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A F R I C A N

TECHNOLOGY

www.sapt.co.za

VOL 20 NR 2 APRIL / MAY 2022

 VOL 20 NR 2 APRI L / MAY

Over 9,000 attend Propak Africa …as pandemic problems recede

2022

Extrupet doubling food-grade recycling capabilities D-FIRST UN AGREES TO CREATE WORL TRASH GLOBAL TREATY ON PLASTIC

2022/04/06 07:23

OF FI

A SS O CI A S OU T

OECD report maps lifecycle of plastics globally 30

Earthkind – NCS Resins’ sustainable platform

JEC Innovation Awards – excellence in composite innovations 46

Reusable to-go mugs for a sustainable lifestyle 58

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www.sapt.co.za

The Home of Size Reduction

LICATION PUB OF T C P A ( ) N & P TIO RN AF HE

ICS CONV A ST ER PL TE HE S INSTI STIC TU LA CA (PIS RI

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Nike reveals hands-free GO FlyEase trainer

Bowler purchase of Skye completed

2022/04/12 10:57

Brenntag Polymer Additives Brenntag Polymer Additives Brenntag Brenntag Polymer Polymer Additives Additives Brenntag distributes a comprehensive range of Polymer Brenntag Polymer Additives additives embracing new and innovative solutions

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Please get in touch with us for any additive related enquiries

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RUBBERS / POLYMERS / LUBRICANTS RUBBERS / POLYMERS / LUBRICANTS RUBBERS RUBBERS / POLYMERS / POLYMERS / LUBRICANTS / LUBRICANTS RUBBERS / POLYMERS / LUBRICANTS 2022/03/29 09:49

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2021/01/21 08:50

BY THE WAY

Publisher & Managing Editor: M artin W ells (martin@ summitpub.co.za) Editor: Tessa O ’H ara (tessa@ summitpub.co.za) Publishers Assistant: H eather P eplow (heather@ summitpub.co.za) Bookkeeper: G loria v an H eerden (gloriavanheerden@ gmail.com) Designers: J eanette E rasm us Graphic Design (jeanette.erasmus@ lateraldynamics.co.za) B ronwen M oys Blinc Design (bronwen.clarke@ gmail.com) S um m it P ublishing cc t: + 27 (21) 7 12 14 08 f: 086 5 19 6 089 c: + 27 (82) 822 8115 e: tessa@ summitpub.co.za Postnet Suite 4 2, Private Bag X 16 , Constantia 7 84 8, Cape Town, South Africa c/ o The Stoep, 3 Tiverton Road Plumstead 7 800

www.sapt.co.za G A U TE N G L owrie S harp t: (011) 7 93 4 6 91 f: (011) 7 91 05 4 4 c: 082 3 4 4 7 87 0 e: lowrieplasticsmedia@ absamail.co.za K Z N L ynne A sk ew c: 082 904 94 3 3 summitpub.co.za

e: lynne@

P rinted by: Novus Print, Paarl Southern African Polymer 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. V iews expressed are not necessarily those of the Plastics Converters Association, Institute of Materials or Association of Rotational Moulders either. C opyright: All rights reserved. IS S N

num ber: 16 84 -285 5 (ISDS Centre, Paris) S um m it P ublishing: CK 986 3 5 81/ 23 V A T reg: 4 6 00187 902

Plastics Institute

Association of Rotational

Plastics Converters

of Southern Africa

Moulders of South Africa

Association

PET Plastic Recycling South Africa

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Institute of Materials

A 9-metre monument dubbed #TurnOffThePlasticTap by Canadian activist and artist Benjamin von Wong, made with plastic waste collected from Kibera slums, is seen at the venue of the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5), at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya. See page 27.

High tension as gun-wielding group raids plant

A NE looking out of your office to the entrance gates of your business to see a group of about 15 men, about half of whom are carrying weapons, A s to be specific, demanding entry. Y ou had been forewarned by a caller who wanted to discuss the ‘ HR situation’ at your business, but surely this sort of thing only happens in movies he group identified themselves as part of the local ‘ black business forum’ (or something similar). Y our options are limited, and refusal to allow them entry isn’t one as your security personnel are not even armed. About half the group gain entry and you are obliged to meet them where the apparent leader accuses you of being a racist, of exploiting your staff, nepotism and suchlike and demands that you make several major changes to your business model immediately, including handing over procurement responsibilities to them. None of this is possible at such short notice, so you advise that you will need to discuss their proposals with your partners and owners... but you still can’t get them out of the building because they now demand protection money, the leader advises, as they could have shut your business down right there and then, which they could have done. Few people, like no-one, would be prepared to argue with individuals carrying AK’s. But you don’t have large sums of cash on site and your only card left is to assure the assailants that you will discuss their proposals and get back to them. The group then leaves. What was also strange about this incident is that their mode of transport was luxury SUV s. Apparently, this is all in the name of radical economic transformation. Going forward, the options for the business, based in an SA coastal city, are not numerous. The site was shut down for four days, and the possibility of upgrading security was ruled out simply because it would have been too expensive and made normal business operation difficult. This incident, and there may have been others, took place earlier this year. People in the know informed management of the business that this type of thing does happen elsewhere, and South Africa is only the fifth most dangerous place in the world in this respect in which … IF YOU HAVE to conduct business (events like this are SOMETHING TO SAY apparently more common in places like Look at the bright side: if you have some gem of wisdom to Colombia and Russia for instance). impart, please write to us at tessa@summitpub.co.za

2022/04/12 09:20

BADAMID PA™ V OL UME 20 NR 2

APRIL – MAY 2022

CONTENTS F ind out m ore at www.sapt.co.za

6 16

INDUSTRY NEWS

Plastinternational, new prepaid water mngt control system

22 24

Taili machines prove popular at Spicoly

UN agrees to create ‘historic’ global treaty on plastic trash

Plastics industry distances itself from defrauding bag manufacturers

OECD report maps lifecycle of plastics globally

42 44

polythalamide for metal replacement

BADATRON PPS™

polyphenylene sulphine for high-temperature applications

BADADUR™ PBT

polybutylene terephthalate compounds

TAILOR-MADE COMPOUNDS

Extrupet doubling food-grade recycling capabilities Bowler purchase of Skye completed

BADAMID PPA™

BADA™

Propak Africa, over 9 000 attend

18 14

polyamide (co-polyamide and partly aromatic)

Whatever formulation you require we supply, irrespective of volume or complexity … including

Continental buys assets of Highveld Recyclers

Earthkind, NCS Resins’ sustainable platform

61 28

• In n o v a t i v e l y c o m p o u n d e d e n g i n e e r i n g p o l y m e r s o lu tio n s to a c h ie v e v e r s a tile p r o p e r tie s • To include colour, UV, ﬂame retardant and any o th e r r e q u ir e d s ta b iliz e r s /a d d itiv e s • M o s t c o m p o u n d s a r e e x c lu s iv e to c u s to m e r s • W e o ffe r p o ly m e r s e le c tio n a n d m o u ld tr ia ls o n a p r o p r ie ta r y a n d in c lu s iv e b a s is

Nylon substitute

W e a l s o s u p p l y t h e N y l o n s u b s t i t u t e Poketone™ f r o m Hy o s u n g C h e m i c a l o f K o r e a .

ASSOCIATIONS

P o k e to n e in c lu d e s a r a n r e s in s w ith e n h a n c e d im a n d h y d r o ly s is r e s is ta n c r e p la c e m e n t fo r m a n y P A

Institute of Materials Foundation Lecture: Jack Doherty, West African Group

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COMPOSITES

Envisioning high-volume, 100% composite wheels Resin-infused centre console proves higher performance, speed, quality

DESIGN

JEC Innovation Awards – excellence in composite innovations ON THE COVER: Nike has eliminated the need for laces or other fasteners by building the shoe around a patent-pending bi-stable hinge within the sole. Combined with a large rubber band – called a midsole tensioner by Nike – this hinge allows the shoe to be secure in both an open position for the foot to enter and a closed position for when the trainers are in use. Read more on page 72

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72 Composite Plastics cc A lla n P a te r s o n , 0 8 2 8 8 6 6 0 5 8 a lla n @ c o m p o s ite p la s tic s .c o .z a C r a ig P a te r s o n , 0 8 3 6 8 0 9 7 9 3 c r a ig @ c o m p o s ite p la s tic s .c o .z a www.compositeplastics.co.za

2022/04/12 09:2210:30 2021/02/09

COMMENT I m pressiv e inj ection m oulding system s were on show at P ropak A frica in M arch, which was a good outcom e for our m uch- pilloried industry ( referring to the env ironm ental criticism ) . F rom what we understand, m ost of the m achines on show had been pre- sold and that the owners had giv en perm ission to the suppliers to exhibit the system s. The E ngel, H aitian and Tederic electric m achines were fully operational and drew a lot of attention in the P roplas hall. – See p ages 6 - 1 5

Working with reliable partners will be even more important now E v ery little sales or technical ad v antage y ou can get at this point should help

APR / MAY 2022

HE focus for business activity has now shifted to the logistics area, and it could prove costly and have very negative impacts on your business if you get your material orders and planning wrong.

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Extended delivery times and restrained material availability, not to mention the difficulty of obtaining many vital items such as computer chips, are all the unexpected result of the Covid pandemic. It’s become clear that it’s far more difficult to switch the global economy back on than it was to switch it off. anufacturers in Africa are finding it difficult to resume business as normal and the competitive challenge has as a result been notched up. It’s no simple matter for convertors to guarantee supply to customers and to be confident in this area now. But uite a lot of you are getting it right. One of the keys to maintaining steady production and consistent sales is possibly that of working with reliable partners. hear most of the material suppliers are now being contacted regularly by people who they’ve never dealt with before. At least some of these convertors in dire straits were previously buying only from Sasol, which at times in 2021 offered among the lowest prices for polyolefins available internationally, only to then advise towards the end of the year that they couldn’t supply. From what we hear, the situation is still not back to normal although by now most of us are no longer sure what ‘ normal’ is any more). aterial importers the way things are now, the B of material used in SA is being imported) have previously advised customers to buy at least a portion of their

THIS ISSUE

requirement from them, rather than only when there is a local supply crisis. That allows for the supply chain to your premises to be tested and proven. It appears that at least some of the users did this and have happy and sustainable partnerships with their material suppliers, and other suppliers too. So, working with reliable partners especially with raw material supply may be one of the keys to survival from here. P ropak A frica went well The jury will always be out on whether participating at trade shows is good or bad, useful or not. et s ust say some people go to trade shows and are done in an hour or two, having walked around the entire place. No-one to talk to eally Well, we noticed that the exhibitors at ropak Africa in March were virtually without exception impressively turned out and ready to talk business and do business. The show did not attract nearly has many international guests as before, but I am nearly certain that guests who attended beneﬁtted considerably from the opportunity to spend more time talking to the local manufacturers and suppliers who exhibited. It was, in spite of power outages, good fun. Every little sales or technical advantage you can get at this point should help.

Most of us are no longer sure what ‘normal’ is any more

Martin Wells, Publisher

2022/04/12 09:59

QUALITY SEAL

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02.03.2022 10:24:47

PROPAK AFRICA PHOTOS BY LOWRIE SHARP & MARTIN WELLS

Over 9 000 attend as pandemic problems recede

Pro-Plas exhibitors put on impressive display

6 APRIL / MAY 2022

GIVEN that the Covid pandemic had virtually cut the global trade show business off at the knees, it was commendable that Propak Africa even went ahead in March. And despite yet another loadshedding event during the show, it’s got to be said that the 2022 edition of the triennial event was a measured success. The show from 8-11 March at Nasrec (National Recreation Centre) at Aeroton south of Johanneburg went ahead with greatly reduced exhibitor numbers (the 2019 show attracted over 600, this year just over 200 were present) and consequently reduced hall numbers. Just two halls were utilised, including the

Helmut Oellermann of Brenntag SA introduced the company’s new business development manager, Dumisani Shabangu, at Propak. Dumsani takes over from Thys du Plessis, who has retired. Dumisani has a masters degree in polymer science from Stellenbosch University and has worked in the nano fibre and as a laboratory analyst

main Propak hall and the Proplas hall, with the latter coming close to holding its own in terms of local exhibitor numbers. But against that backdrop, visitor numbers did not suffer as great a drop. The visitor tally after the four days was estimated at 9,750, a big drop from the 11,792 of 2019, but given the many side effects of the pandemic lockdowns, with the fear of Covid induced among many not to be under-estimated as a root cause of the problem, which was arguably no surprise. 2019 had achieved a miniscule increase over the 11,682 of 2016, which had in turn been surprisingly down on the 13,010 of 2013, although a factor for 2016 was heavy rain throughout the four days of the event.

It is unfortunate therefore that Propak Africa was not able to continue with its steady increase in popularity and reach, but the organiser, Specialised Exhibitions, must have had to dig deep just to survive the past two years. For many industries, trade shows are the lifeblood of their activity, providing access to technology as well as, probably most importantly, the opportunity for individuals to network on neutral ground. In this respect, hospitality on the stands was again the order of the day and, without exception, exhibitor personnel were turned out to the T! Propak Africa is aimed at the packaging, printing, plastics, food processing and labelling industries and has proved over the years to be

Martin Gassner (centre) of Classic Closures of Cape Town with Classic’s sales manager Ravill Wilson and Clifford Inggs

Very fine screen – No, Christian Sommer of Powerfil, the Erema Filter Systems subsidiary, is not a magician, but what he’s showing borders on magic. The backflusher filter he holds is used in laser filters, where the extremely fine screen of 30 micron density can remove the very finest of contaminants (dust, paper, wood, aluminium etc) from the melt flow in the Erema unit. Scrapers remove the contaminants in an automatic backflushing process

Propak Africa a meeting place and catalyst for business growth in these sectors. “It was a really good show,” said Mark Anderson, portfolio director at Specialised Exhibitions. “Propak Africa, together with colocates the GAPP Print Expo, Pro-Plas Expo, FoodPro Expo and Pro-Label Expo, delivered an excellent four days of exhibitors showcasing latest products, technology and innovation. The general feeling of exhibitors was that although the quantity of visitors wasn’t quite as

high as it was before Covid, the quality of visitor was absolutely outstanding.” Michelle Penlington, marketing and executive sustainability at Polyoak Packaging, said: “We had many visitors from Africa, with good leads, especially from Zambia, Nigeria and Malawi. The visitor profile was a highlight of the show this year.” Automation again a highlight The several South African packaging automation suppliers – including the

highly professional Acepak, Akura, Filmatic, HG Molenaar, Pakmatic, Progetto, USS Pactech and others – were again a central focus. If there’s one area where South Africa is globally competitive it has to be the packaging automation area. It’s a field of expertise with exceptionally high standards with few rivals in industry in the country. Of the global manufacturers in this area, Krones was there again too, with the SA manufacturers doing well to at least compete with this German world leader.>>

The Banbury team on their stand, back Michael Ball, Xolisa Qhinga, Paulos Nkosi and Rory Webber, front Morgan Martens, Brian Sinclair and Ursula Webber Khaya Sibisi and Vanessa James of Plastic & Chemical Trading with Feredh Djaziri of KraussMaffei

Erema recycling system biggest on show – Franz Weixlbaumer of Erema Austria, Dean Toi of Erema Africa and Christian Sommer of Powerfil Austria on the Erema stand

APRIL / MAY 2022 7

Henk de Klerk of Wrapetfill hosted a visit by Neelin Naidoo of Mpact Plastics to see what this versatile business has to offer. Representatives of Wrapetfill’s principals 1Blow (PET container manufacturing), CYPET (large-volume PET containers), Intravis (inspection systems), Kautex (extrusion blow moulding equipment) and Delta Engineering (automation systems) were on the stand

PROPAK AFRICA Missing in action There were just 360 international visitors this year, which was also considerably less than 2019. Most of the international visitors were from Africa, but even that was a big reduction on previous editions of the show. Missing from this year’s show were the many visitors from West Africa who have frequented the Propak Africa events in Johannesburg over many years. This year there was a greatly reduced number of visitors from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and the West and East African regions, and that is almost certainly the result of Covid travel restrictions.

Fortunately, there were some guests from Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, but it was nothing like previous years. Also missing were the many exhibitors from China, also due to the heavy restrictions applied in that country due to the pandemic. Missing is an understatement, a gaping hole was left in the halls. In previous years a substantial number of exhibitors – including mould makers and other machinery suppliers as well as manufacturers of virtually any and every type of plastics item – attended Propak, and they congregated at what was effectively a little ‘Chinatown’ within the main hall or the Proplas

hall. Their absence must have made management of the event that much more difficult for the organisers, Specialised Exhibitions. There were basically no visitors from the Far East, and they were missed. For many the relief at the resumption of ‘business as usual’ was tangible. Thank you to the representatives of the international principals of many of the suppliers for making the trek out to Africa and providing the link to state-ofthe-art European technology, perhaps an advantage this year in the absence of manufacturers from China and Taiwan.

8 APRIL / MAY 2022

Three Haitian ‘Generation’ machines in operation THE Cabletech team presented a range of Haitian injection moulding machines as well as one of Haitian’s Hision milling system, all operational during the 4-day period. Three machines from the Haitian Generation series – including 90, 160 and 280-ton systems, incorporating a full central feeding system from Shini – were on show. The recently introduced Hision VMC1000 milling machine, also built by Haitian, ran with a Fanuc controller. Haitian is now starting to become completely independent, Cabletech personnel confirmed. Also on the Cabletech stand, though not in operation, was Beier recycling equipment. Beier has sold phenomenally well over the past 12 months, said the Cabletech spokesman.

The new Ultra low-energy driers from Maguire offer some specific advantages for convertors, the biggest probably being that of reduced energy use. These units operate on a low-pressure basis and dry only what is required, specifically material in the lower half of the hopper. Danie Strydom of Hestico, the Maguire agent, showed visitors how the units function. Energy savings, in comparison to conventional material driers used to date, are said to exceed 80%

Danie Strydom, Lourens Erasmus and Ernest Green and in front Liesl Lottering and Juanita Stiehler-Brits.

Ernest Green standing next to a Maguire blender that uses loadcells to gravimetrically weigh down each material of the recipe and dose to a Accuracy of ±0,1% on a 1% Setting. There are around 1500 blenders in South Africa making it the most popular blender in the industry

HOME OF SIZE REDUCTION Size-reduction is often the first step in recycling, and Zerma is “the home of size-reduction”. The impressive GSH800/1600 heavy-duty granulator was on display on the Zerma stand at Propak, along with a range of other granulators and shredders for both in-house and postconsumer recycling applications. Seen here standing beside the large machine is the Zerma team of Bart Schurink, Chantal Noble, Joanne Marcus and Jeff Cawcutt.

HILECTRO ELECTRIC PALLET TRUCK HISION MACHINE TOOLS HISION MACHINE TOOLS

HISION MACHINE TOOLS HISION MACHINE The high-speed series adopt Haitian Seiko’sTOOLS patented servo

“Recycling made simple” is more than a slogan, it is the design philosophy of Polystar Machinery of Taiwan, a world-leading manufacturer of pelletising extruders. Represented locally by ZA Machinery, Polystar continues to grow their footprint in Southern Africa through technological innovation, excellent value for money, and an understanding of the realities and challenges facing local recyclers. In support at Propak to answer your recycling questions was Jeff Cawcutt, Chantal Noble, Bart Schurink, Candice Cawcutt and Joanne Marcus.

Tracey McGee, new sales and distribution rep sales manager, and Andrew McIlwaine-Wright on blow moulder Karob Plastics’ stand Absent from the Packaging World stand this year was Dean Gianni, who was injured during the company’s recent move to new premises, but there at their usual spot on the outskirts of Hall 6 (every three years) were Darryn Grant-Stuart, Johan Grove and Kirsty Burden

The high-speed serieshigh adopt Haitian Seiko’sergonomics, patented servo technology to integrate dynamic response, technology to integrate high dynamicprotection response, ergonomics, energy conservation and environmental with perThe high-speed Seiko’spatented patented servo The high-speedseries seriesadopt adopt Haitian Haitian Seiko’s servo fect high-speed cuttingand experience. Hision isprotection widely usedwith in perenergy conservation environmental technology response,ergonomics, ergonomics, technologytotointegrate integrate high high dynamic dynamic response, high-end manufacturing industries suchHision as mold, aerofect high-speed cutting experience. is widely used energy conservation protectionwith with per- in energy conservationand and environmental environmental protection perspace, rail, auto and muchindustries more high-end manufacturing such as mold, aerofect high-speedcutting cutting experience. experience. Hision in in fect high-speed Hisionisiswidely widelyused used space, rail, auto and much more such high-end manufacturing industries high-end manufacturing industries suchas asmold, mold,aeroaerospace, rail,auto autoand andmuch much more more space, rail,

HILECTRO ELECTRIC FORKLIFT

Office: +27 11 704 0824 | info@cabletech.co.za 20 Amelia Lane, Lanseria Corporate Estate, Malibongwe Road, Lanseria

Web : www.cabletech.co.za

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2020/09/28 14:05

PROPAK AFRICA

10 APRIL / MAY 2022

Impressive High-accuracy Engel ‘e’ machine production cells on show at Propak ‘22 ONE of the aspects of the plastics business, as compared to other packaging materials, is that it is possible to present complete production cells – and in production too – in trade show halls. This is simply not possible for glass, metal, paper/board and the like. With injection moulding machines it is possible to set up a system and run production, with the extreme need to make it impressive (as exhibitors know the bulk of visitors to their stands will be people from the industry who know all about it). This was no exception at Propak Africa 2022, with a number of the SA suppliers showing working systems. And impress they did, and visitors from the other halls not familiar with plastics processing must have been impressed too.

GreenTech Plastics Machinery’s e-Mac 100 injection moulding machine was a show- stopper! GreenTech sold the machine to one of its longest serving clients in December 2021, and it was on loan for the expo to demonstrate its capabilities. The fully operational e-Mac 100 produced toothpaste caps, much to the fascination of Propak visitors. Sales staff was on hand to explain how the machine works and to answer questions.

Danie Strydom of Hestico with Sotaro Susuki and Toshiyuki Morozumi with the AOKI display on the Hestico stand Francois Gerves and Shaun van Praet were on the Snetor SA stand, being one of the few big material suppliers to exhibit this year … meaning that they were quite unexpectedly busy

Juanitia Stiehler –Brits, MD Hestico with their principals Corrado Zanga of Uniloy, Italy, Toshiyuki Morozumi of AOKI, Reiner Meier of Arbur) and Sotaro Susuki of AOKI

Reinhard Fechter, the new technical specialist at PlastiColors tasked with development work in the areas of additives and polymer processing technologies, here with the masterbatch supplier’s technical manager, Carolyn Kellock. The stands and flags were 3D printed at Additive Manufacturing Solutions (AMS)/SA Filament using PlastiColors 3D printing masterbatch technology. The benefits of 3D printing allowed AMS to design a stand with our logo and colouring without having to manufacture a mould. This is a fast-developing market and is sure to change the future of plastics processing. PlastiColors’ s launched it’s new Vibrant range plug & play colour solution that can be customised at Propak. It includes an array of colours that are food contact compliant with good heat stability. There is also a transparent colour to match each solid colour, allowing the brand owner to create matching sets. Customers can also create their own colour pallet by including a pearl or shimmer effect with their chosen masterbatch.

Pailpac ‘alley’ – The Pailpac group has an unusual way of promoting at trade shows, exhibiting no products and rather using the platform to interact with guests, even having its own very well appointed coffee shop, on a separate stand, for the purpose. One of SA leading plastic convertors, Pailpac group appears to have split up into various business units, of which Pharmapack, Brandline Packaging and Link all had their own booths this year, all operating on the same strategy, along an alley in the Propak hall

Jason Pinard of Blowpack, one of the Polyoak group companies, was on hand to deal with inquiries about its large new drums, which it introduced in 2020. An upgraded version of its 210-litre drum and a new 100-litre, 150-litre and 250-litre drum were on show. These new containers also feature some material

Coenie Bantjies was on the Progetto stand, competing once again with the several other packaging automation system suppliers that form a core focus at the Propak events. Progetto showed this compact linear trimmer. Scrap is ejected continuously Trimming of containers with a dome design is conducted by means of a hot blade. Quick adjustment devices allow for easy setup and trimming of different size containers, which is a big plus

Haitian Drive Systems ,Hilectro specializes in the production of electric forklifts, storage cars, AGV cars and other energy-saving vehicles. Adhering to the concept of “high-quality, highefficiency and energy-saving”, Hilectro is committed to providing high-quality products for customers all over the world HAITIAN SERIES HAITIAN MARS MARS 33SERIES HAITIAN MARS HAITIAN MARS 33 SERIES SERIES Mars HILECTRO ELECTRIC Mars PALLET TRUCK Mars Mars ’ ’ Mars Mars

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Office: +27 11 704 0824 | info@cabletech.co.za 20 Amelia Lane, Lanseria Corporate Estate, Malibongwe Road, Lanseria

Web : www.cabletech.co.za

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PROPAK AFRICA

Fast-cycling Tederic electric hybrid USERVE presented a NEO E290-ton electric hybrid Tederic machine running a four-cavity for PP tubs. Impressive additions to the system included the Maguire WSB gravimetric blender, which weighs and doses up to four different

materials (in this case virgin, regrind, additives and colour) and a Campetella robot. Known as the ‘Gunshot’ robot, the unit can operate at extremely fast speeds and, if anything, the Userve technicians had to slow the robot down.

The Campetella system works off its own power supply. Electric technology is used for injection moulding, and the repeatability of the injection mould opening position is 0.01mm. Left: A startling improvement in clarity for the PP tub was achieved through the use of a special clarifier compounded to customer requirement by Advanced Polymers. The ZT03 clarifier can be used in PP homo and block copolymers but not in random copolymers or impact grade PP. Another plus is that the clarifier does not influence impact or MFI of the base PP

Far left: The Neo E290 machine from Tederic was shown in production, running PP tubs on a 4-cavity mould with a Maguire WSB gravimetric blender and Campetella pick-and-place robot, cycling at just over 3 seconds

Members of the Polyoak management team, Jeremy Mackintosh, Karl Lambrecht and Stuart Krogg, had a bit of time to relax on their busy stand

Floors Coetzee of Sabre Equipment hosted the visit of Alfred Menhart of Reifenhäuser of Germany. Alfred, area sales manager for Africa for this integrated German extrusion equipment manufacturer, says non-woven systems have been selling very well (due to Covid), to an extent at the expense of sales of standard extrusion lines. He also mentioned that sales into Egypt are quite exceptional presently

12 APRIL / MAY 2022

Wim Goebel, Herman Botes, Zita Rodrigues and Jeremy Goosen on the Rawmac stand.

Sanet Cilliers of Omya Idwala SA visited Propak 2022

Martin Wells with Neil Swanepoel and Richard French of Symphony Environmental of the UK, and Okkie Nel and Alistair Calder of Sun Ace, which represents Symphony

Louis Stemmet of Winelands Plastics was an upbeat presence. A first-time exhibitor, the Worcester (Western Cape) recycler is evidence of what can be done from small beginnings. Starting in 2001, Louis began collecting used plastic chemical containers, irrigation pipe and crates for recycling, to CropLife International standard (certified by CropLife SA) on a ‘Pick up and Payment’ basis. Since then Winelands has also become a supplier of recycling equipment, including granulators, shredders, sharpeners and extruders. It now also supplies Film Squeezy Cutters (ex-Far East), which help speed up the film, bag and sheet recycling process www.wpimports.co.za

Visitors from Treger Plastics Bulawayo, Zimbabwe - Wayne Soutter, Lamik Bhebe, Noku Nyuke and Craig Lowe

Neil Smith of Syncplas showed an in-house film recycling system from Plasmac of Italy, the chief application of which is the recycling of edge trim from blown film lines. The Alpha XS recycling extruder uses Plasmac’s unique short screw technology (SST), with the waste material fed directly on to the screw, meaning no prior size reduction is required and, by means of infrared heating, recycled pellets of the highest quality are achieved

HILECTRO ELECTRIC PALLET TRUCK Shini group is able to help you on whole plant planning: conveying, drying, dosing Shini groupisisable able to help youwhole on whole Shini S temperature h i n i group g r o u p i s control a b l e tot and o help h e system l p you y o u on ocooling, n w h o le plant planning: conveying, drying, dosing plant for p l a automation n t planning: p l a n n i n g and : conveying, c o n recycling v e y i n g , drying, d r y injection i n g , dosing d o s in g temperature temperature t e m application p e r a t u r e control c control o orn t extrusion r o l and a n and d system s application y system s t e m cooling, c o o .cooling, lin g ,

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Classifieds Oct/Nov'2020.indd 96

2020/09/28 13:04

PROPAK AFRICA

Morne and Colette Steenekamp of Precision Moulding & Moulds visited Propak

Umberto Favini with the Userve team at Propak

14 APRIL / MAY 2022

Khaya Sibisi and Vanessa James of Plastic & Chemical Trading with Jamil Jorge of Kiefel Packaging the other principal exhibiting on their stand

Craig Lolliot, Matthew Cockram and Mitchell Lolliot at the P&CT stand. This was a bit of a novelty promotion of the robot that P&CT represent – the robot would take a raw sausage, place it on a set of heated rollers and once hot, would collect the sausage, transport it to another tray on the opposite side of the apparatus, and place the sausage in a bun for consumption

Kyle Dewar new Marketing Manager for Polyco was introduced with Chandru Wadhwani, joint MD Extrupet and Douw Steyn, Director Sustainability for Plastics|SA

Uwe Neumann (NGR head of sales), Sven Ortner (NGR area sales manager), Mervyn Moodley (Safrique, CEO) Kevork Hagopian (Global Plastics, VP of international business), Renato Granelli (Nordmeccanica area sales manager) and Llewellyn Moodley (Safrique sales) Safrique’s Mervyn Moodley with staff Pauline Muvirimi and Patrick Rutaha

Mervyn Moodley (centre) with his NGR principal Uwe Neunann and Sven Ortner from Austria

Bowler introduces digitally printed IML solution for tubs Potential to create interest among emerging brand companies

Market introductions require limited initial exposure for products

Bowler development manager Rob Hunt was quite a popular man at Propak Africa in March

Given the changing nature of the consumer market presently, brand companies desire production flexibility – since committing to long production runs with untrialled products could be highly detrimental. www.bowler.co.za Bowler’s new digitally printed IML solution for tubs makes it possible to service far smaller orders of tubs, with lowest orders of 20,000 now standard. Prior to this only multiples of this were possible

APRIL / MAY 2022 15

BOWLER introduced its new digitally printed IML solution for jars and tubs at Propak Africa 2022 in what is potentially a first for South Africa. Following the introduction of its digital printing on laminate tubes in 2015 Bowler saw demand for its tube products multiply by a significant measure, to the point where it began to seek other opportunities for its digital printing capability. At an estimated investment cost of R17-million, this was obviously necessary. Then Bowler product development manager Rob Hunt hit on the idea of digitally printing labels, specifically labels for in mould labelling (IML) application. The Bowler group already possessed of IML equipment, and the concept progressed to the point where it began to see the potential to use the IML solution for its tubs and jars, mainly for the cosmetic/ household/personal care sector, which it was already manufacturing. IML has the major advantage of eliminating one whole step of the container production cycle, namely attachment of label prior to capping and/or filling. The chief advantage was that the Bowler system, which may at this stage be unique, allowed for the production of shorter runs, down to as little as 20,000 units. In other words, the set-up cost of label production was substantially reduced, and utilization of IML meant that production was speeded up. The anticipation was that there were an emerging group of brand manufacturers in South Africa as well as the southern Africa market which for the purpose of market introductions required limited initial exposure for products, in order to test the market. “Our digital printing system is quick,” said Hunt, “which is a further plus for brand companies.” Injection moulding cycle times are likely to be low and, if anything, assembly of the jar is more time-consuming. The IML labels are printed on a PP substrate using worldleading technology (Bowler is reluctant to inform the market of the type of machine it uses, understandably).

INDUSTRY NEWS

Extrupet doubling food-grade recycling A frica’ s only food - grad e recy cler w ill now reclaim and conv ert ov er 6 0 0 0 0 tons per y ear EX TRUPET, one of the largest and most advanced recyclers of plastics on the African continent, in undertaking a major expansion of their food-grade plastic recycling operations in South Africa. “Extrupet is proud to announce that we will double our food-grade operations by adding a fourth foodgrade recycled PET (rPET) facility, which will increase our recycling C handru W adhwani, j oint m anaging director at E xtrupet

capacity by an additional 3 3 000 tons per year,” said Chandru Wadhwani, joint managing director at Extrupet. This will see Extrupet doubling their food grade operations capacity to over 6 0 000 tons a year. “The demand for food-grade recycling keeps on increasing, especially as retailers and consumers alike opt for more environmentally friendly options,” he continued. “Currently, only 6 0% of South Africa’s plastic bottles are recycled. With this increased capacity, we will be able to accommodate more of South Africa’s plastic waste and strengthen South Africa’s position as a circular economy leader in Africa and the world”. Phase 1 of this expansion is slated for Cape Town and is

GreenTech supplies 12th Engel machine to leading packaging manufacturer

16 APR / MAY 2022

K eeping in step w ith cutting- ed ge technological ad v anceme nts E ﬁrst Engel plastic in ection moulding machine which was commissioned at Telplast (Pty) L td 20 years ago is still in full operation. Telplast managing director, Chirag Madhu, puts this impressive performance down to a combination of product reliability, employee dedication and good equipment care. “We currently have a total of 12 fully operational Engel plastic injection moulding machines on our oor and the quality and reliability of this brand simply cannot be overstated,” says Madhu. “But equally important is the dedication of our team and our stringent machine maintenance programmes that we have in place.” CEO, Patrick Bracke, who founded GreenTech Machinery in 2016 to bring leading European-brand products to the South African market, formed a good relationship with Madhu and his team, providing maintenance and repair services on their Engel units. As a leading manufacturer of plastic and other packaging materials, Telplast is currently operating both hydraulic and electric Engel machines at its Industria facility on J ohannesburg’s West Rand.

“The biggest advantage of our six older hydraulic units, which continue to perform optimally, is their tirebarless system, so there is absolutely no need to replace them,” states Madhu. “We just ensure that these machines are properly maintained and regularly serviced by reen ech s ualified technicians. “As a result, our operation is more productive and efficient which in turn enhances the quality of our product and service delivery to our customers, he affirms.

GreenTech installed Telplast’s sixth electric oil-free Engel unit in December 2021. “Our professional and highly-trained technical team provides complete aftermarket service solutions to Telplast,” comments GreenTech strategy & operations lead, Marcus V isser. “We also offer the necessary up-to-date technical and operator training courses to Telplast employees to ensure that they are up to speed with the latest innovative technology incorporated into the new electric Engel machines.”

Telplast donated its new E ngel e- M ac 1 0 0 to G reentech for showcasing on their P ropak A frica 2 0 2 2 show stand

CMY

www.greentechm achinery.co.za

Extrupet-Greentech-.indd 16

2022/04/11 13:52

capabilities with new R300 million facility expected to be fully operational in 2023 . The development will cost approximately R3 00 million and will create additional jobs in the PET bottle collection industry. Extrupet, the first food grade plastic recycler in South Africa, currently recycles more than 5 million PET bottles every day. The recycled PET (rPET) is sold under Extrupet’s brand name PhoenixPET® , which has received international acclaim and is certified by the European ood Safety Authority, lobal ecycled Standard, B C ackaging AA rating and SO . he company was the first on the continent to use global C approved technology to recycle E bottles into resin for reuse in new carbonated soft drink bottles. Other prominent clients include ma or food and beverage companies, convertors and retailers. E xtrupet’s fourth food- grade rP E T facility will increase its recycling capacity by an additional 3 3 0 0 0 tons per year www.extrupet.com AC007.pdf 1 2022/03/24 10:02 APR / MAY 2022 17

CMY

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2022/04/11 13:51

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bowler purchase of Skye completed

18 APR / MAY 2022

O ld hand s get together again

BOWLER-.indd 18

BOWL ER group has completed its purchase of Skye Plastics of J ohannesburg, creating a new expanded entity that will have the capacity and skills to set the benchmark for a one-stop-shop for exceptional service and quality in the small to medium sized rigid plastic packaging manufacture in Southern Africa. Bowler group operates several production units around SA, including three plants in Cape Town, one in J ohannesburg and a depot in Durban. The manufacturing sites will benefit from the purchase through the expansion of manufacturing capacities after the equipment has been relocated. The changing packaging landscape in uenced by E , and high import cost motivated the expansion of service, specifically the support of rigid packaging specialist Mark Smith who is welcomed back onboard the Bowler train. Smith had been with Bowler from 2015 to 2017 , bringing with him his unique skills of container development and ability to draw brand companies in and focus on boutique solutions. Here is the ‘ movie director’ of the SA blow moulding sector, one who can provide everything brand companies desire and require – and make it fun at the same time. Smith joined Skye after his stint at Bowler, teaming up with industry veterans Fred Morawitz and Cyril Shand, who duly gave Smith virtual free reign to upgrade and expand the Skye operation. Shand and Morawitz did have the foresight to provide the budget for capex, but it was nevertheless with startling speed and efficiency that several pieces of high standard equipment were commissioned, and Skye forged ahead. Several new brand clients began to work with Skye and the business’s output must have undergone a major boost, in itself proving attractive to buyers. The dynamic and fast-paced service model for boutique solutions found a ready market in uncertain times.

And the relationship between the businesses goes back far further: Bowler CEO Friedel Sass’s father, Horst, and Mark Smith’s father Eric, worked together at Swiss Tools in Jo hannesburg in the pioneering era of the 197 0s, during the roll-out of plastic blow moulding in South Africa. Sass snr and Smith snr, both now deceased, subsequently went their own ways. hey pioneered the specific customised moulding approach which has been the success of the Bowler and L apack brands. Both remained leaders in the sector throughout the rest of their working days, in healthy competition to the benefit of a vibrant packaging market After gaining experience in the container packaging sector for close to 4 0 years, Mark Smith surely rates as one of the gurus of blow moulding in SA with a vast network to find answers for the brand holder and the fillers his history is probably of unusual interest for other reasons: He and father Eric thought they had hit the jackpot when they sold their business L apack to what was then Boxmore International (now Alpla) in 2013 , only for Mark to end up out in the cold after a contract dispute which resulted after the purchaser was dissatisfied with pro ected income for the business. After some time in the wilderness, Smith ultimately signed up at Bowler, which threw him a lifeline. E xciting opportunity The new expanded Bowler business faces an exciting expansion opportunity. While integrating the Skye assets and contractual work into its proven high performing operations is likely to be a simple matter for an experienced and well-trained team combining a procedurised and well organised high volumes operation with a small and diverse product “onestop-shop” operation may not be such a simple matter. For that reason, the Skye brand will remain a separate focus within the Bowler stable satisfying that particular niche. Accordingly, Smith as GM will focus on satisfying the expanded customer base on various standard solutions for

B owler P lastics’ C E O F riedl S ass and M ark S m ith of S k ye plying their trade at P ropak A frica 2 0 2 2 . Their fathers work ed together in the 1 9 7 0 s, now they continue the tradition of innov ation and serv ice to brand com panies that lies at the core of plastic container m anufacture

small volumes packaging requirements in the fast-paced FMCG market The Skye warehouse will remain the facility for trading and ofﬁce of Skye ackaging. Bowler has some real market advantages, including those of producing its own masterbatches, ability to digitally print tubes (which apparently has seen a considerable increase in popularity, particularly for short-run contracts) and most recently also that of digital printing of in-mould labels, which likewise has the potential to appeal to short-run production for medium to small brand businesses in the cosmetics area, speciﬁcally for tubs (see article on page 15 ) L ittle is known of Skye, but it appears that the company’s former focus on the agriculture, medical and chemicals sectors have since 2017 also expanded into the personal care sector. Both companies have over the many years built a substantial library of moulds and packaging solutions. These ranges are in PET, PP and HDPE and provide the market with proven solutions off the shelf, thereby aiding customers and market entrants to develop their brands without the risk of high mould costs and with the ability of fast entry into the market. SkyePackaging has been trading since 1 March 2022.

2022/04/12 10:10

Faster than you might expect. Long delivery times and short-term requests are troublesome: With ENGEL you have the necessary agility and flexibility. We offer you professional and especially quick help. Whether it is our all-electric e-mac or our tie-bar-less victory series, our stock injection moulding machines are there for you in no time.

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INDUSTRY NEWS Mpact’s stellar results

" & NEWS NEWS - ! * !* % * - ) ( , # +(!% * * - ) ( , # +(!% * * * * * ) % - 2)$ (* !*/3 !) * "!% ) % - 2)$ (* !*/3 !) * "!% ) ' !% ' !% * %) (! %) (! ! -!## &$'# * -!* ! -!## &$'# * -!* !% * !% ) # * % .* * % .* '(& )) !) !% '(& )) !) !%

New prepaid water mngt

MPACT group reported very positive results for the year to end-December * # / * # / * %, )*$ %* % % ( )*(+ *+( %, )*$ %* % % ( )*(+ *+( 2021. Revenue was up 12,6 % to R11,5 ers significant ad antages o er systems used to date '(& # ! & $ % ! * "! % & ! & $ % ! * "! % & billion and operating profit up , to " '(&,!% ! # &, (%$ %*) & +* % % '(&,!% ! # &, (%$ %*) & +* % % R94 8-million. Revenue for the plastics PL ASTINTERNATIONAL of J ohannesburg has completed development of its new & '( "$& %& )"$ ! &" & $ ) & & "$& %& )"$ ! &" & $ ) & & business was up 14 ,2% and underlying prepaid water controller (PWC), a smart electronic device for the delivering of " & % " & % " " !! % '$ % ) ! ! " !! % '$ % ) ! ! EBIT increased by 3 3 ,7 percent. prepaid water which can also function as a water demand controller. - ! & Mpact is one of the largest paper and ! % &("!% -!* ! % &("!% -!* , #&'$ %* , #&'$ %* Testing of the system was recently completed by the National Regulator for !* plastic recyclers in South Africa with - ! ! !%& &'& "!% & - ! ! !%& &'& "!% & "( $! !& % *% !& % Compulsory Specifications and met all the re uired approvals. he proprietary water "( $! ) an estimated 5 100 employees at 4 7 - ! !* ) ( * % !%%&, *!, '(& )) * !* ) ( * % !%%&, *!, '(& )) * * management system offers some significant advantages over systems used to date. operating sites. ) !* ) '! & ' % ) $ &$ &* ) '! & ' % ) $ &$ &* It operates with an electronic ball valve which can hence be controlled remotely. The group also announced that it plans ) Prepaid water meters have become considerably more popular in middle ) & $ & ! $ %&$' &'$ ! $" % ) & $ & ! $ %&$' &'$ ! $" % to sell its Mpact V ersapak polystyrene "$ to upper income households, contrary to their original target market, ) 1 #* 1 &+ #* when &+ #!**# !% &($ *!&% !) , !# # #!**# !% &($ *!&% !) , !# # trays and C films business, operating * introduced in the 1990s, of low-income households. Factors "$ #' "!%' leading to this shift "$ #' "!%' #& "! ) $ "# ! & & #& "! ) $ "# ! & *& ( + * & !*!0 %) * & !*!0 %) * * & * *& ( + * out of Paarl, Western Cape. include allowing the homeowner or tenant to purchase the *uantity of prepaid " ) '# %) * ) '# %) , $ '(&,!)!&% &( % , $ '(&,!)!&% &( % %&* %&* , )) *& - )* $ % $ , )) *& - )* $ % Financial market analyst InceConnect water re uired with the ability to do this remotely being attractive. And the meter " * *!, - )* $ % $ %* )/)* $ * *!, - )* $ % $ %* )/)* $ * * " !* %"$&% ! "'& $ , " !* %"$&% ! "'& $ , ! " ! - ) ( , # +(!% * * - ) ( , # +(!% * * * * * said Mpact ‘ is a strong South African can be set to dispense a predetermined daily amount. '(& ")% "$ & % # $ & "! " & "! ! ")% "$ & % # $ & "! " & "! ! % - 2)$ (* !*/3 !) * "!% ) % - 2)$ (* !*/3 !) * "!% ) ' !% ' !% business with exposure to attractive The new PWC (Prepaid Water Controller) C5 0 unit works'(& ))!% & ( / # # $ * (! #) (&$ in conjunction with a * '(& ))!% & ( / # # $ * (! #) (&$ %) (! %) (! ! -!## &$'# * -!* ! -!## &$'# * -!* !% !% trends like export of fruit and V 110T pulse output water meter, allowing user continuous access to monitor, '( the % .* * % .* '(& )) !) !% '(& )) !) !% * ) * ) &+) &+) &# ) &# ) !) -!## & #&% - / !) -!## & #&% localisation of supply chains. The risks record or make alterations to the rate of water ow. / * # / * %, )*$ %* % % ( )*(+ *+( %, )*$ %* % % ( )*(+ *+( * to the business lie in electricity tariff A consumer interface unit is wall mounted, communicating with the PWC system & ( * # ( ( $ (" * &( )$ ## & ( * # ( ( $ (" * &( )$ # ! & $ % ! * ! & $ % ! * "! % & "! % & increases, escalating fuel costs and the over a bi-directional encrypted radio link. It allows for the entering of 20-digit credit '% ! %% % '% ! %% % "( $! "( $! !& # !% &" !& # !% &" &,!% ! # &, (%$ %*) & +* % % '(&,!% ! # &, (%$ %*) & +* % % usual South African stuff’. tokens. The fact that the )! % * #& ##/ '(& + '(& interface unit provides consumption and credit info is )! % * #& ##/ '(& + "$& %& )"$ ! &" & $ ) & & "$& %& )"$ ! &" & $ ) & & obviously useful to the user. * * $+)* '(& +( (&$ ) * * $+)* '(& +( (&$ % " & % " " !! % '$ " !! % '$ % ) ! ! % ) ! ! The advent of this technology was at least partly the result of the experiment $ % !& !!"'! & & #$" $ % !& !!"'! & & #$" ! % &("!% -!* ! % &("!% -!* , #&'$ %* , #&'$ %* in South Africa from 2004-!* -15 when prepaid meters were tasked to deliver ‘ Free -!* % !%, )*$ %* , #+ & % !%, )*$ %* , #+ & !##!&% !# ! !%& &'& "!% & ! ! !%& &'& "!% & "( $! "( $! !& % *% !& % *% Basic Water’ cost to users in , #( / % &$'# * % low-income areas in which some households , #( / % &$'# * % ) ( * % !%%&, *!, '(& )) * !* ) ( * % !%%&, *!, '(& )) * * at no * WHAT was deemed to be a potential received litres per #$" &% )"$& '%& "( $ "! month at no charge, although it did apparently allow for #$" &% )"$& '%& "( $ " '! & ' % ) $ &$ &* ) '! & ' % ) $ &$ &* 6 000 remake of Mission Impossible, the Tra !% !$'# $ %* *!&% ' !% !$'# $ %* *!&% ' ) * ) * * -!## ) * -!## ) & $ & ! $ %&$' &'$ ! $" % ) & $ & ! $ %&$' &'$ ! $" % the option to purchase more. unicipalities subse uently began to reali e this was survival of MCG Flexibles, has been Trade. Trade. Create. Create. Elevate. Elevate. > ww >w % -#/ +!#* *&(! ) * % -#/ +!#* *&(! ) * * $ %+ *+( * $ %+ 1 #* 1 &+ #* &+ #!**# !% &($ *!&% !) , !# # #!**# !% &($ *!&% !) , !# # not sustainable. dashed. The company closed in Tr % $&# "! % $% #") $ % &*$ % $&# "! % $% #") $ % #' "!%' "$ #' "!%' #& "! ) $ "# ! & & #& "! ) $ "# ! & & t was then reali ed that the same feature used to confi gure the water meter Ja nuary after a fairly valiant effort by % && ) '# %) * ) '# %) , $ '(&,!)!&% &( % , $ '(&,!)!&% &( % supply could be used as % && a demand controller, with the first result of this process the business in which a number of 1 $ )* ( '# % !) #)& !% , *!, - )* $ % $ %* )/)* $ * *!, - )* $ % $ %* )/)* $ * * being the * PWC 5 00 system. 1 $ )* ( '# % !) #)& !% , #& rescue specialists were involved. What &( * &( * '# )*! ) !% +)*(/ % - '# )*! ) !% +)*(/ % - &' & ")% "$ & % # $ & "! " & "! ! ")% "$ & % # $ & "! " & "! ! Another of the system’s advantages is that it allows for easier leak detection started with the purchase in 2016 of the * * * * * * * !#) -!## ( # ) !% * * !#) -!## ( # ) !% & ))!% & ( / # # $ * (! #) (&$ '(& ))!% & ( / # # $ * (! #) (&$ ability. he prepaid controller records the lowest hourly ow measured, typically remnants of L R Plastics, an extrusion % ( +*+( * * -!## ))!)* !% (&-!% * -!## ))!)* !% (&-! ) * ) &+) &+) &# ) &# ) !) -!## & #&% - / !) -!## & #&% - / during the early hours of% ( +*+( * the morning (1-3 am). If over a period of 24 hours a and bag making business in Durban continuous ow is recorded for every hour, it can safely be assumed that there is a which had gone into business rescue leak on the property. So, the lowest hourly ow recorded would e uate to the si e the year before, lasted for close to of the leak in litres/ hour. six years before the white ag finally went up. Early analysis suggested that M ain adv antage the previous owners had not invested he WC system uses lastinternational s E ee low ball valve, which as stated sufficiently in technology, but it was can be electronically adjusted or controlled remotely. Models used in water meters deemed that the resuce plan devised to date operate with a membrane (not a brass or alternative material open-close would turn the operation around. device) and the main difference with the Plastinternational solution is that it’s far Then in 2021 the plant was moved to ade. Trade. Create. Create. Elevate. Elevate. > www.meraxis-group.com > www.meraxis-group.com less likely to malfunction. Elandsfontein in Jo hannesburg, but The development process the move was not smoothly managed undertaken by L uca Ambrosi with reports emerging that many of the and the Plastinternational machine cables had simply been cut, necessitating lengthy and confusing The new prepaid water controller ( P W C ) system reconnecting. from P lastinternational offers Trading into the already very som e real adv antages in the competitive blown film sector, where water m anagem ent area. The a number of very efficient companies system was fully tested the N R C S Me ( N ational R egulator for C om pulsory already operate, proved too challenging pecifi cations , meeting allAfrica the Africa in the end. Meraxis Meraxis South South (Pty) (Pty) LtdLtdJo

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" % ( +*+( * % ( +*+( * * -!## ))!)* !% (&-!% * -!## ))!)* !% (&-!% * ) * % -#/ +!#* *&(! ) * ) &+) &+) &# ) &# ) !) -!## & #&% - / !) -!## & #&% - / 1 - * (! & ) % ) *& 1 - * (! & ) % ) *& ) * ) * * -!## ) * -!## ) #$" ' &% " features, including fire * $ %+ *+( retardant ) & $ & ! $ %&$' &'$ ! $" % ) & $ & ! $ %&$' &'$ ! $" % , #&' *& * ** ( &%*(&# &, ( * , #&' *& * ** ( &%*(&# &, ( * % -#/ +!#* *&(! ) * * $ %+ *+( , !# # % !) , !# # endeav oured to k eep the

> www.meraxis-group.com > www.meraxis-group.com

Meraxis Deep Deep ep p South Deep Africa insights, insights, ghts, ghts, insights, deep ppdeep deep impact. impact. act. act. impact.

Deep insights, deep Paul Gripper - Commercial Manager & Cape Sales paul.gripper@meraxis-group.co.za 082 456 6659 Steven Coates - Gauteng, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho & Zimbabwe Sales steven.coates@meraxis-group.co.za 063 699 5105

Tiago dos Ramos – KZN, Free State & Mozambique Sales Tiago.dosramos@meraxis-group.co.za 082 775 5344 Meraxis Meraxis South South Africa Africa (Pty) (Pty) LtdLtd Pty) ) LtdLtdJohannesburg Johannesburg +27Staff +27 11 455 11 455 2889 2889 & Malawi Sales Carlotta ord – Zambia Meraxis South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2889 55 2889Cape Cape Town Town +27+27 21 556 21ord@meraxis-group.co.za 556 7787 7787 Carlotta.staff Johannesburg +27 11 455 2889 082 600 7403 7787 56 7787Durban Durban +27+27 31 816 31 816 9381 9381 Cape Town +27 21 556 7787 381 6 9381 Durban +27 31 816 9381

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2022/04/11 13:49 2022/04/05 10:34

INDUSTRY NEWS

Taili machines prove popular at Spicoly

22 APR / MAY 2022

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DIV ERSIFIED Cape Town injection moulder Spicoly, which prefers to work in partnerships with its customers rather than as a custom moulder, has expanded its use of Taili small injection moulding machines from China. Spicoly manufactures a wide range of products across several industries, including the agriculture, bottle, construction, household, plumbing, medical, promotional and toy sectors, and has an obvious need for machines to produce small, specialised parts, in many cases prior to assembly. The company was started in 2000 when founder David V enter purchased a Negri Bossi machine from a former employer. At that point he’d received an order to produce drinking glasses for the Metropolitan Handicap, one of the Cape’s top horse racing events, little more than a month before the show. Prior to that, V enter had even used the name Spicoly as a nom de plume for some of his earlier business ventures. Fortunately, the Met contract went off well and the company was on its way with David V enter and his wife Melanie being behind the venture. It’s been growing ever since. For most of the past two decades Spicoly has used Arburg small machines, supplied by Willy Tschopp of Je nowill Services. These machines were refurbished units, sourced

S picoly technical m anager W illie V erm eulen and C O O D av id V enter at the com pany’s m ain m achine hall in K raaifontein I ndustria, C ape Town. S picoly operates a range of inj ection m achines and is also inv olv ed in blow m oulding and printing on balloons, through its subsidiary B - L O O N Y

by Tschopp in Europe and completely overhauled at the Je nowill premises in Montague Gardens. But Tschopp’s decision to retire recently has meant that convertors have been looking elsewhere. (It’s got to be said that Tschopp provided an extraordinary service to the injection moulding community in the Western Cape, with an exceptional ability to diagnose machine problems and sort out ‘ chop chop’.) Spicoly’s trail hence led to WD Hearn, supplier of the Taili systems. The result: it has since commissioned three of the Taili systems, and according to V enter and technical manager Willie V ermeulen, there have been few problems. The main (and only) alteration Spicoly required was to fit a different coupling system, which was necessary as the company’s production model requires frequent daily mould changes. V enter and V ermeulen believed this was necessary on the small machines, where space inside the mould cavity is restricted. It opted, for all three the Taili’s, for couplings from Alba. The coupling system is used for both part ejection and shaft alignment. The result was a happy outcome, with easier operation and enhanced mould clamping. There were some reservations from the market when the first aili s went into production in South Africa in 2020, but credibility has grown. A number of users have bought systems from Taili Manufacturing of Ningbo, predominantly for the manufacture of small parts, and these are now filling an important market niche for small technical parts. A t least part of the reason why operator E v elyn C lark e was happy was because the Taili 5 0 - ton m achine was operating sm oothly and consistently. A lthough it was intended to produce only sm all com ponents on the Taili m achines at the outset, here tubs of approxim ately 1 0 x1 2 cm s are being produced, with ease

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2020/11/19 09:56

INDUSTRY NEWS

Earthkind – NCS Resins’

sustainable platform reduces dependency on virgin raw materials

24 APR / MAY 2022

ecycle product t at as destined or landfill currently being used. However, NCS NCS Resins launched the Earthkind is actively developing post-consumer platform in February 2021 to PET feedstocks through strategic proactively respond to the demand for partnerships that are intended on sustainable solutions that is lacking in making a social impact. the resins market sector. The company has since embarked M ark et response on a journey to incorporate as many of The Earthkind platform has been the UNIDO sustainable development very well received. The current goals into the Earthkind platform. products service several markets, “This requires a major shift in namely marine, automotive, thinking and a strong desire to swimming pools, general The make a difference. Such fibreglass work and Earthkind developments take a long the construction brand is to start time to investigate and industries. a journey with our test, but we continue “It is important customers to co-brand working at it with the to mention that with us. This brand objective of improving the would provide value the intention of our positive impact that we to their finished Earthkind brand believe we are making,” product down the is to start a journey says Trevor I’Ons, MD of value chain with our customers NCS Resins, based in New to co-brand with us Germany, KZ N. enhancing the value of our n the process, we have identified customer’s products that allows the the need to reduce the dependency on end customer to choose quality with a virgin raw materials by seeking lower conscience,” says I’Ons. carbon footprint feedstocks which “We have had some excellent happened to be feasible, starting with response from major recognised the recycling of rPET that was destined international brands and are in the for landfill. he recycling process early development of incorporating the allows us to replace certain additives resins into their products.” and raw materials to manufacture a good quality resin and contributes to C hallenges and opportunities the circular economy,” I’Ons explains. One of the main challenges for the For now, Earthkind offers the resin industry is the higher cost 100-Series resin products. At full of ‘ green’ alternative feedstocks NCS plant capacity, the company compared to its commonly available can recycle the equivalent of 3 3 7 petrol-chemical based equivalents. million 5 00ml PET bottles per annum. However, this has not stopped the Based on availability, post-industrial NCS team from investigating all the E waste destined for landfill is options.

“Formulating to achieve an equivalent cost Earthkind product, whilst maintaining the quality and value-add to the product is a lengthy process. Another challenge was to translate the technical information, highlighting the added value to customers, so that the product is differentiated on its green credentials,” I’Ons says. NCS aim to add several Earthkind derivatives to its existing product range, thereby offering the customer various sustainable options. R esearch and dev elopm ent The carbon footprint calculations for Earthkind were conducted internally by NCS esins ualiﬁed chemists, using a life cycle assessment with a gateto-gate reporting boundary as guided by accepted industry standards and literature. All calculations were based on conventional methods, with information from well researched peer-reviewed articles and credible resources. “As the comparison is between our Earthkind products versus our own conventional equivalents, we are of the view that the difference or ‘ delta’ is a highly reliable factor given the consistency in the applied controls,” explains I’Ons. The future “Our Earthkind initiative is driving some high-level investment decisions for NCS where we will become a world ﬁrst unsaturated polyester resins producer to incorporate certain feedstocks into our products that will further increase the sustainable content of our resins,” says I’Ons.

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NCS RESINS-.indd 24

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2022/04/11 13:44

INDUSTRY NEWS

UN agrees to create world-ﬁrst global 200 nations unanimously agree to ﬁnalise legally binding plastics treaty by 2024

26 APR / MAY 2022

THE United Nations agreed on 2 March to start negotiating a world ﬁrst global treaty on plastic pollution in what has been called a watershed moment for the planet .

the European plastics industry is in full S A plastics industry reponds action mode leading the transition to Commenting on the outcome of the Nairboi a circular economy and the creation of meeting, lastics SA executive director a future of ero plastic pollution , with Anton anekom, said the resolution lastics Europe members contributing, made it clear that business plays an for example, by supporting a E important role in ending plastic waste. Close on 200 nations at the UN mandatory target for recycled content in he assembly concluded with Environment Assembly in Nairobi plastics packaging by . resolutions aimed at unanimously agreed to create an he association also recently strengthening collective The intergovernmental committee to announced . billion of actions for nature in scope covers negotiate and finalise a legally binding planned investments in order to achieve the the entire life plastics treaty by . chemical recycling a N s Sustainable he broad treaty framework approved breakthrough technology evelopment cycle of plastic by the nations among them ma or by in Europe. oals S s. and could for the plastic producers like the S and China lastics Europe has also rior to the start first time introduce does not spell out specific policies, been an active partner of the conference, new rules on the with particulars to be negotiated in the EU’s Horizon lastics SA production of later. But the scope covers the entire pro ect, lastiCircle, highlighted the new plastic life cycle of plastic and could for the focused on transforming importance of first time introduce new rules on the waste into valuable products recogni ing the special production of new plastic. Negotiators through innovation at key stages of needs and circumstances of have been given a broad mandate to waste management. anssens also Africa and analysing the respective target plastic trash in all its forms. stressed the importance of creating capabilities of each country in light of It also allows for the negotiation of a supportive policy environment that national circumstances. new rules around the design of plastic is tailored to the specific needs of the ou cannot blindly enforce a irst products to make recycling easier, plastics industry and value chain. World solution on hird World problems. encourage sustainable use and better As arkus Steilemann, lastics Each country s local and regional waste disposal. Europe resident, said he NEA context is different, as is the availability Crucially, the resolution also resolution represents a ma or step of resources to develop and implement recognises that there is no one single towards the creation of a waste-free effective waste management solutions. approach to tackling the global problem future which is critical to achieving t is important to recognise that nations of plastic pollution, and that governments our collective climate ambitions. he have uni ue and different socio political must be provided with the exibility to resolution also recognises the vital role climates that need to be taken into adopt measures that are based on local that plastic applications play in society, consideration, said anekom. circumstances and supported by the which is welcome. We must enhance he signing of the treaty now most appropriate enabling policies. their value by making them circular and potentially grants us access to some he mandate allows for binding and climate neutral, helping to establish a of the best minds in the world, greater voluntary measures, and the setting circular economy. resources and collective, global action. of global targets and obligations, the We look forward to participating in P roducers up in arm s ov er development of national action plans, the Intergovernmental Negotiating international agreem ent to reduce and mechanisms for tracking progress Committee NC as we work together plastic output and ensuring accountability. on identifying, developing and he signing of the treaty has given t also calls for financial assistance to implementing solutions that will effect an intergovernmental negotiating help poorer countries take action. he lasting change for generations to come, committee the mammoth task of first round of he concluded. reaching consensus on key issues, negotiations like how to address soaring production E uropean plastics industry in full is set for the of single use plastic, which is made action m ode second half of from oil and is a growth market in According to irginia anssens, this year. petrochemical hubs such as the S, anaging irector, lastics Europe, China, Saudi Arabia and apan. owever, there is a divide between P lastics| S A executiv e director A nton H anek om , highlighted the big plastic producers who want to focus im portance of recognizing the special needs and circum stances of A frica and analysing the respectiv e capabilities of each country in on waste management and recycling, light of national circum stances

UNEA-.indd 26

2022/04/11 13:42

treaty on plastic trash and the EU and some developing nations pushing for plastic production restrictions, according to interviews with delegates, industry officials and environmental groups. The UN negotiating committee, made up of representatives from member states, will hold five meetings over the next two years to try to thrash out a deal. he big fight will be around production and whether countries are willing to put in place global regulations,” said Eirik L indebjerg, global plastics policy manager at WWF. “The wording of the

resolution commits countries to ﬁnd solutions to these issues but doesn’t provide a clear direction on how.” By 205 0, the plastics industry could account for 20% of all oil consumption, according to the UN Environment Programme. The head of the UN Environment Programme Inger Andersen, said that reducing plastic production will be one of the most complex issues for negotiators to overcome. Environmental groups are expecting a tough two years of negotiations. www.plasticsinfo.co.za

www.plastinternational.co.za

A symbolic statement A 9 m etre ( 3 0 - foot) m onum ent dubbed # TurnO ffTheP lasticTap by C anadian activ ist and artist B enj am in v on W ong, m ade with plastic waste collected from K ibera slum s, is seen at the v enue of the F ifth S ession of the U nited N ations E nv ironm ent A ssem bly ( U N E A - 5 ) , at the U nited N ations E nv ironm ent P rogram m e ( U N E P ) H eadq uarters in G igiri, N airobi, K enya. V on W ong, an artist and activ ist who is always look ing for uniq ue ways to bring attention to traditionally “b oring” topics, created the three- story- tall structure called # TurnO ffTheP lasticTap, a giant faucet leak ing plastics into different settings. I n a case study introducing this installation and sharing the inspiration behind it, V on W ong shared: “I ’v e created cam paigns from 1 6 8 0 0 0 plastic straws, 1 8 0 0 0 plastic cups, and 1 0 0 0 0 plastic bottles. B ut those proj ects only raised awareness for indiv idual obj ects and nev er pointed to the root cause of the problem : P lastic production.” V on W ong partnered with the E m bassy of C anada in F rance to build the art installation and raise awareness of the dangers of plastic ov erconsum ption. APR / MAY 2022

UNEA-.indd 27

2022/04/11 13:43

INDUSTRY NEWS

Plastics industry distances itself from defrauding bag manufacturers S iphoned off mi llions of Rand s from the plastic bag tax lev y THE South African plastics industry has distanced itself from a Durbanbased plastic bag manufacturer who allegedly siphoned off millions of Rands from the plastic bag tax levy. According to a newspaper article (“Plastics bag tax scam”, Sunday Times, 26 March) the company in question has been providing plastic bags to major retailers around the country. Speaking on behalf of the industry, Plastics SA executive director Anton Hanekom said they condemned any kind of criminal behaviour in the strongest possible terms. “It is unfortunate that the article potentially caused reputational damage and unfairly brought the rest of the compliant and law-abiding plastic bag manufacturers into disrepute. It should be made clear that the scam was limited to one supplier who aunted the rules . The plastic bag levy was recently

increased from 25 c to 28c per bag (effective from 1 April 2022) by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. This levy is applied to the manufacturers of the plastic bags, but passed on to consumers. The money raised through the levies is supposed to be used to boost recycling and grow a circular economy, however,

It is unfortunate that the article potentially caused reputational damage and unfairly brought the rest of the compliant and lawabiding plastic bag manufacturers into disrepute

it currently ends up in the ﬁscus for “other government priorities”. In terms of an agreement reached between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), labour and businesses, locally produced plastic bags must have a thickness of 24 microns to aid recycling and promote reuse. Recently published bag regulations will also see the recycled content of the plastic carrier bag increase in increments to eventually reach 100% recycled content in 2027 . “We cannot allow an entire industry to be tarnished by the unscrupulous behaviour of a single manufacturer who has no respect for the law. As compliant producers we welcome any SARS inspection and will give our full cooperation to the authorities to expose and persecute any company found guilty of criminal activities,” Hanekom said. www.plasticsinfo.co.za

28 APR / MAY 2022

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INDUSTRY NEWS

JUST BRIEFLY

CTP group buys Amcor Flexibles plants CAX TON group, a publishing business which also trades into the exibles market through its subsidiary C lexibles, has expanded its market through the purchase of two of the Amcor lexibles business units, in Cape own and ort Eli abeth. Amcor lexibles SA emerged out of this global packaging business s purchase of what was Nampak lexibles in . C lexibles will, in a million deal, buy the operations and properties of Amcor Cape own Bag in Box ouching and Amcor ort Elizabeth. he C and Amcor businesses in Cape Town are close to each other C produces bag in a box cartons for the wine industry and Amcor Cape own produces bag in a box bladders. he ort Eli abeth operation services the automotive tyre industry with liners. Amcor lexibles also operates a plant in Southmead, urban, where the factory was badly damaged in a ﬁre during the riots of mid . he deal suggests that Amcor is exiting the SA market, which may not be a surprise after the mayhem that resulted in the urban plant being put out of operation last year.

Slip agent supply constrained S EN S of slip and antiblock additives are either not available or drastically delayed out of China, it is understood, which is potentially a global issue as many of the international material manufacturers depend on the supply from China. he additives are compounded in material used in the blown film sector particularly. A supplier confirmed that this could thus have ramifications for the exible packaging industry internationally.

OECD report maps lifecycle Report paints a sobering picture of current situation & challenges E OEC s first lobal lastics Outlook Economic rivers, Environmental mpacts and olicy Options report, published in February, offers for the first time a comprehensive overview of current plastics production, use and waste generation, together with an assessment of the underlying economic drivers. he report also maps the related environmental impacts on a global level such as plastic leakage to the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. he Organisation for Economic Co operation and evelopment OEC report also presents four levers for action that are critical to reduce the environmental impacts of plastics bolstering markets for recycled secondary plastics, boosting technological innovation in plastics, increasing the ambitions of domestic policy measures and scaling up international co operation. The report paints a sobering picture of the current situation and the challenges facing efforts to turn this around • he world is producing twice as much plastic waste as years ago, from million tons t in to t in , with most ending up in landfill almost , being incinerated another or leaking into the environment. Only is currently successfully recycled. • Almost half of all plastic waste is generated in OEC countries. lastic waste generated annually per person varies from kg in the S and kg in European OEC countries to kg, on average, for apan and Korea. • ost plastic pollution comes from inadequate collection and disposal of larger plastic debris known as macroplastics, but leakage of microplastics synthetic polymers smaller than mm in diameter from industrial plastic pellets, synthetic textiles, road markings and tyre wear, among others, are also a serious concern.

•

OEC countries are behind of overall plastic leakage. Within that, OEC countries account for of macroplastics leakage and of microplastics leakage. lastics use dipped . in as economic activity slowed due to the pandemic, littering increased. owever, as economic activity resumed in , plastics consumption has also rebounded. R ecom m endations Considering global value chains and trade in plastics, aligning design approaches and the regulation of chemicals will be key to improving the circularity of plastics. Bolstering the secondary markets for plastics is also essential as secondary markets do not compete on a level playing field with primary plastics. he high costs of collection, sorting and processing make it difficult to compete on price. The producers of secondary plastics also tend to be much smaller firms and much less resilient in terms of resources compared to the producers of primary plastics producers. o overcome these bottlenecks, demand for secondary plastics must be boosted, by means of measures such as green procurement policies, extended producer responsibility schemes, and by boosting the competitiveness of these plastics. Another intervention recommended is to boost innovation. Compared to the climate change discussion where innovation has been central to the policy discussion for several decades, there s been no systematic measurement of innovation for a more circular economy on plastics. ntil this report, there were no metrics to measure and uantify trends in innovation in environmentally related innovation in plastics. The report offers a methodology to do that. he report found that environmentally relevant innovation makes up only . of all plastics related innovation.

30 APR / MAY 2022

OECD REPORT-.indd 30

2022/04/11 13:38 ACD Rot

of plastics globally

of which can create ﬁnancial incentives to reduce use and foster circularity. Another element is how to encourage design for circularity through recycled content standards, fee modulation of extended producer responsibility schemes, product norms, and regulation of hazardous chemicals. n the report, a policy roadmap is proposed for countries to reduce the

leakage of macroplastics. It proposes a three pronged approach that starts with closing the leakage pathways and creating incentives for recycling and enhance sorting at source. inally, demand should be curbed and design optimised, to make plastic value chains more circular and recycled plastics more price competitive. • Read the full report at

APR / MAY 2022 31

The third recommendation involves scaling up international financing and cooperation. he report, for the first time, uantifies how much it would cost to close the leakage pathways, focusing on low and middle income countries billion a year. An international approach to waste management should lead to all available sources of financing, including development aid, being mobilised to help low and middle income countries meet these costs to improve waste management infrastructure. Other recommendations included a mix of policies to address the various aspects of the problem, such as taxes on single use products, measures to promote resource efficiency, promoting reuse, removing fossil fuel subsidies and establishing recycled content targets, all

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Heist masterminds’ tentacles appear to be far-reaching THE intricate details about plant layout as well as behaviour of staff and security personnel possessed by the gangs who conducted material heists in Gauteng over recent months must have come as a shock to business owners and management. The modus operandi of the groups involved was to cut through boundary fences, bypass beams and other security devices (which only those with inside knowledge would have known of), disarm security personnel as well as force night shift staff to lie face down or be frogmarched around to assist the thieves in their activities. This while brandishing weapons such as AK’s. It is only a miracle that no-one was injured, or worse. But that such intricate details of plant layout and more could have been accessed by underworld operators is challenging for all businesses. Piecing together details of the gangs’ structures was elusive, but details have begun to emerge, speciﬁcally as to who the masterminds are. Apprehending these gangs has proved difﬁcult, but a number of breakthroughs were achieved by private investigators, leading to the interception of a number of large rigs with containers carrying an estimated 80 tons of material being unloaded in Alrode in the early hours of 2 March. After that, some individuals were arrested and charged, including a tall sheepish looking European person and a far shorter Asian gentleman. As had happened in prior cases, these individuals were released almost immediately. Suspicion subsequently fell on an individual widely known in the masterbatch sector in SA, who was confronted at a

warehouse where stolen material was located by one of the heists’ victims, in this case the MD of This is exactly where you don’t want a film manufacturing to find your material, but this is what business from which happened to a Johannesburg material a large quantity manufacturer, woken at 4am and advised that trucks with an estimated 80 tons of of metallocene material from the company’s factory had grade material had been apprehended by private investigators been stolen. The masterbatch manufacturer (which now appears to be a cover for the person’s real activities) was taken by surprise when he answered a call from one of the victims of the heists, who he did not know but who was right outside the warehouse. On opening, besides quantities of stolen material, a considerable number of rare cycads, apparently stolen too, were discovered as well, suggesting that criminal activity had been conducted there prior to the current incident. A delivery truck and driver with what was identified as stolen material was stopped in this incident as well, but incredibly both were released by police just hours later. Investigations, we understand, are still proceeding. We understand that as many as 10 such incidents of material theft, possibly more, took place in Gauteng between November and March. Since some of the ringleaders have been identified, it is possible that incidents will cease, but this is not guaranteed.

Plastics|SA and SANBWA launch new awareness campaign SOUTH Africans are gearing up for an exciting rugby season in 2022. After two years of limited games and spectator participation due to Covid-19, faithful supporters around the country cannot wait to get back into stadiums to show their support for their teams participating in the various local and international rugby matches that will be taking place over the next few months. Conscious of the impact such large spectator events have on the environment, Plastics|SA, and the South African National Bottled Water Association (SANBWA) have teamed up to raise awareness of the importance 32 APR / MAY 2022

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of using and discarding plastics responsibly. An advertising campaign to educate future sports players and enthusiasts will be published in SA Rugby Magazine, as well as online making use of the various social media platforms (see the advert opposite). “Over the past few months, we have been educating consumers about the importance and versatility of plastics in our everyday life and the invaluable role it plays in modern society with our Fit for Purpose campaign,” explains Anton Hanekom, executive director of Plastics|SA. SANBWA Chief Executive Ofﬁcer,

Charlotte Metcalf, said that an increasing number of scientiﬁc studies are countering the anti-plastic wave that seems to have swept around the globe. “We are living in an era where people are calling for alternatives to their plastic packaging without fully understanding the true impact these substitutes will have on the environment and their pockets. Ample research has proven that replacing plastic in consumer products and packaging with alternatives (that perform the same function) could increase the environmental costs as much as fourfold,” she commented.

www.plasticsinfo.co.za

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2022/04/11 13:37

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2022/04/01 15:19

OPINION BY MIKE SMART, PR. ENG., B.SC. (HONS) CIV. ENG., MSAICE

The world has an ‘I’ disease

34 APRIL / MAY 2022

The right of one individual versus the right of another, the right of an individual versus the rights of others… THE Covid pandemic and the associated vaccination debate has inadvertently exposed another global pandemic – the obsession with “self”. We continually hear about “rights”: “my right”; “your right”; “people’s right”; “minority group rights” – of course, they are all right. However, “right” is on the reverse of a coin with “responsibility” on its obverse – note the relative positions and thereby importance of the two attributes. Employers are wrestling with the perplexing minefield of their employees returning to work and what is the best course of action to provide the safest possible working environment for them and their customers visiting the premises. Some have, motivated by “good intentions”, chosen the mandatory vaccination strategy that has opened a can of legal worms, leading to determinations by the CCMA and escalation to and judgements by the Labour Court in favour of said strategy. This has generated yet more heated debate swirling around legality, rights, efficacy and a myriad other concomitant issue. Some of the numerous opinions, for example those of Gerhard Papenfuss and Jaco Swart of NEASA, have been quite forceful. This matter is a legal quicksand that we may all be failing to address the core issue of – I’ll explain with the aid of a recent well documented occurrence. Anybody who enjoys watching tennis has, in recent years, been privileged to watch the ‘Genius Gentleman’ Roger Federer, the ‘Grunting Warrior’ Rafael Nadal and the ‘Athletic Assassin’ Novak Djokovic perform their incredible feats on world courts. They are all wonderful sportsmen who have never brought their sport into disrepute – quite the opposite in fact. However, Novak Djokovic

been subjected to date have found in recently travelled to Australia to play favour of the employers, but the wheels in their tournament that resulted in an of justice have not finished turning. extraordinary train of events, including When it reaches the highest court in the the issuing and withdrawal of his visa land, the Constitutional Court, we must and quarantine in a less than luxurious all trust the legal wisdom is informed not hotel, at the core of which was his only by the right of the individual but also decision not to be vaccinated. by the rights of the greater good. In a recent interview Novak Djokovic In the interim, what does the employer stated, “I am an elite athlete” and as do to achieve the strategic objective such he is careful what he puts into his of restoring their business to “normal” body. That is absolutely his right, and activities and the employees to he has every right to protect their precious jobs without one of his major assets, his If we “falling foul” of the law health, which enables and thereby suffering him to maintain his individually the consequences? position in the highly choose to exercise Maybe in this matter competitive world our right not to be the legal brains of professional will cleverly and tennis. But it begs vaccinated, do we equitably balance the question, “Does forfeit the right the right of the the exercising of to interact individual and the his right give him the “good intention” of the right to compromise or socially? employer struggling to endanger other people save their business and the performing their right – does jobs dependent thereon. his right rank above those of others?” Employers currently feel like a This I believe is the crux of the matter porcupine in a room full of balloons – that necessitates the answering of the there will be “consequences” whichever question, “By choosing to exercise his way they go! They must continue right not to be vaccinated, does he doing what they consider is the best for forfeit his right to play in a tournament?” the safety of their employees as they Likewise, if we individually choose to navigate the legal, moral, social and exercise our right not to be vaccinated, do we forfeit the right to interact socially? appropriate minefield of mandatory vaccination in the belief the law will, in This raises complex and enormous moral issues, which include inter alia, the this matter, find for the protagonists of “good intention”. right of one individual versus the right The South African thermoplastic pipe of another and the right of an individual industry, like others, needs to get back to versus the rights of others, because the normal operations without further delay reasons for not being vaccinated are and preserve the industry whilst there is numerous and varied and may be, in something remaining to salvage. And let and of themselves, moral. They include, us trust the old axiom, “The road to hell religious, physiological, phobia, disbelief, is paved with good intentions”, will not superfluity, necessity, danger and many apply in this matter. more. The legal tests the matter has

Metal salts brand launches in SA Starting point for individual product optimisation A NEW brand of metal salts that can be used as an additive in plastics for various benefits has launched in South Africa. The new brand, Dr Paul Lohmann®’s Lohtragon®, is distributed by Nautilus Chemicals (Pty) Ltd, based in Durbanville, outside Cape Town. The Lohtragon portfolio consists of roughly 60 metal salts. These products are the starting point for individual product optimizations with regard to chemical and physical parameters and nearly endless options for new combinations, both based on specific customer needs. These metal salts can be used in various applications:

• Resistance to external influences and

stabilisers as flame retardants, acid scavengers, antistatic additives, and antioxidants/light stabilisers. • Enhancement of appearance and mechanical properties as nucleating and clarifying agents, as well as crosslinking agents. • The metal salts can also be used in additives to enhance moisture control and to inhibit odour and microbes. Established in 1886, Dr Paul Lohmann is a leading manufacturer and developer of mineral salts based in Emmerthal in Lower Saxony, Germany. Today, this company boasts a range of over 400 different salts in a total of

7 000 different specifications. Dr Paul Lohmann supplies its specialty salts to customers around the globe in the field of food, nutritional supplements, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and synergized under the Lohtragon brand. The company’s two production sites (both in Germany) are GMP, DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 and FDA approved.

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APRIL / MAY 2022 35

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

An unexpected change of career,

or how I stumbled into

Jack Doherty of West African Group, who gave this year’s Institute of Materials Foundation Lecture, reflected on his career of close to 60years doing business in Africa. After starting at the post office in Zambia, Jack later became involved, by coincidence really, in the rubber industry in Nigeria. And from there he ended up in Durban, where WAG has grown from a small dealer in natural rubber to one of SA’s leading suppliers of rubber, polymers and specialities, along with all the logistics involved – it is in fact now one of the leading suppliers of polymers in Southern Africa too, so much for small beginnings, especially for one who only became involved in material supply by chance

36 APRIL / MAY 2022

I GUESS it all really started in 1964 when I arrived in what was then Northern Rhodesia as an employee of the British Post Office. I was supposed to be lecturing at the Post Office training college but that hadn’t been constructed as yet and insofar as I know never was. I met my wife Muriel in Ndola and we got married on St Patrick’s Day in 1966, so we celebrated our 56th wedding anniversary recently with a pensioners’ fish and chips supper. We lived in Zambia from 1964-1975 and then in South Africa from 19751983. After leaving the Post Office in Zambia I joined Anglo American Industrial Corporation and spent five years working on an open cast copper mine in Zambia and then seven years in the mining industry in South Africa. In 1981 the company sponsored me to do a full-time MBA at the University of Cape Town. In 1983 we moved back north, this time to Malawi and I worked in the health and beauty industry with Chesebrough-

Ponds. After that the company was sold to Unilever and in December 1986 we decided to return to Scotland and I spent two years, between 1987 and 1989, working as a new business consultant. However, after 23 years of African sun, we didn’t like the weather in Scotland too much. Nigeria and Bata A new opportunity was needed, and we moved to Nigeria in 1989 where I ran the Bata footwear company. Bata was my introduction to natural rubber. I also found myself responsible for a rubber processing plant in Benin City which is about three hours’ drive from Lagos. This plant produced technically specified natural rubber NSR 10 and 20, some of which was used in the shoe factories, with the rest being exported through European-based rubber brokers, including Guthrie Symington. On arrival at the rubber plant I was greeted by about 20 colourfully dressed

Nigerians who had turned out in their Sunday best to see me. This group consisted of the small-scale suppliers of raw lump to the factory, armed with a list of grievances, including the prices they were paid for the raw lump. In some rubber producing countries, rubber lump comes from large estates, but in Nigeria small-scale farmers were heavily involved. However, the complaints were not all one-sided as when the factory purchased raw rubber in lump form, payment was made by weight. To ensure that we got what we were paying for, it became necessary to cut every lump into small pieces as it was not unknown for the suppliers to fill the lumps with stones, pieces of metal and in one case a motorcycle battery! Another problem was the castor oil used in the process. This is a relatively high value liquid, so it wasn’t unknown for the staff or the suppliers to extract some of the castor oil from the drums for personal sales, replacing it with diesel. Rob MacQueen and Grant Rosettenstein, also of WAG, were there on the occasion to celebrate with Muriel and Jack Doherty. The Foundation event attracted some 80 people

Clas

Jack Doherty received the William Sage medal from Kerry Kirkman after his presentation. Held at the Protea Marriott Hotel in Kempton Park, the event was well attended by IOM members and guests from around the country. Kerry, of Carst & Walker, is the current IOM chairman. William Sage was a luminary who was involved in the Dunlop plant in Howick in KZN in the 1970s and 80s

the rubber industry Naturally that caused processing problems but, as we say in South Africa, “a boer (farmer) makes a plan” and that is what we had to do at the plant.

Road maintenance Over the last number of years, South African infrastructure has deteriorated, including the roads, and we had exactly the same thing in Benin City – only there the roads had simply disappeared and part of our budget for moving the rubber to Lagos involved road maintenance and repair. My plans for developing the Bata business

unfortunately did not gel with the head honchos in Toronto, so after the referendum in South Africa in 1992 pointed towards a new relationship between South Africa and the African continent, we decided to return, moving first to Johannesburg. In 1992 I linked up with SAFTO in Johannesburg, which some of the older members may remember. SAFTO was an acronym for the South African Foreign Trade Organisation and was partly funded by the old government with the express intention of developing and growing trade links with other parts of Africa. Working with SAFTO, I escorted the first two formal groups >> APRIL / MAY 2022 37

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

of South African businessmen to visit Nigeria in 1992.

38 APRIL / MAY 2022

Entrepreneurs in Lagos Needless to say, a lot of eyes were opened, and the group experienced how entrepreneurial the average Nigerian could be. Details from the hotel register were sold to traders and others by the hotel staff and the group’s business cards became valuable property. Through an introduction from SAFTO, the SA Department of Trade and Industry approached me late in 1992 to be South Africa’s ‘under cover’ trade representative for Nigeria. I started working for the DTI in January 1993 and the monthly stipend they paid helped to cover the basic office costs and keep us in food and in business. My DTI role continued for just over four years, alongside the development of the rubber business and included many interesting experiences. South African businesses were being scammed in various ways and part of my function was to try and prevent losses and, where necessary, rescue South Africans who were either trapped in Nigeria or were in the process of being scammed. Sadly, they didn’t all listen, but some were saved. Representing Guthrie Symington During my time with Bata I dealt with a number of international rubber traders including Guthrie Symington, a Malaysian-owned company who were already active in marketing Nigerian rubber. Under pressure from Malaysia, Guthrie had pulled out of SA in 1969 but with political change expected they were keen to come back. Because of this and a fortuitous dinner meeting in Lagos with one of their directors, they asked our company, West African Ventures, to conduct a rubber market survey in South Africa. On the basis of that survey, Guthrie Symington appointed West African Ventures as their agents for South Africa. At that time rubber imports were controlled by licences which were only issued to established importers and factories processing rubber. It wasn’t possible for WAV to obtain an import licence, but fortunately one of the members of the first group of SAFTO visitors was Rob Radford, who was

managing director of Wayne Rubber, then one of the top rubber processing businesses in KZN. Knowing me from that visit, Rob asked WAV to provide a sample pallet of NSR10. Getting Nigerian rubber into South Africa at that point was easier said than done, as sanctions were still in full force. However, a plan was made, and we managed to ship a pallet of NSR 10 destined for Beira, but which somehow came off the ship in Durban. Unfortunately, the pallet then disappeared, only to eventually turn up in a railway carriage on a siding in Durban and we managed to get it to Wayne Rubber. The necessary trials were duly run and fortunately passed muster. First order Then, in 1994, I visited Wayne Rubber and after some tough negotiations got the first order covering Nigerian rubber for South Africa; 400 tons to be delivered over four months which delighted Guthrie Symington and, using Wayne Rubber’s import permit, WAV was on its way. The first shipments were still consigned to Beira but mysteriously ended up at Wayne Rubber’s factory in Durban. At that time rubber was normally purchased on an indent basis, which was quite expensive and usually entailed issuing letters of credit and then waiting for the rubber to arrive. As WAV’s relationship with Guthrie Symington developed, trust grew and ‘borrowing’ import permits from customers (who shall all remain nameless), WAV started to import natural rubber from GS on consignment stock. This dramatically changed the mechanics of the rubber industry and enabled companies to buy imported rubber priced in Rands as a local purchase, with delivery anywhere in the country within 24-48 hours. Needless to say, that gave WAV a strong position in the local market. Through the connection with Guthrie Symington, we began to get visits from Stephen Bois, the company’s director for rubber sales, and their quality assurance

specialist Prem Bartlett. Prem was excellent and as confidence built up in Nigerian rubber and the SA market, Guthrie Symington began to supply rubber from other origins, so we were soon able to offer rubber from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand as well as other West African countries. There was also a rubber processing plant in the north of Malawi near Nkhata Bay. At that stage the plant had no laboratory, so the quality certificates didn’t meet ISO requirements. However, we were able to persuade the then owners, African Lakes, to install a lab and Malawian rubber has since become an important additional source of supply for our market. By 1997 WAV had become a major supplier to the mechanical goods sector of the local rubber industry and also acted as a standby supplier to the tyre companies. More than once we were able to help a tyre company maintain production when their own shipments were late.

The pallet then disappeared, only to eventually turn up in a railway carriage on a siding …

A long and interesting business career The establishment and development of WAV between 1992 and 1998 was probably the peak of my achievements during a long and interesting business career. I’m eternally grateful that I was given the opportunity and, in the process, met such interesting people. Thereafter, between 1998 and 1999, Brent Hean, Rob Macnab and Willie Esterhuizen joined the business and we expanded into various other areas alongside natural rubber, including plastics, chemicals and synthetic rubber. Stumbling into the rubber industry was, you could say, one of the best things that happened to me, and the success achieved since by WAV and West African Group, which by now rates as one of the more reliable and successful material suppliers in the chemicals, plastics and rubber sectors, has been deeply rewarding for all involved in the businesses.

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2021/04/01 10:33

MIDDLE EAST

The controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline which is intended to become a long-term source of Russian gas to Western Europe

Tigers making their own rules!

40 APRIL / MAY 2022

Localisation as opposed to the globalisation which has dominated the last few decades is both an opportunity and a threat BY NIALL MARSHALL

FIRST it was the Year of the Rat (2020) – when the ingenuity and flexibility associated with the rat was needed to adapt to all the challenges, and to find the opportunities associated with the start of the global pandemic. Next was the Year of the Ox (2021) when the determination and willingness of the ox to persevere and work through any obstacles to achieve its goals was needed to overcome the challenges of raw material shortages and erratic supply chains. Now it’s the Year of the Tiger. Tigers are known to follow their hearts, live by their own rules, and find their own way. Tigers sometimes succeed by doing things in a new way, but sometimes they lose everything! Even if Chinese horoscopes are nothing more than an interesting distraction, there is something about 2022 which feels like it’s a year that is not going to follow the generally accepted norms. To understand some of the tigerish aspects to this year, and to the global petrochemical industry, it is useful to go back to October 2021. European gas storage facilities were at 75% capacity, the lowest level at that time of year for more than 10 years, and shortages loomed as winter approached. Gas markets, unlike oil markets, are regional because most gas is supplied by pipeline. Europe does not have many facilities capable of handling LNG shipped from the Middle East or USA and most LNG and LPG tankers are already committed to shipping gas to the Far East, and so it gets most of its natural gas from the North Sea, Algeria, and Russia. In late 2021, gas prices rocketed by about 500% in Europe driving inflation

to its highest level since 2008. European policymakers blamed Russia for reducing gas supplies to pressure a quick certification of the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline which is intended to become a long-term source of Russian gas to Western Europe. Regardless of the reason, the European market was relieved when President Vladimir Putin said his country was willing to sell more gas to Europe because not even Qatar, the world’s biggest LNG exporter, could cover the EU’s demand in the short term. Problem averted. And then Russia invaded Ukraine. The only viable response by the Western countries to this aggression is to impose sanctions on Russia. Russia and Ukraine are major producers of wheat and sunflower oil – staples in much of the third world – which means that global food prices will increase because of the conflict. But for sanctions to really hurt Russia they need to target its main export products which are oil and gas, which together account for 49% of Russia’s exports. The price of oil has jumped from below $80/bbl in January to over $100/bbl in March amid fears of shortages. President Joe Biden wants Saudi Arabia and UAE to increase ramp-up production to prompt a price decrease, particularly in the USA where high gas prices and inflation are affecting his popularity in an election year. Also, with increasing inflation and a vivid memory that the 2010 Arab Spring was ignited by high food prices, none of the oil-producing countries has an incentive to drive oil prices down as they will need that income for subsidies. Europe has more of a dilemma. They

are more impacted by the war than the USA with thousands of Ukrainian refugees flooding over the border. Europe imported 185 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG in 2020 – around 38% of the global LNG trade. While Russia completes the feasibility study for the new Power of Siberia 2 pipeline across Mongolia to China which could fully replace the volumes sold to Europe in future, there are no short-term solutions to Europe’s needs and rising prices in Europe and energy shortages will lead to social and economic unrest. Therefore, the focus is on financial sanctions as well as on limiting sales and investments in the Russian petrochemical industry. Neither of these hurt Russia in the short term (sanctions imposed since 2014 have prompted Russia to insulate its economy from Western sanctions) but will have long-term effects, one of which is accelerating efforts to create an alternative to the Western-dominated financial system (which make Western sanctions so powerful). Tigers making their own rules. Consider this together with the trend towards localisation following supply train disruptions. Localisation as opposed to the globalisation which has dominated the last few decades is both an opportunity and a threat – an opportunity for businesses to benefit from being local rather than being disadvantaged because they don’t have the same economy of scale as global competitors. But equally it is a threat if you are not able to localise because reduced global trade will reduce low-cost shipping. If it’s any consolation, next year is the Year of the Rabbit and rabbits are thought to be good at resolving conflicts!

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Envisioning high-volume, 100% composite wheels Finalist for a CAMX Award he result is a two piece wheel concept a choice made for ease of manufacture with the barrel or rim manufactured as a separate piece that is then assembled to the combined hub and spokes. ision Wheel has various barrel tooling si es that can be reused for many different wheel designs, while designs and tools for the spokes and hub are likely to be modified to meet the aesthetic re uirements for each vehicle type and OE . he wheels are said to be lighter than an aluminium wheel, and lighter than steel. or performance cars and s, this can contribute to higher performance and speed in E s, the lightweighting can contribute to better efficiency and range. he carbon fibre also helps with noise, vibration and harshness N , which is especially beneficial for the passenger E market. Compared to other carbon fibre composite wheel offerings, mass manufacturability of these wheels is the most obvious advantage. ision Wheel also manufactures composite wheels without metallic lug nuts or other connecting components, and their materials and process are relatively low cost compared to others on the market. esign freedom ision custom supercars and

heel’s ﬁrst direct to consumer wheels will be available for s, but the company claims it can design to a wide variety of si es and speciﬁcations to meet customer needs hoto Credit ision Wheel

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WE , high performance carbon fibre composite and metal composite hybrid wheels have graced many a racecar or other high performance vehicle in recent years, but high material costs and low volume manufacturing methods have generally limited their market demand to the most premium cars. owever, as more OE s develop electric vehicles E s , demand may increase for lightweight wheels on production vehicles if they can be built with lower cost materials at high volumes while still meeting stringent re uirements. One company seeking to change this paradigm is S company ision Wheel, which has been manufacturing custom forged and cast aluminium wheels for more than years in the passenger automotive, performance and specialty vehicle and utility terrain vehicle markets. nder the name ision Composite roducts, the company debuted its first carbon fibre composite wheel at the CA exhibition in allas, exas in October , where the wheel was a finalist for a CA Award. ision Wheel looked at other carbon fibre wheel designs that were being developed that are usually formed over a mandrel or foam core, making them look bigger than normal, or less contoured, or more plain than typical aluminium wheels. ision Wheel decided they wanted to mimic the complexity of a forged aluminium wheel as much as possible. or the first wheel, the company took the aluminium wheel used on the Shelby ustang and mimicked the style using composites. t was a difficult process and re uired many iterations, and a lot of back and forth between the finite element analysis EA models and physical prototypes, tweaking the models according to how the prototypes were performing in reality, says ohn aul athew, COO of ision Wheel.

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2022/04/11 13:35

A nt A nstead shows a 3 D - printed part for the L otus Type 6 2 - 2 coachbuilt as shown in the D iscov ery+ docum entary, R adford R eturns

Stratasys produces

500 3D-printed parts for Lotus sports car printed composite mounting brac ets e terior components and solid ﬁre all sand ic core

prints across ﬁve global locations, using a eet of up to 20 different Stratasys 3D printers at one time. The array of Stratasys printers included the F900, F770, Fortus 450mc, F370 and J55 3D printers, each used to achieve different desired outcomes for each part. By integrating 3D printing technology into their shop, Radford has been able to bring 1960s-style supercar automaking into the 21st Century with the high-end, hypercustomized style and features. It’s an extreme example of something we see every day in the auto industry. Everyone making investments in new vehicles wants a deeper level of customization and 3D printing is helping make it possible. www.stratasys.com

APR / MAY 2022

POLYMER 3D printing solutions company Stratasys has partnered with US company Radford Motors, a global luxury automotive brand, to create more than 500 3D-printed parts – including numerous composite components – for the launch of the Lotus Type 62-2 coachbuilt supercar that tells the story of the revival of the art of coachbuilding using 21st Century technology. Stratasys’ 3D printing technology allows the design freedom and ability to easily create customized, one-off pieces and parts for these two prototype vehicles. o produce the ﬁrst two cars, more than parts were printed using Stratasys rabCA Shop work ow software. The Radford team scheduled and tracked their

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esin-in sed centre console boat config ration pro es higher per or ance speed ality R e du c e s ab ou t 4 5 0 k g of re sin p e r b oat, offe ring 2 0 % we ig h t sav ing s MOTORBOAT builder Hayaari Marine (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) recently launched a fully resin infused version of its agship centre console boat model, the C A , with weight savings of more than enabling a top speed in excess of km per hour. ayaari arine says it has seen ma or benefits with the switch to infusion, saving approximately kg of resin per boat and reducing the overall hull weight by more than . he investment in infusion technology has also increased the laminate uality and consistency, as well as provided for cleaner, safer shop oor conditions with reduced volatile organic compound OC emissions. Working with a novel, in house designed, glass topped infusion test table, ayaari s engineering and production team evaluated ow speed and resin consumption for multiple laminate and consumable configurations. he optimum combination selected for series production uses Scott Bader s loyds approved Crystic E A infusion resin and Crystic gelcoat, glass fibre stitched multiaxial fabrics, C foam cores and what is said to be the latest in vacuum consumable technology.

ayaari arine also uses semi permeable membranes to enhance the infusion process. By allowing air to pass, yet blocking the passage of resin, the semi permeable membranes maintain the vacuum after the infusion is complete, eliminating porosity and improving the consolidation of the laminate. ayaari s revised infusion setup re uires only seven resin inlet points for the metre hull, reducing the risk of air leaks and simplifying the resin management throughout the infusion. As well as the hull, ayaari also uses the resin infusion process to manufacture the oor, cap deck, console, seats and roof. www.hayaarim arine.com

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Composite pipes avoid excavation S N composite drainage pipes has reportedly saved around days of construction time at a building site in alkeith, Scotland. rainage specialist A uaspira was asked to supply the pipes to replace concrete manholes. o avoid carrying out around m of excavation, the mm and mm pipes could be installed using a push ﬁt solution. We were able to rethink the entire approach to construction of the drainage at this site, said ark Stanway, director. We were able to reduce the number of vehicle movements to site by , as well

COMPOSITES-.indd 44

as cutting the amount of bedding and backﬁll by half. “Our access units also reduced the installation of each manhole from an average of four days to around an hour, delivering dramatic cost and timing savings to the ob, as well as providing a far more environmentally friendly and safer solution. According to BSS Civils and lant ire td, which installed the pipes, the pipes were much easier to handle and install than similar si e concrete pipes. A uaspira says that it has also increased the amount of the recycled materials in its products and used solar

power in the manufacturing process. he company is working with the niversity of Birmingham to develop a digital twin to improve design and to investigate the use of recycled materials for backﬁll to reduce carbon usage in the construction sector and use sensors in pipes for long term monitoring and maintenance. www.aq uaspira.com

2022/04/11 13:36

Clas

JEC publishes industry report

J EC has updated its overview report of the global composites market, now forecast up to 2026 . The J EC Observer, written in collaboration with strategy company Estin Co, uses graphs, key ﬁgures, market dynamics, and insights to illustrate the state of composites globally. The report also covers the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and what the industry should expect over the next four years. “Following a decline in production volumes in 2020, the global composite materials industry is returning to pre-pandemic growth rates, with the energy, E& E, construction, marine and consumer goods markets showing the fastest recoveries,” J EC said. “New growth opportunities are also opening up in emerging sectors such as electric and hydrogen vehicles. And the list goes on from marine, sports and recreation, to medical, electrical and electronics and oil and gas, to furniture and design, defence and security, renewable energy and much more. Today and tomorrow, composites providing higher performing, lighter, more energyefﬁcient and more durable products, will reach an ever increasing range of applications and markets.” The report can be found here at www.j eccom posites.com / wp- content/ uploads/ 2 0 2 2 / 0 3 / V 1 _ 1 4 5 8 8 _ D P - D igital- J E C - _ V E R S I O N _ C O M P O S I TE _ 2 0 2 2 _ 0 2 _ 2 4 .pdf APR / MAY 2022

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2022/04/11 11:11 13:36 2020/06/15

DESIGN

JEC Innovation Awards Celebrates successful projects and fostered cooperation between players in the composite industry JEC W orld 2022, the world’s leading international composites trade show from 3-5 May in Paris, France, has revealed the ofﬁcial lineup of ﬁnalists for its Innovation A wards. The awards ceremony will be held on 26 A pril – a

week before JEC W orld – and will also be streamed live. Each year, since its creation more than 20 years ago, the JEC Composites Innovation A wards celebrate successful pro ects and

fostered cooperation between players in the composite industry. he competition has spotlighted some 198 companies and 475 partners, awarding them for their excellence in composite innovations.

Aerospace (Application)

Lightweight multi-material passenger aircraft seat A lightweight aircraft seat assembly combining long ﬁbre prepreg sheet material and innovative multi material topology optimi ation. esigned for certiﬁcation and mass minimi ation.

Queen’s University – Structural and Multidisciplinary Systems Design Lab (Canada) Partner(s): Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency (KCARBON, South Korea) www.ilyongk im .ca

100% thermoplastic panel for cabin interiors Diab has developed a 100% thermoplastic and recyclable sandwich panel for aerospace cabin interiors to answer current challenges such as sustainability, EAC compliance, production rate increase, etc.

Diab (Laholm, Sweden) Partner(s): Rescoll (Pessac, France), AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Roctool SA (Le Bourget du Lac, France)

www.ilyongk im .ca

HX50 Helicopter Composite ntegration developed multiple tooling and process techni ues to manufacture a highly complex ﬁve seat single turbine helicopter fuselage as a single moulding without bonded oints.

Composite Integration Ltd (Saltash, U.K.) Partner(s): Hill Helicopters (Rugeley, U.K.) 46 APR / MAY 2022

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www.com posite- integration.co.uk

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– excellence in composite innovations Aerospace (Process)

IRIS lower wing cover Fabrication process for composite aerostructures combining self-heated tooling, resin infusion and advanced automation to reduce equipment and materials cost and improve rate and design integration.

Spirit AeroSystems (Prestwick, U.K.) Partner(s): Advanced Forming Research Centre (Strathclyde, U.K.) and BroetjeAutomation GmbH (Rastede, Germany) www.spiritaero.com

erospace-grade fibre-steered cylinder iCOMAT has manufactured what is said to be the world’s first high performance, space grade fibre steered cylinder, outperforming the conventional straight fibre baseline in a structural test.

iCOMAT Ltd. (Bristol, U.K.) Partner(s): Bristol University (U.K.)

www.icom at.co.uk

nno ati e in sion air ra e an act ring syste Automated out of autoclave OOA portable manufacturing system for an integrated torsion box of a wing (including skin, stringers, spars and stiffeners in a one shot part , thus avoiding assembly processes and fasteners.

MTorres Disenos Industriales S.A.U. (Nevarra, Spain) Partner(s): Airbus Defense and Space (Spain) www.m torres.com APR / MAY 2022

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DESIGN Automotive & Road Transportation (Structural)

First competitive structural application – CFRTP New design approach using endless carbon ﬁbre for only the load paths, connecting the load paths with injection moulding, no waste production in just three process steps.

BMW-AG (Munich, Germany) Partner(s): BMW AG (Germany)

www.bm wgroup.com

TUCANA CANA is an enabler for future battery electric vehicles BE s demonstrated by redesign of the whole rear body structure of a aguar ace.

Partners(s): Broetje Automation U.K. Ltd (U.K.), CCP Gransden Ltd. (Belfast, Northern Ireland), Expert Tooling & Automation Ltd. (Coventry, U.K.), Toray International U.K. Ltd. (London), University of Warwick (U.K.) and CFMS Ltd. (Bristol, U.K.) www.j aguarlandrov er.com

2021 Grand Cherokee composite tunnel reinforcement eplacement of a high strength steel concept in a safety critical application using a pultrusion overmoulded with thermoplastic to reduce weight, part count, tooling cost and meet performance.

BASF Corp. (Florham Park, N.J., U.S.) Partner(s): L&L Products (Romeo, Mich., U.S.) and Stellantis (Auburn Hills, Mich., U.S.) www.plastics- rubber.basf.com 48 APR / MAY 2022

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Automotive & Road Transportation (Surfaces)

Innovation: Lightweight multi-material door Innovative new hybrid material door structure using newly developed low V OC sheet moulding compound (SMC) and hybrid glass carbon ﬁbre S C. he door is both paintable online and of ine and meets all door re uirements.

Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH (Rüsselsheim am Main, Germany) Partner(s): Teijin Automotive Technologies (France)

www.hm etc.com

Seamless integration e ible solar ﬁl in

Seamless integration of exible solar ﬁlm in automotive ﬁbre reinforced plastic components roof top, hood, etc for high volume application, using a high pressure resin transfer moulding process.

Audi AG (Zwickau, Germany) Partner(s): Mubea Carbo Tech GmbH (Salzburg, Austria) and Apollo Power Ltd. (Yokneam Elit, Israel) www.audi.de

ight a ﬁbre-rein orced automotive headliners he ob ective is to develop and produce a new automotive headliner with an improved environmental assessment thanks to the use of plant ﬁbre reinforcement instead of petro based ones.

Howa-Tramico (Brionne, France) Partner(s): Eco-Technilin (Valliquerville, France), University of South Brittany (UBS, France) and INRAe (Paris, France)

www.howa- tram ico.com

Building & Civil Engineering

tr ct ral re- se o ther oset co posites he innovative methodology of structural re use of thermoset composites enables end of life EO thermoset composites to be re used in new products. t is a circular solution for these materials.

Windesheim (Netherlands

www.windesheim .nl APR / MAY 2022

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DESIGN

SOF Radlink – composite radial coupling The SOF Radlink System enables the easy and quick connection of tunnel segments for underground infrastructure. It combines composite and thermoplastic processes for durable solutions.

Optimas (Sarreguemines, France) Partner(s): Arkema (Colombes, France) and Somocap (Jaxtou, France) www.optim as.com / serv ices/ tunnels

Eco Facade – building facade biocomposite panel Sustainable, eco-friendly facade panel based on renewable materials with load path compatible and variable design meeting Class A ﬁre re uirements. Shading and insulation ensure energy efﬁciency.

Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) GmbH (Dresden, Germany) Partner(s) : Faserinstitut Bremen (Germany), Hightex Verstärkungsstrukturen GmbH (Klipphausen, Germany), BioMat Department – Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (University of Stuttgart, Germany) and Fraunhofer IFAM (Bremen, Germany)

www elbe ug eugwerke com

Design, Furniture & Home

Kairlin: A new recyclable and compostable material Kairlin is a recyclable and compostable biomaterial, allowing point-of-sale and signage displays to be produced and recycled with low environmental impact, in line with the circular economy approach.

Kairos (Paris, France) Partners(s): Eco-Technilin, University of South Brittany and the University of Portsmouth (U.K.) www kairos ourdain com

Te Ahi Tupua – composites & artistic design The use of advanced composite materials, engineering analysis and manufacturing techniques allowed for the creation of the 12m x 6 m carbon ﬁbre sculpture, e Ahi Tupua in Rotorua, New Z ealand.

Gurit UK Ltd. (Newport, U.K.) Partner(s): Kilwell Fibretube (Rotorua, New Zealand)

www gurit com

50 APR / MAY 2022

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ra ity- ree space table and oating chair Extremely thin and long tabletop dining table and oating chairs.

Toray Carbon Magic Co. Ltd. (Shiga, Japan)

www.carbonm agic.com

Equipment & Machinery

to atic wor bench or inline hydrostatic testing Automatic workbench for inline hydrostatic testing of composite pressure vessels from low to high service pressures. atching line s cadency, it adds safety and sustainability to the testing phase.

Aumatech srl (San Salvo, Italy) Partners(s): ECS GmbH & Co. KG (Rimbach, Germany) of Portsmouth (U.K.) www.aum atech.it

orres rint new large-scale co posites printer orres rint is an additive manufacturing A process for large components with no need for a heated chamber, with variable material deposition capabilities for a more exible, cost efﬁcient production.

MTorres Disenos Industriales S.A.U. Partners(s): SABIC SHPP Marketing Plastics SLU (Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands)

www.m torres.com APR / MAY 2022

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DESIGN

Winding the future – Fibraforce technology Fibraforce technology: Revolutionizing the high-volume production of genuine customized multi-axial thermoplastic crossply laminates with a continuous and ultra-fast winding process.

www ﬁbraworks com

Fibraworks GmbH (Roetgen, Germany) Partners(s): Hille Engineering GmbH & Co. KG (Roetgen, Germany), SEM GmbH (Ludwigshafen, Germany) Quality Automation GmbH (Stolberg, Germany) and Fibraforce AG (Basel, Switzerland)

Maritime Transportation & Shipbuilding

InfraCore helideck for 85-metre patrol vessel Project partners tried to design a helideck out of “classical” sandwich and did not succeed. InfraCore managed this with its patented InfraCore technology.

InfraCore Co. (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

www infracore company com

Marine rotor blades made of Voith Carbon4Stack V oith Inline Thruster CFRP rotor blades are made using V oith’s prepreg stacks (Carbon4 Stack) laminate to provide ultimate vessel maneuverability to the marine industry.

Voith Composites SE & Co. KG (Garching bei München, Germany) Partners(s): J.M. Voith SE & Co. KG | VTA (Heidenhaim, Germany), Gurit (U.K.) and Cotesa GmbH (Mittweida, Germany)

www voith com

Composites enable zeroemission, high-speed ferry Wellington Electric Boat Building and its team of partners, including Gurit for lightweighting and composites, has delivered what is said to be the ﬁrst fully electric, high speed ferry in this landmark project.

Gurit UK Ltd Partners(s): Wellington Electric Boat Building Co. (New Zealand) www gurit com 52 APR / MAY 2022

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Renewable Energy

Enabling longer turbine life and operational time A structural adhesive designed for repair of composite wind blades in extreme conditions, able to cure at -20°C, enabling reduction of downtime for improved productivity and CO2 emissions savings.

Huntsman Advanced Materials (Basel, Switzerland) Partners(s): Blade Solutions AB (Norrfjärden, Sweden) www.huntsm an.com

Spabond 800 Series – innovation in adhesives Gurit’s Spabond 840 is an adhesive for bonding large structures like wind turbine blades. Its innovative properties allow for shorter cycle times, ultimately reducing the cost of renewable energy.

Gurit UK Ltd www.gurit.com

Recyclable blade Siemens Gamesa, in partnership with Aditya Birla Advanced Materials, has designed, manufactured and are ready to install what is said will be the ﬁrst offshore wind turbine blades that can be easily dissolved and recycled.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE, Brande, Denmark) Partners(s): Aditya Birla Advanced Materials (Bangkok, India) www.siem ensgam esa.com APR / MAY 2022

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DESIGN Sports, Leisure & Recreation

ace-ready bond between ther oset and ther oplastic bioco posites Said to be the ﬁrst, ready to market product which unites motorsport proven natural ﬁbre composite materials and road focused bio based thermoplastics with a reversible and recycling ready connection technology.

Bcomp Ltd. (Fribourg, Switzerland) Partners(s): KTM Technologies GmbH (Salzburg, Austria) Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials GmbH (Sinsheim, Germany), ALBA Tooling & Engineering GmbH (Forstau, Austria) and Altendorfer Kunststo echnik GmbH (Neureichenau, Germany)

www.bcom p.ch

arbon ﬁbre co posite a e wheelchairs or bad inton A composite wheelchair with novel design concepts, providing light, smooth and fast mobility due to weight reduction and high stiffness of the monocoque structure.

Toray Carbon Magic Co., Ltd. Partners(s): Matsunaga Manufactory Co. Ltd. (Japan)

www.carbonm agic.com

ypete ro as in field hoc ey stic or didas he ypetex romaskin field hockey stick for Adidas combines a uni ue coloured carbon fibre spread tow outer finish with an advanced composite construction for exceptional power and consistency on the pitch.

Partners(s): Adidas (Herzogenaurach, Germany), Marque Makers (Jordan, Hong Kong) and Textreme – Oxeon AB (Sweden) www.hypetex.com 54 APR / MAY 2022

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Our Winning Formula Sets Us Apart ELASTOMERS

PLASTICS & COMPOSITES

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

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

FILLERS & ADDITIVES

AUXILIARIES & SERVICES

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

Machinery Other Services Release Agents Release liners Spares

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

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

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2019/09/12 2019/04/11 12:50 12:21

SUSTAINABILITY

Schuetz-ps new freight railcars in service – Schütz has been using recyclates in technical plastic parts, including pallets, for decades. More recently, the range of multi-layer plastic containers with a recyclate content of 30% has been added

The recycled content in

plastic packaging could

Way2K: Industry interviews in the lead-up to the K2022 trade fair

56 APRIL / MAY 2022

THE recycled content in plastic packaging could be doubled, says Roland Straßburger, President of Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK) and Chairman of the Management Board at SCHÜTZ GmbH & Co. The interview continues here… Mr. Straßburger, in its coalition agreement, the German government has devoted a separate chapter to the circular economy. Which statements do you find particularly helpful? The coalition agreement is a strong commitment to a society that manufactures in a CO2-neutral manner and relies on climate-friendly products. Plastics and plastic products are enormously important for both these goals, as they are often lighter and can be processed using less energy than other materials. The task now is to change the nature of our production in a sustainable way. A circular economy has become the guiding principle of our industry. We want to help reduce primary raw material consumption and promote closed material cycles. To achieve these goals, the coalition agreement provides for the development of a national circular economy strategy – a project that for Germany as an industrial location is both ambitious and

ground-breaking. Whereas in the past, small-scale decisions were often made, we expect this strategy to take a holistic view of resource consumption as well as the climate impact of production and consumption. Are there also announcements in the agreement that you find alarming or imprecise? In fact, we have identified a contradiction that needs to be resolved urgently. The German government actually intends to financially reward and thus promote resource-efficient and recycling-friendly packaging designs and the use of recycled materials. This is contradicted by the announcement in the chapter on subsidies stating that the so-called EU plastic levy will be passed on to manufacturers and distributors. It fuels the trend toward non-recyclable paper-plastic packaging to the disadvantage of highly recyclable plastic packaging; this cannot possibly be what the German government has in mind. How important is cooperation between companies in the plastics value chain? A circular economy cannot be created in individual parts. A better understanding of the processes upstream and downstream

of one’s own factory gates, and thinking products through to the end of their lifespans, is essential when generating material flows. This is true for manufacturing companies and, of course, for the associations that represent them. The plastics industry associations want to help shape the transformation, support and encourage their members and create a constructive platform. In our ‘We are plastics’ initiative, producers, machine builders and processors are committing themselves to this claim and backing it up with financial and personnel investments. When it comes to plastic waste, packaging is the main target of criticism. How can this be faced? Some criticism is justified. Plastics in the environment are a problem that urgently needs to be solved worldwide. A responsible use of resources is therefore more important than ever. This also concerns the question of whether the special properties of plastics are needed for a particular application or whether their use can be dispensed with. The question of alternatives to fossil oil in plastics production must also be addressed. However, many accusations are based on ignorance or opinionated sentiments. Plastic is easily labelled

Bioplastic surf boards gain traction

be doubled as an environmental offender. Its contribution to a sustainable, climate-friendly lifestyle is completely overlooked. Simply omitting plastics or replacing them with other materials sounds temptingly simple but would have a massive negative impact on the climate. One of our core tasks is to explain to the public how plastics contribute towards climate protection. We do this, for example, in our ‘Plastics Packaging Newsroom’. With such a product that is considered in such a critical light, credibility, transparency and progress in recycling are important elements for a long-term appreciative perception of plastic packaging. How great is the potential for recycled material in plastic packaging? The IK (the German Association for Plastics Packaging and Films) recently had the potential for the use of recyclates in plastic packaging determined. The results are encouraging. The use of recycled plastic in packaging could be increased from the current 475 000 tons to around 960 000 tons per year, which corresponds to around 22% of the production volume. The declared goal of the

industry is the use of one million tons of recycled plastic by 2025. Plastic packaging manufacturers in Germany are focusing on innovations and investments throughout the value chain to use more recyclate in their products. The race to catch up has already begun: between 2017 and 2019, demand for recyclates increased by more than 18%, while at the same time the consumption of virgin plastics declined. This decoupling shows the enormous interest of the packaging industry in the use of recyclates.

How do you approach the issue of circular economy in the company you manage, the Schütz Group? For our products in the field of industrial packaging, take-back and environmentally friendly recycling have been part of our business model from the very beginning. Especially for containers, the IBCs, with their modular design, the cycle is completely closed. Schütz has been using the recyclates obtained in the process in technical plastic parts, including pallets, for decades. More recently, the range of multi-layer plastic containers with a recyclate content of 30% has been added. We call this the green layer. This trend looks set to continue.

www.schuetz-packaging.net/schuetz-germany-hq/en/

IN France, a company is using 3D printing and biobased materials to bring the surf community a more sustainable experience. Wyve, based in the Basque beach area, is replacing the polystyrene and EPS foam ‘blanks’ that make traditional surfboards buoyant with inner hexagons that trap air. The structure is 3D printed using polylactic acid bioplastic made from corn starch. To maintain its sustainability profile, Wyve’s expansion model calls for ‘micro-factories’ and local distribution networks. For now, the boards are only available in Europe. The PLA is sourced from Total Corbion PLA, which has manufacturing sites in Netherlands and Spain. Wyve also uses a biobased epoxy resin produced in France. www.wyvesurf.com

Dutch researchers join forces to boost PHAs market intro INVEST-NL and Wageningen University & Research are joining forces to accelerate the market introduction of PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates). Wageningen Food & Biobased Research has been conducting technological research for 30 years into the production and usage possibilities of PHAs for various applications. They are currently participating in the European Urbiofin project, which aims to make PHAs from urban waste for use in packaging materials. In collaboration with Invest-NL they studied the market opportunities that will arise in the coming decades for the various types of PHA materials and the developments that are still required.

Harvard team unveils biodegradable, anti-microbial food packaging material A TEAM of scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Harvard University claims to have developed a ‘smart’ food packaging material that is biodegradable and kills microbes that are harmful to humans – all while extending the shelf-life of fresh fruit by two to three days. The water-proof food packaging is made from a type of corn protein called zein, starch and other naturally derived biopolymers, infused with a cocktail of natural antimicrobial compounds. These include oil from thyme, a common herb used in cooking, and citric acid, which is commonly found in citrus fruits.

SUSTAINABILITY

Reusable

Polyphenylsulfone Ultrason P 3010 offers durability, high-temperature resistance and design versatility for multiple cycle usage

to-go mugs for a sustainable lifestyle

Medium-viscosity injection-moulding and extrusion grade BOTTLE manufacturer Yiwu Midi Technology, Zhejiang, has selected Ultrason P 3010 from BASF to produce reusable to-go mugs for the market launch of its new business segment. Because of its durability, hightemperature resistance and design versatility the BASF polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) offers a unique combination of lifestyle attributes and sustainability for high-quality to-go cups that are lightweight, shatter-proof and fashionable:

At the same time, the BASF thermoplastic polymer contributes to less packaging waste as the mugs can be reused many times and thus support a circular economy: Ultrason P 3010 is a medium-viscosity injection-moulding and extrusion grade with temperatureindependent properties spanning a wide temperature range from -30 to +180°C. It is also food contact compliant in the US, the EU and China. “ The slightly honey-coloured tint of

Ultrason and its good processability make the mugs to stand apart from those available in the market today. The mugs by Yiwu Midi Technology have two air vents, an additional straw opening and a hand grip ring made of silicone, making them practical in use and elegant in appearance at the same time. Ultrason P 3010 can be easily manufactured in combination with other materials like silicone. www.ultrason.basf.com

58 APRIL / MAY 2022

Reducing the carbon footprint of footwear production COVESTRO, textile technology company Huafeng and green fibre technology company Cyclone from China have jointly developed a solution to produce high-quality running and sports shoes in a much more sustainable way than before: recycled fabric made from Cyclone recycled polyester (rPET) yarns is used as the shoe upper and selectively coated

using Huafeng’s HAPTIC technology. In the process, Huafeng uses a polyurethane dispersion from Covestro’s INSQIN portfolio, half of whose carbon content comes from bio-based raw materials. The greenhouse gas emissions for each pair of shoes produced in this way are around 230 grams of CO2 equivalent less than a pair using

conventional fossil-based PU dispersions and virgin PET fabric. Impranil eco DLS, as a partially biobased binder, is part of the INSQIN range of waterborne textile coating resins. Its use contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions with around 60 grams of CO2 equivalents per pair of shoes. The value comes from internal calculations verified by independent external experts. It is obvious that the difference in the CO2 footprint becomes even greater when solvent-based PU textile coatings are used for comparison. The use of fabric based on recycled PET yarns mitigates greenhouse gas emissions by about 170 grams of CO2 equivalent per pair of shoes. Covestro, Huafeng and Cyclone have developed a material solution to produce high-quality running and athletic shoes much more sustainably than before

www.covestro.com

Eco-designed SIM card made from recycled refrigerators TWO French giants have joined forces to develop eco-designed SIM cards. Made from recycled polystyrene from used refrigerators, they will help to reduce the environmental impact of a market using 20 000 tons of plastic per year. Admittedly, SIM cards are very small. Although they weigh only 4 grams each, 4.5 billion of these cards were produced worldwide in 2020. Thales, the world’s leading manufacturer of SIM cards, set out to find an alternative solution in order to replace the plastic used until now with a recycled material. To this end, it joined forces with Veolia, the world leader in optimised

resource management. After three years of R&D, the eco-SIM was created. The plastic from which it is made is derived from end-of-life household electrical appliance waste, more specifically the polystyrene padding that lines the inside of used refrigerators. Using this new recycled material, Thales’ engineers and Veolia’s experts developed a new SIM card manufacturing process that meets industrial requirements and international standards. Manufacturing these 100% recycled eco-SIM cards will save nearly 5 000 tons of virgin plastic each year and help Thales achieve its goal of reducing carbon

www.thalesgroup.com

emissions by about 15 000 tons per year. At the end of its life, the recycled plastic from the SIM cards can itself be processed to produce new plastic parts. The little card already seems to be a big hit, as Thales will supply Vodafone, one of the world’s leading mobile phone operators, with eco-SIMs. Vodafone plans to initially sell the eco-SIM in ten countries in Europe and Africa. Millions of subscribers will thus be able to benefit from this eco-responsible innovation made from our old fridges. APRIL / MAY 2022 59

www.veolia.com

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WORLD NEWS

K show’s home becomes temporary

dwelling for Ukrainian

60 APRIL / MAY 2022

Plastics industry offers help too IN October at K 2022, Hall 6 at Messe Düsseldorf in Germany will be filled with global chemical companies and resin makers. Right now, it’s housing refugees from Ukraine. According to PlasticsNewsKickstart. com, Messe Düsseldorf received a request to make its largest hall available to accomodate Ukrainians. The hall covers nearly 24 084m2 and has its own changing rooms and 40 shower stalls. Messe Düsseldorf worked with the German Red Cross and Düsseldorf Fire Department to set up 1 000 cots on 7 March and used 2 500 metres of

partition walls to separate the hall into smaller rooms. The cots were already filled as of 8 March. “We were very happy to accommodate the request,” Wolfram N. Diener, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, said in the release. “On the day of construction, a large number of colleagues spontaneously lent a hand to make the accommodation possible as quickly as possible, because we are moved by the fate of the people and because we are deeply moved by the plight of the refugees. Receiving and accommodating them is a matter of

course for us.” Catering is being provided by Stockheim, the regular catering partner for the messe. There is also free WiFi to help the refugees keep in touch with family and friends and follow reports from Ukraine. Providing money and apartments Meanwhile, Austrian machinery maker Engel Group has donated €100 000 to aid organisations and is providing apartments for its Ukrainian employees in the Czech Republic so they can house family and friends.

Reifenhäuser brings record output rates above 600kg/h for heavy-duty REIFENHÄUSER Blown Film has launched a new highperformance cooling system for its EVO FFS blown film line. It was specially developed for heavy-duty bag applications and achieves record output rates of more than 600kg/h. Thanks to high-precision flow-optimized components, the new Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS delivers higher throughput while maintaining optimum film properties. The production of form-fill-seal (FFS) bags for heavy goods is a fiercely competitive market where output rate determines commercial success. At 600kg/h, Reifenhäuser exceeds The Reifenhäuser Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS cooling system achieves output rates of over 600 kg/h thanks to high-precision, flow-optimised components

Teknor Apex Monprene serves the pet toy market

refugees The donated funds were transferred to three groups: Doctors Without Borders, Neighbours in Need and the Red Cross. In addition, workers at Engel operations in Germany raised €25 000 for the Ukrainian Parish in Hannover within 24 hours, with money still coming in. The parish’s network is ensuring that the money will reach the intended recipients immediately and directly.

Russia may seize Western factories Companies suspending operations in Russia – such as Solvay, Rehau an d Dow Inc – may be facing complications for any plans to return to smooth operations once the crisis is over. Reuters reports that a senior member of Russia’s ruling party has proposed nationalizing foreign-owned factories that shut down in the country in hopes of adding pressure on Russia to halt the invasion.

bag applications into series production customary top values by about 50 to 100kg, so setting a new benchmark. EVO Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS is suitable for all common formulations and applications (consumer goods, industry, agriculture, etc.) offering at the same time operator friendliness and high line availability. When it comes to mechanical film properties and thickness tolerances, they have achieved the best results in all product tests. This greatly simplifies processes to convert the film on printing and filling machines. Long service life, easier machine startup and reliable quality also make for high competitiveness and operating comfort. In order to participate in the growing market for sustainable products, the line safely processes recyclate and recyclable raw materials. www.reifenhauser.com

FOR decades the Monprene® TPE product line has been the premier material choice for regulated consumer products. The latest series is now specifically designed for use in the manufacture of pet products. Monprene® CP-16500 series of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are durable and sustainable alternatives to thermoset rubber for dog toys, with a broad range of performance and aesthetic characteristics. This series includes clear, translucent and opaque grades with low, medium and high gloss. All grades exhibit excellent colourability and are easily mouldable. This extensive portfolio includes specialty grades that offer improved durability with superior resistance to puncture and tear-ideal for the demanding applications of dog chew toys. www.teknorapex.com

ALPLA Group significantly expands its PET recycling capacity in Germany THE ALPLA Group has become one of the largest PET recycling companies in Germany. With the acquisition of the recycling company Texplast from the FROMM Group and all of its shares in the joint venture PET Recycling Team Wolfen, the international company will increase its annual processing volume in Germany to 75 000 tons of PET bottles. Following the acquisition of BTB Recycling in October 2021, ALPLA increased its processing volumes in Germany to a total of around 75 000 tons of PET input. This includes 55 000 tons by Texplast and PET Recycling Team Wolfen and 20 000 tons by BTB.

BASF closes Ludwigshafen plant after 40 years A new BASF production plant for the intermediate 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) at the Ludwigshafen Verbund site started regular operations in the fourth quarter of 2021. After a trial run of several months, it replaces the previous plant at the Ludwigshafen site, which is being closed after more than 40 years of operation. The new plant is fully integrated into BASF’s production Verbund and, with more than 10 000 tons of 2-ME per year, has the same production capacity as the previous plant. 2-ME has proven its value in the production of plastics, crop protection products, oilfield chemicals (Basocorr® ME) and coatings. www.intermediates.basf.com\

WORLD NEWS

Bold Unity!

Milliken’s ColourDirection 2023 A collection of connected tones

62 APRIL / MAY 2022

MILLIKEN & Company’s latest ColourDirection, Bold Unity, is the work of thought-leaders and trend-watchers in the worlds of textiles, packaging, fashion, design, and marketing and a specially convened Milliken panel, analysing what’s trending today and what is next. The Milliken ColourDirection 2023 Bold Unity combines a palette of boldness with pastel alter-egos, creating tones and contrasts that work together as a team. • Extravagant Orange, is vibrant and a sign that shouts for positive action and new hope. • Radiant Rose’s bold strength shines through the colour palette, bringing together a softer harmony of warmth and comfort. • Lavender Embrace is the go-to colour for effortless comfort, texture, and richness. • Unity Blue – the flagship colour of the Bold Unity range – is an unforgettable link to the oceans of possibilities within us. • Coral Moments, adds a welcome note

of freshness and light and is the spirit of playfulness for the consumer mind. • Team Green is a statement that is both bright and rich, representing the fertile and vibrant world around us. • Sharply Citrus, in contrast with the softer colours, adds a call for attention urgency. The colourants include: • Liquitint™ customised polymeric colourants that combine dynamic colours with excellent processability for multiple applications including home and laundry care. These water-soluble and nonstaining colourants are compatible with the most challenging active ingredients, including additives and higher perfume levels. • ClearTint™ colour concentrates for NX® UltraClear™ polypropylene (PP) add vivid, transparent colour and are compliant with safety requirements for food packaging. • Reactint® polymeric colourants for polyurethane (PU) add appealing colour to products without affecting the physical

properties of the material.

• KeyPlast® colourants are a spectrum of

•

bright, high performance shades for a multitude of polymer and resin systems including ABS, PET in transparent, food-contact applications, and other transparent amorphous polymers such as polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC) and acrylic (PMMA). KeyPlast RESIST™ are high performance colourants, designed especially for colouring engineering polymers such as polyamides (PA), polybutylene terephthalates (PBT), polypthalamides (PPA), polysulfones (PSU), and other high-heat glass filled and flame retardant resins and alloys. These colourants perform well in hightemperature processing and application conditions typically associated with high-performance polymers. www.chemical.milliken.com

Compounds for a gentle, comfortable shave COMPALEN Slip Strip conditioning compounds are ready-to-process for the manufacturing of the lube strips that enable wet shaving particularly gentle and comfortable. Carrier resins are polystyrene (PS) or thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) for injection moulding or extrusion. When it comes to compounding Compalen Slip Strip, Grafe can draw on its long and wideranging experience

of thermoplastic additivation to combine the base material with freely selectable colouring pigments and functional fillers, which are purely physically incorporated without coupling agents. Supplied as freeflowing pellets, all compounds are suitable for direct co-extrusion or 2-component injection moulding together with compatible thermoplastics such as PS or ABS that provide mechanical stability. Due to the high filler contents, a certain proportion of the additive formulation remains on the surface of the resultant lube strips, which means that on contact with water, these components can dissolve, swell and so show the expected effect. The soaps, fats and oils present

in these components provide a pleasant lubricating effect that protects the skin from irritation. Further conditioning and fragrance components can also be incorporated and combined with the desired on-trend colour. The range of potential combinations is virtually unlimited. Grafe develops and produces individually tailored, ready-toprocess Compalen Slip Strip conditioning compounds for the manufacturing of wet razor lube strips

www.grafe.com

Covestro and Ceres Holographics are expanding their collaboration to make transparent displays with volume holographic optical elements fit for application readiness e.g. in the automotive industry.

Exxon o il ma es first commercial sale of certified circular polymers

Innovative windshield displays LOOKING out of the car onto the road and seeing the speed and navigation instructions displayed on the windshield as if on a screen: this is made possible by a new generation of transparent displays. The technology offers a particularly wide range of design freedom and excellent imaging. In addition, the necessary projection system requires less installation space in the dashboard. In the innovative displays, a volume holographic film is integrated into the windshield or side window. Covestro and Ceres Holographics, Scotland, are now expanding their collaboration to make transparent displays with volume holographic optical elements fit for application readiness in the automotive industry in particular. The opening of Ceres Holographics’ new digital mastering and replication facility in Livingston is another important step for both companies to build and scale this technology. The technical collaboration will focus on optimizing Covestro’s Bayfol® HX film and Ceres’ HoloFlekt® mastering and replication equipment with respect to the system geometry of various vehicle classes, imaging performance, as well as integration requirements. “By

expanding our relationship with our long-time partner Ceres, we are significantly advancing forward-looking display solutions. The interest and exchange with OEMs shows us that a new generation of displays for mobility applications are important,” says Moritz Winterstein, Head of Growth Ventures Specialty Films at Covestro. Ceres’ holography system and design capabilities enable the development of vehicle-specific master designs, which can then be produced in replicas as large-format HoloFlekt® films and integrated into glass. The system efficiently directs the projector light into the user’s eye-box and maintains the high transparency of the screen. “Bayfol® HX films from Covestro are key to our ability to provide high-volume transparent films with light-guiding optical functions for volume holographic display solutions,” said Andy Travers, chief executive officer of Ceres. Transparent displays with volume holographic elements are attractive not only for automotive applications, but also, for example, for applications in buses, trains, industrial vehicles, and aircraft, as well as in architectural glazing.

www.covestro.com

EXXONMOBIL has completed its first commercial sale of certified circular polymers, using its Exxtend™ technology for advanced recycling of plastic waste. The purchaser is Berry Global, a leading provider of innovative packaging and engineered products, which will use the circular polymers to manufacture containers for high-performance food-grade packaging on a mass balance approach. The initial sale of certified circular polymers is based on plastic waste processed at ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling facility at its integrated site in Baytown, Texas. The facility began operations in 2021 and has already processed more than 4 million pounds of plastic waste.

elanese to uy uPont s nylon mo ility usiness in ill deal IN a major deal in the plastics supply chain, Celanese Corp is acquiring a majority of DuPont Co’s Mobility & Materials unit for $11 billion in cash. The businesses being acquired have annual sales of about $3.5 billion. DuPont said the deal is expected to close by the end of 2022. DuPont has been a longtime supplier of nylon to the auto industry. The deal includes a major nylon resin business, but doesn’t include DuPont’s auto adhesives business and certain other plastics lines. Dallas-based Celanese ranks as the world’s largest acetal maker. Acetal is a type of plastic used in precision parts used by automakers and other industres.

The ompound ompany ac uires Exxelor polymers THE Compound Company, a leading developer and manufacturer of compounds, has acquired the production site, product portfolio and customer base for Exxelor™ polymer resins from ESSO Deutschland GmbH , ExxonMobil in Cologne, Germany. The acquisition will increase the global production capacity of The Compound Company to about 70 kilotons per year and significantly expand the group’s reach into new markets.

o estro expands its P compounding operations in ndia COVESTRO recently started up two polycarbonate compounding production lines at its Greater Noida plant near New Delhi in India. The new plants are intended to meet the growing demand for compounded plastics, particularly for the automotive and electrical and electronics industries. In Greater Noida, Covestro has addressed capacity bottlenecks several times in the past, so that in 2017 the site was able to meet about 50% of domestic demand for compounded PC, while the other half was supplied from the Map Ta Phut site in Thailand.

DIARY

Both multi-layer film systems with paint film surfaces and structured, back-lighting capable or open-pored systems such as wood, and also functionalised films with capacitive electronics, can be processed off the roll

Engel at PLASTIMAGEN 2022 in Mexico City FLEXIBILITY and efficiency were the focus in the development of the reelto-reel IMD application which ENGEL presented at its stand at Plastimagen in Mexico City from 8-11 March in collaboration with system partners Leonhard Kurz (Germany), Schöfer (Austria) and Isosport Verbundbauteile (Austria). To manufacture complex, threedimensional sample parts, the duo 1060/350 injection moulding machine with an integrated viper 20 robot uses two process technologies at the same time: foilmelt and foammelt. Foilmelt stands for flexibility more than anything else here. Different decorative foils are thermoformed, back-injected and punched from reel-to-reel in the mould in quick succession in a one-step process. Foammelt structural foam moulding – the MuCell physical foam injection process was used here – stands for the

64 APRIL / MAY 2022

highest possible material and energy efficiency. In foamed parts, a porous core is embedded in a compact cover layer. This sandwich design reduces the use of material and correspondingly the weight of the parts. At the same time, the gas load reduces the viscosity of the molten plastics, which offers the ability to use smaller injection moulding machines in many applications as less clamp force is required. The wide range of applications for the production-mature process combination is remarkable. It is suitable for visible components in the vehicle interior, in electronic devices, and for household appliances, among other things. Both multi-layer film systems with paint film surfaces and structured, back-lighting capable or openpored systems

such as wood, and also functionalised films with capacitive electronics, can be processed off the roll. To change the decor, the surface structure and the functionality, only the roll has to be changed, not the mould. Besides PP, ABS, PC or PC/ABS and recycled materials can be used for back injection.

ENGEL is represented in South Africa by GreenTech Machinery (Pty) Ltd

www.greentechmachinery.co.za

A duo 1060/350 injection moulding machine was used at Plastimagen 2022 to manufacture decorated sample parts in a combined foilmelt and foammelt process

New Ultrathin Coating process for film & nonwoven composites at ICE Europe permit customers to produce particularly lightweight film/ nonwoven composites with greater cost efficiency and, as a result, more competitively. The patent-pending process has several advantages: It cuts film grammage by 66%; material consumption in the overall composite is reduced by 28%; and it slashes costs by up to 34% compared to conventional semi-finished products. Significant cost savings are achieved in various ways, for example, by replacing hotmelt adhesives, which reduces line maintenance to a great extent at the same time.

LAMICOR-CL Laminator: The core of the Ultrathin Coating extrusion coating line.

MeetingPack 2022: 20-21 April Valencia, Spain. www.meetingpack.com JEC World 2022: 3-5 May Paris-Nord, Villepinte, France www.jec-world.events GreenPlast 2022: 3-6 May Milan, Italy. www.greenplast.org Coatings for Africa: 4-6 May Sandton Convention Centre, Jhb www.coatingsforafrica.com 16th World Pultrusion Conference: 5-6 May Paris, France. www.pultruders.com 7th PLA World Congress: 24-25 May Munich, Germany. www.bioplasticsmagazine.com Injection Molding & Design Expo: 25-26 May Detroit, Michigan, USA www.ami.ltd/Injection-Molding-Expo

EVENTS

REIFENHAUSER Cast Sheet Coating, specialists for cast film, sheet extrusion and extrusion coating lines, showcased a completely new production process for cost-effective film/ nonwoven composites with an exceptionally low grammage at ICE (International Converting Exhibition) Europe at Messe München (Munich trade fair centre) from 15-17 March. Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating has developed a trend-setting production process termed Ultrathin Coating, in particular for the sector of medical protective clothing. The process will

2022

MEFPU Expo: 7-9 June Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai www.mefpu.com Pre-K Trade Media Event: 13-14 June Ansfelden and Schwertberg, Austria nvanheesewijk@emg-marcom.com Wire & Tube 2022: 20-24 June Düsseldorf, Germany. www.wire-tradefair.com Manufacturing Indaba: 21-22 June Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg www.manufacturingindaba.co.za Trenchless Asia 2022: 27-28 July Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. www.trenchlessasia.com Feiplar Composites & Feipur: 16-18 August São Paulo, Brazil. www.feiplar.com SAPPMA Pipe XIII Conference: 6-7 September Emperors Palace, Kempton Park www.sappma.co.za ISWA World Congress: 21-23 September Sands Expo & Con Centre, Singapore www.iswa2022.org

www.reifenhauser.com/en/company/reifenhauser-group/cast-sheet-coating

K 2022: 19-26 October Düsseldorf, Germany www.messe-duesseldorf.de

APRIL / MAY 2022 65

Wire China 2022: 26-29 September Shanghai, China. www.wirechina.net

DIARY

BRIEFS

Coatings for Africa in Sandton With a rich history of success, through its association with the Oil and Colour Chemists’ Association (OCCA) and South African Paint Manufacturing Association (SAPMA), Coatings For Africa from 4-6 May at the Sandton Convention Centre is the largest dedicated coatings event in Africa for raw material and service suppliers, equipment and paint manufacturers. For three days, the trade exhibition along with the Coatings For Africa Conference, facilitates serious business and networking opportunities for the coatings community. The event creates the perfect environment for manufacturers, raw materials suppliers, distributors, buyers and technical specialists like formulators from the coatings industry to meet face-to-face and do business. That’s not all, the event offers the opportunity to gather insight on the latest processes, exchange ideas with industry leaders and build a strong network in the African continent. www.coatingsforafrica.com

16th World Pultrusion Conference EVERY two years the EPTA (European Pultrusion Technology Association) presents the current developments and innovations in the market of pultruded fibre reinforced materials in Europe and worldwide. The event will be held in Paris from 5-6 May. About 25 international speakers from all over the world will present at the conference to participants across the whole value chain in the pultrusion industry. If the organiser cancels the event, e.g. due to the Corona situation, the participation fee will be refunded. www.pultruders.com

7th PLA World Congress The 7th PLA World Congress, will be hosted in Munich, Germany, form 24-25 May in a hybrid format, i.e. online participation is possible. Experts from all involved fields will share their knowledge and contribute to a comprehensive overview of today‘s opportunities and challenges and discuss the possibilities, limitations and future prospects of PLA for all kinds of applications. www.bioplasticsmagazine.com

66 APRIL / MAY 2022

Arburg: Sustainability in practice

The QR code printed on the cups is used to read out the materials data stored in the R-Cycle database and facilitate precision sorting

Allrounder produces cups from bio-based PP with QR code THE Greenplast trade fair will be held in Milan for the first time from 3-6 May. The event will focus on the topics of sustainability, recycling and energy efficiency in the plastics and rubber industry. Arburg will be demonstrating its expertise in circular economy and resource conservation with a turnkey system producing cups from bio-based polypropylene (PP) with a lasered R-Cycle code for single-sort recycling. During the trade fair, Arburg will be showing an electric Allrounder 470 A with a Multilift robotic system. In addition, the machine is equipped with assistance packages that help with set-up, production start-up, process optimisation, programming freedom, monitoring and service,

making the Allrounder a true ‘smart machine’. The fully-automated machine produces plastic cups made from bio-based PP in a single-cavity hot runner injection mould. Following the injection moulding process, a QR code is lasered onto the cups in line with the R-Cycle initiative. This digital product passport enables the cups to be precisely sorted and recycled after use. The pivotal element of R-Cycle is a database that contains all the information about the materials used. Arburg will use this application example to show how it is possible to obtain high-quality recyclate from post-consumer plastic products and close the cycle of recyclable materials.

www.arburg.com

Focus on LSR injection moulding, digitalisation, additive manufacturing

To manufacture a collapsible cup, the LSR component is injected onto a thermoplastic ring (black)

Arburg is represented in SA by Hestico (Pty) Ltd

Reg

www.hestico.co.za

APRIL / MAY 2022 67

PLASTEC West, the largest annual plastics event in North America, took place from 12-14 April, covering five themes: plastics processing, automation, prototyping, packaging and medical technology. Arburg was there showcasing its entire processing spectrum. At the booth, an electric 470A Allrounder integrated into a fully automated production cell produced a collapsible cup. The process used LSR, whose exceptional durability is ideal for creating cups that are able to fold up. The production cycle starts with a vertical Multilift V robotic system that moves into the mould area from above and removes the finished part as a first step. The insert – a thermoplastic ring – is then placed on the mould core for the next cycle and the cup is set down on a conveyor belt that is resistant to high temperatures. The cup weighs 84 grams and the cycle time is 45 seconds. At Plastec West 2022, Arburg showcased an electric 470A Allrounder with a vertical Multilift V robotic system.

ow! n r te

7th PLA World Congress 24 + 25 MAY 2022 MUNICH › GERMANY

www.pla-world-congress.com

www.kznindustrial.co.za

Media Partner

Gold Sponsor:

한국포장협회로고.ps 2016.11.21 8:26 PM 페이지1 MAC-18

organized by

KOREA PACKAGING ASSOCIATION INC.

Supported by:

DIARY

UTECH Middle East/Africa foam & polyurethane Expo rescheduled to 7-9 June at the Dubai Arab Emirates. Group organises some of the global polyurethane industry’s largest trade

businesses in Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria,

BRIEFS

www.mefpu.com

Wire & Tube 2022 event delayed to June Messe Düsseldorf postpones Wire and Tube in consultation with the partners and associations involved to 20-24 June. The currently very dynamic infection patterns and rapidly spreading Omicron variant have resulted in adjustments in the Düsseldorf trade fair calender that require re-scheduling the Wire and Tube originally planned for 9-13 May. www.wire-tradefair.com

The Manufacturing event for Africans, by Africans THE Manufacturing Indaba, from 21-22 June Centre, Johannesburg, is the leading Africa. The event has shown impressive growth year on year and has proved its value in catalyzing business connections and helping manufacturers to innovate and grow their potential. conference and exhibition to learn from industry leaders, manufacturing sector experts and international speakers. Meet potential buyers through business matchmaking programme and buyers lounge. www.manufacturingindaba.co.za 68 APRIL / MAY 2022

Covestro polycarbonate plastics enable the development of modern medical devices, for example, the demonstrator for a drug delivery device and diagnostic devices e.g. for diabetes seen here.

www.covestro.com

Life-enhancing healthcare solutions MATERIAL advancements are creating new, exciting opportunities for healthcare OEMs, engineers and designers. Covestro offers a variety of products designed for highperformance medical devices. At MD&M West Conference and Exposition from 12-14 April in Anaheim, California, Covestro showcased its materials for healthcare applications, including Makrolon® RE for Healthcare. Makrolon RE polycarbonate grades have a low carbon footprint thanks to the use of renewable electricity for their manufacture, as well as raw materials produced from massbalanced bio-waste and residues. Covestro’s portfolio of materials for diverse healthcare uses includes: • Makrolon® and Makroblend® deliver

strength and durability for drug delivery devices, dental applications, advanced injection devices, medical device housings, and more. • adhesives: Baymedix® polyurethane adhesive and foam components provide excellent breathability and low trauma removal to wound care products, in addition to excellent absorption. • ®

offer breathable applications for wound dressing and prevention, as well as wearable patches. Texin® and strength for applications such as medical tubing and dental applications, all while remaining resistant to cleaning agents and bacteria.

MeetingPack 2022 focus on innovation for more sustainable barrier packaging ENVIRONMENTAL sustainability and functionality are two trends that define the food packaging of the future. The

programme of seven thematic

meeting organized by AINIA and

speakers, who will highlight industry innovations in the development stage.

20-21 April to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by the circular economy to barrier food packaging. With a complete, two-day

discuss the environmental sustainability of food packaging and the need to ensure these products have the high level of barrier functionality the market demands.

www.meetingpack.com/en/congress-program-barrier-packaging/

Tie-bar-less machines reduce handling times at JEC World 2022 JEC World 2022 from 3-5 May in Paris, France, showcases the entire value chain of the composites industry. One important step in this chain is the shaping of thermoplastic fibre-composite preforms. The ENGEL organomelt process takes this one step further. Organic sheets and unidirectional tapes are not just shaped, but also functionalised in one integrated step by overmoulding the preforms using injection moulding. This will be demonstrated live at the ENGEL Stand in Hall 5. The main component of the production cell, which is producing demonstration components made of continuous fibre-reinforced polyamide (PA), is a tie-bar-less ENGEL victory 200/50 injection moulding machine equipped with an ENGEL viper 12 linear robot for handling preforms and finished parts, and a double-sided, vertical ENGEL IR oven. The composite blanks are heated in the IR oven, placed in the mould, formed in the mould, and overmoulded with PA. Heating the prepregs is one of the process steps that drive the cycle time and quality in the processing of fibre reinforced preforms with a thermoplastic matrix. The thickness defines the heat-up and cool-down time. Heating the material quickly without damaging it is important, as are short paths for transporting the heated preforms to the mould (hot handling). The production cell at JEC makes extensive use of the great efficiency potential of ENGEL’s tie-bar-less technology for the organomelt process. The victory machine’s biggest advantage in this application is its very fast hot handling. Barrier-free access to the mould area makes it possible to position the IR oven even closer to the mould than is possible for injection moulding machines with tiebars. And the robot can take the shortest path from the oven to the mould. In this way, even very thin preforms can be processed.

Tapes make it possible to reinforce individual areas in the part in order to adapt them even more specifically to the load. The door module, produced in the ENGEL organomelt process, is more rigid in its window frame area than on the inside of the door

Official Distributor in Southern for Distributor in Southern Africa Africa for BASF • Official

® ® Thermoplastic Polyurethane on TPU Elastollan BASF on TPU Elastollan Thermoplastic

• •

Polyurethane Official Distributor in Southern Africa for Elastron SEBS and EPDM/PP on TPE, TPV Elastron®in Official Distributor Southern Africa for SEBS Elastron on TPE, TPV Elastron Official Distributor in Southern Africa for and EPDM/PP CGFSE on FSE® Fluoroelastomers and Perfluoroelastomers Official Distributor in Southern Africa for ®

CGFSE on Fluoroelastomers Distributor for FSE Weifang on Weipren® CPE and ®

Perfluoroelastomers

Suppliers of EPS, Various Grades

• Engineering Polymers Engineering Polymers • Polyolefins Polyolefins • Reworked and Repaletised Materials Reworked and Repaletised Materials • Official distributor for Politem on PA6, Official for Politem on PA6, PA66 PA66 distributor unfilled and filled compounds unfilled and filled compounds

Contact Carlo Cell: 084 506 7660 Tel: 011 760 1089 orders@dhpolymers.co.za

APRIL / MAY 2022 69

DIARY

KITE 2022

provides muchneeded return to one-on-one industry-supplier interaction A busy stand at KITE – the MECAD team keenly connected with industry players at KITE to help them identify product, training, support, or consultation needs and find the right solution for each company, big or small. The MECAD Group offers extensive engineering software solutions, from CAD design, to manufacturing automation, simulation, shopfloor control, and analysis.

HELD from 16-18 February at the Durban Exhibition Centre, the KwaZuluNatal Industrial Technology Exhibition (KITE) 2022 was the first trade show of its kind in South Africa to open its doors after an industry trade show hiatus of almost two years. “The excitement was tangible as the 80 exhibitors awaited the arrival of the thousands of visitors and was equally

evident in the long queue that had formed to register on day 1 of the Expo. This clearly underlined that an event which allows visitors and suppliers to interact on a more personal level was sorely overdue and we are thrilled to have initiated the reopening of trade shows in a controlled manner, with all Covid-19 safety regulations in place,” says Gary Corin, MD of Specialised

Harvey Roofing team manning their stand are from L-R Albie Jordaan (GM Sales & Marketing), Bill Bowman (Concept Inventor), Marius de Klerk (Sales manager) and Frikkie Erasmus (BU Executive).

Exhibitions. In addition to a diverse array of industrial technology products and services, visitors were able to expand their knowledge base at the free-toattend SAIMechE (The South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering) Seminar Theatre sessions and the well-attended, paid-for LEEASA (Lifting Equipment Engineering Association of South Africa) conference. “We are thrilled with the success of KITE 2022 and we are already well into the throes of preparing for KITE 2023, which will take place at the Durban Exhibition Centre from 19-21 July 2023. A number of current exhibitors have already signed up for the next Expo so we encourage suppliers of industrial technology products and services to reserve their exhibition stands as soon as possible,” says Hefer. www.kznindustrial.co.za

New at K 2022: the Start-Up Zone START-ups are young, creative, flexible and particularly stand out with their innovative solutions. So what better fit for K2022, The world’s No. 1 trade fair for plastics & rubber, than to offer a dedicated presentation area to newcomers specialised in the development of innovative products and solutions revolving around plastics and rubber? And this is precisely what K2022 will be doing with their Start-Up Zone in Hall 8b of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre at K from 19-26 October. At present, young companies can still 70 APRIL / MAY 2022

apply for participation in the Start-Up Zone, using the unique opportunity of presenting themselves and their developments and making international business contacts with a high-calibre expert audience from all over the world at this the most important trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries. Basic requirements for participation in the Start-Up Zone include: Company no more than 10 years old; headcount below 100; and annual turnover below Euro 10 million. Already registered for the Start-Up Zone

www.k-online.com

are Plastship from Germany, a European marketplace for recycled plastics to promote the circular economy online and offline; Healix from the Netherlands – the company collects nets, ropes and other plastic waste based on synthetic fibres to recycle them into high quality circular polymers for the global production supply chain; Hage 3D from Austria that produces large format industrial 3D printers; and the developers of Enlyze from Germany that offer companies a software solution to perform quality control already during the manufacturing of a product.

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be on the new standard interfaces for communication between KHS machines and customer IT systems. The turnkey supplier also continues to devote itself to saving on resources and protecting the environment with its holistic packaging systems. For the filling of sensitive beverages

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aton nt to ot a to ot e sta e If you have any redundant If you have any redundant n e t onyourade InnoPET BloFill ACF-L block system for aseptic filling equipment would likered ton n e t on rade equipment you would like te to te email ton a list nt to sell please to sell please email a list be try in a hygienic environment with the turnkey FROM 26-29 April the KHS Group will withviscosities photos andcan I will photos and I willsmall try with varying e a so do e a so do onon this machinery supplier provides an extensive portfolio present its entire portfolio of modern filling and sell behalf of you. and sell on behalf ofperfectly you. processed – with extremely low foaming of environmentally-friendly systems for technology and environmentally-friendly e are oo n e are ooannadded or ean re ons er Contact: Sean Varrie Contact: Sean Varrie bonus. The filling process various container designs and materials. packaging systems at Anuga FoodTec o y ers is stored in s s oo yen ers 083 407 3600 orneed email: 083 407 3600 or email: the product recipes; there is no With the InnoPET BloFill ACF-L stretch in Cologne, Germany. With its efficient savarrie@gmail.com savarrie@gmail.com for manual conversion. This makes blow moulder/filler block, the Dortmund InnoPET BloFill ACF-L block system Contac Contact: Wouter de Lange for a reproducible filling wouterbagman@gmail.com quality and engineering company presents a further the systems provider is looking to the wouterb ZHANGIANG YATONG improves filling accuracy. Thecell result is a development for sensitive beverages in future of aseptic filling. A further focus will cela 072 705 8597 PULVERISER

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• PE Safety fence production a ety en e rod t on • Ca n tre line o neer as 1.5m wide de dryers on ﬂoor stands • Fo • PLC Controlled. ontro ed t de d y •n Dual dryer30:1 – 65mm arre Barrel & ne a s t on o es a net • Du Screws. s ases and oad n • ABB reInverters. n erters equipment. • Moog hydraulic controllers. ydra ontro ers S n o • Omron o ood temperature FOR eaters t a acontrollers. es temperature Omron Injection m ontro Contact: David Platt on ersMotors 22Kw. • Siemens machine e ens with otorsstretch 083 345 1339 • Complete unit. Ja household o ete t stret n t For details c

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Nike has eliminated the need for laces or other fasteners by building the shoe around a patent-pending bi-stable hinge within the sole. Combined with a large rubber band – called a midsole tensioner by Nike – this hinge allows the shoe to be secure in both an open position for the foot to enter and a closed position for when the trainers are in use

Nike reveals

hands-free GO FlyEase trainer

72 APRIL / MAY 2022

Trainers are designed to be intuitive to put on and take off SPORTSWEAR brand Nike has released the laceless Nike GO FlyEase trainers, which can be put on and taken off without using your hands to replace shoes with laces. The latest trainer released in the FlyEase range, the Nike GO FlyEase is made of two sections connected by a hinge that allows users to put them on and take them off without tying shoelaces or using another fastening. “Shoes for a long time have been a bit antiquated in the way that we undo the laces and then lace them up, this is a more modern, more elegant way to get in and out of your shoes and an easier way – you don’t even think about it,” explained Nike design lead and American Paralympic triathlete, Sarah Reinersten. “There are no laces, and there’s no need to use hands when you have no laces,” she explains. “So there’s no laces or adjustable containment needed. It has a beautiful new, clog-like shape that’s very easy to slip into.” Nike has eliminated the need for laces or other fasteners by building the shoe around a patent-pending bi-stable hinge

within the sole. Combined with a large rubber band – called a midsole tensioner by Nike – this hinge allows the shoe to be secure in both an open position for the foot to enter and a closed position for when the trainers are in use. “The bi-stable hinge means that it will keep stable when it’s in that open or ready position,” said Reinersten. “So when it’s on your floor, it’s super stable, but once you get into the set position, and you step down, it will stay in this position, it’s not going to pop back up. So it’s stable when it’s closed, and then it’s stable when it’s open,” she added. Although they are mechanically complicated, the trainers are designed to be intuitive to put on and take off, with the process being similar to the way many people already slide into shoes

and then kick them off. The emphasised kickstand heel was designed to help users mimic this action. Nike has designed the shoe to be used as an everyday shoe, but also believes that it can be used by a lot of people who find it difficult to put their shoes on. The Nike GO FlyEase is the latest trainer in the FlyEase range, which was launched five years ago and includes the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 35 FlyEase, which was launched in 2019. While previous editions still required a hand to open, this is the first shoe that is entirely hands-free. Nike has also created a pair of laceless basketball trainers that tighten at the touch of a button or swipe of a smartphone. Sports brand Puma also created a pair of trainers that can be tightened at the swipe of a finger.

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Reusable to-go mugs for a sustainable lifestyle