as India and China. “PVC is the lowest consumer of energy of all commodity plastics. And it is significantly lower in a number of life cycle comparisons to a number of traditional materials such as iron, steel and aluminum. We are a progressive industry willing to invest in new efficient processes.” Emissions control The control of carbon emissions remains a

Steve van Rensburg of Alpha Plast, Rishi Madho of Sasol Polymers, Suresh Singh of Associated Additives and Dane Tallen of Chemson UK were at the function

increased energy costs associated with the concern for the PVC sector. Although there scheme. is a lack of global regulations, manufacturers “This is frustrating, despite the fact that in regions where there are clear controls – our production processes in the EU are such as in the European Union – could be one of the most penalised. For example, energy efﬁcient the introduction of Phase ‘PVC is the lowest compared to global 3 of the European Union consumer of energy of rivals. The threat Emissions Trading all commodity plastics’ has the potential Scheme, also known to promote higher as ‘Carbon Leakage,’ carbon emissions per tonne of PVC from presents European plants with a huge less efﬁcient plants such as those based on competitiveness issue. This is perhaps the the acetylene route found in China,” added greatest threat for European manufacture Leadbitter. of PVC. This is because of the potential for

No ‘Modder’ as PISA Northern golfers blaze away

Team Protea – including Bernard Tennant of Protea, Dali Mangana (DuPont) and Nigel Sand and Harry Leitch of Protea Polymers – were in the groove on the day and walked off with the trophy. Well done guys! Big hitter Dean Sinclair won the longest drive prize, presented by Horst Suete • Thanks to all the sponsors

46 APRIL / MAY 2013

The very competitive Pioneer Plastics team – comprising Jamie van Schoor of Terramin and Gary Wiid, Nick Swardt and Wayne Wiid – came in second after a late charge

Plastics Institute of Southern Africa

National Secretary David Rule p. 011 452 6940 c. 082 552 0726 e. david@plasticolors.co.za

Northern Bob Bond p. 012 799 9260 c. 083 227 0797 e. BondRJ@tut.ac.za

National Chairman Martin Wells p. 021 712 1408 c. 082 822 8115 e. martin@summitpub.co.za

KwaZulu-Natal Garth Taylor c. 084 924 4551 e. garth@pcasa.co.za

Western Cape TBA

National Vice-Chairman Alain Berichon p. 031 461 2990 c. 082 888 2429 e. alain@neupack.co.za

Vice-chairman Clement Makhoro p. 031 702 7222 e. Clement.Makhoro@ plasticssa.co.za

www.pisa.org.za

Ockie Nel of Capitol Polymers, Angelique Wilson of Scinergy Chemicals and Pierre Mans, also Capitol

Opportunities A new European study on ‘PVC Products Competitiveness’ by Althesys compares Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for PVC products and functional alternatives in some key application sectors; including pipes, windows and ﬂooring: window frames – payback period for PVC is typically half the period compared to timber or aluminum windows; PVC pipes have the lowest TCO. PE is 9% higher, ductile iron 30% higher; and PVC ﬂooring has the lowest maintenance cost and correspondingly the lowest TCO.

Mark Holtes of Isegen, Rodger Petre of Continental Compounders and Dr Claus Maurer of CBI

The key challenge that emerges from this is to ensure that these ﬁndings are communicated to all stakeholders, especially public authorities. “Key emerging market opportunities arising from these megatrends outweigh potential market threats – so we can look to the future with optimism and turn further threats into opportunities. “The industry is only is strong as its weakest link, hence we need to encourage greater global sharing of best practice and encourage a level playing ﬁeld for regulation,” concluded Leadbitter.

Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) CEO Delanie Bezuidenhout c. 082 444 6866 e. delanie@savinyls.co.za Chairman Gary van Eck p. 011 552 6200 c. 082 882 3333 e. gary@sunace.co.za www.savinyls.co.za

www.ineoschlorvinyls.com APRIL / MAY 2013 47

Suppliers of PVC, Nitrile, Halogen Free and other Quality Compounds for a cleaner brighter South Africa. Contact us: Tel: +27 31 791 0600 Fax: +27 31 791 0081 Email: info@compounders.co.za www.compounders.co.za

A member of

ASSOCIATION NEWS

IOM³ celebrates its ‘21 ’ Some serious topics discussed at ‘Beach beraad’ conference in St Francis THE Institute of Materials’ ‘came of age’ in South Africa with the presentation of its 21st National Rubber Conference in March, with the event playing out to a solid and sometimes festive audience at Cape St Francis.

rubber and tyre industry in southern Africa, Piet Swart’s talk on REDISA’s activities, Dr Dave Duncan’s outline of the education and training scenario and Dr Chris Woolard’s research into the impact of biofuels on automotive fuel systems all proving highly interesting.

Perspectives on the SA rubber and The IOM³ is the Southern African arm of tyre industry the Polymers Division of the Institute of MaThe rubber industry in South Africa is very terials, a global association headquartered closely tied to the tyre industry, as is the case in London (Metals and Ceramics are the globally, and current trends suggest that the other divisions in this trio). In South Africa, South African tyre manufacturing sector facthe Polymers Division is wholly focused es tough challenges, on rubber, rather according to keynote than on polymers ‘Rapid development of speaker Dr Abraham in general as it is consumer markets in many Brink of Karbochem. elsewhere. African countries is creating Although many will The IOM³ coma ‘natural’ market for counter that this has mittee has, incredbeen said before, ibly, been able to SA producers’ since the same four maintain the tradition tyre groups are still here and still manufacturof presenting the biennial conference since the late 1960s (a year was skipped on a few ing, but the sector is under a lot of pressure. Dr Brink has been a regular presenter at occasions). André Cornelius and the conferthe IOM³ conferences over the years, and ence team put together a comprehensive lecture programme, which was coupled with he put observations made over his whole career in the synthetic rubber sector to full some slick organisation. Activities outside effect in his presentation at St Francis. Being of the conference sessions at this ‘beach chairman of SA’s top SR supplier, Dr Brink is beraad’ (coastal version of the ‘bosberaad’) able to observe trends in the sector, and his received enthusiastic response – in fact, perspectives hence carry weight. quite a high level of interest. The two main factors at play in the loBut serious matters were at hand too, in cal tyre market are simply that, ﬁrstly, the the technical sessions, with Dr Abraham fortunes of tyre manufacturers are totally Brink’s perspective presentation on the 1. Medal man – Jim Jefferson of National Rubber/Matmin received the John Tallant Medal for 2013 at the conference. A quiet man born in England who started out as a merchant seaman, Jim became involved in the rubber industry after arriving in Durban. He worked ﬁrst for Wayne Rubber in KZN and then moved up to the Highveld to establish National Rubber in Benoni, along with Eric Gunning and other partners, in 1997. The company is involved in compounding and the production of technical rubber parts. The medal is presented to an individual who has made a notable contribution to the industry. Although Jim has not really been involved in institute organisation, he’s always there and ready to share experience and knowhow … and a joke or two. Well done to Jim.

determined by the automotive industry and, secondly, and more importantly, that the quantity of imported tyres landing in southern Africa is continuing to increase. The market is presently split almost 65:35 between locally produced tyres and imports, and one doesn’t need to be a genius to realize that a further increase in imports will be unfavourable for the local brands. And that is a very real possibility. But the backdrop to the tyre scenario, that of the global automotive industry, is in itself fascinating. Like the construction industry, the auto industry is a barometer of the global economy. The auto sector has been through a seesaw ride over the last few years, due to the global ﬁnancial crunch. The steady increase in annual volumes up to 2008 was followed by a major dip in 2009 and that in turn by an even more pronounced recovery in 2010. Global production of motor vehicles 2003

60 663 225

2,8%

2004

64 496 220

6,3%

2005

66 482 439

3,1%

2006

69 222 975

4,1%

2007

73 266 061

5,8%

2008

70 520 493

-3,7%

2009

61 791 868

-12,4%

2010

77 857 705

26,0%

2011

79 989 155

3,1%

3. Best int’l speaker … well, that’s if you can describe Hennie Strydom as an international speaker. Formerly of Carst & Walker, Hennie now works for the peroxides business of Akzo Nobel group, operating out of Dubai. He gave a presentation on ‘Enhanced scorch safety in peroxide cure’ and the fact that he spiced it with all sorts of anecdotes may have a big factor in him being declared the winner.

2. Top local speaker – Dr Abraham Brink received the award for the ‘best local presentation’ at the conference. Here we see the Karbochem chairman with his wife Annie. Dr Brink is to take up the chairmanship of the International Institute for Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP) next year; the Institute is to hold its 2015 international conference in Cape Town

4. ‘A’ team – Coen Burger and Wendy Knott-Craig handled the organisation of the conference with skill and ease. Coen endeavoured to retire a year or two back … but found the escape route cut off and is back with Orchem Trading, using his experience in the industry to good effect

In 2011, after the recovery when the industry returned to its customary rate of increase, at about 3.1%, a whopping 79.98 million vehicles were manufactured internationally. The ďŹ gure has gone through the 80 million mark since. The top vehicle manufacturers in 2011 were China (with a massive output of 18.4 million vehicles), followed by the USA (8.65 million), Japan (8.39 million), Germany (6.3 million) and then South Korea with 4.6 million. South Africa fared relatively well 571,414 vehicles produced. A more relevant stat as far as we at the tip of Africa are concerned, said Dr Brink, is that of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;light vehicle densityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a category which is led by the USA which has approximately 970 vehicles per 1000 citizens (i.e. nearly one vehicle per person). Next on this list is Australia, with slightly over 800 vehicles per 1000, which suggests that it is the second most afďŹ&#x201A;uent society in the world. Next most are Canada and Italy, who are followed by Germany, Norway, France and Finland. South Africa comes in at 33rd on the list, with just over 200 vehicles per 1000 citizens â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is slightly higher than the world average, which is about 200 vehicles per 1000 citizens. Nigeria is the only other country on the continent to make the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;top 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it has about 15 vehicles per 1000. Besides vehicle density, all the stats are led by China, however. Its production of commercial vehicles (medium and heavy vehicles) is expected to show very strong growth up to 2025 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth in this category is expected to surge ahead, from which you can deduct that anything that the Chinese have been doing over the past two decades will most probably intensify further. They are taking their industrial development extremely seriously.

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ASSOCIATION NEWS SA auto industry still robust In spite of the weak economy in the 2008-9 period, and continuing poor economic conditions since, the automotive sector in South Africa achieved increased sales – from 571,414 units in 2011 to 631,715 units in 2012. Vehicle exports were also up, from 268,461 units in 2011 to 277,893 in 2012. But imports from China into South Africa more than doubled, although from a relatively low base, from 4781 in 2011 to 10,552 in 2012. This robust performance on the part of South Africa’s automotive sector has had a positive effect on the tyre manufacturers, with the four tyre companies having a total output of 11.6 million pneumatic tyres in 2011. Imports for that year were 5.88 million, for a declared FOB of R4.96-billion. Imports hence currently constitute about 50% of the locally manufactured volumes. The local tyre manufacturers enjoy moderate ad valorem duty protection against imports. These duties scaled down signiﬁcantly over time, but have now been stabilized in terms of the ADPD

programme recently announced by the DTI. Despite these duties, many instances of suspected dumping of tyres into South Africa have occurred, but the industry has not succeeded in gaining the support of the South Africa government with regard to anti-dumping measures. Tyre import duties are in place in many countries internationally, however, ranging between 15 to 30% for passenger and truck/bus tyres. Aircraft as well as motorcycle/bicycle tyres (two vastly different categories) appear to be exempt of duties internationally, and Dr Brink conceded that he had underestimated the value of the bicycle and motor cycle tyre market particularly. In South Africa, with highly popular cycle tour events such as the Amashova in Durban, Argus in Cape Town and 94.7 in Johannesburg, the bike tyre market is showing exponential growth, plus the market is characterized by a wide preference for high-value tyre products. “High import numbers de facto implies export of employment opportunities which SA can hardly afford,” said Dr Brink.

Rubber consumption internationally is expected to continue increasing at a steady rate

The local tyre companies have fought back by increasing exports (which is probably a reality for all tyre manufacturers globally), particularly into Southern African countries. Complicated balance The choice of whether to use NR or SR is determined by the performance required from the tyre and speciﬁc preferences of tyre manufacturers, but is to some extent interchangeable in tyres (10%), in which case it becomes a cost factor. “Simplistically, the larger the tyre the more NR and the higher the speed rating, the less NR. Radialisation favours SR, and SR gives better abrasion, rolling resistance, wet grip, noise reduction,” he added. The background for both NR and SR producers is complicated. NR manufacturing countries can elect to cut down rubber plantations in an effort to push prices up, but the shortfall cannot immediately be ﬁlled by synthetic materials. By contrast, SR producers face

Natural rubber in tyre production NR usage is expected to show a massive increase in China as well as major growth in India; elsewhere, however, the rate of increase will be moderate. Although from a low base, the Africa/Middle East region is expected to show good NR consumption growth (FIGURES ARE IN ‘000S OF TONS)

Synthetic rubber in the tyre production SR consumption ﬁgures mirror those for SR, although in China’s case the percentage of NR is far higher than for SR, whereas the opposite is the case for North America/Europe/Russia

50 APRIL / MAY 2013

General rubber goods market Consumption of general rubber goods (which is less than that for the tyre market) is expected to show steady growth internationally, notably in China and India. Consumption in North America is, however, expected to start declining

ASSOCIATION NEWS shortages of feedstock, with butadiene being just one of the by products of the monomers yielded in the petrochemical process (along with benzene, ethylene, isoprene, propylene and styrene). Dr Brink suggested that butadiene availability could become the bottleneck and integrated suppliers would be in the strongest position to supply the market. He also noted that increased environmental pressures could lead to more stringent legislative regimes and demand development of newer technology for SR producers.

preparedness to invest in capacity suggests it will be able to maintain this position. “The rapid development of consumer markets in many African countries is creating a ‘natural’ market for SA producers and the SA tyre Industry should be one of the ﬁrst to

beneﬁt,” he added. With this focus on rubber and the tyre sector speciﬁcally, it was surprising that attendance by South Africa’s tyre manufacturers at the conference was so poor. South African rubber usage 2008-12 Table shows the high percentage of SR consumption – compared to NR usage – in South Africa (FIGURES ARE IN ‘000S OF TONS)

Conclusion Dr Brink said the SA tyre industry has the capacity and technology to supply the bulk of the country’s tyre needs, in terms of both the OEM and replacement markets, and its

REDISA plan The presentation by Piet Swart, the former head of manufacturing at Continental Tyre, was eagerly awaited. Here’s a man who’s putting years of experience into getting the tyre waste management plan up and running. The very formation of the REDISA plan has, however, been divisive in the industry and Piet must have been relieved that he encountered very little ﬂak on the day, although he probably would have appreciated some constructive engagement. Something has to be done about waste tyres, but what? REDISA estimates that about 10 million tyres are entering the waste stream in South Africa annually, with probably only 5% being collected and recycled, so it’s not a problem that can be wished away easily. REDISA – the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa – is a non-proﬁt company. It has appointed Volition and Business Modelling Associates (BMA) to develop and implement the

1. Presenters at the ﬁrst session included Dr Phil Bischler, senior vice-president of the IOM³ in London; Piet Swart of REDISA, the tyre recovery group, and Dr Abraham Brink of Karbochem. Here we see them with IOM³ chairman André Cornelius. Bischler is chairman of the IOM³ Young Persons World Lecture Competition; the ﬁnal of this year’s competition is to be held in Hong Kong in October www.iom3.org/content/world-lecture-competition

REDISA plan. The plan at this stage involves both tyre manufacturers and tyre importers paying R2.30 per Kg to REDISA, which would create a substantial fund – and which in fact is one of the main areas of resistance being encountered. However, the fact that tyre importers are also being called on to pay the levy should in theory keep a level playing ﬁeld. REDISA’s responsibilities are outlined as to establish a network of transporters, depots and recyclers; organise and regulate waste tyre collection and transport; establish a sustainable recycling industry; educate and support entrepreneurs; create employment in the informal and SMME sectors; drive research into ‘smarter’ recycling processes and product applications; and to manage this as a transparent and independently audited process. It needs approximately 250,000 tons/year

to develop it as a sustainable plan, said Piet. These are weighty issues, but Piet is probably one of the most suitable people in the local tyre industry for this challenging role. What has been done so far REDISA has so far developed a transporter network model; designed waste tyre depots; complied a waste tyre demographics structure; sourced various equipment for (local production); visited existing processors; and compiled a database of new processors. The selection and implementation process is expected to start soon. Training matters Dr Dave Duncan who, although retired, has through his business Pommegranite Consulting continued to develop education and training structures for the South African

2. Release agents – Ulf Czesla of Münch Chemie International GmbH gave a presentation about release agents for the rubber and tyre sector. Münch Chemie also makes release materials for numerous other industries, including the mould construction, composites, blow and injection moulding and rotational moulding sectors for the wind power, aerospace, automotive, composite and other component manufacturing sectors. Here we see Ulf with session chairman Rod Lochhead of Orion Engineered Carbons. www.muench-chemie.com

3. It never rains … inside a conference hall … or what? Aart van der Pol of VMI Holland BV wasn’t going to be taken by surprise however. Seen here with Dr Kathy Garde of Carst & Walker, VMI’s local agent, Aart gave a presentation about ‘Gear pump systems for the technical rubber industry’. Although that’s hardly a funny topic, the Dutchman was on form and had the audience in stitches. www.vmi-group.com

4. Education matters – Dr Dave Duncan (right), now retired from Beruc Equipment of Johannesburg, has been a man of leisure for some years … but has remained involved in the area of education and training for the local rubber industry, and gave a presentation on the topic. Here we see him with John Everitt of Frontier Industries, one of the sponsors of the IOM³ event

5. Team Aberdare – Des Royappen and Zak du Preez of Aberdare Cables were as usual interested in complicated compound formulae, a regular topic at the rubber conferences, although speakers seldom give away much

rubber industry, specifically for the technical moulding sector. People have for the last two decades and possibly longer been forecasting the demise of the sector … and guess what? It’s still here, and still employing a fairly significant group of people. Rubber technical products may not be fashionable, but there are few materials – if any – that can substitute rubber in their applications. Dave first provided a brief history of the sector, which surprisingly dates back to about 1921, at the time of the Institute of the Rubber Industry (IR), when – amaz-

6. Stewart Knight (right) of REP International of France gave a presentation about its injection moulding systems for ‘Bladder moulding for the rubber industry’. REP downsized during the 2008/9 ﬁnancial crunch and, according to Stewart, has emerged stronger and with improved machines building abilities since. Here we see him with John Gers of Gers Services of Pretoria, the local agent for REP. REP was co-founded by Robert Esnault Pelterie (R.E.P.), an aviation pioneer and a major theorist in the ﬁeld of astronautics, in 1907 www.repinjection.com

ingly, an estimated 5000-8000 people were employed in rubber moulding. That has scaled down and estimates now suggest about 1500 work in this area, and Dave and fellow rubber education fundi Dave Ransom are working, not just at preventing that ﬁgure from falling any further, but rather at boosting skills in rubber companies. The Rubber Industries Workers Cooperative has been set up to develop abilities of unemployed persons to participate in the rubber industry and so assist in raising skills levels. Companies can earn B-BBEE ‘scorecard’ points through the enterprise develop-

7. Richard Phillips of Cambrian ChemiTrade and MaryAnne Solomons of Orkila SA attended the event in St Francis

ment and social investment contribution. “The courses and facilities so created are available for all members of the rubber industry to facilitate the education and training of employees,” he said. The ‘Daves’ have been working with the PlasticsSA organisation in Midrand, which has facilities around the country where training can be conducted. The courses from NQF 1-4 include modules on ﬁnancial management, which is deemed a highly important skill for young employees (in order to manage their own ﬁnances). The courses involved 18 months of study and tuition and 18 months of factory expertise. APRIL / MAY 2013 53

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ASSOCIATION NEWS Impact of bio-fuels on automotive fuel systems Dr Chris Woolard has spent the last few years at the Sasol Advanced Fuels Laboratory at the University of Cape Town where he is the principal scientist, conducting research into, among other things, ‘bio’ fuels – and conference delegates were hence keen to hear about his ﬁndings. The abstract for Chris’ presentation stated that the ‘Transportation sector contributes approximately one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate this, the increased use of biofuels has been proposed. The two most common biofuels that are used are ethanol in petrol and fatty acid methyl esters (FMMEs) in diesel. Other biofuels that have been suggested are wood-derived 1-methyletrahydrofuran and ethyl levulinate. What these biofuels have in common is that they are polar oxygenates, unlike conventional petroleumderived fuels.’ For the biofuels to succeed as replacements for the fuels currently used they need to fungible (must be useable without the engine encountering any difference). Quite a number of polymers and rubber materials are used in fuels used in the combustion engine, from the hoses used at fuel stations, to tank caps and hoses and components used in the ‘under hood’ compartment. Chris’ research suggests that most of these are adversely affected by contact with the biofuels being proposed, and so he is in fact not able to recommend a biofuel that is currently suitable.

Summary Overall, the IOM³ conference attracted close to 100 delegates and good sponsorship from a number of suppliers to the industry. Several of the presentations were outstanding, although others were essentially recitations of sales brochures. Nevertheless, the social activities and evening programmes provided excellent opportunities for networking and, well, getting to see old connections. The sponsors included Bekaert, Carst & Walker, Centrotrade, Frontier Industries, Hans W Barbie, IOM³ London, Karbochem, Mitsui Chemicals, Münch Chemie, National Rubber-Matmin, Orion Engineered Carbons, Plastichem, Protea Polymers, REP International, S&N Rubber, Summit Publishing, Thread Management, VMI Holland and West African Group.

Speaker shootout! Dr Chris Woolard and Hennie Strydom both gave presentations and the ‘best local speaker’ competition could have been war !!! … except that Hennie has gone into temporary exile in Dubai and instead competed in the global category

Institute of Materials: Southern Africa Region National Chairman André Cornelius p. 071 682 9885 andrec@orchemtrading.co.za Vice-chair/KwaZulu-Natal Jaco Smith c. 082 808 4703 jaco.smith@carst.co.za Eastern Cape Coen Burger c. 082 456 6656 coenburger@axxess.co.za

Northern Spike Taylor p. 011 928 4172 c. 082 456 5734 spiket@multotec.co.za Secretary Wendy Knott-Craig p. 073 201 8699 wknottcraig@vodamail.co.za

www.iom3.org www.iom3.co.za

Rubber reclaim explained

Beach beraad! Guitarist Johan Cronje had at least one very relaxed fan at his performance at the conference ‘beach party’ … but, believe me, that was just the start of things. He seemed to have the magic touch and played, we hear, until after 3 on the Friday night, such was the enthusiasm of delegates on what will surely be regarded as an ‘away’ game

ENV&E adds value by reprocessing scrap rubber GARETH and Rosalie Ackerman of ENV & E gave an address entitled ‘Rubber Reclaim Explained’ at a meeting of the IOM³ in KZN recently. ENV & E is an innovative company which seeks to “add value in a sustainable manner … with conscience”. Its rubber crumb and reclaim is 100% metal free and REACH approved. The company is currently in the process of completing the ISO 9001:2008 accreditation process. The quality of crumb and reclaim is inﬂuenced by a number of factors, said Gareth, including metal content, particle size and type of rubber being crumbed as well as, obviously, the mixing process applied to the scrap material. Two types of reclaim are produced: butyl rubber from tubes and bladders and tread 54 APRIL / MAY 2013

Rubber reclaim explained – Des Royappen of the IOM³ with the speakers, Rosalie and Gareth Ackerman of ENV&E, with Thulani Lembede (business manager of H&R Sales, sponsor for the evening), Crighton Preez (Anchor chemicals, and IOM³ committee member), and Sue Supasar (divisional manager of H&M Rollers) at the function at the Victoria Country Club in Pietermaritzburg

reclaim, which is produced from retread buffings and tread flash. ENV & E is committed to the reduction of Industrial rubber scrap and will work with any company to produce reclaim to meet their specific needs, said Rosalie.

• THE EVENING WAS SPONSORED BY H & R SA. H & R IS A SALES AND MARKETING COMPANY DEDICATED TO THE SUPPLY OF SPECIALTY PRODUCTS ORIGINATING FROM LUBRICANT REFINERIES.

www.envande.com

PEOPLE

Rubber hose expert Dave Hunt had a joke for everyone DAVE Hunt, regarded by many as the most qualiďŹ ed man in Africa on any industrial hose manufacturing problem, passed away in February. Born in Leicester, England, in 1940, Dave gained a BSc in mathematics and chemistry at the University of Manchester. He was employed in 1960 at age 20 as an apprentice at Dunlop Polymer Engineering in Leicester and was later awarded the Licentiateship of the Institution of the Rubber Industry. In 1974 he was offered a senior position by Dunlop Industrial Products. He moved to Benoni with his wife, Lyndon, a year later and lived in the same home until his death. Dave worked for Dunlop for over 20 years in South Africa and was known in both the rubber and plastics industries for his wide expertise. Dave was also a committee member of the Institute of Materials (IOMÂł) in South Africa for many years. His main passion, however, did not involve rubber: he was a very keen philatelist, having taken up the hobby at the age of nine. He was a stalwart member of the East Rand Philatelic Society for well over 20 years and served six terms as

president as well as in numerous other positions. Among his most prized possessions was a collection of stamps from the Pitcairn Islands. The stamps from this tiny South PaciďŹ c archipelago must have been especially unique: only one of the islands, just 3.5kms wide, is inhabited. The islands are inhabited by descendants of Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them after the mutiny. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dave had a wonderful sense of humour and will be missed for his jokes.

He had a joke for everyone â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some good, some very old and some absolutely terrible,â&#x20AC;? said Dave Hunt ha d a joke for ever yone â&#x20AC;Ś his wife so bad that they me were so were funny Lyndon. Dave and Lyndon would have celebrated their 40th anniversary this year. He is survived by Lyndon and two daughters and their families.

New members for IISRP NEW afďŹ liate members were recently elected to the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP). JNC America Inc of New York, a supplier of silane coupling agents to the synthetic rubber industry (www.jncamericany.com) Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd., with headquarters in Delhi and manufacturing operations in Panipat is a joint venture of Indian Oil,

TSRC and Marubeni. The 120,000 ton ESBR plant is scheduled to come on line later this year. (www.isrl.co.in) Interpetrol S.A., based in Geneva Switzerland, is a distributor of synthetic rubber. Joss Elastomers B.V. based in Alkmaar, The Netherlands, is an agent and distributor for synthetic rubber. (www.joss.nl)

APRIL / MAY 2013 55

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New life for old tyres! Discarded tyres used to create functional, beautiful household items MARA Fleischer, artist, photographer, and product design and development specialist, has turned her hand to yet another remarkable outlet for her natural talents. And as with everything else she has a hand in creating – it is a thing of beauty AND function. Her most recent collaboration, cleverly named ReTyre, with craftsman Nelson Banderson, uses discarded car and tractor tyres to create a range of household items that are refined, strong, beautiful to look at, as well as functional. ReTyre is in the process of creating training facilities in townships to generate employment, while entrenching entrepreneurial, business and PC skills. Mara explains that ReTyre is a labourintensive process where each and every tyre is split by hand to reveal layers of malleable rubber, each with its own unique characteristics. In the separation process the thin strips of rubber fibre between each layer are also collected and used to stitch the rubber items together. Mara has experimented further with the rubber fibres, producing crocheted and knitted mats and

lampshade covers. “Each tyre holds endless possibilities for design. The end result is always dictated by the tread or from Mara directly. and shape of the tyre, and its Mara’s main Mara Fleish inky black, velvety texture. It’s a er objective now is wonderful material to work with,” to ﬁnd the start-up she adds. capital so she can begin to mechanise And if the response to ReTyre products the separation process, and thus increase at the recent Design Indaba in Cape productivity, which will allow more people Town which Mara witnessed is any to be employed by the testament, there’s a project. very receptive and keen “The end result is always Mara also consults market wanting more. dictated by the tread and to various businesses “We had such a posiwanting to use their inshape of the tyre, and tive reaction; it seems dustrial waste to create its inky black, velvety our products have functional design and huge mass texture. It’s a wonderful employment opportuniappeal. It’s material to work with. ties. across the She also works for board, various NGO’s developing production of from young kids who can’t craft projects in rural communities and believe we managed has authored and implemented training to tear apart a tyre to programmes on creativity and entrepremake a basket, to adults neurship for the Cape Craft and Design who admire the beautiful Institute. simplicity of each item,” Her fervent interest in recycling, Mara says. resourceful design and social awareness ReTyre products can has initiated several small enterprises. be bought from the ArtOne of these was a company called Vark Gallery in Kalk Bay Green Glass which used old wine bottles to create drinking glasses. This grew to international success in the UK and USA and won ‘UK Recycled Product of the Year’ at the 2001 UK National Recycling Awards.

PHOTOS: TESSA O’HARA

The end result is always dictated by the tread and shape of the tyre, and its inky black, velvety texture

The ReTyre exhibit at Design Indaba Expo 2013 drew a very positive response

maraﬂeischer@hotmail.com APRIL / MAY 2013 57

EQUIPMENT

The improved control technology is especially useful when running products with multilayered wall structures. In this 4 layer example, an inner layer of foamed material is used, where internal-mould temperature is vital. TempLogger was used with sample at left, achieving a fully expanded foam; whereas the sample at right shows inconsistent layer thicknesses and poor foam inﬂation

‘Mini’ version of TempLogger slashes weight, improves efficiency New version of TempLogger weighs 80% less ROTO Solutions has down-sized its TempLogger temperature monitoring/ control system for rotational moulding and improved performance with new Firmware and TempLogger Software. TempLogger was introduced in 2004 by Gary Lategan and his team, offering real time monitoring of temperatures for the roto process. Temperatures can be difficult to control in roto moulding, a problem which leads to both energy wastage (and hence higher costs) and reject production. The first versions of TempLogger weighed in the region of 40kgs, which meant the units were difficult to move around and mount on moulds. The new and latest version, the TempLogger mini, weighs just 7.5kgs. There is also an ‘Ultra’ version of the Mini unit, which weighs just 3.8kgs which is ideal for travel and consultants. New high-temperature battery technol-

ogy was one of the factors that made the ‘load shedding’ process feasible, but Gary and the Roto Solutions R+D team have also been able to use far smaller circuit boards. Base Station weight and size have also been massively slashed, can monitor up to six senders. The improved control technology is especially useful when products with multi layered structures are being produced. Rather than pouring in the material for the successive layers, Roto Solutions now ‘extruded’ the material into the mould using air – and it is here that the enhanced temperature control is another big advantage for the processor. • ROTO SOLUTIONS, PHONE 021 790 3362.

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The light and the heavy! – Ana Tomic and Graeme Lategan of Roto Solutions show off the new, lighter TempLogger ‘Mini’ at left, weighing just 7kgs, and an example of the original TempLogger “Standard” unit, which weighed around 32kgs

Weight slashed – The bulky original design of the Base Station system has made way for the new hand-held device, from which six senders can be monitored and controlled, making the system far more ﬂexible for rotomoulders running multi-arm machines or R&D

What’s on for roto moulders? ARMSA are currently working on an exciting brief for the Sasol Student Design Awards in conjunction with Plastics│SA with a focus on Cleanup & Recycle SA. A Rotational Moulding Training Course will be offered by Plastics│SA from 18-21 June. This NQF Level 3 course will be targeted at senior operators and supervisors. Only 16

58 APRIL / MAY 2013

learners can be accommodated so bookings will be made on a ﬁrst-come ﬁrst-serve basis. Rotation 2013 will be taking place on 4-5 September at Kloofzicht Lodge & Spa in Muldersdrift. In response to concerns raised at last year’s conference regarding cost, ARMSA are also offering an option to stay over for one night only on 4 September, the evening of the

gala dinner. ARMSA have already identiﬁed the date and venue for Rotation 2014 in Cape Town. The theme is ‘Design capital of the world – Cape Town 2014’ and will be held from 28-30 May 2014 at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town.

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High-speed robotic stacker from GN Thermoforming GN THERMOFORMING Equipment has introduced a new high-speed robotic stacker for its contact-heat, in-mould cut thermoformers. Its RSX robotic stacker delivers greater stacking ﬂexibility and faster cycles for its GN 3625DX, 3021DX and 4532D thermoformers for the production of plastic packaging. The new high-speed robotic stacker was developed in response to customer demand and was designed with their considerable input, according to Jerome Romkey, marketing manager at Nova Scotia, Canada-based GN. “The RSX robotic stacker provides superior performance at a competitive price,”

said Romkey. The new unit stacks at a faster rate than the previous model and provides A/B and A/B/C stacking capabilities. The rotating head turns products 180 degrees for de-nesting and can stack any conﬁguration that the thermoformer delivers. Another important feature is that the x/y axis is positioned in the centre of the sheet line, unlike the previous system which had it positioned to the right. This results in more robust handling and transfer of parts at high speeds. The RSX robotic stacker is commercially available and the ﬁrst unit was shipped in November. GN’s DX series thermoformers are

servo-driven machines that provide signiﬁcantly greater cutting capacity of APET sheet for food packaging applications. The GN3021DX (66 x 46cms forming area) and GN3625DX (80 x 55cms forming area) models boast a more robust design with increased production capability. • GN IS REPRESENTED IN SOUTH AFRICA BY BRE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING.

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The new GN stacker is more versatile and faster than the previous model

More than 500 Contiform Bloc systems on the market THE monobloc technology for combined production and filling of PET containers is proving an absolute winner. By the end of 2012, Krones had sold more than 500 systems featuring a Contiform Bloc and an ErgoBloc L. The first monobloc comprising a Contiform blow-moulding machine and a beverage-specific filler

was premiered in 2001. The system’s components are linked to each other in close proximity, producing a compactly dimensioned and space-saving footprint. The beverage industry was quick to recognise these advantages, and adopted this technology for handling mineral water, soft drinks, milk, beer and edible oil. Most

Assembly kit for radiators – produced and assembled by Greiner Assistec Leresti (Romania).

of the Contiform monoblocs delivered so far are operating in China. Krones premiered its first wet-end monobloc, featuring a blow-moulder, a labeller and a filler for producing and filling PET containers, as an ErgoBloc L at drinktec 2009. Since its debut, more than 40 systems of the ErgoBloc L alone have been sold, and acceptance-tested with way-aboveaverage performance levels, most of them in 2012. www.krones.com

PHOTO: GREINER PACKAGING

60 APRIL / MAY 2013

THE POLYMER SOLUTIONS COMPANY Plastamid, a member of the Chemical Services Group, has brought premier polymer solutions, extensive application development and technical service to the local and international polymer markets for over 35 years. Plastamid plays a leading role in the manufacture and supply of thermoplastic compounds to a diverse range of industries.

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Experience PR E MI E R P OL YM ER SOL UTION S w ith exten siv e A PPL I C A TION DEVEL OP M EN T and expert T E C H N IC A L SER VIC ES Visit www.plastamid.co.za for further information. 021I 914 9042 Johannesburg 922031 1600701 / Durban 3445 75 278 CPT 021Cape MEHTown MNHF JHB 011/ 922 1600 I 011 DBN 9546 I031PE762 08000

EQUIPMENT

Latest injection moulding technology from

Ferromatik Milacron FERROMATIK Milacron’s latest injection moulding technology, a hybrid F80 and an all-electric Elektron 50, will form part of the company’s exhibit at K2013 later this year.

F80 producing syringe protectors

The F80 is an all-electric, hydraulic or hybrid machine

The modular F-Series can be conﬁgured as an all-electric, hydraulic or hybrid machine. The F80 is set up as a hybrid machine: clamping and plasticizing are electrically-driven, while ejection, carriage movement and injection itself are powered by hydraulics. The machine has a clamping force of 800kN and is equipped with an Advanced Performance APh 40 injection unit, and offers 470 x 470mm tiebar spacing. It features a 64-cavity mould from Schöttli, of Switzerland, and will demonstrate the production of syringe protectors with a cycle time of 5.8 seconds. The parts have a shot weight of 41.6 grams.

One of the syringe protectors (shot weight 41.6g) manufactured in the 64-cavity mould with a cycle time of 5.8sec on the ‘hybrid’ F80 machine

The children’s building blocks, shot weight 36g, are produced in a 20-cavity mould on the Elektron 50 machine. A new biopolymer, Terez-Naturegran PV 6930, developed by Livemold (Breitungen, Germany), which uses 70% renewable corn-based material, is used

The second-generation Elektron all-electric machine – boasting a sleek new look and brand-new controls

Elektron 50 manufacturing toy building blocks using biomaterial This all-electric machine series boasts a sleek new look and brand-new controls. The Elektron 50 with 500 kN clamping force is ﬁtted with an international size 120 injection unit and will produce toy building blocks on a 20-cavity mould made by B& K Kunststoffwerke of Bonn, Germany. The shot weight of the parts is 36 grams. The parts will be made from a new biopolymer, Terez-Naturegran PV 6930, developed by Livemold (Breitungen, Germany), which uses 70% renewable corn-based material. The biomaterial is biodegradable and will decompose in nature within 10 to 15 years. It is robust, vividly coloured and meets the numerous safety requirements for children’s toys. Thanks to its many positive attributes, this material was recognized in the 2012 ‘Biowerkstoff des Jahres’ (Biomaterial of the Year) and ‘Bioplastics Award’ competitions.

FERROMATIK MILACRON IS REPRESENTED IN SOUTH AFRICA BY SES OF JOHANNESBURG.

62 APRIL / MAY 2013

www.sescc.co.za

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™

Clariant Launches ColorForward 2014

MATERIALS

8th annual colour direction guide for plastics industry CLARIANT has published its ColorForward™ colour and trend forecasting guide for 2014. Designed speciﬁcally for the plastics industry by Clariant’s ColorWorks™, ColorForward uses the language of colour to express the trends that will attract people’s attention and pave the hue palette for 2014. 2014’s colour palette is based on four societal trends expected to have a key impact in the near future: Keep It Real: People want to buy brands that are real, transparent and tangible. To stand out in the marketplace, brands have to be all about service and connecting with consumers on a more personal level. The colour palette plays off of this new form of power. One of the colours, Genuine, represents transparency and honesty. It’s grounded and a mindful colour, reminiscent of the authentic feel and taste of an olive. Re|use|full: This theme refers to a new freedom of expression in making new and purposeful accomplishments simply through the process of looking at existing materials from different angles and producing new creations. The colours are blended with robust feelings of timelessness, creating a renewed impression of longevity and permanence. There to Share: Shared thinking is a new approach to inquiry-based learning,

collaborative reﬂection and networked learning. ‘One time zone’, one of the colours in this theme, gets its deep, dark colour inspiration from the city late at night. This colour represents the night where one easily connects across time zones, as technology allows us to share effortlessly and in a fast manner. Vamos Jogar Bola: The true spirit of

Brazil is what deﬁnes this theme. Brazilians express their joy through their soccer and colourful carnival infused with heart-pounding samba music and dance. Tapirapé Splash Green, one of the colours in this category, gets its inspiration from the lush green Amazonian forests of Brazil. CLARIANT TEL: 011 796 3400

www.colorworks.clariant.com

Novel photovoltaic installation system Hardly any metal under solar cells PLASTICS processor Ensinger located in Nufringen, Germany and BASF have entered into a joint undertaking with the Goldbeck Solar company to develop a modular mounting system for ﬂat-roof solar installations in which the load-bearing elements are made of a BASF engineering plastic for the ﬁrst time. Together with Ensinger and BASF, Goldbeck Solar has developed a novel mounting structure for

64 APRIL / MAY 2013

ﬂat-roof solar installations. This lightweight mounting system consists of three plastic parts and one moulded sheet-metal part which, unlike the usual metal systems, are lightweight and weather-resistant, easy to install and secure in place and do not damage the roof membrane. Thanks to the new system, solar panels can be installed on ﬂat roofs more easily and more quickly. The material used is BASF’s Ultramid®.

The entire substructure comprising support elements made of plastic and stamped metal parts was launched onto the market by Goldbeck Solar under the brand name Sunolution. The ﬁrst project – a 300 kW system – went into operation in the Aschaffenburg (Germany) area in October of 2012. www.basf.com

www.ultramid.de

PRODUCTS

Lightest 3-litre hot-ﬁll PET bottle from Amcor 13.2% weight savings and sustainability advantages AMCOR Rigid Plastics of the USA has developed the industry’s lightest 3-litre hotﬁll PET bottle, establishing a new standard for the size category. The unique stock container for juices and teas delivers major sustainability advantages by utilizing novel design, tooling and process technologies to slash 9 grams, or 13.2%, from the typical 68g PET bottle. Amcor’s Innovation Group, consisting of a cross-functional design team

of 20-year packaging veterans, developed patent-pending Powerblock 3.0 technology to provide a lightweight and strong hot-fill stock PET bottle with superior filling and stacking performance. The hot fill container also boasts a 38mm lightweight finish which saves considerable material compared to the standard 43mm finish for 68g PET bottles. www.amcor.com

Dosing liquids with ease Bark Innovations, Greiner Packaging centralise innovative forces, create modernized liquid packaging

Making the precise dosing of liquid portions as easy as pie: Bark Innovations’ dosing system in bottles made by Greiner Packaging International. (PHOTO: BARK INNOVATIONS BV)

THE new Bark dosing system integrated into bottles made by Greiner Packaging International simpliﬁes the dosing of liquids. This innovative packaging solution is produced at our Rastatt facility in Germany for the Belgian, German and Dutch markets. Dutch company Bark has incorporated the theme of innovation in its company designation, and for packaging specialist, Greiner Packaging International, innovation has always been the central driving force toward success. Together, both companies contribute their strengths into a new packaging solution ideally suited for liquid substances that need to be precisely measured. The end result is that bottling companies across a variety of sectors will beneﬁt. The Bark dosing chamber is incorporated into the bottle itself and requires no outside mechanical force such as squeezing or similar handling. It is invisible to the user and works from within the container. To de-

termine the ideal quantity of liquid needed, the user just turns the bottle upside down. When the container is then returned rightside up, the cover can be removed to easily pour out the proper amount of liquid. This dual-chamber design allows for the exact portioning of various dosing quantities using a single container. Greiner Packaging International produces the dual-chamber bottles for the Bark dosing system at its German location in Rastatt. At present, three volumes are manufactured holding 250ml, 500ml, and 1000ml. For decoration, the extrusion-blow moulded HDPE bottles use labels. Customers are offered a great amount of creative leeway with regards to colour, shape and design.

www.greiner-gpi.com www.bark-innovations.com

Multi-property compound solves impact challenge WHEN the makers of SmartPlug, a revolutionary shore power system for the marine industry, wanted to expand their product line to include a 50 amp version of their popular 30 amp SmartPlug power system, they needed to ﬁnd a new thermoplastic material solution that would provide the necessary ﬂame retardancy and impact resistance required for a larger, heavier 50 amp design. They worked with custom compounder RTP Company

66 APRIL / MAY 2013

who engineered a material solution that met the electrical connectors requirements and regulatory approvals. “In almost every case, the reason a boat is destroyed is the poor design of the shore power inlet on the boat,” said Matt Smith, vice president of manufacturing for SmartPlug Systems. His father, a lifelong sailor with experience in rebuilding ﬁre-damaged boats, knew he could invent a better solution and

proceeded to create the SmartPlug power system that minimizes the tendencies toward loose electrical connections, corrosion, overheating and other problems inherent in other connector designs. “We knew that in order to expand our line to a larger, heavier 50 amp version, we would need to ﬁnd a better material solution,” said Smith. The company’s injection moulder recommended custom compounder RTP

Keeping greenhouses green A GREENHOUSE hose is a critical and problematic element for the agricultural industry in the Netherlands. Trelleborg helped to develop a ﬂexible hose solution that answered the challenge. The main Dutch system of greenhouse heating uses an overhead suspended hot water steel pipe network interconnected with ﬂexible hoses that can be raised or lowered to make room for equipment and machinery used inside the greenhouses and to deliver heat to the optimum position of growth for a plant. In the 1980s the hoses used in these systems were constantly giving growers problems, one of the most serious being the release of toxic gases from the hose material that could kill crops. In response to this problem Trelleborg developed a dedicated hose, Kledam, which has become the de facto standard. Trelleborg worked in collaboration with

Dutch greenhouse builders and installers, with substantial input from heating technicians and agricultural engineers, to produce a hose that has exceptional resistance to wearing, aging and weathering. It’s ﬂexible and remarkably reliable, with zero emissions of toxic gases. Each year the Kledam hose undergoes and passes rigorous testing by the Wageningen University Research Centre, the most authoritative agrifood and nutrition research facility in Europe. It’s a testimony to Trelleborg’s commitment to solutions of the highest quality. The hose is made of a special EPDM compound developed by Trelleborg for the inner tube, reinforced with synthetic textile material. It’s able to withstand temperature ranges of –30° C to +95° C. It has rope-like ﬂexibility, the strength of steel, does not leak, and despite wide variations in environmental conditions is very durable. www.trelleborg.com

The Kledam hose uses special EPDM material and synthetic yarn reinforcement and is approved by the Wageningen University Research Unit for use in greenhouse heating systems.

A new face on cosmetics packaging SABIC offers broad resin portfolio, pioneering colour services and support PACKAGING requirements of the personal care industry are complex, ranging from regulatory compliance to extended product shelf life and from mechanical performance to aesthetics. SABIC’s portfolio brings unmatched choice and the latest material technologies to customers. Not only is SABIC the sole supplier to offer both polyoleﬁns and engineering thermoplastics in one portfolio, but also adds value through its colour services, technical expertise and global presence. SABIC materials solutions can address the full range of cosmetic packaging needs, including bottles, jars, tubes, caps and closures, dispensing systems, airless covers and packaging for lipstick, mascara, foundation and powder.

Company RTP Company produced an RTP 2000 Series custom PC/PBT (polycarbonate/polybutylene terephthalate) alloy that incorporated glass fibre reinforcement along with a flame retardant to meet the UL94 V-0 flame rating and a UV stabilizer to achieve a UL746C f1 outdoor suitability rating.

Customers in the tube market are offered a full range of PE and PP grades for the body, shoulder and caps of tubes. For example, SABIC® HDPE F4520 for monolayer tubes, co-extrusions and laminates provides high consistency to ensure optimum results from decoration and printing. Companies that design and manufacture bottles may beneﬁt from SABIC’s HDPE and PP for blowmoulding. The company’s latest innovation, SABIC® PP QRYSTAL QR681K copolymer delivers good transparency and mechanical properties at lower processing temperatures that can save energy and accelerate cycle times. Whether the customer requirement is good organoleptics, environmental stress cracking resistance or low-stress whitening,

SABIC® PP and PE grades deliver top performance for caps, closures and dispensing systems. www.sabic-ip.com

SABIC offers a complete portfolio of cosmetics packaging materials for various applications

The 50 amp SmartPlug system manufactured using an RTP 2000 Series custom PC/ PBT (polycarbonate/ polybutylene terephthalate) alloy that incorporates glass ﬁbre reinforcement along with a ﬂame retardant

www.smartplug.com www.rtpcompany.com

APRIL / MAY 2013 67

MATERIALS

New PC grades for furniture are clear winners Bayer MaterialScience fulﬁlls the wish of modern designers TRANSPARENT furniture is trendy because it is aesthetic and provides for a new visual lightness. There is increasing demand from the furniture industry for transparent materials that are ﬂame-retardant and, depending on the thickness of the material, can satisfy the requirements of the standards DIN 4102 Class B and UNI 9177 Class 1, particularly for use in public buildings. Bayer MaterialScience has developed and launched two new products based on polycarbonate that meet these requirements.

Makrolon® FU1007 (the abbreviation FU stands for furniture) is easy flowing and thus also suitable for more customized designs; Makrolon® FU4007 was formulated specifically for higher mechanical loads. Both grades include UV protection and are easy to process and colour. “We developed both products at the request of furniture manufacturers with particular requirements for flame retardance due to use in public buildings,” says Matthias Rothe of Bayer MaterialScience in Leverkusen, Germany. “This makes us the only supplier in this high-end market and rounds out our previous range of transparent plastics

for the furniture industry.” Upon request, the company also supports customers with the design and trial production for such furniture applications.

By using special grades of the polycarbonate Makrolon® from Bayer MaterialScience, transparent furniture parts like this barstool can be manufactured in a single production step

Barstools like this one successfully combine comfort and elegance

www.bayermatieralscience.com

New generation of PVC plasticizers Evonik expands portfolio to include phthalate-free products EVONIK plans to launch a new generation of PVC plasticizers. Alongside the strategic portfolio expansion, the company will also develop a new brand of products. With this expansion of its product lines, Evonik is broadening its range of sustainable plasticizers. Production of the phthalate-free plasticizer 1,2-Cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester is slated to begin in the second half of 2013. An annual 40,000 68 APRIL / MAY 2013

tons will be produced in Marl. Evonik began building the production facilities at the Marl Chemical Park last year. Total investment in the project is in the double-digit million Euro range. Consistent research will successively add additional innovative products to the new generation of plasticizers. These plans include the launch of bio-based plasticizers. “By expanding our portfolio to include phthalate-free plasticizers, we’re ideally

supplementing our existing and proven VESTINOL® product family,” explains Dr. Rainer Fretzen, head of Evonik’s Performance Intermediates Business Line. “With our new plasticizers, our customers will soon be able to choose the plasticizers that meet their exact requirements from an even wider range of products.” Evonik’s plasticizers are primarily used in the plastics industry, as well as in the automotive and construction industries.

Specialists in Sales, Service & Repairs of a Diverse Range of Injection & Blow Moulding Machines & Auxiliaries

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ON THE MOVE Ray Crewe-Brown retires from Mpact RAY Crewe-Brown has retired from Mpact group, where he was CEO of the plastics business. He had Rayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;Ś previously retired from observations Astrapak, the group would be worthy he founded, but joined of a book Mpact in 2009, about six months after leaving Astra. Ray had returned to help JSE-listed Mpact guide its plastics business, which was created following paper group Mondiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purchases of the former Lenco group plastics operation for R750-million and what was Linpac Materials Handling (in Atlantis, Western Cape) in 2007. The business included mainly blow and injection moulding companies around the country, and Mpact needed someone with experience to forge these spread out companies into a cohesive entity. Possibly the most notable achievement during Rayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tenure was the purchase of RA Plastics of Blackheath near Cape Town, which marked Mpactâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entry to the thermoforming business, a sector where Astrapak group had become a national

leader. Overall, the similarities between the structures of Mpact and Astrapak, with both operating outstanding manufacturing units in similar market sectors, are overwhelming â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with both having to juggle difďŹ cult investor and shareholder demands, mainly resulting from costs of purchases. Rayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experiences at the respective groups would probably yield a good book, and perhaps heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll throw light on that now? It would certainly make for interesting reading for many in the industry, and perhaps weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d all learn more from it!

Jim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill retires â&#x20AC;Ś or has he? JIM Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;NEILL, the man who made it his neverending quest to know everything that could possibly be known about the manufacture Jim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill â&#x20AC;Ś of plastic bottles, has has actually ofďŹ cially retired. Well, vacated his nearly: he ďŹ rst retired ofďŹ ce at Nampak from Nampak Liquid Liquid in Cape Town in 2011, but the group wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let him go and retained his services for a further two years as a consultant. That period ended last

year and Jim did then actually vacate his ofďŹ ce at the Epping factory. Since then, however, his services have been procured by Nampak Zimbabwe and he has been assisting the production team in Harare of late. Jim is regarded as world-class authority on all aspects of the manufacture of plastic bottles, including the several different processes and materials employed, both upstream and downstream components involved as well as the skills required to do this job properly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; i.e. to produce a better bottle and faster. Charles Muller has left Astrapak group, where he had been group marketing director for some years. He is taking a break for a while before deciding what to do, but conďŹ rms he will be remaining in the industry. Derek Cranston has left Technovaa Packaging Industries in Durban and returned to the United Kingdom. He is however to remain with the Technovaa group, which has its head ofďŹ ce in Dubai, and be involved with its activities in Europe. Derek had been in South Africa for 18 years, mainly with the Astrapak company Tristar Packaging in Johannesburg, before managing the start-up for the Technovaa ďŹ lms manufacturing business in Escom Road, Pinetown.

70 APRIL / MAY 2013

OBITUARY

Farewell Gary Warren CPE

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SANGIO Pipe MD, Gary Warren, died in March after taking part in the Argus Cycle Tour, an event he had previously completed a remarkable 12 times. Born in 1959, he was a keen sportsman with some 11 Duzi Canoe marathons and 12 Argus Cycles Tours under his belt. He also loved ďŹ&#x201A;ying and ďŹ shing, but his passion was sailing and he regularly captained his catamaran â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Gazzaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in many a race. Gary entered the plastics industry in 1993 and three years later opened Sangio Pipe with the support of his great friend Gabriel. Together they built Sangio Pipe from extremely humble beginnings to the largest polyoleďŹ n pipe manufacturer in South Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gary was larger than life. He lived his dreams. Even though he was taken from us early, he lived a fuller life than most,â&#x20AC;? said Mike Swanson, long-time friend. Gary in the Sangio factory in Cato Ridge, KZN, at the time of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move to the larger (5000mÂ˛) premises in 2007

tery case manufacturing business in Port Elizabeth, Willy now operates between the two cities.

New members on Plastomark board

Willy Nelson … started own company OA Agencies

Garth Maccallum has joined Mould Base SA, Dave Moore’s company, in Durban. Garth has been involved with injection moulding for many years and is well-known and liked in the industry. He will be concentrating on KZN and Eastern and Western Cape customers initially. If you have any mould base requirements please contact him on 074 589 3357 or sales@mouldbasesa.co.za.

Garth Maccallum … joined Mould Base SA

Brian Fetting has left Karob Manufacturing in Stormill, the blow moulding business (containers up to 25 litres) which he co-founded with Patrick McIwane in 2005.

With his ﬁve-year restraint of trade over, seemingly more rapidly than expected, Jack Doherty of West African Ventures fame is back. Now a septuagenarian, and hale and hearty at that, Jack has rented an ofﬁce in Ballito on the KZN North Coast and is looking at a few things to help him pass the time! (The restraint of trade followed the purchase of West African group by Metmar Trading in 2008.) Carolyn Kellock is the new regional

Carolyn Kellock … joined Milliken

Michael Boltau of Lomotek in Midrand has resigned and left the industry and switched to the construction sector.

Paul Rogers has left Harveys Composites in Jet Park and moved into the security industry.

PEOPLE

Warren Grey and Greta Croll have been appointed directors of Plastomark and, as of March, joined the material supply business’s board. Warren joined Plastomark in 2000 as a sales representative, involved Warren Gray … joined distribution for then Dow, Plastomark now Safripol, as a sales board representative. In 2003 he was promoted to national sales manager. Warren began his career in the industry as a trainee sales representative with Bayer’s chemicals division. After ﬁve years he resigned and joined Greta Croll Plasgroup (which has … joined since closed down), a Plastomark convertor/manufacturer board of packaging products, where he spent a further six years before joining Plastomark. Greta began her career in the plastics industry in 2004 when she joined Plastomark as a PA. Within two years she was promoted to logistics manager, a position she holds today. Willy Nelson has started his own company, OA Agencies, specializing in ultrasonic welding. Willy represents RTUL of India, a leading manufacturer of ultrasonic welding equipment. Formerly with Hestico in Cape Town and prior to that in the bat-

manager for PP clariﬁcation specialist Milliken. She is the company’s new territory manager for plastic additives. Milliken is an American group operating internationally.

Surprise on island Brian Beckwith, formerly of Mattman/ National Rubber, who relocated to the idyllic Langkawi island off the northwest coast of Malaysia in 2011, had an unexpected surprise recently when thieves cleaned out his house. After 40 years in the SA rubber industry, Brian and his wife visited Malaysia on a few occasions and fell in love with the place, and then settled there.

Gone to Oz Rob Wainwright has left material supply company MBT and emigrated to Australia. His daughter and her family had settled in Brisbane earlier and he wanted to join his family there. He has been replaced at MBT by a young Portuguese-speaking salesman. APRIL / MAY 2013 71

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Lightweight project

MATERIALS

goes on the offensive THE Georg Kaufmann Tech-Center AG (GK-Tech-Center), Busslingen/CH has launched the LIPA project to develop fibre reinforced lightweight components with a thermoplastic matrix to series production readiness. LIPA (Lightweight Integrated Process Application) will develop and validate the manufacturing process for large-scale production by focusing on structural components and process control. Of importance is the integration of the different sub-processes as well as full process control and monitoring. In order to provide the general framework for basic analyses, test series and component development, GK-Tech-Center AG has joined forces with its cooperation partners and has constructed a specially designed flexible manufacturing cell in Busslingen. Partners include ASE Industrieautomation GmbH in Näfels, Kistler Instrumente AG in Winterthur, Krelus AG in Oberentfelden, as well as Quadrant Plastic Composites AG in Lenzburg. In addition to an injection moulding machine with larger mounting plates (1920 x 1980 mm) and a clamp force of 4.200kN, its core equipment comprises an infrared heating station (heater 1500 x 1250 mm) as well as a 6-axis robot with a carrying weight capacity of 90kg. Depending on the respective development project, the manufacturing cell can be modified and expanded as needed, for example by means of a component-specific gripper system. The equipment includes extensive sensor technology to keep track of all relevant process parameters. The reason for setting up an independent lightweight construction development

LIPA-Projekt GK Tool: To further develop the method of combined forming and back injecting of organic sheets for the production of ﬁbre reinforced lightweight components with a thermoplastic matrix, the LIPA project partners have developed a specially designed ﬂexible manufacturing cell. (Picture: Georg Kaufmann Tech-Center, Busslingen/CH)

centre is the growing demand for highly stressable lightweight components with a thermoplastic matrix. The potential application range is diverse, especially from the automobile and aerospace industries. The production sequence involves placing and accurately ﬁxing the preheated, soft and unstable mats or organic sheets into the tool. Once the reshaping process begins it is important that the hot organic sheet reshapes without being damaged. After the reshaping a regular injection process begins for integrating functional and

Revolutionary design LEHMANN & Voss & Co., well-known as a manufacturer of tailor-made high-performance compounds, launched a new TPU-based powder material in September. Desmosint® X92A-1 processed by means of selective laser sintering (SLS) is now giving rise to revolutionary objects. At this year’s Paris Fashion Week, for example, the Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen presented a groundbreaking new dress as part of her new collection. It was ‘printed’ by Materialise from Belgium in one piece, layer by layer, from Desmosint X92A-1. www.lehvoss.de

72 APRIL / MAY 2013

stiffening elements into the organic sheet. What has been problematic so far, however, is that the process is not suitable for high-volume-compatible production. In the combined process of reshaping and injection moulding, each step – heating, handling, reshaping, injecting – must be perfectly co-ordinated, with the tool as well as the handling system playing a key role. www.gktool.ch www.lipa-series.com

liam.chegwidden@polysaf.com and alan.wassung@polysaf.com (Cape Town) (Cape Town) www.exxonmobilchemical.com liam.chegwidden@polysaf.com, kelly.dewet@polysaf.com and alan.wassung@polysaf.com

The moton-colortronic electro-polished stainless steel housed Ultrablend 95 systems are used for gravimetric dosing and mixing of four granular plastic components: PE, PP & POM as virgin materials and regrind, plus masterbatches

More than 50 Motan’s at Aero Pump Now more than 50 motan-colortronic dosing and mixing systems at Aero Pump OCTOBER saw another line of Ultrablend 95 batch dosing and mixing systems installed at the headquarters of Aero Pump GmbH, in Hochheim in the German state of Hesse. This puts the number of high precision gravimetric units at more than 50 systems and completes the refurbishment of the raw materials handling for the injection moulding machines at the Aero Pump manufacturing facilities. Aero Pump – a successful familyowned company founded in 1976 - is one of the leading international producers of pharmaceutical application systems. “Our company’s history began with one innovative product. We developed our ﬁrst pump

system without propellant gas in 1976”, company founder Egon Schwab explains. Annually, the company supplies more than 140 million dosing and atomiser spray pumps for nasal, throat and ear sprays, as well as eye-drop dispensers worldwide. The electro-polished stainless steel housed Ultrablend 95 systems are used for gravimetric dosing and mixing of four granular plastic components: PE, PP & POM as virgin materials and regrind, plus masterbatches. They are particularly suited for applications involving frequent changes of material. The dosing slide gate and hopper form one unit, so that no material can be spilled when dismantling the equipment.

As the mixing chamber is hemispherical, it does not give rise to dead mixing zones. Maximum throughput performance with two components amounts to 260 kg per hour. In terms of dosing precision, the units run within extremely tight tolerance bands – this high accuracy is an essential feature for pharmaceutical primary packaging. PLASQUIP IS THE AGENT FOR MOTAN IN SA www.aeropump.de www.motan-colortronic.de

74 APRIL / MAY 2013

#/34 #/-0%4)4)6% /. ',/"!, 3#!,% s 0RESS TOOLS s #OMPONENT PRODUCTION SUPPLY s $EEP DRAWING TOOLS s 4HIN WALL HIGH PRECISION THROUGH HARDENED MOULDS s 3ILICONE MOULDS

#/.4!#4 53 #HINA -OBILE 0086 151 685 69018 -OBILE +27 (0)82 821 4775 %MAIL brian.miraclemould@gmail.com

Ultrasonic sealing technology for ďŹ&#x201A;exible packaging New FPA series pouch sealing systems deliver major improvements over competing ultrasonics and heat sealing a range of branding options to differentiate their products. The new ultrasonic ďŹ lm sealing system produces seals with greater surface area than competitive ultrasonic systems and provides the widest processing window of any ultrasonic sealing system currently on the market. Seals anywhere from 2mm to 25mm are now possible compared to 1 to 2mm previously. With the interlocking design and robust equipment, Rinco can offer wider ultrasonic seals which are more preferable by end users, without the need for follow-up heat sealing, thus saving time

and cost. The patented ultrasonic seal technology also delivers an increase in bond strength over conventional ultrasonics. Depending upon the ďŹ lm used, Rinco has determined that its interlocking pattern can provide a 20% stronger bond than conventional ultrasonic seals. HESTICO IS THE AGENT FOR RINCO ULTRASONICS IN SA www.rinco-usa.com

Rinco Ultrasonics, ultrasonic sealing breakthrough

APRIL / MAY 2013 75

%80%2)%.#% s &,%8)"),)49 s 30%%$ s !UTOMOTIVE MOULDS s -EDICAL COMPONENT MOULDS s YEARS EXPERIENCE s )3/ CERTIl ED TOOL ROOM s (OUSEWARE MOULDS s 0 % 4 PREFORM MOULDS BLOW MOULDS s )3/ CERTIl ED INJECTION MOULDING AND TESTING FACILITY s /PTIMISED FAST CYCLING MOULDS s #OST EFFECTIVE s 2APID PROTOTYPING AND #.# PROTOTYPE MANUFACTURE s &INITE ELEMENT STUDIES UNDERTAKEN

350%2 15!,) )/2 49

EQUIPMENT

RINCO Ultrasonics, a leading manufacturer of ultrasonic welding equipment, has unveiled breakthrough technology for ultrasonic ďŹ lm sealing of ďŹ&#x201A;exible packaging for dry and liquid foods, personal care items, and electronics. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new FPA series ultrasonic pouch sealing systems elevate ultrasonic welding to a new performance level, enabling users to increase seal strength, improve aesthetics, and broaden the processing window versus competitive ultrasonic sealing and heat sealing processes. The FPA-4500 was designed speciďŹ cally for sealing pouches with up to four and a half square inches of seal area while the FPA-4500S was created for use in duplex and triplex applications where a narrow proďŹ le is required. Rincoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire FPA series of ultrasonic sealing systems have been designed to replace existing heat sealing equipment on liquid ďŹ lled pouch form-ďŹ llseal (FFS) machinery or pre-made pouch systems. The novel systems incorporate Rincoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patented PPS0145 seal technology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; each FPA system features a highly rigid actuator capable of rapidly generating the clamp forces required to seal pouches with minimal cycle time. Rincoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique PPS0145 interlocking ďŹ lm sealing technology permits seal patterns with greater surface area than competitive ultrasonic seals. In addition, it allows production of contour-shaped seals, unlike the straight line seals offered by competitive ultrasonic equipment. These seals can take almost any conďŹ guration, offering end users

Even more efﬁciency! New Plexiglas moulding compounds and LEDs

MATERIALS

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are indispensable for modern lighting design. Two new Plexiglas® moulding compound grades now enable lighting manufacturers and designers to use energy-saving LEDs to even better advantage. Very good light diffusion for edge-lit elements Highly transparent moulded and extruded parts that enable light to be simultaneously fed in via the edges and evenly emitted across their entire surface are no longer a contradiction in terms. The extremely efficient formulation of the new Plexiglas moulding compounds from the Plexiglas LED product family makes it possible to combine these two properties. Previously, products offering good light diffusion were also less transparent. Not so with the new product that has been specially developed for LED edge lighting systems and appears crystal-clear when unlit. The combination of transparency and the play of different colours allows designers to create specific moods, whether for ambient lighting of furniture and in vehicles, or for displays, control systems, circuit elements or industrial lighting. The new Plexiglas LED moulding compound is available in four grades that allow illumination of the entire component surface up to an area of 96cm with homogenous light output. The material is suitable for all thermoplastic processing methods. Plexiglas LED moulding compounds have been developed in two new specialty colours for extremely flat lighting installations with direct LED lighting. The light-diffusing moulding compounds transmit over 60% of light and prevent fluctuations in luminance, even at extremely low wall thicknesses. This offers entirely new creative scope to designers who can now place LEDS very close to light covers, without visible hot spots. • AVAILABLE FROM PLASTICHEM IN SOUTH AFRICA

www.evonik.com

www.plastichem.co.za

Plastic engine support THE world’s first plastic engine support being used by Daimler is not only 30% lighter and considerably quieter than its aluminum predecessor: It has a beneficial effect on the service life of the engine mounts. The part is used in the new Mercedes GL Class from Daimler and is moulded from the polyamide specialty Ultramid® A3WG10 CR from BASF. During the joint development, the Ultrasim® simulation tool and the design know-how of BASF plastics experts played an important role. The torque supports that are already used by various automakers in versions of Ultramid transmit only the tilting moment of the engine. In contrast, engine supports are subject to a permanent load – the engine’s weight – while absorbing in addition the entire engine torque. Furthermore, depending on the installation conditions in the engine compartment, the plastic engine support must also withstand high bending moments. The good acoustic characteristics are the primary benefit of the Ultramid engine support over its aluminum counterpart. Thanks to the damping behaviour specific to plastic, the new engine support contributes to a more balanced sound. (PHOTO: BASF SE)

www.ultramid.de

76 APRIL / MAY 2013

Comparison of different materials with LED backlighting, from left bottom to right top: new PLEXIGLAS® LED moulding compounds: no hotspots, good light scattering; inorganic white colouring: many hotspots, light scattering; diffuser materials: many hotspots, less light scattering (PHOTO: EVONIK INDUSTRIES)

EQUIPMENT

Increase productivity by

reducing machine down time Filter out impurities before molten material exits the nozzle and enters your expensive hot runner system ONE of the most frustrating and unnecessary forms of downtime occurs when melt contaminated by metallic, inorganic particles and/or foreign plastic, etc, causes blockages in your hot runner system. This can lead to time consuming and costly situations that require removal of the machine nozzle or, in extreme cases, the complete disassembly of a hot runner system, to clean out a blockage. These blockages can be easily avoided by making use of a simple device known as a Ring Gap Filter Nozzle. Intended for injection moulding machines, Ring Gap Filter Nozzles do exactly as the name implies: they ﬁlter out impurities before molten material exits the nozzle and enters your expensive hot runner system. Once entering the Ring Gap Filter Nozzle, molten material ﬂows over a series of channels which serve to trap the foreign contaminants. The design offers the following decisive advantages:

Gentle filtration of the melt Easy cleaning Low pressure loss Large total flow area The filter element and nozzle tip are replaceable The nozzles are available in four sizes with flow channel diameters of 5, 6, 10 and 14mm. In choosing the correct gap size it is important to consider the nozzle/hot runner gate size in the mould, as well as the product shot weight. There are tables available to guide you in making these decisions. A sure sign that the filter is working is an increase in the machine injection pressure during moulding. In this case the filter needs to be cleaned. Should you find that the gap you have chosen is smaller than necessary, this can be increased by removing the inner filter, and using a cylindrical grinder to adjust the gap size as

required. For many types of plastics the ﬁlter also has a positive after-mixing-effect. • FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE RING GAP FILTER NOZZLES AS WELL AS MOULD FILTERS, PLEASE CONTACT MOULD & DIE SOLUTIONS, ON 021 555 2702

www.m-d-s.co.za

A Ring Gap Filter Nozzle ﬁlters out impurities before molten material exits the nozzle and enters your expensive hot runner system

The operating principle of Ring Gap Filters:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 78 APRIL / MAY 2013

Contaminated melt enters the gap filter housing from the machine barrel. Inflow openings guide the melt into the inflow channels. Filter element inflow channels. Melt transition passes over the support ribs... ... into the melt filter element outflow channels. Filtration takes place in the gap between the support ribs and the inner wall of the Nozzle housing. The filtered melt leaves the filter element through openings in the outflow channels and enters the mould and / or hot runner system. Outflow opening on the mould side. Outflow channels leading to the outflow opening.

Intelligent Hydraulic Cylinders

The "Intelligent" choice of Hydraulic Cylinder Cost Effective Solutions for Plastic Injection and Die Casting Moulds Tie-Rod Cylinders: - Most versatile cylinder for long strokes - Offering a wide range of dimensions - Various mounting styles - Magnetic switches optional - Cushioning available

Mono loc Cylinders: - Extremely compact cylinders for s ort or longer stro es - Various models available from lig t and versatile to strong and relia le - Optional manifold oil delivery - Magnetic switc es optional (on some models) - arious clamping styles

Integrated Cylinders: - The ultimate in compact design - Build the cylinder chamber inside your mould - Extremely sturdy componets - Ideal for Die Casting moulds.

Mould & Die Solutions Tel: 021 555 2701 Fax: 021 555 2707 EMail: info@m-d-s.co.za

www.m-d-s.co.za

USEFUL INFO ON THE INTERNET

Ferromatik Milacron’s new face on the web INJECTION moulding machine manufacturer Ferromatik Milacron has a new face on the web with easy navigation right at hand. The content is organized into six sections with no page further than two clicks away from there. A ‘You Are Here’ indicator provides easy orientation in every part of the site. Page content is placed on large changing backdrop images, which shows many members of the Ferromatik staff. “The photos of our colleagues make the site more personal and capture something of the qualities of this company,” said Gerold Schley, managing director of Ferromatik Milacron and vice president Milacron China. The red ﬁn motif, a distinctive design element from the new modular F-Series, provides obvious, but unobtrusive brand recognition. The machines of the modular F-Series, the hydraulic MAXIMA, and the all-electric

ELEKTRON series, are presented a new, more interactive way. At ﬁrst the machines are displayed fully clad. With successive clicks the visitor travels into the interior of the machines. Flashing hotspots indicate feature highlights. Clicking on a hotspot opens up images of machine details. In other sections of the site, visitors can learn more about the following: Application Engineering: detailed information about the technologies, relevant industries, and training offerings from Ferromatik Milacron. Customer Service: how to get help fast and information about retroﬁts and preventative maintenance. Ferromatik: the company pages list worldwide locations, current press information, and job openings. Download: visitors can download bro-

chures and product information, or view demonstration videos. Contact: quickly ﬁnd the right place to bring different issues or questions. www.ferromatik.com

Portal allows PCC colour customers to reduce time to market Phase II of Plastics Color Corp’s Isaac™ web portal PCC (Plastics Color Corporation) of California, a leading supplier of colour concentrates, compounds and additive masterbatches for the plastics industry, has launched Phase II of isaac™, a web portal and standalone application that connects customers to a broad range of useful business information and resources and allows PCC customers to drastically reduce time to market by streamlining the colour design and development process. Phase I of isaac was launched last April at NPE in Orlando. Phase II was demonstrated for the ﬁrst time at PLASTEC West, a plastics industry tradeshow held in Anaheim, California, in February. Isaac runs on any operating system including: iOS (iPhone®, iPad®) and Android® systems for tablets as well as PC and Mac. Isaac is a value-added service for PCC customers that allows them to select from a palette of pre-approved colours and send samples

electronically, design a product in real-time and share colour ‘story-boards’ with others in their organisation. It also allows for access to a broad range of information related to all aspects of the customer/vendor relationship including data services, test-results, orders status, regulatory documents, as well as a myriad of additional information relevant to its customers. New capabilities include: 3D modeling of user-selectable colours onto an object; Ability to change lighting types when viewing the object; 360-degree rotation of the object; Colour capturing via the tablet’s rearfacing camera; Export of an image to the user’s photo gallery and printing from the gallery. “In building the second generation of isaac we asked our customers what was important to them and what features they wanted to see included. This phase is simply another step in what we see as an ongoing way to help our customers and provide value-added services,” said Timothy Workman, business development director at PCC. Enhanced visualizer on the new PPC portal supports enhanced colour design and development

www.plasticscolor.com 80 APRIL / MAY 2013

EXTENDED WEBSITE FOR SONGWON AS PART of Songwon‘s commitment to provide customers with excellent service across the globe, the company has launched its completely new and significantly extended website. Customers will now benefit from easy access to comprehensive product data which is presented in a format that is easily understood. The new website is a result of the company’s decision to develop a consolidated market approach for all Songwon Industrial Group entities in all regions. Maurizio Butti, Songwon’s chief operating officer said: “The most critical driver of sustainable growth is an expanding base of engaged customers. True customer engagement can only be created when the customers experience meets or exceeds our promise. The new Songwon company structure and website are the result of a consolidated approach and reflect our commitment to deliver a total package of products and services second to none.” www.songwon.com

A NEW Davis-Standard cast film line is supporting increased production of disposable films for Cepalgo Films of Aparecida de Goiania, Goiás, Brazil. The new machine is capable of producing dry and wet embossed films as well as PE-coating nonwovens used in diapers, hygienic absorbent products and other medical care applications. The Brazilian market for disposable products continues to expand. This includes more sophisticated films involving laminates, different geometries, and more complex printing requirements. Davis-Standard supplies mono and coextruded cast film systems with wet or

dry embossing capabilities depending on product. Repeatable embossing patterns and low-tension capabilities provide excellent winding performance. In-line slitting down to 76mm and tapeless transfers are possible with Davis-Standard’s modular winding systems. Specialty lines can be equipped with coating or lamination of lightweight nonwoven substrates. Line sizes ranging from ﬁnished net widths of 2.1 to 3.35 metres are available as well as core diameters of 76 and 152mm. Typical line speeds range from 180 to 475 metres per minute depending on extrusion package, formulation, ﬁlm properties, emboss-

ing method and winding options. Product applications include diapers, protective and masking ﬁlms, disposable garments and bed sheets, pouches, PP photo protective sleeves, shower curtains and tablecloths.

EQUIPMENT

Cepalgo of Brazil adds capacity with new cast ﬁlm line • GERS PLASTICS + RUBBER MACHINERY CC IS THE AGENT FOR DAVIS-STANDARD IN SA, TEL 012 329 7762

www.cepalgo.com.br www.davis-standard.com

Announcing the launch of our two new products PETg and PVC Foam Board. 086 090 4859

PerspexSA

APRIL / MAY 2013 81

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

Celebrating excellence

Envirodeck products are made from 95% recycled wood ﬁbre and plastic. About 900 grocery bags are needed to make just one decking board

in entrepreneurship Research and product sourcing vital MANAGING to beat hundreds of other Envirodeck was established in 2004 and is South African business owners to win the recognised as a pioneer in the industry. It 2012 Small Business Entrepreneur of the offers a truly sustainable building solution Year award, Warren Graver of Envirodeck, to the market and also takes an active a supplier of environmentally sustainable stance towards minimising climate change. composite decking products, attributes his The company also strives to promote the entrepreneurial success to intense research practice of green buildand product sourcing. ing in the construction Sanlam’s annual EnAbout 900 grocery bags industry by acting as a trepreneur of the Year® are needed to make just resource centre, improvcompetition, widely one decking board. ing the knowledge of considered to be the green building to other pre-eminent of its kind in South Africa, aims to honour, benefit and up- stakeholders through its research and development. lift South African SMEs, as well as celebrate Fast forward eight years and today Enviexcellence in entrepreneurship, thus serving rodeck supplies environmentally sustainable as an inspiration to others trying to succeed decking and finishing products, as well as in the world of business. tangible solutions for customers across The competition has also served as a South Africa and Namibia. As a result of the springboard for past finalists and winners. phenomenal market growth in Southern The competition has five award categoAfrica, Envirodeck is now also expanding ries: Emerging Entrepreneurs (businesses into Angola, Botswana, Nigeria and Mozamyounger than three years); Small Business bique over the next five years. Entrepreneurs (businesses with a turnover Envirodeck products are made from 95% of up to R20 million) and Medium Business recycled wood fibre and plastic. About 900 Entrepreneurs (businesses with a turnover grocery bags are needed to make just one of more than R20 million but less than R200 decking board. The wood fibre provides million), Innovator of the year as well as Job the performance of a traditional decking Creator of the year. 82 APRIL / MAY 2013

product while the plastic essentially wraps and protects the individual wood fibres. This provides a decking product that’s completely waterproof and needs much less maintenance than traditional wood. Envirodeck’s products cater for a number of architectural ideas; decking, cladding and pergolas, and profiles are available in a range of different colours. Warren attributes his entrepreneurial success to intense research and product sourcing. He says that research continues to fuel the business as innovative technology is constantly growing and evolving within the industry. Another one of Envirodeck’s strengths is partnering with like-minded and professional business partners who share the same passion and energy for the industry. According to Dr Kerrin Myres, a member of the 2012 Sanlam/Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® judging panel, Envirodeck stood out amongst the other finalists for many reasons. “Warren is riding the wave of the green movement in South Africa, something that only a handful of entrepreneurs are doing right now. Using a high quality raw material, he creates original outdoor products with

FEATURE ďŹ&#x201A;air and great design. Envirodeck is a business with a great future.â&#x20AC;? Long journey to success Warrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey to success has not all been glory and recognition. It has been long and challenging and required considerable amounts of patience. And for ďŹ ve years he had to walk a tightrope because it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t generating a cent in proďŹ t. A BCom Marketing graduate from the University of Johannesburg, Warren received a scholarship to study BCom Honours in Logistics at the JĂśnkĂśping International Business School, Sweden. He ďŹ nished the programme working in the freight forwarding industry, which created an opportunity for him to work in supply chain management. Amid the talk of environmental sustainability, Warren saw a business opportunity in providing a sustainable alternative to timber decking. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I identiďŹ ed various international decking trends and noticed that composite decking materials were the fastest growing decking segment in the global decking market. I understood from research that our economy and architectural practices were still heavily reliant on timber, and analysing green building trends, I realised that this industry

would have a huge potential within the local market,â&#x20AC;? Warren remembers. Being an entrepreneur isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t easy as Warren learned the hard way. To start the business, he needed R600 000, which he raised through private equity. He says the business struggled in the beginning, and the start-up capital was quickly absorbed through products that did not sell. He had to quickly look for alternative funding sources. Business Partners, a specialist risk ďŹ nance company for SMEs, came to his rescue. However, since the tough ďŹ rst years, Envirodeckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proďŹ tability has grown tenfold for the last three years and Warren expects revenue growth to continue due to the increasing demand for sustainable green building products within South Africa and the continent. Lessons learned Top tips for entrepreneurs: Always do enough market research into the market you will be competing in. Envirodeck initially added complimentary product offerings like PVC railing out of the USA, which proved to be a hard sell in Africa because our architectural designs are very different to North America. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to do a thorough background check on your suppliers. The ďŹ rst

supplier Warren nominated to work with closed its doors within six weeks. Focus on listening to what the customers require. From really listening you can ďŹ nd out what will best suit the needs of the industry. Once you understand your market and what is required, you can then go back and work with quality suppliers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; coupled with good local branding and correct pricing, which provides a platform to achieve entrepreneurial success. Beware of not diversifying your product range, or diversifying too quickly as you will run out of cash. Focus on an area that your competitors will ďŹ nd hard to compete in. Employ people who share the same passion and energy for the business that you do. Warren attrib entrepreneu utes his ria to intense res l success product sour earch and cing

www.eoy.co.za www.envirodeck.co.za

APRIL / MAY 2013 83

Welltec Plastics has the injection moulding machines to meet your requirements.

Excellent prices on existing stock / %-/ / *!& ' (+# !/ / %-/ / *!& ' (+# !/ # / / / / / - / / / # / / / / / - / / / % !# / / // / (/ %') ' % !# / / // / (/ %') ' $ !# /(& '" $, % . $ !# /(& '" $, % . (!) /,,, $( (!) /,,, $( %& % . %& % .

FEATURE

Plastics industry faces challenge of cheap imports

NEW SERIE S

BY WARRICK ROBERTSON, INDUSTRY ANALYST, COFACE

SADC countries offer great potential as export destination are imported and exported; however, exports in general have not been growing rapidly when compared to imports. A concern is that South Africa’s export of raw materials has been increasing since 2004. This means job creation is being exported at the expense of the local plastics manufacturers. The More imports than exports biggest source of South Africa’s plastics Over 57% of South Africa’s total consumpimports are China, India, the Republic tion of plastics is produced using polyethof Korea and other Asian countries. ylene (PE). The manufacturing capacity for A major challenge facing this sector PE exceeds local demand and because is how to counter cheap imports from of this a substantial amount of these polythe likes of China and India. Imports mers are exported. However, South Africa are considered to be much cheaper imports a large quantity of finished plastic than locally produced goods, mainly goods manufactured from the very same due to subsipolymers that are dies granted exported. Various A major challenge is in the country initiatives are being how to counter cheap of origin and reviewed to beneficiimports from the likes due to the ate polymers instead of China and India’ incentives that of exporting the raw overseas commaterial, but these panies receive for exporting. initiatives are not having any major effect Another issue is the stringent laws and despite the local excess, specialty and regulations that have been put in grades are imported as well. place for South African plastic manufacThe South African plastics industry imturing companies. However, the same ports more than it exports and the balance regulations do not apply to products of the trade gap is increasing. Both raw materials and finished products being imported into South Africa. Generally these imported goods are not good quality, but are a lot cheaper to Physical volume of manufacturing production – seasonally adjusted index produce, which puts pressure on local 160 manufacturers who cannot compete as consumers’ main concern when 155 purchasing plastics goods is price and 150 not quality. The constantly increasing 145 costs of energy, wages and logistics 140 are also a growing burden on local 135 manufacturers. 130 China, being the largest plastic 125 manufacturer in the world, constitutes 120 23.5% of total 2010 global production. Rapid industrialisation in this region is expected to see increasing growth in demand and China becoming the fore-

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significantly small in the global market and because of this, local companies operating in the plastics sector have no influence on the global prices and they cannot pass on the fluctuations of input costs to the end user.

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ALTHOUGH the next ﬁve-years are expected to be prosperous for the plastic product and packaging manufacturing industry, trends suggest that the sector is not using its full potential as a manufacturer. This industry is a signiﬁcant contributor to the national economy. The industry turnover represents over R35-billion a year and contributes 5% to GDP, employing around 65 000 people – involving over 2 000 companies – through the plastics supply chain. South Africa’s plastics fabrication industry is the largest of its kind in Africa and consumes 1.5 million tons of both locally produced and imported polymers. South Africa’s plastics industry is dominated by the packaging industry which accounts for approximately 55% of the local market followed by building applications with 7%. The ‘upstream’ sector is focused on the production of various polymers and plastic resins. The main feedstock for the production of these raw materials in South Africa is natural gas and coal by Sasol (the country’s foremost polymers producer). Fluctuations in the price of these feedstocks have an effect on the cost of production of other downstream products. The South African plastics sector is

runner producer of plastics in the Asian region. In 2000 China’s total plastics exports to South Africa were less than R500-million (and was fairly negligible in terms of total plastics imports in South Africa), but now it is the biggest supplier, exporting almost R3 billion worth of merchandise per year. SADC countries offer great potential as export destination The top ﬁve export countries for South African plastic products are Zambia, China, Zimbabwe, Brazil and DRC. The biggest growth markets are Zambia, Zimbabwe and Brazil. Zimbabwe’s import of South Africa plastics was hardly affected by the world recession. Even at the height of economic hardships, Zimbabwe still remained one of the biggest buyers of South Africa plastics. And now with the economy normalising, the demand for South African plastics has been increasing. The SADC countries offer great potential as an export destination because of their proximity. A number of companies are already establishing factories in certain African countries. However, there are competitive chal-

lenges – including the availability of resources; the administrative time and money required for a business start-up; business licenses and construction permits. Enforcing contracts under the local regulatory system, and registering and protecting property could also be cumbersome. There are also many challenges faced in securing the right skills. However, even this pales in comparison to the effective need for provisions to be made for currency ﬂuctuations, as currency volatility is exaggerated due to Western currency pegging and unstable trade balances. Finding logistical solutions is also difﬁcult because of a lack of infrastructure development. Although the plastics industry globally is a prosperous one with above average predicted growth, unless something is done to encourage consumers to buy locally produced plastic goods – as opposed to cheaper imported goods – South Africa will not experience the full potential offered by this industry.

ABOUT COFACE The Coface Group, a worldwide leader in credit insurance, offers companies around the globe solutions to protect them against the risk of ﬁnancial default of their clients, both on the domestic market and for export. In 2012, the Group posted a consolidated turnover of €1.6 billion. 4,400 staff in 66 countries provide a local service worldwide. Each quarter, Coface publishes its assessments of country risk for 158 countries, based on its unique knowledge of companies’ payment behaviour and on the expertise of its 350 underwriters located close to clients and their debtors. In France, Coface manages export public guarantees on behalf of the French state. Coface is a subsidiary of Natixis. corporate, investment management and specialized ﬁnancial services arm of Groupe BPCE. In South Africa, Coface provides credit protection to clients. Coface South Africa is rated AA+ by Global Ratings.

www.cofaceza.com APRIL / MAY 2013 85

Reg No 80/05518/07

POLYSTYRENE: GPPS/EPS/HIPS – ABS – SAN – ACRYLIC – ACETAL – NYLON – PBT – PC – SBC – HDPE – LLDPE – EVA – PP

HIPS – GPPS – EPS – FOR ALL APPLICATIONS DENKA POLYLAC INJECTION MOULDING & SHEET EXTRUSION KIBILAC KIBISAN

PS – ABS – ACRYLIC – PC NYLON – PP – HDPE – LDPE

PA6/PA66/PA12 – INJECTION MOULDING – EXTRUSION KOCETAL WONDERLITE

(VARIOUS VA CONTENTS) KIBITON

WONDERLOY ACRYREX ACRYSTEX SPESIN

Pipes crisscrossing the Bahrain desert

Pumpjacks

EFFECT OF NON-CONVENTIONAL FEEDSTOCKS

ON MIDDLE EAST POLYMER INDUSTRY New low cost shale gas feedstock

BY DR NIALL MARSHALL

Many of these plants are joint ventures with polymer producers from Europe, the USA or Japan. The availability of these low cost materials continues to attract investments even after the 2008 global economic crisis. In 2011, for example, Dow and Aramco announced their $20 billion Sadara joint venture. But suddenly there’s a new low cost feedstock in town: North American shale gas! Conventional oil and gas is typically ‘free’ – pockets of oil and gas are trapped in porous sandstone. Unconventional oil and gas is ‘trapped’. Shale gas refers to gas trapped in non-porous shale. It is released by forming microcracks in the rock and collecting the gas using a controversial process known as hydraulic cracking or ‘fracking’. For better or worse (environmentally speaking) the presence of large reserves of shale gas in North America will be exploited and, according to a 2012 International Energy Agency report, will lead to the USA becoming energy independent. It will also lead to a renaissance of the North American petrochemical industry. The availability of abundant low-cost feedstock in North America will lead to investment in new polymer plants. It is estimated that the cost of producing polyethylene in the USA using shale gas as a feedstock will be half the cost of producing

a layer of methane hydrates below the seabed. Another non-conventional feedstock, one that is already used for the production of polymers, is biomass. Biomass broadly refers to plant-sourced raw materials. There is always a concern that ‘green chemicals’ derived from plants compete with food. But with technologies being developed to use ‘waste biomass’, it is possible that the volumes of biomass required to produce commercial quantities of polymers can be found without negatively affecting food crops. Brazil already produces ‘bio-polyethylene’ commercially using sugar cane as the raw material. There is no doubt that the Middle East will continue to be the lowest cost producer of polymers but the challenge, and one which many Middle East polymer producers are already facing up to, is that they will no longer be able to rely only on advantaged feedstock costs in the Middle East to maintain market share in China and Europe. Maybe we will now see history repeating itself with large petrochemical companies investing in joint ventures in a region with abundant low cost hydrocarbons – only this time it could be Middle East petrochemical companies forming joint ventures with their long-time partners in the USA! NIALL CAN BE REACHED AT: NIALL.MARSHALL@EVERSPRINGME.COM

Dr Niall Marshall was formerly based in Johannesburg where he worked with Sasol and Ciba. He subsequently moved to Bahrain in the Middle East and joined Everspring Middle East, one of the largest manufacturers of polymer stabilisers, and X-ponent Three, which supplies a complementary range of additives and pigments and provides technical and business consulting services

APRIL / MAY 2013 87

FEATURE

TO produce polymers you need the raw materials – hydrocarbon feedstocks. The Middle East polymer industry is based on enormous investments over the last 30 years in large efﬁcient plants situated in the region to take advantage of abundant low cost oil and natural gas – conventional hydrocarbon feedstocks.

polyethylene in Europe using oil as the feedstock, and only slightly more expensive than the Middle East. The last polyethylene plant built in North America was commissioned in 2000; it is expected that the North American polyethylene capacity will grow by 40% by 2020 – by almost 6 million tons. Such an increase in capacity will exceed domestic demand (even with re-shoring, or manufacturing returning to the USA from China and other low cost countries) and the USA will become a net exporter of polymer. While the USA is not a major market for Middle Eastern polymer, Europe and China are more important, their cost position will make US polyethylene extremely competitive against Middle East polymer in Asia. For Middle Eastern producers the prospect of competing for market share against polymer from a similarly cost advantaged North America will be compounded by the need to compete for investments. Chevron Phillips Chemical has already stated that they will be redirecting most of their polyoleﬁns capital expenditure to the USA. North America is not the only region with shale gas reserves: deposits have also been identiﬁed in Asia, Australia, Europe, South America and Africa. Polymers can also be made using other non-conventional feedstocks, for example coal. Historically South Africa is the leader in developing a coal-based petrochemical industry, but China, with its vast coal reserves is also investing in a coal-based industry. Any new polymer production in China will automatically reduce the demand for resin from Middle Eastern polymer producers in this important market. ‘Fire ice’ is another non-conventional feedstock that could revolutionize the petrochemicals industry (although only in the more distant future). ‘Fire ice’ is natural gas trapped in an ice cage at high pressures under the ocean. Recently Japan announced that it had successfully extracted gas from

DESIGN

AUTOMOTIVE WINS

Bioplastics Award 2012 THE prestigious Bioplastics Award was given to two winners in 2012, both from the automotive sector. The 7th Bioplastics Award, presented by the trade publication bioplastics MAGAZINE, went to Takata AG and IfBB (Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites). The annual Bioplastics Award was established in 2006 by the English trade publication European Plastics News. It recognizes innovation, success and

achievements by companies and institutions in the ﬁeld of bioplastic materials. To be eligible for consideration in the awards scheme the proposed company, product, or service must have been developed or have been on the market during 2011 or 2012. For the judges it was signiﬁcant that both automotive related developments show the huge potential that bio-based plastics offer in an exciting way. With the

need for light weighting and the goal of reducing the fossil energy consumption and thus global warming, these projects are good approaches that can lead the way. Both projects show the versatility that bio-based plastics, with or without natural ﬁbre reinforcement can offer today and in future. www.bioplasticsmagazine.com

TAKATA AG: Bioplastic steering wheel and airbag The steering wheel system was developed to present the possibilities and limitations of using biobased plastics in sensitive products like airbags and steering wheels. To achieve an integrated solution the available biopolymers were benchmarked according to requirements and the most promising materials were chosen. The components were tested according to the speciﬁcations of the automotive industry to verify the material limits in steering wheels and airbags. Some of the components were already approved according to these speciﬁcations, others are underway.

(PHOTO: BIOPLASITCS MAGAZINE)

www.takata.com

IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites: Biobased tailgate of a racing car The biobased tailgate of the ‘Bioconcept’ racing car is the first step to convert as many parts into biobased plastic parts as possible. The tailgate, which is already made from natural fibre reinforced petroleum-based resins, is now being produced from linen (flax fibres) and an epoxy resin made from renewable resources. The tailgate, which is being produced from linen (flax fibres) and an epoxy resin made from renewable resources. The amount of biobased components in the resin is currently at 30 - 35% (together with the fibres about 65%), and IfBB is constantly researching ways to increase this ratio with regard to the material performance. The flax fibres are woven in a special twill-weave that allows the textile to be draped accurately into the desired 3D-shapes. Currently still hand-laminated, as there are only a few parts needed for the racing car, IfBB is certainly also evaluating series production methods such as injection moulding of thermoplastic natural fibre reinforced biocomposites for the mass production of such parts. www.ifbb-hannover.de

88 APRIL / MAY 2013

THE DESIGN FACTOR…

BY MIKE WYTHE, M DES RCA (ID ENG), INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER & LECTURER

Create markets by design TO MEET the social objectives and challenges that are realities within the everyday fabric of South Africa we must manufacture. We must make things! Manufacture value added products that will not only deliver quality but also meet the end-user demands of the discerning customers. From the smallest and simplest to the largest and more sophisticated, a sustainable effort should be made to develop and sell to the burgeoning Sub-Saharan, domestic and potential export market that are ready to be exploited. If we don’t, China and India will! The population of Sub-Saharan Africa was at 800 million in the mid-2000. At an estimated growth rate of 2.3%. The UN predicts for the region a population of nearly 1.5 billion in 2050 Trade between China and Africa jumped 45% in 2008 to reach US$107 billion, the bulk of which went to Sub-Saharan Africa. (Source – Wikipedia)

By 2020 it is estimated that India will emerge as the largest in the world in terms of annual out-turn of tertiary graduates. (Ref: Morgan Stanley. Survey c.2005)

South Africa’s population is 50 million plus, where 30% are under 15 years, +/- 7 million being male with hopes of securing a job sometime within the next five years. How we act now will not only decide their future but the future of their children. Mining, agriculture even tourism will not absorb these numbers. Popular opinion centres on the fact that we must develop and apply pro-active, sustainable strategies to stimulate the growth of the SMME sector. This is not simply a matter of throwing money at the problem. The reserves of talent we have within the creative industries; industrial design, product development, innovative engineering and marketing are as yet untapped. Unlike the mining industry these resources are not finite; they can be ‘mined’ and will continue to deliver profitable returns. Maybe we should consider the India model: They have constituted a ‘National Design Policy’. This along with a number of other initiatives is a government-led mechanism set up to improve the quality of design in India with specific reference to the sustained development of the SMME sector. 90 APRIL / MAY 2013

South Africa has well-established manufacturing operations together with the young, enthusiastic newcomers eager to make a contribution. Both are competing against the unjustified level of imported component parts and finished products that are swamping our markets. Go into any garden centre or DIY retail store and you will find large display areas presenting a variety of simple products, from garden tools to power tools for purchase at questionable prices. None of these suggest technically challenging manufacturing questions, but on investigation the country of origin will not be South Africa. In fact, go into any high street retail environment and you will find the country of origin of these and a diverse range of other products will not be South Africa. Offer quality designed, locally made, competitive products To compete against this onslaught we need to help our manufacturing sector address the fundamentals that are vital to the

Design + thermoplastic processing + unique functional needs – creates a product The development of this product identiﬁed a need in many markets for a manual wheelchair without metal. People can now be transported in airports, hospitals, swimming pools and spas without any problems with metal detectors, rust, or damage to instruments. The challenges were demanding: the wheelchair had to have a modern design and satisfy strict requirements for strength and function according to given standards. The chair also had to have a sufﬁciently low cost price to be economical. The wheelchair is made of 100% thermoplastic. This is an innovation which means that the wheelchair meets the need to be able to pass through metal detectors at airports. It can also be used in or beside swimming pools without rusting and can be pushed all the way into MRI machines in hospitals without any risk to staff or machine. Norwegian Design Council - Award for Design Excellence - 2011

Design and innovative thinking + product – created a market Duracell wanted to sell more batteries; a torch seemed to be a good idea. Initial research suggested the market was well supplied with torches. However in the case of an emergency these proved unreliable – the switches were corroded, bulbs were broken, the batteries were flat. The final product designed by BIB Design Consultants and manufactured by Duracell eliminated the functional deficiencies found in other torches. The “flip top torch” a free standing battery powered light source went on to set a market standard. The design also established the model for Duracell to develop a range of quality torches sold under the Durabeam name.

FEATURE success of any value-added programme; clearly identify customer needs, product innovation and design, quality manufacture, competitive costing and effective marketing. All very easy to say, but how do cash strapped companies access professional

assistance towards implementing the key strategic essentials they need to redress the imbalance and offer quality designed, locally made competitive products. The local raw material suppliers would like to increase sales volumes. The component and ﬁnished product manufacturing companies who use these materials would love to see their plants running 24/7. To realise this Utopian state a suggestion would be for the raw material supply industries to partner with DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) in setting up resource and design centres. These easily accessible outlets would have a twofold function; they would offer at a subsidised rate quality market analysis, industrial design and product development expertise plus professional business directives that can help turn a ‘jobbing shop’ into a quality product manufacturer. The products’ being produced by these revitalised SMME’s will then be displayed in these centres, presenting a shop window for quality South African made products. To suggest an alternative strategy that may very well fall on

deaf ears; is it not time that the CAs and the MBAs stood aside and allowed those within the creative industries; engineers, industrial designers, product innovators and marketing professionals, have a look in? CAs and MBAs have their place, of course, but with few exceptions they are not equipped to meet the product needs of the market. So long as these professionals continue to direct business strategies, to the exclusion of the creative factor, our manufacturing SMME sector will continue to be piece-meal, mediocre, non-competitive and inﬂationary. Mike Wythe, industrial designer and lecturer for the Industrial Design Programme at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), feels passionately about helping to produce the next generation of creative industrial designers in South Africa. A graduate from the Royal College in London where he completed his post–grad Masters in Industrial Design Engineering, during his career Mike has moved through a diverse range of design, product development, manufacturing and management disciplines.

APRIL / MAY 2013 91

The Power to Create

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AROUND THE WORLD

LANXESS EXPANDS DICHLOROBENZENE CAPACITY BY 15%

SABIC awards new terminal contract SABIC afﬁliate, Jubail Chemicals Storage and Services Company (JCSSC), has awarded Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for a new storage, handling and shipping terminal at King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail to China National Chemical Engineering Corporation (CNCEC). The total investment is estimated to be US$400 million. The project will enable the continued growth of the petrochemical and downstream industries in Saudi Arabia. JCSSC is a joint venture in which SABIC holds 75% and Vopak 25%. The plan is to ﬁnance the project from the parties’ own resources as well as through external funds. Once commissioned early 2015, the storage capacity of the terminal will be approximately 250,000m3.

Clariant nano-silver ink technology SWISS specialty chemicals group Clariant International AG has acquired the nano-silver ink technology platform developed under the trademark Bayink® from Bayer group of Germany. The transaction comprises all patents, knowhow and materials related to Bayer’s nano-silver ink technology. “The acquisition will strengthen our portfolio of new materials for the electronics and energy markets,” said Christian Kohlpaintner of Clariant. Nano silver inks are printable on various substrates like polymers, glass or silicon. They are applicable in a wide variety of emerging applications for printed electronics, such as printed circuit boards, radio frequency identiﬁcation devices (RFID) or photovoltaic panels. Nano-silver inks provide excellent conductivity by spending fewer amounts of precious metal using advanced printing technologies such as ink-jet or aerosol printing. www.clariant.com

LANXESS has increased its dichlorobenzene capacity by more than 15% by installing an additional crystallizer at the Leverkusen site, enabling it to produce more highpurity para-dichlorobenzene for the global market. Some €3 million has been invested in the capacity expansion for this intermediate for the manufacture of high-performance plastics. The Leverkusen production network of the Advanced Industrial Intermediates (AII) business unit converts toluene and benzene into chloroaromatics by adding chlorine. In addition to low chlorinated aromatics such as monochlorobenzene, this process also produces higher chlorinated aromatics such as dichlorobenzene (DCB). PPS has applications in the electrical/electronics, automotive and aviation industries. Some 90,000 tons of p-DCB were needed for the approximately 60,000 tons of PPS produced worldwide in 2012. www.lanxess.com

Borealis’ new European investments

The new unit tenance re will duce main d an ts en m require CO2 emissions fe, whilst securing sa d an ble lia re s, continuou cost-competitive

operations.

Borealis cracker plant in Stenungsund, Sweden (PHOTO: BOREALIS)

BOREALIS, leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions, has invested in two major projects in its European manufacturing plants in Stenungsund, Sweden and Porvoo, Finland. The investments, with a combined expenditure in excess of €45 million, will strengthen Borealis’ regional supply and support capabilities. The first investment concerns a C4 project in Stenungsund which will upgrade the facility’s existing raffinate-1 and raffinate-2 streams to meet required product specifications for the delivery of n-butenes. The €21 million investment is scheduled for completion by March 2015, and is part of 92 APRIL / MAY 2013

a broader commitment to support customers’ raw material demand for expanding production of oleﬁn-based products. The project contracting process commenced in December 2012. In Porvoo, plans have been approved for the replacement of a 30 year old hot oil heater unit at the Phenol complex. The installation of the new heater, scheduled for 2015 at a cost of €25 million, is a key element in improving efﬁciency and site integration. The new unit will reduce maintenance requirements and CO2 emissions whilst securing safe, continuous, reliable and cost-competitive operations.

WORLD NEWS

2013 Plunkett Awards TO MARK the 75th anniversary of the discovery of PTFE, DuPont Chemicals & Fluoroproducts is calling for entries to the 2013 Plunkett Awards which recognise outstanding uses of fluoropolymers to create inventive market solutions that benefit the environment, showcase extraordinary innovation, or deliver a game-changing market application. Fluoropolymer-based products play a critical role in providing cable and internet service, generating clean and renewable energy, manufacturing more efficient and reliable cars, making mobile communications devices and designing safe buildings, ships and aircraft. Winners will be announced in November. More information can be found at www.teflon. com/plunkett. Submissions must be in English and reach Du Pont by 31 May. www.dupont.com

1st Atlas CW1040 Series primary slitter rewinder

installed at Tri-Pack Films in Pakistan ATLAS Converting Equipment Ltd. completed the installation of the very first ‘next generation’ Atlas CW1040 Series primary slitter rewinder at Tri-Pack Films Ltd., based in Karachi, Pakistan at the end of December. This 8.7m wide primary film slitter has been installed in conjunction with a new high-speed BOPP film production line also scheduled for start-up at the same time. In addition, a new 3.25m wide Atlas CW3600 Series secondary slitter rewinder was also installed. A new, purpose-built production facility has been completed at the company’s Port Qasim site to accommodate the new equipment. This will be the fourth BOPP film production line in operation at Tri-Pack Films which will have a production capacity of approx. 40,000 tons per year. The company added its first CPP (cast polypropylene) film production line in 2008 and will install a second CPP line by mid-2013. Tri-Pack Films Ltd. is a public limited company and is a joint venture between www.atlasconverting.com

Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan and Packages Ltd. of Pakistan. The company was incorporated in 1993 and commenced commercial production in 1995. It is a long established producer of BOPP film in Pakistan for both the domestic and export markets and in 2011 generated revenue in excess of USD $127m. The addition of the new BOPP film line will more than double the company’s annual production capacity of plastic films to 70,000 tons per annum. Tri-Pack produces BOPP film in a range from 10 – 60 micron in plain, composite, pearlized or metallized grades and CPP film in 15 – 150 micron thicknesses which are well suited for coating, laminations, form-fill-seal packaging and side-weld bag applications, with high barrier properties. The company’s film production is destined mainly for use in packaging of consumer goods including food, especially biscuits and confectionery, tea, tobacco & cigarette packaging films, pharmaceuticals, adhesive tapes and high barrier thermo-foaming films for food packaging.

www.tripack.com.pk

The very ﬁrst ‘next generation’ Atlas CW1040 primary ﬁlm slitter installed at Tri-Pack Films Ltd., Pakistan

VISIcON automotive lighting and design competition SABIC has launched a three-month research programme and competition called VISIcON with London’s prestigious Royal College of Art (RCA) Vehicle Design programme. Under VISIcON, more than 30 post-graduate students from the department are researching and exploring how SABIC’s high-performance thermoplastic lighting materials and LEXAN™ polycarbonate (PC) glazing technologies can be applied in practical and creative ways to enhance the lighting and illumination of today’s and tomorrow’s vehicles. The VISIcON programme has tasked students from the RCA’s automotive studios to research and explore current and future application of materials on lighting. The students will then work in cross-studio teams towards holistic vehicle design visions. SABIC advisors are working closely with RCA staff and the students to provide guidance and resources. Presentation of the championship models and an announcement of the overall winner will take place in May at the RCA’s headquarters in Kensington, London. The more than 30 students participating in VISIcON come from 12 countries, including the UK, Korea, China, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Turkey, India, the United States and Canada.

www.sabic-ip.com

New

EQUIPMENT

dimension in transparency WITH Engel e-factory 2, Engel sets new standards in production data acquisition. Thanks to the enhanced set of features, the new release of Engel’s MES solution can be connected directly to ERP systems such as SAP – even injection moulding machines of different brands can now be integrated. This results in higher productivity and efﬁciency in the injection moulding production. Manufacturing Execution Systems – MES for short – make operations more transparent. Production ﬁgures can be observed conveniently in real time from the desk to counteract deviations immediately. At present, the Engel e-factory 2 includes these modules: e-factory Monitor – provides an overview of the current status information

such as production progress, downtime causes and machine alarms. The plant layout and the production recorder are clearly shown next to each other. The system warns automatically of any deviations from the deﬁned limits. e-factory Mobile – provides essential status information, focused and optimized for mobile devices. This information is readily available at any location over the Internet. e-factory Data – the central management of the parts data set, provides a fast and secure setting-up. The data sets are transferred online to the machines and the applied settings can be fully controlled, thus ensuring continuous quality. All machine settings can be displayed both online and ofﬂine and all

changes are documented. e-factory Chart – consistently documents all process data for the statistical evaluation. At the same time, it helps the plastic manufacturers to meet the documentation requirements with respect to their customers. e-factory Reports – automatically generates statistics as to shifts, orders and long term observation, letting the management make informed decisions whenever necessary. Engel continues to enhance its MES solution and additional functionality is being prepared. Further modules – such as the detailed order planning and maintenance management of machines and moulds – will soon complement the newly released ENGEL e-factory 2.

Complete assembly kit from a single source FOR the Romanian market leader, the new Romanian Greiner Assistec location at Leresti is taking over the production and assembly of a radiator kit. Handling the ABS injection moulding, welding, gluing and assembling duties and underscoring its strength in the sector of custom-tailored sourcing solutions,

plastics specialist Greiner Assistec has been providing full-service manufacturing since the fall of 2012 to RADOX, the leading Romanian producer of radiators. The Romanian company RADOX produces bathroom radiators for Germany, England, France, Poland, Romania, and Russia. Each radiator is supplied with the corresponding assembly kit made by Greiner Assistec consisting of dowels, bolts, auxiliary parts, and plastic components. Greiner Assistec produces the plastics Assembly kit for radiators – produced and assembled by Greiner Assistec Leresti (Romania).

components from ABS (acrylnitrile butadiene styrene). This material is very stable, with very high impact resistance and surface hardness making it ideal for subsequent chromium-plating of surfaces. For some bathroom radiator lines, this method is used to improve the cosmetic appeal of the plastic components. Greiner Assistec uses injectionmoulding technology to process ABS for RADOX. The injection-moulded plastic parts for RADOX are welded and glued together. Then Greiner Assistec sets up an assembly kit comprised of dowels, bolts, screw-nuts, auxiliary parts, along with a user manual.

www.radox.ro www.greiner-gpi.com

PHOTO: GREINER PACKAGING

94 APRIL / MAY 2013

DIARY

COMING UP

INDUTEC – An African event with worldwide opportunities THE South African Industry and Technology Fair (INDUTEC) is a new 10-shows-in-one trade exhibition focusing on companies involved in technology, manufacturing, energy and engineering, the water, gas and petroleum sectors, and the pumps, valves and pipes industry. INDUTEC takes place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg from 14-16 May. “This new Hannover-style industrial fair provides African companies with an unprecedented and unique opportunity to network with suppliers and buyers from around the world, all eager to establish

business connections in Africa. It’s a perfect single-venue trade platform for suppliers to showcase products and services to a large, captive group of potential customers,” says fair organiser John Thomson of Exhibition Management Services. INDUTEC’s 10 component shows encompass Afriplast Expo; Empowertec Africa; Energex Africa; Industrial Greentec Africa; Intermac Africa; Manutec Africa; Petro.t.ex Africa; Pumps, Valves and Pipes Africa; Watertec Africa; and Smart Automation Africa. www.exhibitionsafrica.com

Plan your ChinaPlas visit on your smartphone! IF YOU are planning to attend ChinaPlas, from 20-23 May at the China Import & Export Fair Complex in Pazhou, Guangzhou, you can plan your visit and get the latest information on your smartphone! ChinaPlas organisers have developed a smartphone application that allows visitors to search the exhibitor database by name, booth number, product, region and application. Visitors can also preregister using their smartphone. Other practical information, including concurrent event, transportation, hotel info and news can be accessed. All smartphone users need to do is search ‘CHINAPLAS’ on the AppStore (for iPhone/iPad users) or PlayStore (for Android users) to download the app.

www.chinaplasonline.com

Almost 1000 exhibitors at SAITEX in June SAITEX (Southern African International Trade Exhibition), one of the biggest and most effective networking hubs for business opportunities in Africa, runs at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 30 June to 2 July. The show has drawn almost 1000 exhibiting companies from 54 countries. “It’s ﬁtting that our partner country for SAITEX this year is China: it has the second biggest economy in the world and is the most prominent member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, of which South Africa is a member,” said

John Thomson of show organiser Exhibition Management Services (EMS). Over 400 Chinese companies will be exhibiting. “SAITEX has been helping to build businesses, promote trade and create jobs across the continent for over 20 years,” he added. SAITEX is co-located with its sister show, Africa’s Big Seven, the biggest food and beverage trade show in Africa. More than 15 000 business visitors are expected. All ﬁve halls at Gallagher are being used.

KZN INDUSTRIAL SHOW IN JULY THE 15th biennial KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition (KITE) gets underway at the Durban Exhibition Centre from 23-26 July, a number of exhibitors have already secured their spots at one of the biggest events on South Africa’s industrial technology exhibition calendar, and with good reason. KITE has built up a solid following of repeat exhibitors, and this is attributed to the fact that for most companies the event has been the catalyst for a plethora of trade, business and networking opportunities. The 2011 edition of the event featured almost 6000 visitors, over 130 exhibitors, as well as a large number of high-proﬁle and important decision-makers and stakeholders in KwaZulu-Natal’s and South Africa’s industrial technology sectors. www.kznindustrial.co.za

AUTOMECHANIKA IN MAY AUTOMECHANIKA at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec, from 8-11 May is a popular event for the automotive manufacturing sector as well as automotive enthusiasts. The event includes a conference programme and a number of specialist exhibitions. It is organised by Dogan Exhibitions & Events on behalf of Automechanical Frankfurt. www.automechanikasa.co.za

COMPOSITES FORUM IN PARIS THE ‘Forum de la Plasturgie et des Composites’ will take place from 30-31 May at Disneyland Paris’s Congress Centre. Based on the conference’s common thread, ‘A new industrial ballgame? A godsend for the Plastics Industry”, major names in the industry will talk about their experience and share their visions with industry professionals, making this conference a unique opportunity to capture development opportunities and improve competitiveness. www.forum-plasturgie-composites.com

MASTERBATCH 2013 IN FRANKFURT AMI’s Masterbatch 2013 conference will take place from 3-5 June at the Marriott Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany with headline sponsorship being provided by BASF. Other sponsors include Automatik Plastics Machinery, Clariant, 3M, Plasmec and Columbian Chemicals Europa. Delegates at the conference will also hear directly from customers about the trends in their industry, with speakers from Coca-Cola, Danone, Nokia and Johnson & Johnson. www.amiconferences.com

www.exhibitionsafrica.com

Metals, machine tool show EMO in September The SA-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in conjunction with Deutsche Messe, hosted functions in Johannesburg and Cape Town earlier this year to promote its machine tool/metalworking show EMO Hannover. Speakers at the event in Johannesburg included Christoff Miller, managing director of the EMO Hanover show, guest speaker Bruce Crawford of Crawford Publications (a machine tool publication) and Dr Wilfram van Fritsch, chairman of the board of Deutsche Messe

Guests included Ian Simpson of Victor Fortune and Ron MacLarty and Terri Bernstein of Afrimold fame • EMO takes place in Hannover, Germany, from 16-21 September.

www.emo-hannover.de

APRIL / MAY 2013 95

‘Picasso’ cap suits nomadic lifestyles

KZN INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY SHOW: 23-26 July Durban Exhibition Centre: www.kznindustrial.co.za

AUTOMECHANIKA JOHANNESBURG: 08-11 May Nasrec (Johannesburg Expo Centre) www.automechanikasa.co.za

PETNOLOGY EUROPE 2013: 15-17 September Munich, Germany: www.petnology.com

RAPID TECH 2013: 14-15 May: Erfurt, Germany www.rapidtech.de

Global Closure Systems will show its latest sports cap, the Picasso cap, at the Plastic Closure Innovations congress in Cologne, Germany, from 23-25 April. The cap has been used by Nestlé for its European brands (including Aqua Panna, Aquarel, Buxton, Cristalp, Levissima, Nateczowianka, Pure Life and Viladrau) since 2011. The GCS cap is popular for the simplicity, safety (with its patented tamper-evident band) and convenience it brings to consumers and it ﬁts with their ‘nomadic’ lifestyle. Nestle Waters is a world leader in the bottled water market.

DRINKTEC: 16-20 September: Munich, Germany www.drinktec.com

INDUCTEC 2013: 14-16 May Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand www.exhibitionsafrica.com

COASTAL CLEAN-UP: 16-21 September www.cleanup-SA.co.za

CHINAPLAS 2013: 20-23 May: Pazhou, Guangzhou, PR China: www.ChinaplasOnline.com

EMO HANNOVER: 16-21 September Hannover, Germany: www.emo-hannover.de

FORUM DE LA PLASTURGIE: 30-31 May Disneyland Paris’ Congress Centre www.forum-plasturgie-composites.com

POLYURETHANES TECHNICAL CONF: 23-25 September Phoenix, Arizona: www.polyurethane.americanchemistry.com

MASTERBATCH 2013: 03-05 June Marriott Hotel, Frankfurt, Germany: www.amiplastics.com

MEDIPLAS 2013: 25-26 September NEC, Birmingham, UK: www.meetbirmingham.com

www.gcs.com

WINDABA: 25-27 September CT Int’l Convention Centre: www.windaba.co.za

FUTURE TYRE 2013: 04-05 June: Brussels, Belgium www.tyre-conferences.com

www.amiplastics.com

TUBOTECH 2013: 01-03 October: Sao Paulo, Brazil wynhoffU@messe-duesseldorf.de

AFRIMOLD 2013: 04-06 June: Expo Centre, Nasrec, Johannesburg: www.afrimold.co.za END OF LIFE PLASTICS: 04-06 June: Cologne, Germany www.amiplastics.com

PE2013 EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE: 08-10 October Messe Dresden, Germany: www.plastic-electronics.org K2013: 16-23 October: Düsseldorf, Germany www.konline.de

PEPP 2013: 18-19 June: Istanbul, Turkey www.ihs.com/chemical AFRICARAIL 2013: 24-26 June: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg: www.events-africa.com SAITEX: 30 June-2 July: Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg: www.exhibitionsafrica.com PPS-29 (POLYMER PROCESSING SOCIETY) INT’L CONFERENCE: 15-19 July: Nuremberg, Germany www.pps-29.com

WIND TURBINE BLADE MANUFACTURE: 03-05 December Maritim Hotel, Dusseldorf, Germany www.amiplastics.com/events EUROMOLD 2013: 03-06 December: Exhibition Centre, Frankfurt, Germany: www.euromold.com 2014: PROPAK EAST AFRICA: 01-03 April 2014: Kenyatta Int’l Conference Centre, Nairobi: www.propakeastafrica.com

96 APRIL / MAY 2013

International Trade Fair, No. 1 for Plastics and Rubber worldwide

Established 1963

GROUP 1: GROUP 2: GROUP 1

GROUP 2

nights 34 nights

4 nights 3

4 nights

Flights in economy class from from JHB JHB

Single Single

Twin sharing

Single

Twin sharing

1. Hotelship Hotelshipmoored moorednear nearOld OldCity City

R19 R 30900.00 400.00

R16 R22 900.00 R 22200.00pp 160.00

R18 200.00pp

R 29700.00 400.00 R22

R 21300.00pp 800.00 R17 R26 700.00

R19 550.00pp

3. are 4* Hotel close totoshopping R27 R19 100.00pp We also prepared tailor-makearea packages to 200.00 suit your speciﬁc requirementsR32 700.00

R21 950.00pp

(FREE shuttleshuttle to show) (offers FREE to show)

the city 2. 3* 3*Hotel Hotellocated close toinstation

We are also prepared to tailor-make packages to suit your speciﬁc requirements

27 –Oct - 3 Nov 2013 2010 16 23 October Düsseldorf, Germany Düsseldorf, Germany

Flight departures from Johannesburg: GROUP 1: 14 Oct – 19 Oct 2013 ~ 4 nights GROUP 1: 26 - 30 October 2010 ~ 3 nights GROUP 2:October 18 Oct 23 Oct 2010 2013 4 nights GROUP 2: 29 – 03–November ~ 4~ nights Flight departures from Johannesburg:

Sonja Herbst 2509 Sonja De Wendt 016 016980 9802509 sonjah@rosebanktravel.com sonjad@rosebanktravel.co.za Linda Steenekamp Linda Steenkamp 011 8805954/5 011 8805954/5 lindas@rosebanktravel.com lindas@rosebanktravel.com Allan Wolman 011 8805954/5

Allan Wolman 011 8805954/5 allanw@rosebanktravel.com allanw@rosebanktravel.com Should wish to make a Shouldyou you wish to make reservation, please go to go to a reservation, please Rosebank Website and and RosebankTravel Travel Website complete on-lineapplication: application. completethe on-line

www.rosebanktravel.com www.rosebanktravel.com OR contact any of the

Or contact any ofthe the above to above to send relevant send the relevant information. information.

Big interest in K 2013 Düsseldorf Marked increase in demand for exhibition space: K 2013 is continuing where the thoroughly successful 2010 fair left off. All big-name companies of the international plastics and rubber industry will be taking part in their flagship fair in October. The demand for stand space has risen sharply, and numerous exhibitors want to make a bigger impact at the fair. All 19 halls of Düsseldorf’s exhibition grounds will be fully occupied. For Werner M. Dornscheidt, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, the big interest from the entire sector confirms K Düsseldorf’s outstanding status. “K 2013 will give us a complete overview of the changing world market, and we can look forward to a multitude of impressive innovations. We know that many of our exhibitors are already working flat out on their new products and presentations. Düsseldorf will be a powerful source of inspiration for the plastics and rubber world!” Some 3,000 exhibiting companies will be participating in K 2013 from 16 to 23 October and presenting their offers from the fields of: machinery and equipment for the plastics and rubber industry; raw materials, auxiliaries, and semi-finished products, technical parts and reinforced plastics. “K makes the difference” – the motto of the upcoming event says it all. K Düsseldorf is a trend barometer and innovation forum for the entire sector, with the latest developments and optimized technologies being premiered here every three years. Company exhibits will be supplemented by a special show entitled “Plastics move the world”. This is where aspects of the theme of mobility will be taken up – everything from lightweight design in the construction of vehicles, aircraft and ships, and electromobility to individual mobility and modern leisure behaviour. Rosebank Travel are the Trade Fair Travel Specialists in South Africa with global access to cost effective accommodation for most Trade Fairs in Germany and around the world. As specialists in WORLDWIDE trade fair travel services, we offer BEST package prices including air tickets, affordable accommodation close to the fairgrounds (we are the ONLY travel company that charters HOTELSHIPS during shows), entrance tickets, comprehensive travel insurance, preferred foreign exchange rates (delivered to your work place) and many more... Rosebank Travel was established back in 1963 and has evolved from those early days of a Travel Agency to a highly sophisticated Travel Management Company. We have been doing travel for 46 years and probably know this industry as well as anyone in the country.

THE NO. 1 FOR WORLD PREMIERES: K 2013 Get ready for your most important global business and contact platform. On a net exhibition space of more than 168,000 sqm, some 3,000 exhibitors from over 50 countries will be The last K show, in 2010, involved 3 094 exhibitors from 56 countries and over 222,000 trade visitors from 109 countries, 57% being international visitors

Effective preparation for K 2013 WHILE the ofﬁcial opening of K 2013, the most important international trade fair for plastics and rubber this year, is still some months away, things are getting started at www.k-online.de. The show takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 16-23 October. With a new design, the website is a useful platform for easy, effective preparation and planning of K visits. During the last K in 2010, the portal recorded more than eleven million clicks. With its clearer structure, the new K portal again provides a wide variety of topical information surrounding the trade fair, news from the industry, research and science as well as, naturally, a lot of practical advice for visitors. Only recently, the K portal’s centrepiece went online: the exhibitors’ database – the virtual catalogue of the K trade fair! In the ‘Companies and Products’ area of the portal, visitors can search for individual companies or compile a list of companies offering speciﬁc services or of companies from selected countries. This compilation can then be downloaded. Numerous personalised services such as MyOrganizer, MyCalendar for arranging dates online and MyCatalogue for compiling a personalised exhibition catalogue enhance the platform’s service package. And the new K App now provides mobile access to all important information – for both Android and Apple systems. Another useful utility is the new matchmaking function. This inter-

presenting innovative solutions and visionary concepts in the areas of machinery and equipment, raw materials and auxiliaries, semi-ﬁnished products, technical parts and reinforced plastics. Plan your visit now. Welcome to your K 2013.

International Trade Fair No. 1 for Plastics and Rubber Worldwide

k-online.de

Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry 47 Oxford Road _ Forest Town, Johannesburg P.O. Box 87078 _ Houghton 2041 Tel. +27 (11)486 27 75 _ Fax +27 (11)86 639 56 77 tradefairs@germanchamber.co.za

net networking service pairs up like-minded exhibitors and visitors: both partners can post and access inquiries and offers – their search for a new cooperation partner, for example – online. This service provides networking opportunities in the run-up to the exhibition and helps the partners to arrange meetings at the K. Saving money with eTicket Visitors can now buy eTickets for K 2013 on the Internet and print them out at home – with double benefit: this method saves time and money. The eTicket is significantly less expensive than tickets purchased at the official ticket office on the exhibition grounds: the online day

www.germanchamber.co.za

ticket costs €49, while the ticket ofﬁce price is €65. Online three-day-tickets cost only €108, while tickets purchased from the ticket ofﬁce cost €135. As in 2010, the K ticket includes the use of buses and trains of the public transport system in Düsseldorf and the immediate region. The online ticket shop is accessible at www.k-online.de. www.k-online.de XING: HTTPS://WWW.XING.COM/NET/PRI4BD1EEX/ K2013FACEBOOK: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/K. TRADEFAIR?FREF=TS TWITTER: HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/K_TRADEFAIR APRIL / MAY 2013 97

BOOKS

Design of extrusion forming tools THE design of extrusion forming tools (dies and calibrators) is a difﬁcult task usually performed by the employment of experimental trial-and-error procedures, which can hinder the performance and cost of the tools, may increase the time to market of new extruded products and limit their complexity. Smithers Rapra Publishing has released ‘Design of Extrusion Forming Tools’ provides detailed information on the design of extrusion forming tools. It describes the main problems to be faced when designing dies and calibrators, the most relevant polymer properties to be considered in the design

process, the speciﬁc problems related to several types of conventional extrusion dies, and recent developments on the design of special dies and process modeling. It is an updated and unique book on the subject, where each chapter is prepared by internationally recognized experts.

www.polymer-books.com

Practical study of production & potential of multilayered film A NEW book published by Plastics Information Direct explores and explains the three key processes used to manufacture multilayered plastic films: extrusion coating, lamination and coextrusion. Multilayer film structures provide properties and performance which could not be achieved by a single material, whilst also exploiting cheap and easily processed polymers – primarily polyethylene. All three processes described can be used in their manufacture, and in combination they provide yet more options and benefits. One role of this book is to explain when each should be used. Described as a complete process manual, this practical book is written for the industry professional engaged in the development, production or

specification of films. It will enable the reader to optimize product performance and evaluate the most cost effective solutions, with useful information on the key polymers and substrates used. This is a practical process manual filled with useful advice, describing the effects of machine design, process variables and materials selection. The guiding principle applied in this manual is that of cause and effect. This is achieved by integrating experimental data and computer modelling with the author’s extensive experience to arrive at conclusions and recommendations based on quantitative data. www.pidbooks.com

Retortable plastic packaging market in Europe

Thermal methods of polymer analysis

A NEW report from industry consultants, AMI Consulting, published in March 2013, reviews the demand for the retortable packaging solutions and the existing supply. Retortable packaging is used to supply shelf stable long-life food products. Currently the EU27 market uses 62 billion metal and glass containers and 26 billion units of plastic retortable containers. Plastic packaging has the potential to re-vitalise mature markets such as soup, canned fruit, vegetables and ﬁsh, by introducing convenient, added value containers suited to modern day living. Over 90% of incremental demand for retortable applications until 2017 is expected to be satisﬁed with retortable plastic packaging solutions. ‘Retortable Packaging in Europe’ is a detailed multi-client research study aimed at assisting industry participants and investors in anticipating change, formulating response strategies, directing R&D investment, and proactively managing the threats. It focuses on EU27+3 markets, across different applications.

SMITHERS Rapra Publishing has released ‘Thermal Methods of Polymer Analysis’ which reviews the various thermal methods used for the characterisation of polymer properties and composition. All these methods study the properties of polymers as they change with temperature. The methods discussed in this book are: differential photocalorimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, dielectric thermal analysis, differential thermal analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, evolved gas analysis, gas chromatography, gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry, microthermal analysis, thermal volatilisation, thermogravimetric analysis and thermomechanical analysis. Each technique is discussed in detail and examples of the use of each technique are also given. Each chapter has an extensive list of references so that the reader can follow up topics of interest.

www.amiplastics.com 98 APRIL / MAY 2013

www.polymer-books.com

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VACANCY: LAB MANAGER Leading masterbatch company requires technical expert for Lab Manager position. Candidate must have a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or similar, preferably in Polymer Science or Chemistry. Required to manage team of 7 people, report to customers and sales force, and assist with R&D. Please send CV to david@plasticolors.co.za

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FOR SALE 160 Ton Haitian Injection Moulding machine 2012 Model

Are you going to K2013? Trade Fair Travel offer a travel package which includes: â&#x20AC;˘ Return airfare Johannesburg/ DĂźsseldorf â&#x20AC;˘ Airport transfer â&#x20AC;˘ Accommodation for 4 nights â&#x20AC;˘ Full breakfast daily â&#x20AC;˘ Travel insurance â&#x20AC;˘ DĂźsseldorf city map For more info visit www.tradefairtours.com or call 031 916 1414

To place a classiďŹ ed advert please Fax: 086 519 6089 or Tel: 021 712 1408 or E-mail: saplastics@iafrica.com www.saplastics.co.za

Energy saver â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in working order

FOR SALE SM-350 Super Master Plastic Injection Moulding Machine. Year: 1994, Very well looked after and fully serviced up to date.

Price: R 230 000.00 (including VAT)

CDC-88 Controller (Core, Unscrewing and air standard)

120 Ton Hume Extruder 2012 Model

Machine is located in Cape Town, Epping Industrial 1

Complete with bath, cooling tower & electric cabinet

Only 1 available for sale in South Africa!

Complete blower system

Asking: R 280,000 excl VAT & delivery

In working order in the factory Price: R 130 000.00 (including VAT)

Contact: Ryan Markus on 083 372 5872

Owner moving to the coast Contact: Jan on 082 821 3347

GREENLAND OILS Michael Engels 072 125 4323

Reinette Jordan Email: reinette@jcl.co.za

Tel: (011) 903-8084 Fax: (086) 665-4323 email: mengels1@ telkomsa.net PO Box 1220 Walkerville 1876

COMPOUNDING CAPACITY AVAILABLE We can compound mineral powders into PP or PE Please call Alon on 021 521 2400 APRIL / MAY 2013

SPORTS

A Duzi of a race! Kayaks have evolved from simple wood and canvas to kayaks using the most sophisticated materials available THE Unlimited Duzi Canoe Marathon The design (shape) of the basic Duzi is arguably the world’s most prestigious river canoe has not changed much over canoe (or rather, kayak) race, covering a the years, with the tried-and-tested stable, distance of more than 125km along the strong shapes coming out of Europe Msunduzi River between Pietermaritzburg many years ago. The decks are adapted and Durban. River conditions range from to accommodate paddlers wearing shoes flat calm waters to raging rapids which (needed for portaging), and with more take their toll on both paddler and kayak. volume in the decks for buoyancy in the The race also includes more than 60 km rapids. of portaging with the kayak. For the competitive paddlers in the Competitors have a choice to either Duzi, the hull designs are taken off the compete in a K1 or K2 canoe … and the latest Olympic sprint models with some kayak they select modifications to will make all the make them stron‘The Duzi is a unique event difference! ger on SA rivers worldwide as competitors This year’s Duzi and with the decks have to deal with flat water, canoe marathon modified for river as well as rough rapids, and champ, Lance use. To ensure that Kime’s winning all the paddlers in the kayaks have to be fast time was 8 hours the Duzi have an as well as constructed to and 29 seconds, equal opportunity withstand the battering they comfortably inside to be competitive experience over the rapids.’ the previous mark and to ensure of 8:03.22 of the safety of the 2007 by three-time former champion Ant competitors, there is a minimum weight Stott. The first Duzi was started on 22 limit of 12kgs for a single K1 and 18kgs for December 1951 with only eight competia K2 (2-man). This weight limit is achieved tors. Unlike the current race, the first race using more sophisticated materials, but at was held on a continuous basis, with the a greater cost. racers only stopping when they reached the finish. From PE and carbon fibre to Kevlar An attempt has been made to use polyEvolution of design ethylene in the construction of Duzi type According to Mark Lewin of KZN-based canoes, but so far the investment in the Custom Kayaks, the kayaks used for the cost of moulds and the cost of research Duzi over the years have evolved from and development in this area cannot simple wood and canvas, through fibrebe justified by the small demand for this glass, to kayaks using the most sophistiunique type of product, i.e. competitive cated materials available today. weight and durability. “The kayaks have evolved as the sport Some of the more familiar composites has evolved,” he says. “The Duzi is a used are fibreglass, Kevlar, spectra and unique event worldwide as competitors polyester. Composites allow canoes to be have to deal with flat water, as well as designed in nearly any shape imaginrough rapids, and the kayaks have to be able. These canoes are also some of the fast as well as constructed to withstand easiest to repair if damaged because they the battering they experience over the are essentially just fabric and resin. Most rapids.” quality canoe manufacturers construct 100 APRIL / MAY 2013

canoes using a combination of one or more of these fabrics and lay the fabric in the mould by hand. Kevlar fibres are lighter than fibreglass with higher tensile strength. Kevlar is more impact and tear resistant than fibreglass, and although substantially more expensive it is the favoured material used by the very competitive Duzi paddlers. The Kevlar construction combined with more flexible resins will also give the canoe more chance of surviving heavy impact. Carbon fibre composite canoes are used in flat water or the Olympic disciplines where the only requirement is rigidity and the lightest possible weight. Though light, an all-carbon canoe is rigid to the point of being brittle. Resins a key player Resins are a key player and how much and what type of resin used determines how heavy the canoe is, how flexible, and how strong. Currently there are a number of systems being used by canoe builders to reduce the amount of resin used, including vacuum bagging and infusion. Epoxy resins are more expensive and harder to work with than polyester resins, but yield greater strength. Polyester resin is the cheapest type of resin used and is commonly found on many fiberglass canoes. Vinyl ester resins are sometimes chosen over epoxy and polyester resins because they are thought to bond better with some fabrics. They are arguably as strong as epoxies, and nearly as difficult and expensive to work with. They are more flexible than epoxies, making them less rigid, and an advantage in paddling difficult white-water rivers. • WITH SINCERE THANKS TO MARK LEWIN OF CUSTOM KAYAKS, TEL: 031 312 1711 www.customkayaks.co.za

â&#x20AC;&#x153;more than just a chemical supplierâ&#x20AC;?

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