SA POLYMER TECHNOLOGY by SA POLYMER TECHNOLOGY

S OU TH E R N A FR IC A N P OLY ME R TE C H N OLOGY

POLYMER technology

www.sapt.co.za

VOL 17 NR 2 APRIL / MAY 2019

JEC Innovation Award:

V OL 17 N R 2 A P R IL / MAY 2019

Mould engraving times slashed by laser at Habitat

KTM carbon skid plate GOVT TO PLASTICS|SA URGE BAG LEVY IC T S A L P E C N E -F G IN R

Propak Africa packs a punch!

OF TE A)

OF FI

A SS O CI A S OU T

www.sapt.co.za

The Home of Size Reduction

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

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

L IA

End Plastic Pollution – South African Alliance Safripol indaba focus on packaging, PET, pipe

CTP Flexibles gains BRC accreditation

JEC Innovation Awards

Airpop/styrofoam being successfully recycled

Classifieds Apr/May'19.indd 92

2019/03/28 15:38

BY THE WAY

Publisher & Managing Editor: Martin Wells (martin@summitpub.co.za) Editor: Tessa O’Hara (tessa@summitpub.co.za) Publishers Assistant: Heather Peplow (heather@summitpub.co.za) Financial manager: Lisa Mulligan (lisa@summitpub.co.za) Designers: Jeanette Erasmus Graphic Design (jeanette.erasmus@lateraldynamics.co.za) Bronwen Moys Blinc Design (bronwen.clarke@gmail.com)

Summit Publishing cc t: +27 (21) 712 1408 f: 086 519 6089 c: +27 (82) 822 8115 e: tessa@summitpub.co.za Postnet Suite 42, Private Bag X16, Constantia 7848, Cape Town, South Africa Unit 8, Bergvliet Village Centre, Cnr Hiddingh & Children’s Way Roads, Bergvliet 7945

www.sapt.co.za GAUTENG Lowrie Sharp t: (011) 793 4691 f: (011) 791 0544 c: 082 344 7870 e: lowrieplasticsmedia@absamail.co.za KZN Lynne Askew c: 082 904 9433 e: lynne@summitpub.co.za Printed by: Tandym Print, Maitland, Cape Town 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. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Plastics Converters Association, Institute of Materials or Association of Rotational Moulders either. Copyright: All rights reserved. ISSN number: 1684-2855 (ISDS Centre, Paris) Summit Publishing: CK 9863581/23 VAT reg: 4600187902

Association of Rotational Plastics Institute of Southern Africa

Moulders of South Africa

Plastics Converters Association

PET Plastic Recycling South Africa

Institute of Materials

Legislation is about to be passed by the European Union which will compel manufacturers in EU member states to supply containers in which the cap or closure remains attached to the container throughout its use, which obviously presents a difficult design challenge. This was one of the topics covered by the speaker from SACMI of Italy at the Safripol Technical Conference in Johannesburg in February – see page 26

Trafﬁc jam at Propak was … welcome

A TRAFFIC jam is never welcome but the fact that that was exactly what happened at the National Showgrounds at Langlaagte during Propak Africa in March was, well, cause for some relief. The main visitor parking lot was full by mid-mornings on most days, but on the Thursday of the 12-15 March show, the traffic lanes really ground to a halt. Staff appeared to be taken by surprise … in fact, we all were. That suggested that more people attended Propak than were expected. Although we haven’t seen the attendance figures, a high level of business activity was noted and most of the exhibitors were very positive. It would not have been good for the industry if the event had not created interest. Hats off to all the exhibitors, particularly to those in the Proplas hall where the number of working injection moulding machines was in the double figures. The downside of the event was possibly also traffic related: most of the visiting delegates had cleared out by early afternoon, presumably to miss later traffic jams?

Shakes and ladders

IT’S happened again: the ladder has again proven to be one of the most dangerous devices around. In the most recent voorval (literally in this case), a local machine manufacturer took all the necessary precautions but still, unfortunately, fell off the thing, badly damaging a foot and is on crutches for something like six months. We’ve warned you guys about this before: remember to take this warning seriously. There is also ample reason to be extremely suspicious of ladders in the work place, as workers are possibly even more likely (than management) to suffer injuries from such falls.

Ofﬁcials suspended at Small Business Development Dept

IT’S staggering that such a large number of officials – nine – were suspended from the Department of Small Business Development in March, all with immediate effect. The department said it had so far issued nine precautionary suspension letters, of which seven are against Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP) and two against Co-operative Incentive Scheme officials (CIS). “Access to finance remains a critical challenge for SMMEs and cooperatives and so we had to act decisively on this matter to prevent the possible perpetuation of corruption and further prejudice,” said Small Business Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu. It’s a relief that these nefarious tactics have been exposed. Given that developing small businesses is the main goal of this department, one imagines that the most logical way forward would be to make it impossible for such widespread fraud to take place, but how? And the facts speak for themselves: SMMEs in South Africa create an unsatisfactorily low rate of work opportunities, estimated to be at just 15% of total employment. In the country’s main rival markets (i.e. source of imports into South Africa), including China, India and Brazil, SMMEs create up to 80% of jobs. The simple fact is that not enough SMMEs are emerging and creating work, and if this is the situation at the department HAVE which was created to change that situation, … IF YOU TO SAY METHING O : if you S then there is a lot to worry about. bright side m to ok at the Lo wisdo e gem of at have som rite to us w se ea za impart, pl itpub.co. m m su tessa@

Volume 17 No 2

Contents APRIL – MAY 2019

Find out more at www.sapt.co.za

INDUSTRY NEWS End Plastic Pollution – South African Alliance 6 Propak Africa packs a punch! 8 Packaging, PET and pipe in focus at Safripol indaba 26 iCatchi™ gets Intellishift off to ﬂying start, literally 31 WD Hearn diversify 32

CTP Flexibles gains BRC accreditation 34 Haitian machine plays a part in saving lives! 35 Mould engraving times slashed by laser at Habitat

ExxonMobil helps plastics convertor achieve 38 7% energy saving

ENVIRONMENT Chem-i-Plast, Afritrade introduce biodegradable additive

Biodegradable vs. compostable vs. 42 oxo-degradable plastics First plastic road in SA! 48

COMPOSITES JEC Group develops innovation capabilities of startups

SA composites show in November 56 AAT Composites readies itself for IOT-based manufacturing 57 Novus motorbike unlike anything else on the road 58

DESIGN Excellence in composite innovations 64

WORLD Recycled plastic into street furniture 72 Ampacet introduces special effects masterbatch 74

SPORTS Illuminated interface of thermal wellness wearable 92

ON THE COVER KTM-Technologies GmbH (Austria) won the Sports & Healthcare award at this year’s JEC Composites Innovation Awards for the ﬁrst structural composite skid plate produced using an FMC/NCF/elastomer hybrid FMC for the KTM motorcycle carbon skid plate. The complex hybrid part is manufactured with a timesaving one-shot process (< 4min). Read more on page 68.

Jenowill 1/3p advert.indd 82

2019/01/14 11:19

Multi-material solutions – Justine Lombard on the Brenntag stand at Propak Africa showed off some of the automotive trim materials manufactured by LyondellBasell and supplied by Brenntag. The Alumatt® metallic pigment compounds achieve high gloss effects and eliminate the painting process. Other products on display were made from the LyondellBasell Softell® range, which replace painted polymer, foil and soft polymer applications. Products moulded in Softell have low gloss, scratch resistance and a great haptic effect. Softell® also includes textile grades that replace hard plastic and textile covering with a one-shot injection moulded solution – Read more about the action at Propak Africa, pages 8-25

Propak impresses

THIS ISSUE

and lightens the mood

Show’s result suggests more people see opportunities than some expected

UST about nobody has been upbeat or optimistic in the ﬁrst quarter, but at least Propak Africa 2019 went off positively.

APR / MAY 2019

It was really a big relief that the show in Johannesburg in March went well: numbers were up on 2016, which was a plus (it would not have been good if numbers were down), but more relevantly, the mood was positive. It was business as usual at the main Propak Africa hall, where the packaging and automation manufacturers continued to work their magic. And a substantial number of injection moulding and recycling systems were on show at the Pro-Plas event, which runs in parallel with Propak at the National Exhibition grounds; several of the machines were operational too. The stats from the organisers, Specialised Exhibitions/ Montgomery, show that the number of delegates from the neighbouring states rose, which is another positive. Hats off to all the exhibitors for looking so professional. The design of the stands was impressive, virtually without exception, and hospitality was the order of the day. That’s actually the way we work in Africa, in spite of a considerable amount of stuff that’s very worrying at the moment.

4.indd 4

Alliance may create opportunities As all of you know, it’s not easy at the moment with South Africa’s under-performing economy and hence lack of demand creating most of the pressure on the converting industry. In my opinion, our industry – including the plastics, composites and rubber sectors – should be ﬂying and even be a world leader in some areas. There’s virtually nothing to be done about the political machinations at play in government at present, but perhaps the new South African Alliance to End Plastic Pollution being developed by Plastics|SA will present opportunities? For a start, if people and businesses from across the industry join up, the Alliance could present a more formidable group in dealing with government.

The old story about the bag levies appears Join the Alliance? – ‘Informal’ to be one of the focusses collectors such as this group of for the Alliance, so individuals in Germiston battle show support for the along trying to make ends meet. At group guys … hopefully about R4/kg, they need to collect a the DEA and Treasury lot of PET containers a day just to won’t fob off industry keep aﬂoat. In South Africa, where we have world-leading rates for delegations as they have collection of post-consumer plastic in the past. Access to material, the writer suggests that that capital (if not from PlasticsSA’s Alliance to End Plastic there, where from?) will Pollution may be able to create be vital for the Alliance to opportunities for businesses and make progress. Diverting work-seekers – See page 7 funds towards research, to develop solutions for material scrap, would be a good start. Too much time has already been wasted. Common sense didn’t prevail Whilst it’s still our view that approximately 600 members of the National Union of Metalworkers tried to bring an industry employing about 60,000 people to a standstill (which is like 1% of the total workforce), it could all have been sensibly resolved. But, no, instead of common sense prevailing, and in spite of NUMSA ending the strike ‘unconditionally’, agreement between the industry and NUMSA leaders was not reached. The result of this is that a group of union members are still locked out. Sometimes in Africa, one needs to roll with the punches. Common sense does not mean the same thing to everyone. It would make sense for both sides to adapt a more ﬂexible approach and let the business go on. Martin Wells Publisher

Martin Wells,

Publisher

2019/04/15 13:30

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News Master Plastics buys, delists

MASTER Plastics, the flexibles business that separated from Astrapak group when the latter was purchased by RPC in 2017, has been on the acquisition trail. In October 2018 it purchased Mapflex International of Cape Town, a manufacturer of modified atmosphere bags and films, and recently bought Pouch Dynamics, a manufacturer of packaging pouches, also of Cape Town, from Constantia Afripack. This will be effective from 1 May, said Master CEO Manley Diedloff. Meanwhile, the Metier private equity group has acquired Master as of 6 February which has been delisted from the Alt-X index of the JSE. The equity partners own 89% and Diedloff the remaining 10.7%.

JUST BRIEFLY

Plastomark buys PUs supplier Polybass

PLASTOMARK has bought Polybass, the Johannesburg-based supplier of PU materials, silicones, amines and additives. This came about because of the increased flow of materials from Sadara, the Saudi petrochemicals plant in the Persian Gulf. Polybass’ main supplier of PU raw materials has been Dow Chemicals and Dow is one of the partners in Sadara. Plastomark, the Ravago group company, has been handling distribution of Dow polyolefin materials for some time and, more recently, the Sadara materials since the new Gulf plant came on-stream. With increased supplies from Sadara, the financing requirements for Polybass have increased too. As a result, Plastomark and Polybass management teams met towards the end of 2018 and a mutually beneficial agreement was concluded. “The synergies will lead to Polybass becoming a more comprehensive player in the region,” said Polybass MD, Norman White, who established the company in 2000. Polybass has offices in Bryanston and Durban. “It’s business as usual,” added White. www.polybass.co.za

Technimac buys precision engineering company Purple Moss

TECHNIMAC has acquired Purple Moss, creating extra capabilities for its machine building programmes. Purple Moss, in Rossettenville, Johannesburg, had handled some of the supply of precision engineered parts for Technimac, most of which are used in its range of Günter and Günter Gapa bagmaking machines. Technimac seized the opportunity to acquire the company after Purple Moss MD and owner, Carlos Ferreira, decided to retire and move to Portugal. Technimac thus bought its complete plant, systems and manufacturing know-how, relocating the equipment to its plant in Kew, Johannesburg. Some of the Purple Moss staff have been retained too. The additional expertise and capacity has enabled Technimac to increase its manufacturing output and export locally machined parts to its partners in the Guenter/Contec group globally. 6

NEWS- 6+7.indd 6

CEO’s launch Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance Collective action to transform plastics recycling infrastructure across Sub-Saharan Africa, build new economic opportunity SEVERAL number of international consumer goods companies operating across Africa, including Diageo, Unilever, The Coca Cola Company and Nestlé, launched the Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance at the CEO Africa Forum in Kigali. The Alliance aims to turn the current challenge of plastic waste in Sub-Saharan Africa into an opportunity to create jobs and commercial activity by improving the collection and recycling of plastics. The Alliance has been established for companies to: • Facilitate and support their local subsidiaries to engage proactively in market level public private partnerships, industry collaboration and alliances • Share knowledge, encourage innovation and collaborate on technical and other solutions appropriate for Sub-Saharan Africa as well as participate in local pilot initiatives • Engage with the investment community, policy makers and others to accelerate the development and ﬁnancing of the necessary waste

management infrastructure and systems. “Plastics will remain an important packaging material if we are to give African consumers the safe and affordable products they need. However, we need to ensure that used packaging does not end up as litter. Unfortunately, a lack of collection and recycling capacity in many African markets coupled with growing populations is creating a growing problem of plastics waste,” a statement by the Alliance says. “We see an opportunity to tackle that problem in a way that creates jobs and reduces dependency on imported materials while alternatives to plastics are developed. Collaboration within and across markets will be key to success so we are proud to launch the Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance today to increase those efforts and play our part as companies in ﬁnding solutions that work for Africa.”

We see an opportunity to tackle plastic waste in a way that creates jobs and reduces dependency on imported materials while alternatives to plastics are developed.

www.unilever.com

www.diageo.com

www.nestle.com

Company representatives at the forum, Dougie Brew (Unilever Africa, Head of Corporate Affairs Africa), Christian Byron (Unilever Africa, Head of Supply Chain), Bruno Witvoet (Unilever Africa, President), Gavin Pike (Guiness Ghana, MD), Andrew Musingo (CCBA) and Gabriel Opoku-Asare (Diageo Africa, Head of Society)

APR / MAY 2019

2019/04/11 17:51

News We do not have the luxury of time to wait for these international alliances to shi their focus onto South Africa.

End Plastic Pollution – South African Alliance Essential for plastics industry value chain to unite PLASTICS|SA – the umbrella body representing the entire plastics industry in South Africa – invites all role players in the plastics value chain to jointly ﬁnd workable solutions to end plastic pollution in our oceans and environment: Join the South African Alliance to End Plastic Pollution.

What is the South African Alliance? The South African Alliance to End Plastic Pollution in the Environment is a united group of all role players in the local plastics value chain that will collaborate to prevent and ultimately end plastic pollution in the environment. Our ﬁrst priority will be tackling problematic ‘single use’ packaging by ﬁnding solutions and developing the best environmentally sustainable applications. We also urgently need to increase the plastics recycling rates and make more products available with increased recycled content. But sustainable life cycle assessments must form the basis for these solutions and more. To achieve this, our environment will require much more access to research facilities and technological landscapes together with the critical involvement of our government, businesses, NGOs, existing environmental and community networks, as well as every day South Africans.

Expedited timing The development of a focused, collaborative local South African Alliance

to End Plastic Pollution is underway and must be expedited to make immediate impacts whilst remaining cognisant of external factors like the Global initiatives (2025), the National Development Plan (2030), together with the objectives and rollout of the proposed Packaging and Paper Industry Waste Management Plan. And existing projects such as the home-grown, mobile recycling alternative to separation at source, Packa-Ching, would be useful, interim initiatives to deal with the lack of waste management infrastructure. But we cannot solve the exploding problem of plastic pollution in the environment without all members of the plastics value chain constructively ﬁnding and implementing effective and environmentally friendly solutions for our speciﬁc waste problems for more effective and greater change. There’s no time left to waste. Your commitment is essential to end plastic pollution. Pledge your support and sign up to the South African Alliance to End Plastic Pollution today! • For more information or to sign up to the South African Alliance to End Plastic Pollution in the Environment, contact Anton Hanekom, Executive Director of Plastics|SA at email: Anton.Hanekom@plasticssa.co.za, Tel: (011) 314-4021

APR / MAY 2019

South Africa’s plastic pollution problem is at risk of being sidelined in the global battle to eliminate plastic waste from our environment. Never before has the issue of plastics pollution – and speciﬁcally plastics in our oceans – been so central. During the last two years in particular, global initiatives such as ‘The New Plastic Economy Global Commitments’ and the ‘Global Alliance’ were created with the aim of encouraging players in the plastics industry to pledge their commitment to reducing plastic pollution in the oceans. Whilst these efforts are commendable they fail to address the South African problem directly. We have our own, unique challenges in waste management infrastructure, education and awareness that must be addressed. We do not have the luxury of time to wait for these international alliances to shift their focus onto South Africa. We need to develop a workable, local plan – and we need to do so now; a plan

that is aligned to international initiatives, but that ﬁnds innovative solutions that ﬁt the South African context and our particular environmental, socio-political and economic realities.

www.plasticsinfo.co.za

NEWS- 6+7.indd 7

2019/04/11 17:51

Propak Africa

Propak Africa packs a punch!

Increase in visitor numbers seen as big plus

Held from 12-15 March at the Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg, when it came to quantity and the quality of visitors, this year’s Propak Africa really packed a punch with exhibitors nodding their approval and giving the show a big thumbs up. Visitor numbers totalled 11 792, an increase over the previous show edition. Noticeable trends were an increase in the number of visitors from Africa, with Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho leading the way. The growth of green technology was visible on many stands. Not only did exhibitors like the number of feet coming through, they liked the quality of the feet too. Testimony to this were the number of

PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Keg of the best – Cameron Buys and Mara Fontana on the Fontana stand showed off some of the South Coast company’s PET beer keg solutions, in this case the ‘Fonkey’ which is actually for East Coast Brewing Co. Fontana manufactures the preforms, containers and closures

sales done at the show – and the speed of the sales, some of which happened a mere two hours into the show. Increase in sales done at show “We sold four machines within two hours of the doors opening,” says Graham Finke, MD of Trempak, while Pierre Jurgens, MD of Cabletech Marketing, says they had sold nearly everything on their stand by day three. Filmatic had the biggest stand in its 25-year history of attending the show. CEO Riaan van Zyl says it paid off. “In the ﬁrst two days we were up 25% on the previous show. A day later nearly all the equipment we had on the stand was sold – and there was almost R40-million of equipment on show.” Not all sales were to existing customers. Acepak’s national sales manager Justin Tomsett, says while they do come to Propak Africa to sell off the ﬂoor, and some sales have been to existing customers, they also sold to a

number of new customers. “This is testimony to the organisers getting the right people through the doors. The increase in good quality of visitors to the show has been impressive,” added Tomsett. He wasn’t the only one impressed. “We were also pleasantly surprised by the number of new customers we came into contact with at the show,” said Qualitechs’ Chris King. Pakmatic director Ray Shaftoe is an old hand at the show, but this year’s event introduced them to some new customers: “Propak Africa is a staple show for us, we’ve been coming since it was hosted at the University grounds. “This year we met customers we had no idea existed prior to the show.” Pakmatic also had an inquiry from Zimbabwe, one of many from Africa that had exhibitors excited, including newcomers to Propak Africa such as Alsitype Pharma Technologies. The company’s business manager, Janice Kruger, says they had interest from neighbouring countries such as >>

‘We sold four machines within two hours of the doors opening’

Born with a spoon … Quite right, one the latest 500ml ice cream tubs from Polyoak comes with its own spoon, which appears to have proved popular for the brand concerned. The spoon is injection moulded separately with a design that allows it to be clipped on to the underside of the lid

The Karab stand was situated at the access between halls 6 and 7 and Mervyn Nembaya hence had to deal with a lot of passing trafﬁc, which he handled nicely David Platt of Usabco, Qian Shan’guo of Haitian, Nong Pan (Harry) Usabco, Pierre Jurgens of Cabletech and Julius Lebi of Usabco

PHOTOS: MARTIN WELLS & LOWRIE SHARP

8 APRIL / MAY 2019

PROPAK Africa and its co-located events in March saw over 600 exhibitors showcasing their newest products and technologies. Many new products and services were unveiled at the show and visitors were spoilt for choice with the latest state-of-the-art equipment and machinery, auxiliary products and services being exhibited.

Classifieds Apr/May'19.indd 92

2019/03/28 15:43

Propak Africa

Major injection moulding

display at Proplast

Nine manufacturers run machines at show INJECTION moulding presented one of the biggest and most impressive aspects at the recent Proplast show, part of the greater Propak Africa exhibition in Johannesburg in March, with nine suppliers exhibiting machines. The exhibitors included Asiatech Machinery (Borche unit), Cabletech Marketing (two Haitian systems), Fanuc, GreenTech (Wintec machine), Ipex (Wittmann-Battenfeld), MJH (Haixing), Userve (Tederic), Welltec and Yizumi. Each had to overcome technical issues on site, with current, chillers and material feed all being relayed from some distance. But the guys like nothing more than a technical challenge and there were a lot of setting changes being made - and considerable hufﬁng pufﬁng which both entertained and interested visitors. >>

10 APRIL / MAY 2019

>> Botswana and Zimbabwe. “We are a fairly new company in terms of the equipment division, so the show has provided the opportunity for our customers and new customers to see our equipment ﬁrst-hand. A brochure is one thing but to see the machine in action is totally different,” said Janice. Green technology a hit Green technology is a trend that has picked up since the last Propak Africa, both for exhibitors and visitors. Relloy SA GM Candice Toi says this was a focus for them. “We had a recycling machine on display and we actually sold the machine at the show to a customer in Botswana, and another one to a local customer.” Hestico MD Juanita Stiehler-Brits agrees. “This year we took a bigger

The machine produced in excess of 2 000 of the 1.2g closures per minute, for still water bottles, using just 0,37kWh, less energy than a standard vacuum cleaner would

Built in France by Plastisud, the mould uses a Hasco hot runner control system

stand and used it to show a recycling line. The movement on the stand attracted so many visitors and we actually sold the line at the show to a new customer!” Brendon Pearce, GM of Pyrotec Packmark, says the new leads the show provided them with makes him doubt the industry is in a technical recession. “They say we are in a technical recession, but I cannot believe that looking at the new leads we found at the show. We had very good visitors and this tells us that there are very good potential opportunities out there.” ‘Four days, four themes’ a success Event director Sven Smit says he is delighted with the success of this year’s Propak Africa and enthusiastic that all stakeholders beneﬁted over the four days of the show. “We offered several exciting new

PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Omesh Thilmun hosted visitors to the Alpla stand. Omesh has the rare distinction of having worked at most of SA’s major converting groups, including Mpact, Astrapak and Boxmore … which has now become Alpla … and that means he’s got exceptional experience

Lowest energy user – Siegfried Köhler of Wittmann-Battenfeld (WIBA), Sean Kleingeld and John Davies of Ipex and Slovko Slojanovic of WIBA were chuffed with the performance of the EcoPower Xpress 400-ton machine, part of a range of machines from 160-500 tons clamp force

Stefan Botes and Willem van der Merwe on the Fanuc stand showed off both the Japanese manufacturer’s all-electric injection and multi-axis CNC systems, both of which were operational

initiatives that were of beneﬁt to visitors to Propak Africa 2019,” says Smit. “For the ﬁrst time there were free-toattend seminars taking place daily at the show, presented by expert speakers and the content was aligned to the show’s ‘four days, four themes’ topics. The themed days were also part of our new initiatives,” he says. Other new initiatives included a Sustainability Pavilion, a Skills Development Area and a display of the Institute of Packaging SA’s Student Goldpack Award-winning entries – a window to future innovation. Four industry conferences also took place alongside the show. By the time the doors closed on Propak Africa 2019, almost 40% of exhibitors had booked space for the next show in 2022. www.propakafrica.co.za

Johan Dreyer of Enviro Lamps (blue shirt) of Honeydew bought this complete Yizumi PAC 250K injection system, including mould and robot from the Chinese manufacturer, supplied by Mouldbase SA. Here we see Andy Lau, Arrie Lourens and Wesley Lau (on the left) with Dave Moore and Annette Varrie of Mouldbase of Durban; Enviro Lamps manufactures a range of lamps that are described as the ‘world’s best alternative to candles’. It already operates a number of the Yizumi systems

Propak Africa

12 APRIL / MAY 2019

JUST BRIEFLY

Swan Plastics buys DPI’s PVC pipe assets SWAN Plastics has bought DPI’s entire PVC pipe and injection moulding plant, including the lab and workshop, which was put up for auction after DAWN group, the owner of DPI, shut the business down in November 2018. All the assets went up for auction, including the HDPE pipe plant run by DPI, also at Roodekop in Joburg. Swan put in a bid offer for the PVC equipment, including 23 extruders, which was accepted by the auctioneers. Separately, the HD lines and plant were duly sold to a number of other pipe manufacturers. The PVC plant transaction completes a most unusual cycle for Swan Plastics’ MD Mike Swanson, who started his career at DPI some 30 years ago, serving as an internal sales clerk at the company. Mike’s path later crossed that of DPI’s several times: DPI actually bought a majority share (51%) in Swan in 2014 (including its PVC pipe extrusion plant in Prospecton and injection plant in Pinetown, both in Durban). As part of the sales agreement, it was due to buy the remaining shares in October 2017. Instead, Swan reacquired the majority stake it had previously sold in November of that year. This apparently amazing windfall sequence has almost surely been greatly to Swan’s advantage, but has not been without its stresses. Swanson and the Swan management team have had to front up to it, because although they now have the equipment, the challenge to operate the substantially expanded plant profitably has grown significantly too. Swan’s main plans at this stage are to move the PVC equipment from Roodekop to Cato Ridge in KZN and restart production at the same premises where Swanson’s longtime friend, the late Gary Warren, operated from. It is to centralize all its PVC injection moulding business at Cato Ridge too, which will result in it moving its injection plant from Pinetown. Swan is in the process of selling off 12 of the extrusion lines (it will recommission 11 of the ex-DPI lines) and some of the other machinery. Equipment which is not sold will get the “blowtorch or scrap metal treatment,” said Mike. Swan has also, as part of the purchase agreement, now got the rights for DPI’s pipe and fitting brands, such as ‘Duraflo,’ ‘Ultraflo’ and others, and is juggling options to accommodate these. Swanson (59), who had originally intended to retire at the end of 2018, has now had to come up with a completely new strategy. He has been joined in the now expanded business by his two children. Another factor for Swan is that it will need to employ a substantial number of staff to run the bigger enterprise.

>> World’s most ‘energy-efﬁcient machine’ The Wittmann-Battenfeld machine in operation on the Ipex Machinery stand, right at the entrance to Hall 5, was billed as one of the most if not THE most energy-efﬁcient machines in the world at the moment. Running a 96-cavity mould from Plastisud of France, the EcoPower Xpress 400T machine produced the 1.2 gram caps at cycles of just 2.57 seconds. At that rate, an estimated one million caps were produced a day, using about a ton of material daily too. The system uses only 0,37kW to process 1kg of polymer, which according to WIBA sales director Sieggie Köhler, visiting from Austria, is about as low as possible. The machine has a completely new drive system, said Kohler, with machine movements driven by water-cooled servo motors. The model height adjustment system of the clamping unit is also driven by an electric motor. A hydraulic system with servo drive is used for the secondary movements. The machine is equipped with a highly dynamic injection unit. The screw infeed movement for injection and retraction of the screw during plasticising is driven by twin herringbone gear racks with symmetrical force transmission. It also requires less chilled water than usual, with 14 litres being required a minute. The only problem at the show was that the chiller was parked about 100m away, outside the hall. www.ipex.co.za

PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Bright ideas – Carla de Castro of Plastic Ideas was joined on the stand by her son, Antonio

Popcorn time – Dean and Paula Gianni like having the Packaging World stand near a busy thoroughfare, which is why the stand was again placed along a walkway in Hall 6; there they handed out some very attractively printed bags, including some with popcorn in a Ziploc sealed pouch Neil Smith of Afritrade with Manoj Kanjee and Rony Jose of Chemi-Plast; Afritrade is partnering with Chem-i-Plast with marketing and distribution of the Biosphere biodegradable additive

Willie Ye of Tederic, Samantha Smit, Theresa Favini and Dyan Ghirlando of Userve and Eric Gu, also of Tederic of China

Peter Hagan visited Umberto and Theresa Favini on the Userve stand Juanita Stiehler-Brits and the Hestico team hosted representatives of several of the company’s principals, incluing Aoki, RRPlast, Tria, Maguire and Willi Mueller. A large number of high quality moulded products was exhibited too, providing interest for brand companies and goods and beverage manufacturers

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2019/03/19 12:06

Propak Africa

WIPA’s new range of recycling machinery now in SA

JEFF Cawcutt, managing director of Zerma Africa, recently returned from WIPA’s Open-House at their headquarters in Germany, where WIPA’s impressive range of wash plant components was not only on display, but put through their paces during mulitiple trials conducted daily in the test centre; including post-

www.zerma.co.za

consumer and agricultural film, rigid plastic, oil containers, PP bulk bags and other more exotic materials. The quality and performance of the equipment, run in various configurations, was plain to see and confirmed Cawcutt’s decision in 2017 to represent WIPA in Southern Africa. At Propak Africa this year, Zerma Africa also had a WIPA FW-700 friction washer on its stand where Patrick Wissing (WIPA Germany, managing director) and Dominik Haar (WIPA Germany, sales manager) were present and able to answer any questions about their machinery. Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning – Jeff Cawcutt, MD of Zerma Africa got his fill of centrifuges and friction washers during his participation at WIPA’s Open-House held at their facilities in Stadtlohn Germany.

Jeff Cawcutt, MD of Zerma Africa (right), recently visited his principal WIPA Germany for their OpenHouse, where Dominik Haar (WIPA Germany, sales manager) showed him around the impressive WIPA range of machinery, here dwarfed by a mammoth WIPA separation tank and high-speed centrifuge (mechanical dryer), which is now also increasingly used as an independent and highly effective drycleaning unit

14 APRIL / MAY 2019

Helmut Oellerman of Brenntag hosted the group’s new SA president, Morgan Govender, at the show

The Brenntag-Plastichem team were all there, meeting with customers and visiting their customers in the packaging halls

Duncan Gray (second from right) of Asiatech Machinery, marketing agent for the Borche injection moulding machines from China, hosted Hyman Han of Borche, Jessica Wang of Mitex Automation, Cherry Liu of Borche, and Sam Zeng, also of Mitex

Marco Sellati of Moretto with Jacques Kleynhans and Chris Oberem on the DemaplasTech stand.

Tsepo Mampholo, Chris Bodill and Kelvin Mills of Union-Swiss toured the halls. By all accounts, Union operates one of the most comprehensive plants for all the packaging requirements of its skincare product manufacturing customers in South Africa

IDC review shows slight recovery in manufacturing sector

Saudi Aramco buys big stake of SABIC Taner Toi, Pierre le Grange, Dean Toi, Jacqueline Oberndorfer of Erema Austria, Christian Graﬂ and Franz Weixlbaumer of Erema Austria

Hannes Kritzinger and Jacques Human of Kamboo Marketing on the stand of their subsidiary company Kampak, a supplier of print consumables, notably for shrink label ﬁlms from Klöckner Pentaplast and Korozo. Here they ﬂank Samir Nabeeh, sales director for Africa, for Pentaplast. Kamboo also exhibited a new slitterrewinder was exhibited on the Kamboo stand

SAUDI Aramco, the developer of the Sadara petrochemical project in the Persian Gulf, is to purchase a 70% majority stake in materials manufacturer SABIC from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. A share purchase agreement was signed on 28 March. Once completed, SABIC will join the Saudi Aramco group of companies. Saudi Aramco supplies one in every eight barrels of crude oil produced in the world and has global participated reﬁning capacity of 4,9 million barrels a day and 16,8 million tons of chemicals production capacity; SABIC is a major petrochemicals company with 61,6 million tons of production capacity.

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PROPAK

EXHIBIT

SOUTH Africa’s manufacturing sector staged a modest turnaround in 2018, aided by increased export demand and a relatively competitive exchange rate, according to the Industrial Development Corporation’s ‘Sector Trends’ report for the ﬁrst quarter of 2019. The physical volume of manufacturing production expanded by 1% (using seasonally adjusted StatsSA data) while the sector’s value-add (GDP) also rose by 1% in real terms, the best performance in ﬁve years. Several of the large manufacturing sub-sectors recorded higher volumes of production, particularly those producing food and beverages; motor vehicles as well as parts and accessories; paper and paper products as well as basic iron and steel. The use of production capacity in the manufacturing sector as a whole increased by 0.2 percentage points to 83.1% in the last quarter of 2018, from 82.9% a year earlier. The plastics sector performed relatively well: capacity utilization of over 82% in Q4 2018 was recorded, indicating potential increased capacity requirements. However, the rubber sector recorded a slight contraction in production. Overall manufacturing exports expanded by 5.7% in nominal value terms to R713.8-billion in 2018. The main contributors to this increase were motor vehicles, parts and accessories (+R14.3-billion); non-electrical machinery and equipment (+R5,8-billion) and nonferrous metal products (+R5,5-billion).

Propak Africa

Ring-fence the plastic bag levy

to ﬁght plastic pollution

Need to build strong collaborative and meaningful partnerships

16 APRIL / MAY 2019

THE nearly R2 billion that has been raised through the plastic bag levy in SA so far, should never have been absorbed into the black hole of our national ﬁscus. Instead, the levy should have been ring-fenced for its intended purpose: to develop better recycling facilities and incentivise sustainable consumer behavior, said Anton Hanekom, executive director of Plastics|SA, at Propak Africa in March. “Nobody is more disgusted at plastic pollution than those of us who work in the plastics industry. It is distressing to see our products washed up on beaches and littering the landscape. “But the call to ban plastic products is a simplistic response to a complex problem. What’s required is a rational solution to the genuine crisis of plastic

of correctly – is one of the most pollution, not an emotional reaction. environmentally-friendly products there Something that many of those leading is. And this is where the solution to the call to ‘wage war on plastic’ fail to plastic pollution can be found: in the understand, is the terrible impact that correct disposal and management alternative materials have on of plastic waste. the environment,” he added. We are Waging war on It is tempting to prepared to be plastic is not imagine a world bold and to say that the answer without plastic “Today we are as some sort of waging war on plastic prepared to be environmental is not the answer. bold and to say Utopia. But, when Instead, the time has that waging war used in consumer on plastic is not the goods, plastic come to start waging answer. Instead, the uses four times war on plastic time has come to start less energy than pollution. waging war on plastic alternative materials pollution. To win the war such as metal, paper and on plastic pollution, every roleglass. In fact, alternatives to player in the plastics industry needs to plastic packaging would nearly double confront some hard truths. This includes greenhouse gas emissions. us as the producers of plastics, >> The fact is that plastic – if disposed

PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Patrick Bracke (right) with the GreenTech team, including JC Jonker, Martin Uys, Martin Hollinger, Kegan Naik, Thilo Reichelt (of principal Temporprint) and Jonny Lendia

Aria Chen of Polystar of China with Peter Cawcutt on the ZA Machinery stand

Jenny Warner and Kerry Kirkman of Carst & Walker toured the halls

Vijay Gramoney, product manager at Constantia Flexibles in Durban, showed some of their latest solutions, some of which are imported, but that’s not to say that the ex-Afripack business is not exporting too

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Propak Africa PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Lorraine du Plessis on the Cabletech Shini stand.

Duane van Zyl of Cabletech was visited by Andy Katzberger of Demco

Johann Eder, Laura Joubert and Marius van Heerden on the Eder Design stand

18 APRIL / MAY 2019

Positioned at the entrance to Hall 5, the Safrique stand was again a busy affair, which is no surprise as the company is one of the SA businesses most involved in trade into Africa. Pauline Muvirimi, Llewellyn Moodley, Logan Govender, Talia and Mervyn Moodley, Patrick Rutaha, Klaus Keller (Windmöller & Hölscher), Asheen Singh and Sven Ortner (NGR) were there

>> but it also includes government and consumers,” Hanekom continued. “From our side, we are willing to make bold and constructive changes to our products. As members of the South African Initiative – an alliance of key members of the full packaging value chain - we are committed to transforming all our products to make them more environmentally friendly and recyclable. “We will also prioritise new scalable technologies within the industry that not only make recycling and recovering plastics easier, but also enable the creation of value from all plastics once they have been used. For us to be successful, we need to work closely in partnership with government. It is, after all, the role of government to provide adequate waste management infrastructure and to correctly incentivise citizens to recycle. “We are encouraged that government is prepared to have tough conversations regarding the challenges ahead. The Department of Environmental Affairs, for example, admitted in Parliament two weeks ago that it had failed to develop competent waste management facilities, let alone recycling infrastructure,” he added. Hanekom went on to say that

around the country – from eThekwini to Ekurhuleni to Johannesburg to Tshwane to Cape Town – citizens resort to dumping their waste illegally because basic waste removal facilities are either inadequate or absent. A study commissioned by the Department of Environmental affairs in 2012 showed that South Africa generated 108 million tonnes of general waste in 2011, of which only 10% was recycled. The consequences of our weak waste management infrastructure are not only visible in our rivers and oceans, but also cost the country hundreds of millions of rand when municipalities have to clean up illegal dumping sites. Government must immediately take steps to ring-fence plastic bag levy Hanekom said that government needed to urgently fix South Africa’s inadequate waste management facilities and improve infrastructure for collection and recycling. In doing so, it can create thousands of new jobs while safeguarding the 100 000 formal and informal jobs that the plastics industry currently provides. “To start financing the upgrade of our flawed waste management system, our view is that government must immediately take steps to ring-fence the

Sanet Cilliers and Pamela Reddy of Idwala

plastic bag levy that was implemented back in 2003. This levy has increased from 3 cents per bag in 2003 to 12 cents in 2018. “In the coming weeks and months, we, as the plastics industry, will embark on a sustained campaign to persuade government and citizens to join us in the war on plastic pollution. We support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s quest to clean up South Africa, but it can only happen if there is a recycling revolution in this country. “We believe that plastic – if used correctly and disposed of properly – is a product that has immense value to society. It has a smaller carbon footprint than the alternatives, and it is more cost effective to produce. This means a lower cost of living, more economic growth and more jobs,” said Hanekom. A rational conversation about plastic pollution recognises the positive attributes of plastic and focuses on how to manage plastic waste. Hanekom said the time has come to have that rational conversation, and Plastics/SA look forward to leading the discussion. “To win this ﬁght, we need to build strong collaborative and meaningful partnerships. Government, industry and the consumer needs to work together,” he added.

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Propak Africa PROPAK

EXHIBIT

20 APRIL / MAY 2019

JUST BRIEFLY

Steinhoff stake in KAP snapped up KAP group, speciﬁcally the KAP Chemicals cluster which houses Safripol Sasolburg (PP, HD), Safripol Durban (formerly Hosaf, the PET manufacturer) and Safripol Piet Retief (formerly known as Woodchem), has been freed from involvement with the scandal tainted Steinhoff group following the latter’s sale of its remaining 26% holding in KAP, for an estimated R4,8-billion. The sale, on Wednesday 27 March, to institutional investors was oversubscribed. Steinhoff had placed the just over 694 million KAP shares at R6.85 each, which was at a 9.4% discount to KAP’s closing price the day before. Last year, it had reduced its stake from 43% after selling 450 million shares at R8.15 each. Steinhoff’s shares closed 4% higher at R1.82 the day after the sale; KAP declined 7.4% to R7. KAP chief executive Gary Chaplin said he did not know who the new shareholders were, “but I understand it’s a very broad spread of major institutions, including some overseas investors”.

Filling foaming liquids isn’t easy – Rocky Stone and Coenie Bantjies had something new up the sleeve, again: this time it was a filler line for foaming beverages, which – as conventional filling won’t work – presents its own problems. The solution here is for the dispensing nozzle to slowly retract as the surface rises, no mean feat at all. Containers up to 300mm can be filled on the line

Ramon Scheepbouwer, Andrea Goldsmith and Deon Cross were on call on the ExxonMobil stand. They offered Exxon branded rugby balls, which made them very popular for the four days

Fully charged: good results for Metair AUTOMOTIVE component manufacturer Metair group declared its best financial results yet, for the year to end-December. Revenue increased eight percent to R10,28billion and operating profit was up 19% for the 12-month period. One of the main boons for Metair was its investment in Prime Motors of Romania, in which it bought at 35% stake in February last year. Prime is a developer and ‘incubator’ of lithium ion batteries, as used in electric vehicles. Prime has installed its first lithium ion coating and cell assembly manufacturing line and has developed a low temperature lithium ion starter battery: the problem for these batteries is that very low ambient temperatures drain them of power (which generally speaking is unlikely to be a problem in South Africa). An electric vehicle business, Rombat, has been established in Romania. Metair also has investments and partnerships in Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom). In South Africa, the converting operations Automold (plants in Durban and East London); First National Battery (Smiths Plastics and Smiths Manufacturing (Durban) and Lumotech ((Uitenhage) are part of the Metair group.

Rawmac’s Herman Botes, Jeremy Goosen, Pam Magill and Anna Mohale hosted a comfortable lounge at the show, which was a nice place to meet and relax, thanks team!

International energy management fundi Dr Robin Kent was a guest of ExxonMobil at the show, discussing the latest issue of his book Energy Management in Plastics Processing. By engaging with Dr Kent, interested visitors would certainly have learned how to save a few dollars. He estimates he can save as much as 26% of energy costs at most injection moulding companies, which is a lot guys

Louis Moodie (second from left) and Henk de Klerk (right) of Wrapetﬁll cohosted their stand with their principals Delta Engineering (Belgium), CyPET (Cyprus) and Intravis (Germany). Here we see them with vision inspection system specialist Intravis’ Kevin Grunwald and Christian Schreck

Big preform – Mustapha Zahri of CyPET Technologies of Cyprus shows off a large PET container manufactured one of its ISBM systems. It builds machines for the production of preforms and containers up to 150 litres; a 50-litre is shown here www.cypet.eu

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Propak Africa PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Tamryn and Greg Gerasimo on the Maritime stand Gerhart Mischinger (right) of Technimac managed a joint stand involving the Guenter-Contec group, of which his company is a member, and Technimac’s principle Rajoo, who were represented by Bhairav Prajapati and Jinesh Shahd

The Welltec team, including Herman Coetzee (who has joined from Wirquin in Somerset East and is the new manager for the coastal region), MD Les Porter, Steve Brunsden, Nandi Foxcroft, Hester Nienaber and Danie van Vuuren, operated one of their injection machines on the stand

Ritesh, Uday Shah and Jignesh Patel of Vishva Exim, as always, showed some new technology. On this occasion the Indian team were focusing on an in-house recycling system they’ve developed

Shwarma time? – Not quite, Michael Findlay of Gripper & Company demonstrated a vacuum bag lifting system Propak The Huarong team included Karen Lee, Jacky Huang, Michael Purvis and Grace Lin

22 APRIL / MAY 2019

Team Burns Machinery

Pictured beside the popular Zerma ZBS-600 shredder were Dominik Haar (WIPA Germany sales manager), Max Paeslack (Zerma Shanghai, sales director), Chantal Shaw (Zerma Africa, sales & marketing), Patrick Wissing (WIPA Germany, managing director) and Jeff Cawcutt (Zerma Africa, managing director)

Propak Africa

Outcome of Safripol application for the

ADD on PET from China

24 APRIL / MAY 2019

Some convertors contend they don’t buy from dodgy manufacturers SAFRIPOL Durban has applied for the imposition of an antidumping duty on PET imported from China. Safripol contends that China has been dumping PET in South Africa and has been doing so for a considerable period of time. This is borne out in publications such as by research group ICIS (22 February 2019) which reflects Chinese export prices of $1065-1080 a ton against Chinese domestic prices of Renminbi 8400-8700/ton (equivalent to $1250-1300/ ton), representing a dumping margin of some $200/ton. Safripol Durban is the PET manufacturing business that was formerly known as Hosaf. Safripol chief commercial officer Bernhard Mahl contends that the dumping of PET in this country by Chinese manufacturers is creating pressure on margins which make it difficult to justify local manufacture of PET. It submitted its ADD application to ITAC (International Trade Administration Commission) in mid2018. The matter is still under investigation. The application was gazetted in late-November and interested parties are able to submit comments; a number of convertors have done so.

Dumping is recognised as an unacceptable international trade practice and countries around the world have protected their markets from such unfair competition. In the case of PET from China, these include the USA, Brazil, Japan (which no longer produces PET) and others. The USA in fact not only imposes ADDs, but also countervailing duties owing to Chinese state subsidies to PET material manufacturers in that country (countervailing is the process of offsetting the effect of something by countering it with something of equal force). Some of the bigger convertors in South Africa are continuing to purchase material from Chinese PET manufacturers. At least some of the local convertors buy from both Safripol Durban and China. An issue for these convertors stems from the fallout of late-2017 when the-then Hosaf was unable to supply material due to complications encountered during its plant expansion in Jacobs. Some convertors ran out of material in what became a drastic situation during the busy summer period. Publications covering the matter have also noted that not

USA also imposes countervailing duties owing to Chinese state subsidies to PET material manufacturers in that country

Brandon Scott and Donovan Schmidt manned the MJH Machine Tools stand

Theuns van Schalkwyk, Grant Ravenscroft and Craig Bull of Ferro were at the show

Daniel Cockram was happy to join his dad Ben and grandfather Roger on the Plastic & Chemical Trading stand

A few new ﬂavours have been added to the range of Ella Capuccino since we were last out. With retortable oxygen barrier tub containers manufactured by Polyoak, including a unique foaming ring which generates the perfect foam, the coffee drink was available on the … you guessed, the Polyoak stand. Barista Tiffany Koeberg and inventor Neil Hellmann, of Star Gate Innovations, invited guests to put it to the ultimate test

Harry Pouwels of Dela Plast in discussion with Chris Oberem on DemaplasTech stand

awaited only are Chinese export prices lower than those in Europe and North America, but also some $100/ton lower than those of other SE Asian countries. It is for this reason that 90% of all PET imported into South Africa currently is sourced from China. Concerns have been raised within industry that ADDs will restrict the availability of products (what products? Material or manufactured goods?) from China. This is not the case but merely corrects the price to a level of its other international competitors. “Concerns have been expressed that the introduction of an ADD will have a cost raising effect on manufactured goods in South Africa. Whilst the price of dumped PET will increase, is it defensible that companies buying this product beneﬁt from dubious trade practices?” said Mahl. Another research organisation, Wood Mackenzie, has pointed out that the so-called ‘spread’ on raw materials is currently at a little over $100/ton (the ﬁgure refers to the gross margin material producers achieve over raw materials only). “If one now considers Safripol’s investment of R1,3-billion, it becomes clear that such a margin is hopelessly inadequate. Furthermore, as recently as November last year, the spreads were half of current levels. It therefore becomes an economic imperative for Safripol to protect itself against such unfair competition,” said Mahl.

PROPAK

EXHIBIT

Frank Blues, Per Mattsson Rapid AB, KareAndersen of Labotek Denmark, Partick Donkiri, Simon Mhlego and Bonita Redeilinghuis of FdB (front)

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Sivan Pillay of EduPow with Terry Wang and Jade Axon on Jonwai stand; Sivan is now supplying the Jonwai injection machines

2019/04/08 10:27

News

Packaging, PET and pipe Large group of convertors converge for multi-material event SAFRIPOL upped its game a notch with the hosting of its ﬁrst technical conference in Johannesburg in late-February, a two-day event attended by some 150 industry managers involved in the key areas where the now more diversiﬁed group is involved, packaging, pipe and PET. According to Safripol technology and innovation executive, Gert Claasen the goals of the conference were to indicate that Safripol is a committed preferred polymer partner to the South African industry and to “ensure that we as an industry work together for

sustainable growth”. The aim was also to share new technologies and trends and in this context the show presented an excellent opportunity for convertors to meet a number of global technical partners who are leaders in their ﬁelds of expertise, including presenters from market analysts Townsend Solutions and Euromonitor, material manufacturers Qenos and PolyOne and additives manufacturer Milliken; and machinery manufacturers Husky, Illig and SACMI. The event kicked off with keynote speaker Dr Roelf Botha, whose candid and insightful views once again didn’t

disappoint. According to Dr Botha, who really worked up a head of steam on the day, there would be at least some capital left for RDP construction and job creation in South Africa if only the state-owned enterprises “could just stop making losses”, which is some understatement. As a guest speaker, Dr Botha is outright value for money and does not scare away from highlighting the many political shenanigans at play, constantly, in this country and particularly as these continue to bedevil economic development. But the economist was also pragmatic and did mention a few economic positive signs.

The auditorium at the Hyatt Regency in Oxford Road was packed; the design allowed the venue to be partitioned and split up for the three separate sessions on packaging, PET and pipe

If you don’t have a sense of humour in Africa you could be in trouble, and keynote speaker Dr Roelf Botha did a ﬁne job at looking at the brighter side of a difﬁcult situation. He was thanked for his comedy and insight by host Gert Claasen of Safripol

PHOTOS: LOWRIE SHARP

Mark Berry of Safripol with the team from market analysts Townsend Solutions, Paula Leardini (Houston, Texas) and Stephen Moore (Singapore)

Gert Claasen of Safripol and Enrique Noonan of Euromonitor, who gave some interesting insights into consumer behaviour, an aspect which is very important for goods manufacturers

APR / MAY 2019

The need to create a solution where caps remain attached to the container during the use of the bottle is a major challenge for the plastic container manufacturing market. Alessandro Falzone of SACMI, a leader in this sector, looked at a number of solutions which have already emerged. The intention of the pending EU legislation is reduce the environmental impact of caps and containers

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‘Shale revolution’ has changed polymer landscape The presentation by Stephen Moore of Townsend Solutions, a USA-based global market research group focussed on the petrochemical industry since 1977, looked at how the growth in the shale gas sector, speciﬁcally in the USA, has fundamentally changed the polymer landscape. Until relatively recently, the conventional petrochemical route had obviously favoured areas with large oil reserves, with ethane in Saudi Arabia giving that region a major ethylene feedstock cost advantage. As feedstock derived from oil or natural gas can equate to up to 70% of total costs, all the other manufacturers were at an obvious disadvantage, although

News

in focus at Safripol indaba Husky HyperSync system for co-injection production of multi-layer containers or preforms runs at a wallthickness variation of 0,01mm. It uses sophisticated hot runners as well as servo drive actuated valve stems

polymers manufacturers in the USA, Europe, Korea and China had other competitive advantages. “The shale energy revolution has quickly grown US hydrocarbon production this decade and will continue to change the price correlations between natural gas, NGLs and crude oil,” said Moore, who is based in Singapore. Shale has had such an effect that it has “disconnected” oil and gas prices, he added. Shale NGLs (natural gas liquids)

Husky co-injection – It’s no surprise that the Canadian injection moulding company’s solutions for the production of multi-layer coffee capsules are proving popular: the capsules market is massive, estimated at around 60 billion units/year, with the plastic solution accounting for 73% and metals the remainder

produce between 42-65% ethane after fractionation which has resulted in most new crackers in the USA to be 100% ethane-fed now. The rise in the price of ethane since 2016 has meant that Saudi ethylene prices are now far closer to those in the USA. What does this mean for convertors in Southern Africa? The simple fact of the matter is that the heightened competition by the increased viability of shale gas will ultimately have a balancing effect on global polyoleﬁns prices and the global price is what it is, so don’t expect any favours. Caps will have to remain attached Among the most interesting presentations, that by Alessandro Falzoni of SACMI of Italy was of most relevance. SACMI is established as one of the leaders in the closures market globally and a signiﬁcant number of its injection and compression moulding machines are in operation here. “For the last 10-15 years, the focus of our industry was light weighting: reducing packaging weight (bottles and caps), without affecting performance and consumer experience. The industry >>

KAP Chemicals group CEO Leigh Pollard, Bernhard Mahl of Safripol, Mike Brown of PailPac, and Neo Mekgoe and Mark Berry of Safripol

Mark Berry thanked Alessandro Falzoni (left) of SACMI and Bart Gabriëls of Milliken for their presentations

APR / MAY 2019

PHOTOS: LOWRIE SHARP

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News Safripol Indaba

APR / MAY 2019

>> collectively spent millions, but reduced resource and energy consumption, CO2 emissions to levels unthinkable when the whole process started,” said Alessandro. Cap weights declined from over 5g in 1994 to 2,4g and even lower last year, which was a notable achievement. However, another new major change now awaits this sector: in the European Union, legislation is about to be passed which will obligate manufacturers of single-use plastic products with caps and lids to ensure that the caps and lids remain attached to the container during the product’s intended use stage. Potentially substantial development costs lie in store for SACMI and the convertors it supplies, with patent and possible infringements thereof being an obvious further problem (how many different solutions for this difﬁcult problem can there be?). Ironically, the EU countries in which the legislation is to be applied, in Western Europe, are among the lowest polluters on the planet.

An internet minute – Well, this is what it’s come down to: in case you can’t read the ﬁne print, and in order not to bore you, the pie chart shows that average global internet activity for every minute of the day. The stats are staggering: 187 million emails are sent, 3.8 million WhatsApp messages, 375,000 apps are downloaded … and lots more every single minute of the day. And to think that all this is actually recorded too. This was part of the closing keynote address, ‘Making Sense of Disruption,’ by Abdullah Verachia of GIBS

Husky multi-layer co-injection technology Fabrice Becker of Husky gave a presentation about Husky’s Chat panel – A Sustainability Panel discussion was presented near the end co-injection of the event and here, with Safripol host Gert Claasen, are the protagonists, systems for Eddie van Os (Polyco/Unilever), host Prof Linda Godfrey (CSIR), Cheri Scholtz single-serve (Petco) and Douw Steyn (PlasticsSA), who presented a lively discussion capsules, and builds multi-cavity moulds up to specifically as 72-cavities. used in the coffee market. The market Besides capsules, Husky has applied is massive, estimated at about 60 billion its technology to the container and units a year – and that market is almost closures sectors too. Other material exclusively established in North America configurations are utilized too. (37%) and Europe (60%) and the rest … well, Asia/Australia account for just Massive demand from Asia Pacific two percent, Latin America even less at Enrique Noonan of Euromonitor a single percent and Africa even less International gave a perspective titled still, at less than a single percent. So if ‘Key Packaging Trends & Innovations’ you think the coffee shops in your area which effectively focussed on the global are busy, think again: the whole of Africa polymer situation. accounts for less than a single percent According to Enrique, who’s involved of the global market. in analysis of consumer behaviour, Lavazza of Italy with a plastic injected brand companies today need to and are solution and Nestlé of Switzerland with becoming more aware of consumers’ an aluminum design introduced the “emotional connection” with products, coffee capsule some time back, in 1988 something which was not really delved actually. A thermoformed plastic solution into until quite recently. The concept was introduced by Keurig shortly that manufacturers can create “new thereafter and the thing caught fire from sensorial experiences” through their that point, leading up to what is today a products, and thereby boost consumer truly massive market. loyalty, has also not seen much air. For the record, Nestlé is the outright The three top mega trends shaping world leader with its Nespresso brand. the packaging industry, he said, include It’s followed by GMCR’s ‘K-Cup’ and ‘Experience more,’ ‘Healthy living’ and ‘Ethical living’. Comparisons between is also in third place with the Nescafé different consumer groups, especially ‘Dolce Gusto’ caps. in comparison to the ‘millennials,’ are But kudos to Husky, they have obviously of interest and relevance, forged ahead with multi-layer cobut consumption stats are arguably the injection technology and in the process most telling. In this respect, he used the become one of the leaders in this highly example of PET container consumption competitive sector. Its PP/EVOH/PP to illustrate global packaging trends. Not technology has the obvious advantage surprisingly, Asia-Pacific consumption of keeping oxygen, light, odours and was outright the highest: demand in moisture out while extending shelf life. 2017 was estimated at It has developed over 40 applications >> Reinhard Fechter, Fritz Sass and John Jones of Bowler

PHOTOS: LOWRIE SHARP

Nolan Samuel and Mandla Dube of SAPY, Cheri Scholtz of Petco and Chandru Wadhwani of Extrupet

NEWS SAFRIPOL.indd 28

2019/04/11 17:16

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News Safripol Indaba

>> 193,9 billion units – which is a serious figure, but just as astonishing is the fact that North American demand was significantly lower, at 96,8 billion it’s almost exactly half. The major demand in Asia-Pacific is, not surprisingly, from China, but PET container consumption in India and Vietnam is expected to increase too, so it’s likely that demand in the region will continue at high levels. Middle East-Africa, one of the largest land areas with rapidly growing population, constitutes a relatively lesser share of global consumption, at 22.6 billion units for 2017. That’s still big but comparatively minor in comparison. According to the Euromonitor International market research provider, in spite of the global criticism of plastics packaging, the future for plastic food packaging is expected to remain bright. Growth of 3.1% is expected to 2023. Africa is expected to remain a low growth market for plastics though, with only Morocco and Egypt identified as growth areas, above 3.6% a year, and South Africa at between 1,2-2,3 percent. ‘Zero Cooling’ from Nissei ASB Corné Pretorius of Nissei ASB introduced his company’s ‘Zero Cooling’ PET container moulding technology. The recently introduced system modifies the standard moulding method to achieve greatly increased productivity and container

quality. Zero Cooling is a new standard technology that the company is applying to models in the company’s 4-station, onestep ASB Series line-up that enables an average x1.5 increased productivity while at the same time achieving increased physical strength of up to 15% together with enhanced visual quality. The four stations of the ASB series machines operate simultaneously within each cycle. Standard one-step moulding works on the principle that a custom designed preform is injection moulded and cooled to the point where the PET resin is still above its glass transition temperate (Tg), so it is still flexible as it is transferred to the following stations. The residual heat in the preform is then used to allow blow moulding into the finished container shape at the stretchblow station. Because injection and cooling of the preforms always requires the longest time of these four processes, the injection station dictates the overall cycle time of the moulding machine, and therefore productivity. The advantage of the ASB Series has always lain in the second of its four stations, known as the preform conditioning station. It is used to apply a variety of adjustments to the temperature profile and/or the shape of the preform, providing far greater

Corné Pretorius of Nissei ASB, Ashley Henry of Husky, Ambrencia Wilson of RCL Foods and Thomas von Hartelmuller of Mpact Wadeville

Zero cooling – The ‘Zero Cooling’ preform system from Nissei ASB achieves a signiﬁcant production rate increase, of about 50%. It utilizes a slightly different preform design: the unit on the left has a thick wall section and high stretch ratio, whereas the standard preform (on the right) has a thinner wall section and low stretch ratio

flexibility and stability over competitor moulding systems lacking this feature. ASB has now reviewed the role of the preform conditioning station to develop an advanced cooling technique dubbed ‘Zero Cooling’. In standard moulding, preform cooling requires a significant portion of the total cycle time. By shifting the necessary preform cooling from the injection station to the conditioning station it can be combined with the appropriate temperature profile adjustment. The injection station is now available to start filling the cavity for the next injection cycle while cooling of the previous shot continues simultaneously in the conditioning station. It is this removal of cooling from the injection station that enables average productivity increases of 50%.

Leigh Pollard, Berhard Mahl and Martin Wells discussing strategy

Safripol’s Gert Classen, Leo Washaya, Riaan Saaiman, Frikkie Fourie and Eddie Kotzee excelled as hosts at the cocktail function in the boma at the Hyatt after day one

NEWS SAFRIPOL.indd 30

PHOTOS: LOWRIE SHARP

www.safripol.com

APR / MAY 2019

2019/04/11 17:16

News

iCatchi™gets Intellishift oﬀ to ﬂying start, literally New injection venture

Flying start – Jason Brown along with the partners in the new venture, Dylan Visser of Tandem Lawn Industries, who handles sales and distribution, and Siobhan Beauchamp, who designed and built the tools. Intellishift is operating out of Meadowdale near OR Tambo. The company is using a multiaxis Fanuc CNC system for on-site tool construction; it is currently contracting the moulding work out

APR / MAY 2019

The iCatchi™ is the very latest in ﬂy-catching

INTELLISHIFT, an injection moulding, toolmaking and product development business, has set up its new plant in Meadowdale, Johannesburg. One of Intellishift’s first products is the iCatchi™ fly catcher device, which is a wholly new solution for the business of trapping flies intended for use in environments where flies are prevalent – which is just about anywhere where agriculture and farming or food processing takes place. Intellishift is a venture involving Jason Brown, formerly of Injecta Products, Jenny van der Hoff, who is involved in the equestrian sector (and who came up with the iCatchi™ design), designer/toolmaker Siobhan Beauchamp, and Dylan Visser, who handles marketing. Besides its new design, one of the main features of the iCatchi is that it is fully reusable, which several fly trap designs up till now have not achieved. A few of the units have been damaged in hailstorms, but given that all spares are available, the iCatchi system has encounteref few problems to date and if anything is fully operational. Given the wide criticism of single-use plastic products, the fact that the system is completely reusable is a positive. Intellishift MD Brown originally ran Injecta Plastics in Malvern, where the core activity was the manufacture of pool cleaning systems, including its ‘Gemini’ pool cleaner, as well as pool hose. Injecta was subsequently purchased by Fluidra Waterlinx, which is part of the Spanish listed multinational group Fluidra, a global leader in the pool industry systems, in 2014. He continued with the corporate entity but eventually found his development instinct was being restrained, resulting in the decision to go on his own again last year. Intellishift has to date built its own tools, including all the moulds for all the iCatchi components, and has been sub-contracting the moulding work out to partner companies. iCatchi itself looks like a success story: cooperating with an established distribution/ logistics organisation appears to have greatly expedited market penetration to date. The device is patented and trademarked and is being supplied into 26 countries, and counting …

www.icatchi.co.za

WE HAVE THE SOLUTION FOR YOU with our range of performance polymers let us find the best one for your needs

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Tel: +27 31 202 3900 Email: info@westafricangroup.co.za Website: www.westafricangroup.co.za Untitled-2.indd 1

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2019/04/12 12:01

News

WD Hearn diversify – now also selling injection moulding machines

APR / MAY 2019

First machine sold within weeks of arriving in SA WD Hearn, one of the largest CNC Specific highlights of the machine • Northman hydraulic valve machine tool suppliers in South include: • Yestone servo motor Africa, has diversified and is now also • Double cylinder balance injection • Hopper dryer, auto loader and robot selling injection moulding machines system for part or sprue (option) manufactured by Chinese company, • Back pressure adjustment device • Phase motion control Ultract Taili. • Multi-stage pressure and speed hydraulic drive “The injection moulding machine injection The TLE series also offers multiple project happened a bit quicker than we • High speed clamping options of computer CPU systems. had anticipated, despite doing a year’s • Low pressure mould protection WD Hearn’s offices in Durban are worth of due diligence, we visited the • Double core pulling and inserting now running the injection moulding Taili factory in October last year and • Multiple hydraulic ejector knock-out department, headed up by Myles a month afterwards ordered our first • Mechanical electrical safety device Crosthwaite and recently joined by two stock machines, a 100-ton and • Lubrication system Brett Shelley. 150-ton,” says Graeme Cooper, Sales • Moulding data memory system Director at WD Hearn. www.nb-taili.com www.wdhearn.co.za The 100-ton Taili injection moulding machines was sold soon after to a Durban company. Ningbo Tailike Plastic Machinery Co Ltd is a high-tech enterprise which specialises in producing injection moulding machines. Its greatest advantage is its strong independent development and design ability. The 100-ton The TLE-100FS Taili injection injection moulding moulding machine WD machine has a screw Hearn sold diameter of 38mm, a to a Durban 3 shot volume of 187cm company within and an injection rate of weeks of it 170g per second. landing in SA

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News

Interwaste bought by Séché Will combine their expertise to develop new environmental solutions in these regions

APR / MAY 2019

www.interwaste.co.za

on strong values: respect for its employees, a focus on transparency and the importance of promoting sustainable growth,” says Alan Willcocks, CEO of Interwaste. “Séché Environnement stands out for its capacity to provide highlevel services to its clients, particularly for treating complex hazardous waste that requires cutting-edge technology.” Séché Environnement first announced its plan to acquire Interwaste on 2 November 2018. After Interwaste shareholders gave their virtually unanimous approval on 9 January, the South African competition authorities approved the deal which was finalised on 4 March with the transfer of 100% of the shares to Séché Environnement, and Interwaste’s delisting from the JSE. Séché Environnement currently operates in 15 countries with nearly 2 400 employees, mostly in Europe and South America. “We are well aware of our social responsibility and we will fully support Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) in South Africa. Séché intends to adhere to the B-BBEE principles, thus doing its part to promote equality in South Africa,” says Maxime and Guillaume Séché, sons of Joël Séché, founder and CEO of Séché Environnement. Séché Environnement’s ambition is to further the development of Interwaste and the diversification of its activities with the objective of protecting the populations and the environment in South Africa. “It is gratifying to welcome Interwaste into the Group. It will be a growth platform for Séché Environnement throughout Southern African and beyond,” adds Joël Séché.

www.groupe-seche.com

INTERWASTE, South Africa’s leading waste management operation, has been bought by Séché Environnement, France’s leading operator in the recovery and treatment of all types of waste. March saw Séché Environnement Group (via its wholly owned subsidiary Séché South Africa Pty Ltd) acquire 100% of all issued shares of Interwaste Holdings Limited, which has been delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. By combining the complementary expertise of these two family-owned businesses, the transaction accelerates Interwaste’s growth in its markets by offering innovative waste-management solutions to industrial and municipal clients – and creating a new international operator in the circular economy and waste management in SA. Building on nearly 40-years as an internationally recognised waste management expert, Séché Environnement uses the most advanced technology for waste recovery and treatment, decontamination and site rehabilitation. Founded in 1989 with about 2 000 employees, Interwaste is a major regional integrated waste management operator and relies on its industrial and municipal waste treatment expertise. As an expert in the circular economy, Séché Environnement will reinforce Interwaste’s strategic approach to material and energy recovery to meet the region’s current regulatory challenges and imperatives. “The two companies share one culture and one philosophy. I’m sure we will work well together. Just like Interwaste, Séché Environnement is a family-owned business built

MBT MBT MBT South South South Africa Africa Africa Distributors Distributors Distributors of of Plastic Plastic of Plastic Raw Raw Materials Raw Materials Materials Distributors of Plastic Raw Materials PaulPaul Gripper Paul Gripper Gripper Trading Trading Trading Manager Manager Manager (Cape (Cape Regional (Cape Regional Regional Sales) Sales) Sales) 082082 456456 082 6659 6659 456 6659 Paul Gripper Trading Manager (Cape Regional Sales) 082 456 6659 Carlotta Carlotta Carlotta Stafford Stafford Stafford (Zambia, (Zambia, (Zambia, Malawi Malawi and Malawi and Lesotho Lesotho and Lesotho Sales) Sales) Sales) 082082 600600 082 7403 7403 600 7403 Carlotta Stafford (Zambia, Malawi and Lesotho Sales) 082 600 7403 Helga Helga Ferreira Helga Ferreira Ferreira (Gauteng, (Gauteng, (Gauteng, Zim,Zim, Moz, Zim, Moz, & Angola Moz, & Angola & Sales Angola Sales ) Sales ) ) 072072 573573 072 4221 4221 573 4221 Helga Ferreira (Gauteng, Zim, Moz, & Angola Sales ) 072 573 4221 Steven Steven Coates Steven Coates Coates (Gauteng, (Gauteng, (Gauteng, Botswana, Botswana, Botswana, Namibia Namibia Namibia & Swaziland & Swaziland & Swaziland Sales Sales ) Sales ) 063 ) 063 699699 063 5105 5105 699 5105 Steven Coates (Gauteng, Botswana, Namibia & Swaziland Sales ) 063 699 5105 Tiago Tiago dos Tiago dos Ramos Ramos dos Ramos(KZN (KZN & (KZN Free & Free State & Free State Sales) State Sales) Sales) 082082 775775 082 5344 5344 775 5344 Tiago dos Ramos (KZN & Free State Sales) 082 775 5344 Head Head office Head officeoffice Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg +27+27 (11)+27 (11) 455(11) 455 2889 2889 455 2889 Head office Johannesburg +27 (11) 455 2889 Cape Cape Town Cape TownTown Office Office Office +27+27 (21)+27 (21) 556(21) 556 7787 7787 556 7787 Cape Town Office +27 (21) 556 7787

www.mbtsa.co.za www.mbtsa.co.za www.mbtsa.co.za www.mbtsa.co.za

NEWS WD HEARNE.indd 33

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News The process leading up to BRC standard accreditation was an outright team up effort at CTP Flexibles in Ndabeni, Cape Town

CTP Flexibles

gains BRC accreditation Customer audits simpliﬁed

CTP Flexibles, CTP Limited’s flexible packaging and printing division, recently achieved BRC accreditation in a process that lifted its food grade quality standards compliance … and boosted cooperation among the company’s 170 staff. This adds to the company’s other quality standards achieved, including FSSC 22000 and FDA IMS compliance. The process at the Ndabeni, Cape Town-based company was holistic and motivational for all its staff, with the clear benefit being that BRC accreditation means that audits by customers, including brand companies, are now much simpler as the BRC standard is widely recognised. It also opens the way for CTP Flexibles’ bags, printed film on reel and other film and paper products to be export compliant, particularly into the Europe and the United Kingdom. “Every aspect and just about everything at the plant was affected by the accreditation process,” said CTP Flexibles general manager, Alan Booth, who has been involved in BRC standards processes from when first introduced to South Africa. The process at CTP Flexibles was conducted by Wareham & Associates, a Cape Town consultancy specialised in BRC system compliance, with staff training taking place over several months. Several fundamental changes had to made at the plant, including the fact that the canteen and bathroom, change rooms and toilet facilities had to be clearly separated from the production areas, which necessitated structural changes. Besides that, standard clothing and apparel should be worn at all times and staff are now required to use fingerprint recognition to access or leave the production areas. Other changes, many specific to workplace cleanliness, have been implemented too, but according to Alan, possibly the biggest difference has been that of a mindset change where adherence to the procedures has become a lot more routine behaviour for all employees. 34

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APR / MAY 2019

The management team which coordinated the process with the BRC authority

The BRC Standard for Packaging and Packaging Materials is an international Food Safety Management System Standard. The process and product certification scheme are specifically focused on packaging manufacturing. It is recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI) benchmarking committee. The BRC Global Standard is rigorous and detailed yet easy to understand. It’s HACCP and hazard and risk managementbased, incorporates product safety management systems and internationally accepted best manufacturing practice. “By improving product safety, the standard allows us to set a good foundation in the business to reduce waste, complaints, recalls and rejected products through a cycle of continuous improvement,” said CTP Flexibles quality control assurance manager, Vicky De Klerk, who coordinated the process. The certification process was relatively fast-tracked at CTP Flexibles, possibly due to the management team’s prior experience and commitment to the objectives. It obtained an AA grade meaning that CTP Flexibles is certified against the High Hygiene Category for packaging that comes into direct contact with food products or other designated hygiene-sensitive products. One of the biggest goals achieved through the process, said Vicky, is that “customer confidence in the quality of our products has improved. It has also led to improved brand protection”. www.ctpflexibles.co.za

2019/04/15 09:40

Haitian machine plays a part in saving lives! Seatbelt Medic – a unique Medi-Wallet which acts as an information resource for ﬁrst responders

CABLETECH MARKETING recently supplied the machinery needed for Meridian Plastics to manufacture the award-winning Seatbelt Medic – a unique Medi-Wallet which acts as an information resource for the first responders when dealing with emergencies. Situated in Alrode, Johannesburg, Meridian Plastics specialises in manufacturing automotive safety accessories. The Medi-Wallet allows people to save all their important medical data in a format that is easily accessible if they are ever in an emergency situation and unable to communicate with first responders. It is designed to carry two information cards which contain name and surname, medical aid and membership number, blood type, diabetes info, allergy info, other medical conditions and medication being taken. There is also a photo for quick and easy identification and next of kin contact details. The Seatbelt Medic pack holds the MediWallet with the two cards described above.

“Simplicity is the key to brilliance, and this is what we have achieved in creating Seatbelt Medic, a cost-effective solution which makes the user’s medical information readily available in an instant, thus contributing towards saving precious lives on our roads,” says Shawn Garrett, sales manager for Seatbelt Medic. Garrett turned to Cabletech Marketing when it came to selecting the machine to manufacture the Seatbelt Medic. Cabletech sales manager, Duane van Zyl, supplied Meridian Plastics with a Haitian Mars II international 120 ton injection moulding machine. “With this product winning Product of the Year in 2018, it was a great privilege being the preferred supplier behind producing the Seatbelt Medic,” says Van Zyl. Cabletech also supplied Shini ancillary equipment, which Cabletech Marketing is the agent for. “This system is a complete closed loop system, reducing waste and giving the customer the advantage of saving material costs and getting optimal efﬁciency out of their operation,” Van Zyl adds.

www.seatbeltmedic.com | Tel: 087 151 4477 www.cabletech.co.za

APR / MAY 2019

Duane van Zyl of Cabletech Marketing (centre) ﬂanked by Shawn Garrett (left) and Hubert Garrett, the father and son team behind Meridian Plastics with the new Haitian Mars II international 120 ton injection moulding machine

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News

JUST BRIEFLY

Trash, plastic brick launched in Cape Town

A PLASTIC brick and resin aggregate made from regenerated plastic could be about to change the way we build. Donald Thompson, CEO of The Centre of Regenerative Design and Collaboration, is set to launch the EcoArena Pre-Conditioned Resin Aggregate (PRA) and Ecoblock, a building material made from recycled plastic. The product will be introduced to South Africa in Cape Town in April and promises a constructive solution to SA’s plastic waste problem. The eco brick is made of regenerated waste plastic particles combined with a standard sand-cement mixture to produce a highly resistant, durable cement or cement block. The product was ﬁrst tested in Costa Rica by Pedregal, a cement manufacturer. The Ecoblocks and PRA are lighter and more durable than traditional cement and cinder blocks and will increase thermal properties of walls and offer the same level of ﬁre resistance as standard concrete. “In South Africa, there is an established and sophisticated cement industry. Against this, we need to create jobs, we need to clean up the environment and there is an urgent need for housing. Our plan is to use the Costa Rican model to initially launch in the Western Cape before rolling out the initiative nationally,” said Thompson. CRDC will be testing EcoArena PRA with two major concrete manufacturers in the Western Cape as well as another major South African cement producer.

Mpact’s Plastics business’ results down

MPACT, the largest paper and plastics packaging business and recycler in southern Africa, reported a 47% improvement in underlying operating profit to R672-million for the year ended 31 December 2018. But the group’s plastics business did not perform nearly as well as its paper business: it reported a 10.6% decline in sales volumes and consequently a 29% drop in operating profit for the year. The plastics business’ profits declined to R49,5million. “Sales volumes in the plastics converting business were down as a result of backward integration by customers and the effects of the sugar tax on preform sales,” said CEO Bruce Strong. “And crate and Jumbo bin sales were lower than the prior year due to subdued demand attributable in part to the drought,” he added. The results, released on 13 March, showed operating profit in the paper business up 56.7% to R694.4-million following ‘lower recovered paper costs and higher global container board prices’. 36

Mould engraving times

slashed by laser Cape toolroom pioneers laser engraving HABITAT Industries, one of South Africa’s top toolrooms for blow moulds, has expanded its laser engraving capability to the point where it has become a virtual pioneer in this capacity. The springboard for its progress in this area was largely provided by its use of laser technology for mould cleaning and repairs. Cape Town-based Habitat has been in operation since 1995 and has gradually developed a reputation as one of SA’s most reliable manufacturers of steel and aluminum moulds for extrusion blow and injection stretch blow moulding. In 2014, it started Habitat Mould Services, which offers mould repairs and modifications as its chief service. At that point, the use of laser technology was introduced, with the purchase of their laser-welding machine used to perform the efficient repair work. The laser removes metal and build-up (welding). Habitat Mould Services operates from separate premises down the road in Killarney Gardens and has gradually extended its services: it has repaired or modified a large number of blow moulds over the past five years. In 2018, Habitat Laser was born and ready to introduce the benefits of laser

Considerably faster than conventional CNC cutting, by a factor of as much as x5

engraving to the industrial toolmaking industry: deep engraving as well as traceability part marking at cost-effective pricing relative to conventional methods. A 2.5D auto focus engraving machine was purchased to enable complex or curved surfaces to be engraved, yet also allows for precise depth over the complete part engraved without having to adjust focal height. In 2019, Habitat Laser purchased the laser-cleaning tool, which through laser removes all tough scale, rust and other dirt to eliminate abrasive wear or abusive conventional cleaning which causes mould wear. The laser frequency does not damage any steel surfaces either. Besides cleaning, various other functions can be achieved by laser, including marking, cutting and welding with high accuracy being a major beneﬁt, plus the even bigger advantage that the process is extremely fast – and

Sustainable rPET strapping gains A boost for plastic recycling in SA ONE of South Africa’s largest manufacturers of wood-based products, PG Bison, has decided to use only locally sourced and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) strapping to bind its wood and board products. According to PG Bison’s chief executive officer, Gerhard Victor, the company uses 9.1 million metres of plastic strapping a year, with the recycled rPET material set to divert the equivalent of five million post-consumer plastic bottles or 115 tons of PET from landfills every year. For safety reasons, the strapping is single-use, but it can be recycled after collection. Instead of importing its signature green strapping from Italy, PG Bison will now source the local equivalent from Cape Townbased supplier Propet, which uses locally sourced post-consumer PET bottles in its manufacturing process. “What is exciting about rPET strapping is that it can be made from green plastic bottles, which have had a limited end-use market to date. As other manufacturers make the switch to locally sourced rPET strapping, we’ll be able to make better use of coloured plastic and grow our overall recycling rates even further,” said PET Recycling Company (PETCO) chief executive, Cheri Scholtz.

APR / MAY 2019

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at Habitat specifically that it is considerably faster than conventional CNC cutting, by a factor of as much as x5. Habitat group MD, Donovan Barnes, thus began to see further opportunities for laser technology in the toolroom environment, with the repair/modification work turning out to be a springboard for the engraving work. Barnes consequently embarked for China and explained what Habitat envisaged to his laser machine supplier. The first systems had some limitations, but modifications were made on review and the latest lines (Habitat has now installed three M-Sun Laser units) are achieving all objectives. The main requirement was to adapt the units to work on blow moulds where the set-up, measurement and controls can accomplish extremely fine detailed work and achieve faster operation. It is the latter that has created most interest of late. Now convertors can have info and designs added to their moulds – serial numbers, product codes, logos, recycling codes and suchlike – in double-quick time. Tasks such as the cutting of a product logo into a mould, which would formerly have taken about an hour, can now be handled in as little as 10 minutes.

Habitat Industries MD Donovan Barnes sets up one of the laser systems. Habitat is running three of the M-Sun systems, performing a wide range of engraving jobs

“With small beam diameter, more concentrated energy, internal air cooling system, more stable beam quality, simple and compact design, the equipment is easy to operate and maintain, has the advantages to shorten the manufacturing process, reduce rejection rate and increase production efficiency,” said an M-Sun Laser spokesman. Now other toolrooms can even allow the engraving of details such as serial numbers or logos on new moulds to be completed as a subsequent process by Habitat, confident that extremely fine attention to detail will be achieved. APR / MAY 2019

www.habitatindustries.co.za

Convertors can have info and designs easily engraved to their moulds – serial numbers, product codes, logos and recycling codes etc – in double-quick time. Tasks such as the cutting of a product logo into a mould, which would formerly have taken about an hour, can now be handled in as little as 10 minutes with the new laser

another convert Sustainable strapping – PG Bison is the latest manufacturer to use only locally sourced, recycled PET strapping to bind its wood and board products

CONSULTING (Pty) Ltd.

Representative in Africa

+27 (0)82-651 3315 frank@fdbconsulting.co.za www.labotek.com

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News

ExxonMobil helps plastics convertor Enhanced in-service performance reduces oil consumption by 200 litres a year A SWITCH to Mobil DTE™ 10 Excel hydraulic fluid helped Mpact Plastics in Pinetown reduce the energy used by processing equipment by 7%1. The move also helped optimise equipment performance which reduced unscheduled maintenance, while the hydraulic fluid’s long life cut waste oil disposal costs. Mpact Plastics in Pinetown was looking for ways to improve the efficiency of its plastics processing equipment. Following a site inspection, ExxonMobil’s Field Engineering Services (FES) team recommended switching the company’s

22 injection moulding machines and 13 blow moulding lines to Mobil DTE 10 Excel 46 hydraulic ﬂuid. ExxonMobil also recommended that MPact Plastics implement Mobil ServSM Lubricant Analysis. The used oil analysis programme can detect issues before they become problems, helping reduce unplanned maintenance. The high performance oil’s excellent shear stability and wide operating temperature range helped deliver a 7% average reduction in energy consumption. Data from Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis conﬁrmed the oil’s

long in-service life, which reduced hydraulic fluid consumption by 200 litres. This extended oil drain intervals, reducing human-machine interaction by 27 hours over the space of a year. “In addition to spiralling energy costs and tough competition, plastics processors have to keep pace with increasingly stringent environmental legislation. That’s why saving energy while safely reducing oil consumption is a significant achievement,” said Andreas Hadjidimitriadis, Field Marketing Adviser SA, ExxonMobil. “High performance hydraulic fluids

FF Drawer Magnet does the job! AN FF Drawer Magnet is one of the most versatile and widely used magnetic separators in the plastics industry, using the magnetic separator to capture and remove problematic and potentially costly ferrous metal contamination. The FF Drawer Magnet houses carefully spaced and highly-powered tube magnets. Plastic beads or flakes flow under gravity through the FF Drawer Magnet and over the tube magnets. The magnetic field attracts and then holds any ferrous metal contamination, ensuring the plastic product continues through the process metal-free.

• •

Liquid port, holds a temperature probe and a way to inject liquid colour additive into resin Powder seal kit, limits any leaking of powder materials using a compression seal around the slide gate Eder Design, tel: +27 83 267 1813

Magnet specs • High strength Neodymium Iron Boron rare earth magnets • FF Drawer Magnets are suitable for high temperatures (up to 80 deg C), enabling the magnets to maintain performance when positioned on or close to extruders and injection and blow moulding machines • Housing construction: 11 gauge stainless steel • Designed to handle symmetrical compression loads of 4 500kg • Drawer gasket: EPDM, designed to resist heat aging and compression • Transition connection: Both square and circular are available Depending on the process, there are several other design options available: • No-spill side gate – turns off product ﬂow so when Magnets are removed, there is no health and safety or spillage concerns • Purge hopper, ideal when there is a change of the product being processed (eg colour or compound), enables equipment to be cleaned without the need to empty the hopper or compromising magnetic protection • Dump tube, designed to totally empty the housing and the material hopper once a plastic run has been completed 38

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Niss

can play a signiﬁcant role in enhancing productivity and competiveness. We’re delighted in the savings we could deliver for MPact Plastics. It shows that a small change can make a valuable difference.” To help plastics processors achieve their energy saving goals, ExxonMobil has produced an ‘Energy Saving Guide for Injection Moulding Companies’, in partnership with Applied Market Information (AMI), a leading research consultancy for the

global plastics industry. The free guide can be downloaded at

News

achieve 7% energy saving www.mobilindustrial.com

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1465227/F7 97FF2D2CFC9C8CD463D91FBCD0F98C? partnerref=GreekPoP

Following a site inspection, ExxonMobil’s Field Engineering Services (FES) team recommended switching the company’s 22 injection moulding machines and 13 blow moulding lines to Mobil DTE 10 Excel 46 hydraulic ﬂuid APR / MAY 2019

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2019/04/11 12:48 17:21 2017/07/25

Enviro

2018 a good year for Several additional capacities were put into operation bio-based polyamides, PE, PP and polybutylene adipate-coTHE new market and trend report ‘Bio-based Building Blocks terephthalate (PBAT) will also be added in Europe during this and Polymers – Global Capacities, Production and Trends period. The great hopeful - polyethylene furanoate (PEF) - will 2018-2023’ from the German nova-Institute, shows capacities presumably only be able to offer commercial capacities and production data for all bio-based polymers. after 2023. Overall, the market environment In 2018 the total production volume reached remains challenging with low crude oil prices and 7.5 million tons – already 2% of the production The little political support. volume of petrochemical polymers. The production of So far, the two major advantages of biopotential is much higher, but is currently bio-based polymers based polymers have not been politically hampered by low oil prices and a lack of has become much rewarded. The ﬁrst advantage is that biopolitical support. more professional based polymers replace fossil carbon in the The production of bio-based polymers & differentiated production process with renewable carbon has become much more professional and in recent from biomass. This is indispensable for a differentiated in recent years. By now, there sustainable, climate-friendly plastics industry is a bio-based alternative for practically every years. and is not yet politically rewarded. application. The capacities and production of bioThe second advantage is offered by about based polymers will continue to grow with an expected a quarter of bio-based polymer production: They are CAGR of about 4% until 2023, almost at about the same rate biodegradable (depending on the environment) and can as petrochemical polymers and plastics Therefore, the market therefore be a solution for plastics waste. Only a few countries share of bio-based polymers in the total polymer and plastics such as Italy, France and, in future, probably Spain, will market remains constant at around 2%. politically support this additional disposal path. The increase in production capacity is mainly based on the The most important market drivers in 2018 were brands expansion of the polylactic acid (PLA) production in Thailand that wanted to offer their customers environmentally-friendly and the polytrimethylene terephthalate(PTT) and starch solutions and critical consumers looking for alternatives to blends production expansion in US. PLA and starch blends petrochemicals. If bio-based polymers were to be accepted as will continue to grow signiﬁcantly until 2023. New capacities of

Chem-i-Plast, Afritrade introduce ground-

40 APRIL / MAY 2019

Proven to rapidly accelerate plastics decomposition in landfills, marine environments in an unprecedented manner. CHEM-I-PLAST, the Johannesburgbased materials and additive supplier, in conjunction with Afritrade, the machinery supplier, are the sole distributors of BioSphere, a biodegradable additive that accelerates the natural biodegradation of plastics at a rate which is faster than any other product available in the market. BioSphere, which can be added to a vast array of raw materials for plastic products, enhances the biodegrading of the product. Unlike other offerings in the segment, BioSphere is not dependent on heat, sunlight, humidity, wet or arid conditions for degradation to occur. In addition, plastic with the BioSphere additive degrades in both anaerobic or aerobic environments. BioSphere, manufactured by BioSphere Plastic LLC of Portland, Oregon, USA, was first released in 2012. When first introduced, BioSphere was supplied as

an active ingredient in a masterbatch; it is now also available in liquid, powder and masterbatch formulations, as well as a compostable compound. Chem-i-Plast currently have two post production samples under test. The samples were run by two local manufacturers at the prescribed dosage and these have been sent for testing in the USA. “Tests conducted by an independent and reputable third-party laboratory have proven that most plastic products with the BioSphere additive, at a 1% loading rate, will decompose up to 60% within the ﬁrst 12 months and will have completely disintegrated between years two and ﬁve,” says Rony Jose, MD of Chem-i-Plast. The process is enabled where BioSphere uniquely creates an environment which allows microbes

present in marine or landfill environments to enter and digest plastic from deep within, resulting in microbes working at a much faster rate to decompose the plastic product. So, if a product containing BioSphere is collected for recycling, from landfill, curbside, school recycling or separationat-source, can it be recycled without contaminating the recycling stream? “BioSphere works by allowing natural plastic eating microbes greater access to the polymer chains. It only starts to work when those microbes are present – and they are present only in landfill and marine

‘Tests have been carried out by an independent and reputable third-party laboratory which has proven that most plastic products with the BioSphere additive, at a 1% loading, will decompose up to 60% within the ﬁrst 12 months and will have completely disintegrated between years two and ﬁve,’ says Rony Jose, MD of Chem-i-Plast

bio-based polymers a solution and promoted in a similar way as biofuels, annual growth rates of 10 to 20% could be expected. The same applies as soon as the price of oil rises signiﬁcantly. Based on the already existing technical maturity of bio-based polymers,

considerable market shares can then be gained. The market and trend report is written by the international biopolymer expert group headed by the nova Institute. The authors come from Asia, North America and Europe.

www.bio-based.eu/reports

breaking biodegradable additive others, polystyrene packaging, shopping bags, bottles and containers. Finding new ways to protect our environment is key. We believe that BioSphere offers the opportunity for the plastics industry to manufacture plastics that are an environmentally-friendly alternative to current approaches of plastic manufacturing,” adds Jose. Convertors in SA will remember a fracas a couple of years back surrounding the introduction of ‘oxo-degradable’ additives to South Africa. Smith explains that those additives “are a completely different animal” to BioSphere. “Oxo-degradable additives work with sunlight and oxygen to break the plastic down into fragments. It had limited shelf life and contaminated the recycling stream. These types of products are a main stumbling block to other recyclingfriendly biodegradable additives like BioSphere. Oxo products also started to call themselves ‘oxo-biodegradable’ which

is a misleading claim,” he explains. “We remain dedicated to the plastics industry and the preservation of our environment for future generations. BioSphere is the future,” adds Smith. Background Chem-i-Plast specialises in the supply of masterbatches, additives, compounds and speciality chemicals to the petrochemical, automotive and plastics industries in South and Southern Africa. It has ofﬁces in Joburg, Durban, Cape Town, Harare and Lusaka. www.chemiplast.co.za Afritrade is a Cape Town-based company which has been involved in the plastics industry for over 30 years. It specialises in the sales of recycling equipment, gravimetrics, new and pre-owned ﬁlm and pipe extruders, injection moulding machinery and printers. www.afritradesa.co.za

APRIL / MAY 2019 41

environments,” says Neil Smith, MD of Afritrade. “Once removed from those environments the process stops. Therefore, if waste is collected from landﬁll and sent for recycling it will not contaminate the recycling stream; nor interfere with any of the mechanical properties of the product as once out of the microbe environment the biodegrading process stops.” “This is a huge scientiﬁc achievement, now making it possible to biodegrade plastics up to 20 times faster than plastic products without the BioSphere additive,” says Jose. “BioSphere is already widely used in America and now rapidly gaining momentum globally in the production of plastic products which include, amongst

Enviro

Biodegradable vs. compostable

vs. oxo-degradable

A straightforward explanation …

42 APRIL / MAY 2019

AS CONSUMER demand for sustainable products grows, bioplastics – which can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse emissions – will become more prevalent. Production of bioplastics is expected to grow by as much as 20% by 2022, and as it does, consumer understanding of bioplastics will need to grow with it. A major source of confusion is the difference between three terms: Biodegradability, compostability and oxo-degradability. Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they are not synonymous. Confusion regarding common bioplastics terminology such as these, especially where it concerns the disposal of bioplastic products, can have dire consequences. Companies need to understand the distinctions between each category to accurately and honestly market their products. And consumers need to understand these terms to make educated

purchasing decisions and properly dispose of bioplastic products at the end of use. Bio-based vs biodegradable To understand these three terms (biodegradability, compostability and oxo-degradability), it is important first to clearly understand the definition of bioplastics. Bioplastics refer to a large family of plastics which are sourced from biomass at the beginning of their life (bio-based) and metabolised into organic biomass at the end of their life (biodegradable), or both. Based on this, bioplastics can be broken down into three distinct classifications: 1. Fully or partially bio-based (eg. bio-based PET, bio-based PE) but non-biodegradable; 2. Petroleum-based yet also biodegradable; 3. Fully or partially bio-based (eg. PLA or starch blends) and also biodegradable.

Biodegradable plastics are a relatively small subset of bioplastics which can be converted into water, carbon dioxide (CO2) and bio-mass over time with the help of micro-organisms – this process is called biodegradation. And because the biodegradability of a plastic lies with the chemical properties of the polymer and not the source of the feedstock, biodegradable plastics can be either bio- or petroleum-based. Biodegradable vs compostable vs oxo-degradable plastics Nearly every material will biodegrade, given enough time. But the length of the biodegradation process is highly dependent on environmental parameters such as humidity and temperature, which is why claiming that a plastic is ‘biodegradable’ without any further context (i.e. in what timeframe and under what environmental conditions) is misleading. Reputable companies will often make more specific claims, primarily certifying that their bioplastics are compostable. Compostable plastics are a subset of biodegradable plastics, defined by the standard conditions and timeframe under which they will biodegrade. All compostable plastics are biodegradable, but not all biodegradable plastics would be considered compostable. Certified compostable: A more specific claim of biodegradability Compostable plastics are those plastics which have been tested and certified by a third party to adhere to international standards such as ASTM D6400 (in the USA) or EN 13432 (in Europe) for biodegradation in an industrial composting facility environment. Materials certified according to ASTM D6400 or EN 13432 will disintegrate within 12 weeks and biodegrade at least 90% within 180 days in a municipal or industrial composting facility. Approximately 10% of solid material will be left at the end of the six-month-long process in the form of valuable compost or biomass and water. These standards also ensure that the leftover compost will be free of toxins,

1802

plastics

amusement parks, stadiums and schools, where compostable and organic waste is carefully monitored and controlled to ensure proper disposal in an industrial composting facility. The importance of clearly and accurately labelling plastic products As bioplastics continue to gain market share in the coming years, being clear about the environmental beneﬁts in product and material marketing is imperative. Not only will transparency allow consumers to make smarter purchasing decisions, but it will ensure bioplastics are disposed of through the proper channels.

Ultimately, better end-of-life disposal of bioplastics strengthens their environmental value proposition of diverting organic waste from landﬁlls, reducing greenhouse emissions and ensuring the sustainable consumption of resources. This presentation is sourced from www.greendotbioplastics.com Green Dot Bioplastics LLC is a bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, USA. It is a full-service bioplastics company dedicated to delivering the best of sustainable materials to customers.

APRIL / MAY 2019 43

so the compost will not cause harm when the facility sells it for gardening or agricultural applications. Unless otherwise denoted, certified compostable products must be disposed of in a designated municipal composting facility, not at home. Many certified compostable materials require the higher temperatures of industrial settings to biodegrade quickly enough, or in some cases at all. Few areas in the US have curbside collection for industrial composting, which is why certified compostable products are best used in closed systems such as

A quick note on oxo-degradable plastics While often confused with biodegradable plastics, oxo-degradables are a category unto themselves. They are neither a bioplastic nor a biodegradable plastic, but rather a conventional plastic mixed with an additive to imitate biodegradation. Oxo-degradable plastics quickly fragment into smaller and smaller pieces, called microplastics, but don’t break down at the molecular or polymer level like biodegradable and compostable plastics. The resulting microplastics are left in the environment indeﬁnitely until they eventually fully break down.

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1802010ERE_Ins_SA Plastics.indd 1

21.02.18 13:51

Enviro

Anellotech, French partners advance 100% bio-based PET ambitions New process offers innovative, cost-competitive path to bio-aromatics NEW York-based sustainable technology company Anellotech Inc and its European partners have advanced bioplastics breakthrough with the production of high-purity bio-based paraxylene – a key feedstock for production of PET. The project, which involves collaboration with French catalysts and process engineering company Axens and Solaize, France-based IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) research centre, used Anellotech’s bio-sourced aromatics made for the development of the paraxylene. Anellotech has developed Bio-TCat technology, which uses a thermal catalytic process to convert non-food biomass feedstock material into BTX aromatics. The BTX aromatics are claimed by Anellotech to be identical to their petrobased counterparts. The BXT was then sent to the European partners in July for puriﬁcation into bioparaxylene. Anellotech, IFPEN and Axens will now purify additional paraxylene to create pilot sample 100% bioPET beverage bottles. The trio will also produce sample quantities of bio-based benzene whose derivatives - nylon, ABS, polycarbonate and linear alkyl benzene - can be used as alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics. Anellotech has also partnered with Japan-based global consumer beverage company Suntory Beverage & Food to

Anellotech has developed Bio-TCat technology, which uses a thermal catalytic process to convert non-food biomass feedstock material into BTX aromatics. The BTX aromatics are claimed by Anellotech to be identical to their petro-based counterparts

produce the bioPET bottles. As larger amounts of paraxylene are puriﬁed by the French partners, Anellotech said it would begin to make renewable PET resin for prototype bottle manufacture and product trials.

According to Sudolsky, planning is also underway for the ﬁrst commercial Bio-TCat process plant to produce paraxylene, benzene and other aromatics from loblolly pine wood, to be used in bio-based chemicals and biofuels.

44 APRIL / MAY 2019

Huge amount of plastic found in whale in Philippines THE whale which washed ashore on an island in the Philippines in March set a record for the total amount of plastic debris blocking its stomach: 40kg of plastic items where found in the poor animal’s gut, mainly bags and containers. At ﬁrst it was reported that the victim was a sperm whale, one of the largest creatures on Earth, weighing up to 57 tons, but it was in fact a far smaller

Cuvier’s beaked whale, which ironically is known as one of the deepest diving of all whales, with average dives up to 1400m lasting up to an hour. The Cuvier whale weighs up to 2500kg and grows up to 7m long, so the amount of plastic ingested would obviously have been a major problem for it. The animal literally starved to death. Environmental groups have tagged

The whale which washed ashore in the Philippines in March set a record for the total amount of plastic debris blocking its stomach

the Philippines as one of the world’s biggest ocean polluters. That sort of pollution, which is also widespread in other southeast Asian nations, regularly kills wildlife like whales and turtles that ingest the waste. The Philippines regional ﬁsheries bureau and an environmental group performed a necropsy on the animal and found a large number of grocery bags and rice sacks in its stomach.

The Cuvier’s beaked whale is known as one of the deepest diving of all whales, with average dives to 1400m lasting up to an hour

Enviro

Wastewater recovery plant sets new targets for

energy savings, emission reduction Process sustainability and product quality ENHANCED environmental performance and improved polymer and, hence, yarn quality: these are the main objectives set for the new lactam wastewater “This recovery plant installed at the RadiciFil production investment site in Casnigo (Bergamo, Italy) during 2018. has taken advantage The production facility specialises in polyamide of some of the benefits 6 polymerization and BCF yarn production, the core business of the RadiciGroup Performance provided by Industry Yarn Business Area. Plan 4.0 and is The new plant, which has recently undergone part of the company a test run, recovers the wastewater from the production polymerization process with a caprolactam plan.” concentration of 8-12%. Using falling ﬁlm and incorporates the latest developments in mechanical vapour recompression technologies, the technology, which allow it to reduce the plant processes the water, so as to raise the caprolactam quantity of heat energy used and will help us concentration in the output up to 80%, thus making the achieve the EU 2020 goals (ETS) concerning CO2 recovered caprolactam suitable for reuse in continuous cycle emissions”. polymer production. The new plant has already proven effective in achieving a “This investment has taken advantage of some of the noticeable reduction in the quantity of natural gas used for beneﬁts provided by Industry Plan 4.0”, said Nicola Agnoli, steam production, as well as a generalized improvement in the CEO of the RadiciGroup Performance Yarn Business Area, quality of the output product. The quantity of steam needed for “and is part of the company production plan. The system the lactam wastewater recovery process in the new system has

Black plastic recycling project wins £800k funding

46 APRIL / MAY 2019

Pigment in coloured, rigid plastics can be removed without damaging original plastic polymer A NEW collaborative project aimed at making black plastic easily recyclable has been awarded £800 000 by the UK government’s Innovate UK grant scheme. The project is a joint effort between recycling compliance scheme Ecosurety, plastic innovations specialist Impact Solutions, reprocessors Impact Recycling and plastics injection moulder company McLaren Plastics. The companies will work to develop and bring to market Impact Solutions’ recycling technology, PolyMet, a process by which the pigment in coloured, rigid plastics can be removed without damaging the original plastic polymer. Coloured, rigid plastics – particularly black plastics – pose a signiﬁcant headache to recyclers, with around one million tons of the packaging entering landﬁll or being sent for incineration every year. The issue stems from the fact that coloured plastics, especially black plastics, cannot be detected by sorting

technology and the dark pigment in them limits their uses. As a result, these plastics have a lower market value and are treated by most materials recycling facilities (MRFs) as a contaminant, leading to them not being collected in recycling boxes and subsequently being disposed of in landﬁll or incineration. Having been in development for the last two years and completing a proof of concept design in 2018, the vision for PolyMet is that through the commercialisation of the product, using the £800 000 funding from Innovate UK, it can become a low-cost technology that can be easily incorporated into existing recycling facilities. The technology could also provide a boost to domestic

Black plastic recycling project wins £800k of government funding. One of Impact Solutions’ plastic tech specialists at work. It is hoped that the PolyMet technology will stimulate new markets for this currently low-value, unrecycled form of plastic by turning the previously hard-to-recycle material into a reusable plastic feedstock, diverting it away from landﬁll and incineration

Borealis receives Ecovadis Gold CSR rating

fallen by about 80% (the pressure being equal) compared to the amount required for the old plant previously in operation. This reduction, in turn, has had a positive effect on RadiciFil’s overall performance: the consumption of natural gas needed for the operation of the entire production plant has dropped by about 35-40%. Another innovative feature of the new wastewater recovery plant lies in its ability to adapt to changes in production, ﬂexibly adjusting to the variations in the lactam wastewater input load in a range from 60% to 100%.

recycled plastic production, helping producers to comply with the proposed plastics tax on packaging containing less than 30% recycled content. According to Ecosurety’s analysis, an increase in the amount of plastic available for recycling could impact the UK’s current produce responsibility regime for packaging, leading to an increase in the number of Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) available for purchase by producers as proof of recycling. A 1% increase in the number of PRNs could prompt a potential 10% reduction in their price, stabilising the cost of purchasing recycling evidence for producers – although a new full cost recovery extended producer responsibility (EPR) regime is also currently being consulted on as part of the RWS.

PepsiCo sets recycledcontent goals PEPSICO wants to use 25% recycled content in its plastic packaging by the middle of the next decade. PepsiCo will use collaboration with suppliers and partners, consumer education, industry and publicprivate partnerships and advocacy for improved recycling infrastructure and regulatory reform to help achieve the goal, the company said. While the 25% goal is across all plastics packaging, the company said it aims to use 33% recycled content in its PET bottles by 2025.

Bio4Products unlocks potential of biomass IN A drive to replace fossil material in a wide variety of end products, Bio4Products is creating four bio-based products for which at least 30% of the original fossilbased stream is substituted with sustainable resources and which deliver a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The EU-funded project Bio4Products is showing how bio-resources such as straw, bark, forest residue and sunflower husks can hold the key to a more environmentally-friendly future for Europe’s process industry through correct exploitation and move away from the fossil-based materials processing steams. Bio4Products will demonstrate the integration of these sustainable resources into four products: roofing material, phenolic resins, sand moulding resins, and engineered wood and natural fibre reinforced products. Treatment by a state-of-the-art technique called fast pyrolysis will first convert the solid biomass into a biooil, while largely preserving the original functionalities. The next step sees the functional groups present in the bio-oil separated by fractionation, obtaining a sugar stream and a lignin stream. www.library.bioways.eu/library_home APRIL / MAY 2019 47

ENVIRO BRIEFS

The production facility specialises in polyamide 6 polymerization and BCF yarn production, the core business of the RadiciGroup Performance Yarn Business Area

BOREALIS, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilisers, has received the coveted ‘Gold CSR’ status awarded by EcoVadis, an international provider of business sustainability ratings. The EcoVadis Supplier Sustainability Rating system assesses a wide range of CSR indicators in core thematic areas such as the environment, labour practices, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Borealis received a Gold CSR rating – its fifth to date – in the most recent ratings round completed in September 2018. In the categories of ‘labour practices’ and ‘overall’, Borealis was ranked in the top 1% of all suppliers in the category of base chemicals and fertilizers. It was also ranked among the top 1% ‘overall’ for all participating companies in this round of ratings, the first time it has achieved this distinction. www.borealisgroup.com/company/sustainability/ overview

Enviro

UK company Macrebur have developed ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels used in paving roads by replacing bitumen with waste plastic in the asphalt mix. Macrebur’s® MR products can reduce the amount of plastic in landﬁll and oceans as well as the amount of bitumen leaching into rivers and streams

First plastic road in SA! 1.8 tons of non-recyclable plastic per 1 kilometre IMAGE: KOUGA MUNICIPALITY/LAURA-LEIGH RANDALL

KOUGA municipality in the Eastern Cape is gearing up to build the first plastic road in SA. Kouga municipality mayor, Horatio Hendricks, said at a media launch in Jeffreys Bay that local civil engineering and construction companies SP Excel and Scribante Construction would partner with Scottish firm MacRebur to build a 1km stretch as a trial in the coastal town of Jeffreys Bay. The project will make use of 1.8 tons of non-recyclable plastic per 1 kilometre and will include a complete reconstruction of Koraal street in Jeffreys Bay. The first phase of implementation will involve a large amount of waste plastic which will be imported from Scotland and will be used in the first pilot project. DA MPL Vicki Knoetze says it took

more than a year’s planning to reach this stage. “I am delighted with the outcome and that Kouga has agreed to become the ﬁrst municipality in South Africa and the continent to put the technology to the test,” she said. “Non-recyclable plastic waste is processed into pellets and used to replace a large component of the bitumen in a conventional asphalt mix.” The result is a road that is stronger and more durable. Water, the main cause of potholes, does not penetrate it as easily as with traditional asphalt mixes and it is also more heat resistant. Hendricks said if the trial was successful, the municipality may build a factory to recycle and produce plastic pellets locally.

Taking a closer look at the pellets that are used in the asphalt mix, Gareth Nel from MacRebur, Eastern Cape MPL Vicky Knoetze and Kouga mayor Horatio Hendricks on the road in Jeffreys Bay where construction is expected to start in April 2019.

www.macrebur.com

48 APRIL / MAY 2019

Harare graduate turns plastic waste into diesel A HARARE chemical engineering graduate, Farai Musendo who now owns his own company, Farai Pyro, has come up with a novel project that turns plastic waste into diesel using catalytic pyrolysis. With Zimbabwe currently dogged by persistent fuel shortages and plastic waste, Musendo’s project is likely to contribute immensely towards ending both crises. Already, his invention has seen him as runner-up in the 2018/19 Total Zimbabwe Start Upper Challenge. It is important to note that the diesel that he produces is industrial and is suitable for rotary kilns used by cement makers, bakeries and other heating purposes. It cannot be used in cars, unfortunately.

Musendo said that he started working on the idea on his ﬁnal year project at the National University of Science and Technology in Harare where he studied. He plans to use his prize money to scale up the project to produce at least 200 litres of diesel a day, up from the current 20 litres a day. Musendo’s company, Farai Pyro, employs six people full-time and several others on attachment. The company also works with homeless individuals who supply empty plastic bottles and are paid for that. Farai Pyro’s diesel is reasonably priced too; it currently sells for $2 a litre while normal diesel costs over $3 a litre. Musendo’s project also produces wax

Farai Musendo, who came second in the Total Zimbabwe Start Upper Challenge of the Year, receiving his award from the principal director in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Recreation, Benson Dube (right), whilst Total Zimbabwe MD, Ronan Bescond, looks on

which can be used to make floor polish. Currently, this sells for 60 cents a kg although plans to commercialise and package it are underway. United Nations representatives have visited Musendo’s factory, as has the Environmental Management Agency. The Research Council of Zimbabwe has also tested and certified his product. In fact, they even gave him an award for Outstanding Research in 2017. As for his vision, Musendo says he has already applied for a tender at Harare City Council for a partnership in a waste energy plant at Pomona landfill. He also hopes to have plants in all provinces of the country with each plant producing 100 000 litres each. Zimbabwe is dogged by persistent fuel shortages and plastic waste

www.faraipyro.com

candice@relloy.co.za

People

Into Africa:

Russell Forsdyke opens

50 APRIL / MAY 2019

New company builds on systems and culture started in 1980s RJF International is a polymer trading and distribution business that operates throughout the Southern African region. The core values remain unchanged whereby the business prides itself on building long-term partnerships which now span two generations and four legal entities. The business was ﬁrst founded in the early 1980s by Gert Snijders and Glen Forsdyke, under the name SNF International, and was sold into Metmar Trading in the mid-90s after Snijders announced his impending retirement. Russell Forsdyke, son of Glen, joined Metmar in 2004 and moved into managing the export polymers operations from 2010. It was during this time he gained valuable experience and in-depth understanding of the political and socio-economic nuances of business in the Sub-Saharan region and with this experience, was later tasked to head up the polymers division for Metmar. Late in 2015, Traxys, a privatelyowned multinational trading house operating out of the USA and Europe, purchased all the shares in Metmar and delisted the company from the JSE, effectively taking on the polymers

business along with Russell. After three years with Traxys, it became apparent that Traxys’ core trading focus, in ferrous and non-ferrous bulk ores and alloys, was not going to be able to offer the polymers business what it needed to push on and grow in line with market developments. So, last year Russel requested that there be a ‘mutually agreed split’ and Traxys granted the business be released to Russell. RJF International hence opened for trading in November 2018 and has gone back to its roots, positioning itself as a polymer solutions specialist in the region. Its main trading focus being the preferred distribution channel for Safripol into Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique. The business operates out of Bryanston in Johannesburg and offers a fully ﬁnanced supply and logistical solution to customers in the various neighbouring countries mentioned previously. The logistical support, incidentally, comes from RJF’s preferred logistics partner PNR Transport, which has also been operating since the 80s and growing alongside the various entities.

Russell Forsdyke’s new business, RJF Int’l, is plying the trade routes to Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique and the sub-Saharan region in general

With Russell’s years’ of experience, expertise and proven track record, RJF International is poised to grow as it plans to explore some further opportunities in the near future. “With all of this being said, RJF International will continue to deliver personal, reliable and tailor-made solutions to our business partners without compromising service delivery,” adds the new RJF CEO. www.rjﬁnt.com

SABIC team take on Captain Fanplastic! SABIC Cape Town office’s first corporate social responsibility project for 2019 saw hordes of primary school children and SABIC team members take part in an environmental clean-up project in Cape Town. Working with Plastics/SA and Soap Box SA, this year’s clean-up theme was ‘Captain FanPlastic’ with Grade 5, 6 & 7 learners from Bokmakierie Primary School - who’s premises run along the Liesbeek River A huge shout out to Mohammed Bokar, who heads up SABIC’s Cape Town office, as well as all other SABIC team members and the principal of Bokmakierie Primary School, Mr Lewis, who got stuck in and helped to clean a section of the Liesbeek River

focused on keeping the environment clean in fun ways that incorporated recycling Soap Box SA was founded on October 2016 by Ruben Hazelzet, who had moved to Cape Town to work remotely for Soapbox Amsterdam and discovered the opportunities to set-up office in South Africa. By facilitating behavioural design workshops for SA companies, sufficient basis was found to start Soapbox’s first

foreign office and so they set out to positively impact Africa through behavioural design in the fields of education, healthcare, financial inclusion and sustainability. Yebo! www.sabic.com www.soapboxsouthafrica.co.za

Bokmakierie Primary School learners, along with Soap Box SA’s team and the Friends of the Liesbeek team managed to clear 38kg of litter from the river in a short time

LIFETIME

Gill Loubser recipient of Lifetime Achievement award

PROF Harald Pasch, distinguished professor and holder of the Sasol research chair in Analytical Polymer Science at Stellenbosch University (SU), has received the SCM Lifetime Achievement award Prof Harald Pasch, in recognition “of his massive distinguished professor contributions to the development and holder of the Sasol research chair of polymer characterisation in Analytical Polymer techniques”. Science at Stellenbosch This is only the second time that University the award has been presented, this time jointly to Prof Pasch and Prof Taihyun Chang from Pohang University, Korea. The infrastructure and equipment of the Sasol Chair is unique for South Africa and compares with the best international laboratories. In collaboration with major international companies such as Sasol (South Africa) and Borealis (Austria), analytical protocols for complex polyoleﬁns are developed. A project with L’Oreal in France on the characterisation of cosmetic polymers has just been completed.

World Environment Day 2019 Wednesday 5 June The SABIC South African team were on hand to help out – (back) Carin Douw Isaacs, Moath Al-Shabnan, Enrique Paulsen, Shanaaz van der Schyff, Tjaart Booyens, Mohammed Bokar (who heads up SABIC’s Cape Town ofﬁce) and Waseem Abdulla. Front, Laylaa Dawood, and Avril White with SABIC staffs’ children

APRIL / MAY 2019 51

WESTERN Cape editor of ‘Packaging & Print Media’ magazine, Gill Loubser, has been awarded the World Packaging Organisation’s ‘Lifetime Achievement in Packaging’ prize at the WorldStar Packaging Awards 2019. She is co-founder and editorial director of Packaging & Print Media and has four decades’ experience of writing about the South African and global printing and packaging industries for her own and other publications. Packaging SA’s prestigious award of Packaging Achiever of the year was also renamed last year to the ‘Gill Loubser Packaging Achiever Award’ in recognition of Gill’s outstanding and committed contribution to the packaging industry over many years. Gill was also named ‘Packaging Achiever’ by the Packaging Council of South Africa in recognition of her years of dedication to the South African packaging industry (1995), and granted Honorary Life Membership of the Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa (1996). She was named as a Fellow of the Institute of Packaging South Africa (1998) and, since 1979, has been Africa’s sole member of the International Packaging Press Organisation.

Polymer scientist receives international lifetime achievement award

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Safripol - fighting the good fight On 16 March, Safripol joined the fight against marine pollution by sponsoring a clean-up of the beach around Blue Lagoon on Durban’s Umgeni River. Well done, Safripol!

Clinton Farndell has been appointed MD of Nampak’s Rigid Plastics business

Brett Johnson has joined Coca Cola SA in Port Elizabeth

Dr Elana de Goede has rejoined Brenntag/ Plastichem

Motheo Moatshe has joined Chemfit, the AECI group business, as divisional director

on the move Clinton Farndell has been appointed Divisional Managing Director for Rigid Plastics at Nampak. Clinton has been with the group for over two decades, mainly in the flexibles business. He was also with Nampak Flexible for 17 years, although part of that was with Kohler (before Nampak bought Kohler in 2002) and then the business was sold to Amcor. He was MD of Nampak Flexible for two-and-a-half years and then spent 18 months under Amcor, before rejoining Nampak in the Rigid Plastics business in 2017. Clinton holds a B Comm (Economics) degree as well as a National Diploma in sales & marketing. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of a turnaround strategy for the rigids division to deliver sustainable profitability. That in fact was also the task for his predecessor, Mxolisi Khutama, who left the group at the end of February. Mxolisi’s sudden departure was one of the bigger surprises in the industry of late: he had just prior to that been elected chairman of the board of Plastics/SA, so it was a big setback in that much hope for boosted transformation had been generated by his election. It appears, however, that Mxolisi, who is based in Johannesburg, remains committed to making a return to the industry.

Big step up Brett Johnson has joined Coca-Cola Beverage Africa Group Office in Port Elizabeth, where he is the Packaging Development Specialist, encompassing all packaging aspects in the group and not just plastics. He travels extensively around Africa to countries where Coca-Cola have bottling operations, as well as some self-manufacturing facilities where Coca-Cola manufactures their own packaging materials. Arguably one of the most pivotal positions in the packaging sector in Africa, this is a big step-up for Brett. At Coca-Cola, he looks at packaging initiatives from various aspects, and creates standardization where possible, supporting the bottling or packaging producing operations. Brett started his career in plastics after matriculating in Pretoria in 1997 and worked for the CSIR while studying for his undergraduate degree at the Pretoria Technicon. He then moved to the Western Cape to work 52 APRIL / MAY 2019

Karabo Kekana, has been appointed as Business Development Manager at Chemfit

where he also furthered his studies and graduated with his MSc in Polymer Science from Stellenbosch University. Shortly after joining SANS Fibres, he faced retrenchment and moved back to Gauteng to take up further employment. Brett has picked up a wealth of knowledge along the way, particularly during the last 10.5 years during which he worked at Mpact Plastics in Wadeville, one of the biggest preform and closure production plants in South Africa.

New faces at Chemfit Chemfit, the AECI group business, has made a number of new appointments, including that of Motheo Moatshe as Divisional Director. Motheo studied chemistry, marketing, economics and has 20 years of experience in the chemicals industry in various roles in sales, marketing, production. He has experience in polymers, rubbers and paints and coatings and worked in Switzerland with DuPont, Saudi Arabia with SABIC and South Africa with Sasol Polymers and Astrapak. Motheo’s role is to manage and grow the businesses in both of Chemfit’s Chemicals and Packaging Business Units. Also new at Chemfit is Karabo Kekana, who has been appointed as Business Development Manager. Karabo studied Polymer Technology BTech (cum laude) and started her career as a lab analyst at the Centre for Polymer Technology in Pretoria and then Dunlop Tyres as a graduate, Karabo then worked in the plant and lab at Bridgestone’s compounding plant. She moved to Nampak Flexibles in Pinetown as a polymer specialist working on various barrier film projects. She then joined DuPont as business manager where she was involved in the development of specialty polymers. Her role at Chemfit is to grow the sales of the packaging polymer portfolio for Nylon, EVA and tie layers and speciality PELLD’s of strategic suppliers, Mitsui, UBE, EVAL, Eni and Ingenia. Also new at Chemfit is Roche le Roux, who has been appointed as an account manager. Roche has a BTech in marketing management and a post-graduate diploma in management. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing of injection moulded products with ExactoCraft in Cape Town. He was formerly MD of Roll-It-Africa, a supplier of castor and other specialised

Roche le Roux has been appointed as an account manager at Chemfit

Pravesh Bagrath has started Grahas Solutions, based in Johannesburg

wheels and conveyor parts. Roche has joined Chemfit to grow the sales of the speciality and commodity polymers, including Nylon, EVA and custom compounded engineering polymers servicing customers in Gauteng, the Free State and North West

Grahas Solutions created Pravesh Bagrath has started Grahas Solutions in Johannesburg. Although not yet 60, Pravesh is something of a veteran, having spent over three decades in the plastic cable manufacturing sector. He was at African Cables in Vereeniging up until mid-2017, at which point he decided to put his experience to good use and established Grahas, which is involved in material supply as well as specialised technical project assistance to the cable and pipe production sectors. Grahas supplies polymers and compounds, in which area it represents mainly Eastern manufacturers as well as one European manufacturer, other speciality compounds as well as copper (from Zambia). Pravesh, who is an MBA graduate, is presently working on a number of pipe projects with customers around the country, putting his experience and knowhow to use. ‘Grahas’ is a Sanskrit word referring to the relationships between the planets, specifically the ‘nine Celestial bodies’ (the sun, moon, planets in our solar system as well as two ‘lunar nodes’ which appear as shadow planets). The thinking is that what affects one affects the others, so it is not possible to act randomly or inconsiderately. Ryan Harrison has been appointed managing director of IMCD South Africa in Johannesburg. He is to replace incumbent MD Otto Brinkmann, who is to leave the company at the end of May. Ryan’s responsibilities include that of IMCD Kenya as well as all operations within the business (IMDC is a multi-materials supply operation), P&L and balance sheet. He was previously managing director of AECI’s Chemfit business. Andrew Williams, formerly logistics manager at DPI Plastics in Cape Town, like his many colleagues, has departed the pipe manufacturing company following its closure and has now, seamlessly, moved into the home renovating sector. Anne-mari Maione was promoted to sales manager of the West African Group’s BOPP portfolio with Taghleef. Anne-mari has been with

Pam Magill has joined Rawmac

Ryan Harrison has been appointed Managing Director at IMCD in Randburg

Anne-mari Maione has been promoted to sales manager of the West African Group’s BOPP portfolio with Taghleef

West African for six years, and until her promotion, she focused mainly on the polystyrene side of the business. Before this, she was with Clariant in their leather chemicals division for three years. Clive Rabie has been appointed Polyflor SA’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Clive has taken over the helm from Pieter du Plessis (known as ‘Uncle Pete’) who retired at the end February after more than a decade of service at Polyflor’s head office in Sebenza. Pieter will continue to serve on Polyflor’s Board of Directors and is on standby to offer advice and guidance when called upon. As an influential member of the Executive team, Clive works closely with CEO Tandy Coleman by overseeing the company’s dayto-day operations, ensuring that Polyflor’s business runs as effectively and efficiently as possible by designing and implementing business operations and policies that meet the company’s brand promise. Prior to joining the Polyflor team at the beginning of the year, Clive and his family lived in Cape Town where he was involved in the steel fabrication industry for more than 25 years. Gavin Dehning has been appointed as Group CEO of Silafrica, a leading packaging supplier to East Africa and surrounding regions. Before joining Silafrica, Gavin served from 2015 to 2018 as COO with GSK Djibouti. He was directly responsible for diversifying the Group’s interests into the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space, bringing a world class Coca-Cola facility to Somaliland and the greater Somali region. Credited with i-pioneering the FMCG industry within the region, Gavin assumed the position of MD of Somaliland Beverage Industries in 2010, becoming a shareholder and head of the FMCG portfolio in 2013, and finally taking up the Group COO position in 2015. Originally from Cape Town, Gavin received a university degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA). Shaun Bouwer has joined Extrupet in Johannesburg as national sales & marketing manager after returning from Nigeria where he worked for the Vinmar Group from 2015 to 2018. He was originally at Clariant in Johannesburg, then joined ColorMatrix

Clive Rabie has been appointed Polyflor SA’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Gavin Dehning has been appointed as Group CEO for Silafrica, a leading packaging supplier to East Africa and surrounding regions

Europe and was in Europe for a few years before returning to SA to join Performance Colour Systems. Polymer scientist, Dr Elana de Goede rejoined Brenntag/Plastichem in February this year after spending some time at BASF South Africa as Sales Team Lead for Performance Materials: East, West and Southern Africa. Pam Magill has joined Rawmac as their Cape Town branch manager. She was at Sasol Polymer Distributors for many years as their sales person before she joined Somochem for a while, before joining Rawmac last year. Peter Rebello has joined Sandplast as production manager where he uses his technical skills with relation to raw materials, processing parameters and process optimisation. Kerry Kirkham joined Carst & Walker in Port Elizabeth in October 2018 as Product Manager, also responsible for customers in the Cape region. Kerry left Orion Engineered Carbons in April 2016 and joined Orchem in September the same year. She left Orchem two years later to join C&W.

Retired ... or not? Jim O’Neill, formerly of Nampak Liquid Packaging in Cape Town, is finally retired … eight years after leaving the multinational. But, hold it, Jim (who’s a chemical engineer and bit of persistent investigator) is continuing with low-level but possibly very relevant research: he’s studying the forced migration of pigment to the surface of injection or blow moulded objects in order to control pigment usage. “Practical applications of Nano chemistry are leading to exciting possibilities. What I have found is that the polymer matrix can be separated from the pigment matrix with little inclusion and interaction. Hence we can achieve pigment reduction and effective cost saving by concentrating the pigment at the outer wall. “Although at this stage I’m looking at pigments, the application could be extended to other additives like barrier and scavengers,”

Shawn Bouwer has joined Extrupet in JHB

Jim O’Neill, formerly of Nampak Liquid Packaging in Cape Town, has finally retired

added Jim, who resides in Durbanville in the Western Cape. Pierre Peters, the dapper Dutchman, has retired, almost exactly four decades after he started his company, Associated Tooling Services (ATS), in 1979 in Johannesburg. The then Dutch compulsory National Military Service interrupted his university study in Amsterdam. Luckily, he was selected for the officer’s academy, which he completed as Second Lieutenant. Going back to university held little attraction; however, Pierre did later complete a B.Com during his early years in SA. An opportunity to join a well-known Amsterdam company specialising in extracting and exporting special timbers in West African countries saw him heading a company in Nigeria during the 1960s - and planted the seed of Africa fever! Operations there were interrupted after three-and-a-half years by the outbreak of the Biafra war, which in effect was a Nigerian civil war involving an attempted breakaway by a province (later called) Biafra after its leader discovered there were sizeable oil reserves in its territory. After the war, just about anywhere would have been a pleasure for Pierre, and it was not surprising he developed a dose of ‘cabin fever’ when back in very civilized Holland. He decided on a holiday in Cape Town, where the sunny skies, open beaches and the proverbial lovelies served as a good tonic. ATS was then established in Johannesburg in ‘79. The company at first represented Tooling Holland, a specialist toolmaker supplying tools for the preform and high-tech injection moulding sector. Following that, ATS’s activities expanded to represent a number of other Dutch companies, including Maproplast (second-hand machinery), Stork (injection moulding) and Van Dam (hi-tech dry-offset printing machines) as well as the Belgian company AF Compressors, a supplier of specialised compressors for PET moulding. Pierre travelled extensively worldwide - not always appreciated by his wife Louise! He has now decided the time’s right for a bit of leisure, especially tennis – his beloved sport. And of course spending time in his bush house along the Sabie River near the Kruger National Park. We wish Pierre fun and good health in his ‘new’ venture. APRIL / MAY 2019 53

Pierre Peters retires

Composites

JEC Group develops

innovation capabilities

of startups

Three winners of Startup Booster competition unveiled at JEC World 2019 APART from turning Paris into the composites capital of the world for three days in March, JEC World 2019 also promoted innovation, fostered networking and showcased the potential of composites to all industries. “Among our actions, we are developing the innovation capabilities of startups with the Startup Booster programme,”

explains Anne-Carole Barbarin, JEC Group Programs Director. As well as dozens of conferences, composites circles and live demos, plus hundreds of other events, the ﬁrst day of the show was marked by the announcement of the three winners of the largest international startup competition in the composites ﬁeld. In the

last three years, 270 projects have been selected from over 30 countries, with 30 ﬁnalists and a total of nine winners. The three laureates will gain not only from heightened visibility among international professionals in the composites ﬁeld, but also from an acceleration programme, and particularly a stand at the JEC World 2020 exhibition.

AIRGO DESIGN (Singapore) AirGo’s flagship carbon product defines a new standard in the aviation industry, by introducing the world’s first full composite economy class passenger seat that is 40% lighter than comparable products that mainly use aluminum. AirGo’s award-winning seat design has been covered in over 100 media article in 15 different languages. The likes of Reuters, The Economist, XinHua, JyllandsPosten and many more have praised AirGo as the ‘Future of Airline Seating’. www.airgodesign.com

54 APRIL / MAY 2019

AREVO (USA) AREVO, based in Silicon Valley, California, develops technology to enable direct digital additive manufacturing of ultra-strong, lightweight composite parts for end use applications in high volume. With its unique combination of breakthrough materials, powerful design/build software and free motion robotics for the ﬁrst ‘true 3D’ construction, AREVO is moving beyond prototypes by enabling the design and fabrication of large, mass-produced parts and structures. The company provides designers and manufacturers with unprecedented freedom to unlock the unparalleled strength and weight of composite materials for a wide range of consumer and industrial products, and has seen early success manufacturing CFRTP composite parts for OEM customers. With an initial focus on aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, transportation, and consumer goods, Arevo is poised to optimise additive manufacturing services to OEM’s worldwide. www.arevo.com

WOODOO (France) Woodoo have developed a technical process to remove the weak lignin parts of a wood board’s structure, replacing the lignin with a custom polymer. The result is a sustainable material with the strength profile of metal and the cost profile of low-grade wood. The company is one of the most awarded deeptech startups in Europe, with over 30 accolades since 2017. Led by an acclaimed architect and Harvard-trained biochemist, Woodoo has generated significant early traction in multiple industries and are engaged through customer pilots with top automotive OEMs and suppliers. www.woodoo.fr/

The public vote: LAVOISIER COMPOSITES (France) Lavoisier Composites has developed a new generation of material entirely sourced from the French aerospace transformation sector. Thus was born, Carbonium®, a material with a unique aesthetic that has the particularity of combining structural and environmental performance. Composed of two-thirds of intermediate modulus carbon ﬁbre and one-third of high temperature epoxy, Carbonium brings its structural properties and a totally unique aesthetic to the parts obtained. www.lavoisier-composites.com

CONSULTING (Pty) Ltd. FdB Consulting (Pty) Ltd. the sole representative for

Feeding, Drying and Slio systems

Supplied by FdB Consulting (Pty) Ltd. Bulk Bag Discharge Station with 2 Ton Electric Hoist Regrind Material Bin

Representative in Africa

APRIL / MAY 2019 55

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

Agents for Rapid Granulator FdB Consulting (Pty) Ltd. based in Johannesburg has been appointed the sole distributors for the South Africa and Sub-Sahara Market for Rapid Granulator AB, the Swedish-based world leader in plastics granulation technology.

Composites

SA composites show in November

APR / MAY 2019

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Eliabeth, 27-28 November

THE second edition of the African Advanced Manufacturing and Composites Show will take place at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Eliabeth from 27-28 November. The highly successful inaugural show, hosted at the same venue during early November last year, created synergy and opportunity for advanced manufacturing businesses in Southern Africa. Andy Radford, Managing Director at The Composites Cluster, said government policy like the National Research and Development Strategy (NRDS) and the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy (IMS) recognise that South Africa’s future competitiveness will depend on the capacity of the manufacturing sector to master advanced technology domains. The KPMG 2018 Global Manufacturing Outlook notes that digital technologies create tremendous opportunities for growth and transformation at manufacturers, but few have taken full advantage of them. “Our ﬁndings from the survey and interviews with manufacturing industry executives and KPMG member ﬁrm partners show there is no time to waste in building a comprehensive digital transformation

Digital technologies create tremendous opportunities for growth and transformation at manufacturers, but few have taken full advantage of them

strategy. Global manufacturing is being disrupted to its foundations and industrial demarcation lines are blurring. The fourth industrial revolution is dramatically changing the barriers to entry and is expected to lead to the reshaping of many companies – and even entire industries. But this is an opportunity and not a threat’ says 95% of the CEO respondents to our survey. And this is also how we see it at KPMG.” • Contact Andy or Andrew (andrew@inkanyezi.co.za, tel: 041 363 0310) for more information and early marketing and sponsorship opportunities. National awards officially recognising innovation and excellence in Advanced Manufacturing were made for the first time in South Africa at the inaugural African Additive Manufacturing & Composites Show in November 2018. Hosted by the DT and The Composites Cluster, the awards were open to all companies operating in the advanced manufacturing field, including 3D printing, robotics, automation, AI, laser cutting and etching, CNC machining, software, big data, IOT and composites. Gold, Silver and Special Mention Awards were made to 25 organisations in six categories

www.africanadvancedmanufacturingshow.co.za

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2019/04/11 18:03

AAT Composites readies itself for IOT-based manufacturing optimisation AAT Composites selects Plataine’s industrial IOT solution to automate, upgrade production facilities capabilities AAT Composites in Somerset West, manufacturer of high-performance composite parts for the commercial aviation industry, has chosen US company, Plataine’s IIoT-based solutions for manufacturing optimization, as part of the company’s digital manufacturing strategy and to automate and upgrade its production facilities capabilities. Plataine was selected because of its proficiency in the latest Industrial IoT and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, as well as its track record of successful deployments within the aerospace and composites sector. Plataine’s solution was chosen by AAT to automate and improve process control, to optimize material yield and to advance its cutting and kitting methods and efficiencies, avoiding quality rejects affecting time to market, scrap and rework. The solution will allow for significant efficiency and quality improvements at AAT, the company says. The digital transformation with Plataine involves digitization of the production facility with factory floor sensors collecting real-time data, as well as the use of AIbased Digital Assistants, which analyze factory floor data and offer predictive alerts, actionable insights and optimized real-time recommendations to factory floor staff.

raw materials, tools, kits and machines, through the entire manufacturing process. Paperless production ensures part traceability of the digital thread from raw material to end-product and reduces risk of human error, freeing up manpower

time for other tasks. Plataine’s technology is also agile to respond in real-time to sudden changes in design and production scheduling. www.plataine.com www.aatcomposites.com

AAT Composites in Somerset West will use Plataine’s IIoT-based solutions to automate and upgrade its production facilities capabilities

Real-time visibility and tracking Plataine’s solution is said to enable realtime visibility and tracking of all material and factory assets, including time-sensitive APR / MAY 2019

IPEX Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Tel: +27 (0) 11 493 7816 | Fax: +27 (0) 11 493 2389 sean.kleingeld@ipex.co.za | john.davies@ipex.co.za | www.ipex.co.za

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2019/04/11 17:25

Composites

Novus motorbike

unlike anything else on the road!

It is a new animal in the realm of two-wheeled private transport AT just 38.5kg, it weighs only about as much as a power-assisted bicycle. However, with its 14 kW (peak) electric motor it has power comparable to a 125 cubic centimetre motorcycle, which would tip the scales at well over 100kg. The Novus Bike, developed by German designers René Renger and Marcus Weidig, was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas. It is a new animal in the realm of two-wheeled private transport. Having this much power in a machine this light was achieved with an original concept that makes the most out of two cutting edge technologies: electric propulsion and ﬁbre reinforced polymers. Industrial designers René Renger and Marcus Weidig both grew up with a passion for motorcycles, discovering the world on two wheels as kids. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that when they decided to start their own designstudio Novus, based in Brunswick, Germany, their ﬁrst prototype would be a motorcycle. “Novus is not just an electric motorcycle. It is not just a brand. Novus is the conviction to be able to create things that did not exist before,” say the designers.

The unique carbon fibre monocoqueframe is at the same time a supporting skeleton and shaping outer skin. It completely waives additional panels. Compared to conventional steel or aluminium frames, it is lighter, more rigid and visually appealing. The front suspension has a specially developed carbon fibre front fork with its central strut blending seamlessly into the design of the bike. The adjustable damper hardness and sufficient (suspension) travel ensure a comfortable ride with precise response. The rear suspension is integrated almost invisibly into the frame and the swingarm. Neither strut nor swingarm bearings are directly recognizable. The deflected air damper is adjustable in both rebound and compression and can be adapted to the road conditions at any time. The LED front light is integrated directly into the stem in the smallest possible space. The combination of light and stem creates a novel appearance. Like the frontlight, the LED-tail light also integrates harmoniously into the basic shape. It requires no further enclosure and contributes significantly to the reduced appearance.

The benefits of the connected, digital world make it possible to integrate a smartphone, not only as a control and display instrument, but also as a digital key. When the carbon fibre brake levers are actuated, the ultra-light monoblock calipers grip the 230mm brake discs. The floating brake discs ensure optimal braking performance even under high loads. The purpose-built lithiumion battery gives the Novus a maximum range of about 96km (60 miles). In urban traffic, this corresponds to a travel time of over three hours. The battery can recharge up to 80% within one hour. The brushless hub motor transforms the energy of the high-voltage battery into a top speed of close to 100kmph (60mph). With a peak power of up to 14 kW, the 200 Nm of torque is converted into forward movement. Wear parts such as chain and clutch are not necessary. They set out to reimagine the whole concept of motorcycles, exploring all that modern technology has to offer. In doing so, they found a niche that is unlike anything on the road today. www.novusbike.com

Vehicle panel 35% lighter Featuring SABIC’S UDMAX™ thermoplastic composite tape SABIC has released a new, cutting-edge technology for producing lightweight, cost-effective and recyclable vehicle panels using its UDMAX™ tape, a unidirectional, ﬁbre-reinforced thermoplastic composite. This innovative technology, which is designed to replace traditional panels made of metal and thermoset materials for interior and exterior automotive applications, will soon be commercialised in the bulkhead of a light commercial vehicle. Produced using a highly efﬁcient, one-shot process of lamination and low-pressure moulding, the bulkhead featuring UDMAX™ tape is 35% lighter and complies with ISO 27956 standard for securing cargo in www.sabic.com delivery vehicles. 58

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APR / MAY 2019

2019/04/15 13:11

Covestro’s continuous ﬁbrereinforced thermoplastic composites that can be reinforced with carbon (left) or glass ﬁbre, making them low weight yet high strength

Honeycomb panels for the interior furnishings in buses and trains could be a potential application for CFRTPs of the Maezio™ range developed by Covestro and EconCore

Fibre-reinforced

composites for robust, thin-walled parts Single-stage manufacturing enables shorter cycle times,significant cost savings for laptops and mobile phones. In line with the current trend for thin-walled devices with a cool look, they can also be made with aesthetic surface structures. The single-stage manufacturing process enables shorter cycle times and significant cost savings. Improving the FST (fire, smoke and toxicity) performance of honeycomb panels is an important goal of the new cooperation between Covestro and EconCore N.V. It involves finding the right combination of polycarbonate types and composite materials, and adapting EconCore’s honeycomb technology to meet the requirements. The overall objective is to develop lightweight sandwich panels with higher productivity than conventional composite materials. APR / MAY 2019

www.covestro.com

AT the JEC World 2019 trade fair in Paris, Covestro presented fibre-reinforced composites for robust, thin-walled parts. Thanks to a new composite technology, extra-thin, lightweight, high-strength yet aesthetic parts can be manufactured on an industrial scale. The technology is based on continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic polymers (CFRTP) and is sold under the name Maezio™. The matrix materials used include polycarbonate and carbon fibres are added for reinforcement. Covestro uses these materials to manufacture unidirectionally reinforced tapes and panels, which are further processed by customers. These intermediate products are particularly wellsuited for producing extra-thin-walled but robust housing parts

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COMPOSITES.indd 59

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2019/04/11 17:51

Feature

PIPE MATTERS

‘Cry the Beloved Country’ A missed generation of infrastructure

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

60 APRIL / MAY 2019

S a civil engineer by profession, I was again saddened to learn another ‘great’ of the construction industry, Group 5, has floundered on the rocky South African economy and is in business rescue. Think of all the people who have again lost their jobs and the tragic loss of skills – maybe a reinforcing fixer will find a job as a gardener, eventually. The construction industry, particularly the civil construction industry, relies heavily upon government, quasi-government, SOE and municipality spend for a significant portion of their business. To plagiarise an old axiom, “When they sneeze; the civil construction industry catches a cold”. The government has had an almost terminal bout of flu for the last seven years. How different South Africa would be if GFCF (Gross Fixed Capital Formation) had continued its ‘correct’ trajectory shown in Graph 1. In 1980, GFCF was about 30% of GDP, in 2000 it had decreased to about 16% of GDP and the average between 2010 and 2020 will be about 6.9% of GDP. Trevor Manual’s National Development Plan proposes GFCF returns to 30% of GDP by 2030 with an additional 10% from the private sector. In his document he refers to, “a missed generation of infrastructure” – not surprising companies are failing. The root cause of this decline is incompetence (euphemistically called ‘lack of capacity’), fraud and theft. The thermoplastic pipe industry, in turn, relies heavily on the civil engineering

construction industry for a signiﬁcant portion of their business where their products are used in water, sewerage and stormwater infrastructure. Therefore, was the news two of the ‘greats’ of the thermoplastic pipe manufacturing industry, DPI and Marley, have or are departing the industry, a surprise? Probably not. Businesses grow to supply certain markets, they have a critical mass and can’t swallow a potion, like Alice in Wonderland, to become small enough to go down the rabbit hole – they struggle to downsize and may go down the drain. This despite the government targeting the plastics industry as a growth industry, as Brazil did successfully – maybe don’t be targeted. Which begs the question: “Is there a place for large thermoplastic pipe manufacturers in South Africa any longer?” Thermoplastic pipes and piping systems are a commodity in South Africa, certainly up to 110mm diameter, and are treated as such in the pricing thereof. The resultant margins leave little or no return on investment and certainly little margin for staff skills development, replacement of outdated plant and the burden of a corporate overhead structure. The quality of pipes and ﬁttings supplied into the thermoplastic pipe system market is critical to the achievement of its designed service life of not less than 50 years. In fact, the demand from the market now is that the service life must be not less than 100 years. Current thermoplastic piping products can achieve this and more, if they are made using the correct conforming quality –

therein lies the rub. The policing and enforcement of quality standards is difﬁcult with a limited number of large corporate producers who maintain ethical standards to prevent reputational damage to their corporate brand name. However, if several small, more informal production units replace these organisations, the prospects for the maintenance of quality is somewhat bleaker. SAPPMA (Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association) is the industry association whose watchword is quality. The payoff for their members is differentiation in the market and sustainability of the industry, thereby providing time for them to glean a return on their investment. However, a smaller investment has a shorter payback time and thereby requires less service lifetime for the products. This is bad news for the thermoplastic pipe industry and even worse news for South Africa. Any country’s investment in infrastructure is a substantial one, akin to the average person’s investment in their house, which it expects to be of good quality and last for several years that doesn’t require extensive maintenance or short-term replacement. Therefore, despite the many rumours swirling around the situation of the two thermoplastic companies mentioned earlier, the root cause analysis reveals, I believe, the real reason South African businesses are struggling. And, the full impact of the ‘Eskom-effect’ is yet to be realised – hold on!

||| About Mike Smart

Graph 1: GFCF (Gross Fixed Capital Formation) from 1990 to 2020 NB: Data from STATSSA website with my trendline; 2008 peak was World Cup stadia

Mike graduated with a B.Sc. (Honours) Degree in Civil Engineering, is a registered Professional Engineer, a MSAICE and a Henley Management Graduate. He has worked in many sectors of the civil engineering industry; consulting, municipal engineering and contracting. He has also owned a thermoplastic pipe manufacturing company and thermoplastic pipe installation company. Nowadays he consults to the thermoplastic pipe manufacturing and installation industry, to consultants specifying these products and users in infrastructure and mining engineering. Mike is currently a member of SAPPMA Technical Committee and Chairman of IFPA (Installation and Fabrication Pipe Association).

Speak to us.. We know material handling! TEL: 011 462 2990

info@demaplastech.co.za

www.demaplastech.co.za

Feature

Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil reﬁnery in Saudi Arabia

MIDDLE EAST

Signiﬁcance of Aramco

acquisition of SABIC

Cheap crude oil, ethylene and new technology to produce higher value petrochemicals directly from crude oil without reﬁning the oil

BY NIALL MARSHALL

62 APRIL / MAY 2019

T is not every day that one of the largest polyolefin producers in the world gets a new owner, yet the acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC by Saudi Aramco for $69.1 billion made surprisingly few waves. This acquisition may seem like it is just moving the ownership of SABIC from one Saudi Arabian state organisation to another, but it is part of a far more interesting trend, one which could have major impacts on the global polymer industry in years to come. Because it is not just the Saudi National Oil Company that is becoming more involved in the polymer industry, but also its counterparts in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE. The global demand for oil is estimated to be just under 100-million bpd (barrels of oil per day) of which about 28-million bpd are produced in the six countries of the GCC. Most of this Middle Eastern crude oil is then exported to refineries where it is converted into a wide range of products. Only about 7-million bpd is refined in the GCC. As the value of refined products is about 25% more than the value of crude oil, there is a lot of value lost to the local economies by exporting crude oil rather than refining it in the region. The lost value is further magnified when these refined products are used as feedstock to produce petrochemicals such as solvents, fertilisers and polymers which add a further 30-40% to the value of the crude oil. For many years this lost value was not considered very important. With oil prices over $70/barrel and production costs estimated to be well under $30/barrel, there was enough profit to be made and the regional economies which rely on income tax and royalties from the oil companies

were doing very well. Even in 2014 when the price of oil dropped dramatically from over $100/barrel to under $50/barrel, the oil companies remained profitable, but it forced many of the governments to use their vast sovereign wealth to fund their budgets. If a drop in the oil price could have such an effect on the economies, what will happen if demand drops as forecast after 2030-2040? Governments need to reduce their dependency on oil and oil producers will have to find new revenue streams. For companies like Aramco and Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, the first step is to invest in refining. ADNOC has announced a $45-billion expansion at Ruweis which will be the largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world. Aramco will spend $100-billion in the next decade on refinery and petrochemical projects, increasing its refining capacity from 5-million b/day to 8-10 million b/ day. Aramco is also pushing to diversify its business geographically by investing in refineries and petrochemical complexes in China, South Korea, Malaysia, India, the USA and even in South Africa. In India, Aramco and ADNOC have formed a joint venture to develop a $50-billion refining and petrochemical complex in Ratnagiri. Other national oil companies are also developing or considering integrated refining and petrochemical complexes – and some of these complexes will produce polymers. ADNOC, together with Mubadala (the Abu Dhabi investment fund) is already a major global producer of polyolefins through its ownership of Borouge, Borealis and Nova Chemicals. In late 2018, construction started on the new 480 000 tpa PP5 plant at Borouge in Abu Dhabi while the tenders for the new BOR 4 polymer complex are

expected will be issued in 2020. In North America, Borealis and Nova Chemicals have formed a joint venture with Total to build a 625 000 tpa polyethylene plant, while in Europe, Borealis is expanding its polypropylene capacity by almost 400 000 tpa. Although Aramco-owned polymer companies do not have the same global visibility in the polyolefins industry as the ADNOC-Mubadala-owned polymer producers, at least not before acquiring SABIC, it has been involved in the polyolefins market through its PetroRabigh joint venture with Sumitomo, and its Sadara joint venture with Dow. From the beginning of 2019 it is also the sole owner of Arlanxeo, the synthetic rubber company that was previously a joint venture with Lanxess. So, polymers are also an important part of Aramco’s growth plans. The significance of the potential polymer powerhouse that is the Aramco-SABIC entity, is not just the size of the company, nor is it the geographical spread; it is the combination of cheap crude oil and ethylene and a novel, unproven technology to produce higher value petrochemicals directly from the crude oil without first refining the oil. This process, which SABIC and Aramco have been working together on, potentially reduces costs and allows for the synthesis of monomers and polymers not previously produced in the region. Maybe in 2025 when the first 400 000 bpd crude-to-chemical plant comes on-line in Saudi Arabia the significance of the Aramco acquisition of SABIC and the impact of national oil companies moving downstream into petrochemicals and polymers will be fully appreciated.

SAPY Advert 2018.indd 86

2018/05/21 11:52

Design

Composite

Excellence in composite innovations THE JEC Innovation Awards celebrate the fruitful cooperation between players of the composite community. Over the past 15 years, the JEC Innovation Awards have brought in 1

800 companies worldwide and 177 companies and 433 partners have been rewarded for the excellence of their composite innovations. The JEC Innovation Awards reward composites

champions, based on criteria such as partner involvement in the value chain, technicality or commercial applications of innovations. Winners in each category this year include:

AEROSPACE APPLICATION

Injection forming of gears on CF-PAEK drive shafts Injection forming of CF-PAEK composite proﬁles with CF-PEEK – a smart progression of the overmoulding technology to reach the next level of connection strength for integral composite proﬁles.

HERONE (Germany) Key beneﬁts • Highest part quality due to textile preforming of UD tapes (porosity < 0.5%) • Herone’s consolidation technology enables 15-minute cycle times • Injection forming enables integral part design for an all-thermoplastic solution • Integral design for reduced number of parts and assembly costs • Increased performance by combining cohesive bonding and form locking www.herone.de/

This signiﬁcantly increases the process efﬁciency and guarantees the highest quality for the shaft body. Furthermore, braiding enables high deposition rates and thus makes the process suitable for large-scale industrial production. The CF-PAEK organoTubes are then moulded to consolidated drive shaft bodies using Herone’s unique moulding technology. In the second step, the gears are injection formed onto the consolidated drive shaft body. Using the heat and pressure of the injection compound, the drive shaft is thermoformed to create a form-locking connection between the composite shaft body and the injection-moulded gear.

AEROSPACE • PROCESS

Zero-defect manufacturing process

The development is a zero-defect manufacturing process for large composite parts. It uses inline monitoring and decision support systems to avoid defects showing up only during ﬁnal NDT.

Profactor gmbH (Austria)

Key benefits • No (or substantially reduced number of) defects showing up during final NDT • Substantial productivity gains during lay-up due to automated inspection • Optimised infusion and curing processes through direct sensor feedback • Qualified decisions about re-work based on analysis of the part as manufactured • Global view of the whole process using part flow simulation 64 APRIL / MAY 2019

At the heart of the zero-defect manufacturing process are the automated dry ﬁbre placement (DFP) and automated dry material placement (ADMP) lay-up processes and the subsequent infusion and curing processes. The processing chain involves four steps: 1. An inline quality control system scans the laid material during the lay-up process, providing immediate feedback about any quality problems that might exist. 2. Process monitoring during the infusion and curing process generates information that cannot yet be controlled directly.

Champions! AUTOMOTIVE • APPLICATION

Composite guide rails for a roller-blind sunroof The ﬁrst time that a thermoplastic composite successfully replaces aluminium for guide rails on roller-blind sunroof modules.

Polyscope Polymers (Netherlands) Key beneﬁts • Plug-in unit, one-step robot installed, eliminates 2-3 assembly steps • Increased space available over passenger heads • Family modular mould saves tool and production costs. Total savings 20%

This allows a detailed analysis of the process, so that it can be stopped at the right time. 3. Defect data are collected in a ‘manufacturing database’ that is used with ﬁnite-element methods to calculate the impact of defects on the part’s mechanical strength. 4. A decision support tool merges all the above-mentioned data sources and combines them with a logistical part ﬂow simulation. www.profactor.at

www.polyscope.eu

APRIL / MAY 2019 65

The Renault-Webasto-ARRK-Shapers-Polyscope team won the SPE ACCE People’s Choice award for the Most Innovative Composite Part for this entry. This is the ﬁrst time that a thermoplastic composite successfully replaces aluminium for guide rails on roller-blind sunroof modules. Traditional extruded proﬁle aluminium guide

rails for sunroofs require additional time and labour to ﬁnish assembling the sunroof sub-components before mounting the system on the top of the vehicle on the assembly line. A pretested module is now available and ready to install robotically in a single step. The composite rails are injection-moulded from a 15% glassreinforced styrene maleic anhydride/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (SMA/ABS-GF) composite to achieve precise dimensions, tight tolerances, good stiffness and strength, and excellent bonding to metal and glass substructures via a polyurethane (PUR) structural adhesive.

Design Reinforced ribs, based on short ﬁber reinforced PA6

Embedded metallic inserts

Continues ﬁber reinforced PA6 composite shell

Near, “class A” surface, made by in-mould coating based on PA6 PA6 foam core Embedded metallic inserts in reinforcing ribs

AUTOMOTIVE • PROCESS

Fast manufacturing of complex TP composites

Automated, short-cycle-time production of thermoplastic polymer composites with a special focus on high functional integration, complexity and recyclability of the parts, based on T-RTM technology.

HERONE (Germany) Key beneﬁts • Recyclable, homogeneous PA6 composite structural sandwiches for high stiffness • Recyclable, homogeneous PA6-coated composite for a near Class A surface • Automated, fast production with Industry 4.0 manufacturing • Higher level of functional integration of the composite parts • Up to 20% reduction of manufacturing cost of structural composites

66 APRIL / MAY 2019

The technology is known already with the application of overmoulding/back injection (with injection moulding) and some results were published in the past years and presented at JEC World as well. Furthermore, Evopro made signiﬁcant steps in the frame of their programme to create fully homogeneous, PA6 shell, core-based sandwich structures (for improved mechanical properties and recyclability) and to

apply PA6 in-mould coating to create a near Class A surface on the product. Sandwich structures are very important for the high dimensional stiffness of low-density composite parts. Usually, closed-cell-structured foams such as PES, PET, PVC or PU foams, balsa wood and honeycombs are used as core materials. The application of these core materials would raise difﬁculties in the recycling of PA6-based composites. With this solution, PA6 foam cores can be used for PA6-based composites to create homogeneous sandwich structures for optimal recyclability, which is a key factor for automotive applications.

www.evopro.hu/hu

CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE

Bendable TP composite reinforcements for concrete Readily bendable thermoplastic composite bar and cable for reinforced and prestressed concrete revolutionizing the durability of construction.

Arkema (France) Key beneﬁts

• Elium rebars can be re-heated and then bent, reducing the cost of custom shapes

• TP composites enable the assembly of rods into ﬂexible cables • Equipment for concrete precasting remains the same as used for steel strands

• TP composites for prestressing revolutionise the durability of construction Based on the Elium reactive liquid thermoplastic resin technology, a new generation of rebar and cables was developed that combines the qualities of composites with the new possibilities offered by the use of a thermoplastic matrix. Unlike most thermoplastic resins, Elium can be easily processed through traditional pultrusion using exclusively standard equipment. www.arkema.com/en/

Günter Maralik +27 83 441 3206

Wolfgang Maralik +27 82 771 7271

Office Cell: +27 66 250 1937 • admin@mgmwtrading.co.za Log Road Unit No. 17 • Roodekop Industrial Area • Germiston

Please note our new contact details

www.hitech-china.net

MGMW Trading advert Edited.indd 94

Office Add: No.67, 6th Avenue, Xincheng Industrial Park, Dinghai District, Zhoushan City Post code: 316023 Tel.: ++86-580-8806008 8806009

Fax: ++86-580-8806010 Email: lyzon@hitech-china.net ciplas_mchy@yahoo.com.cn

2018/09/14 11:31

Design

SUSTAINABILITY

Bio4self – Self-reinforced PLA composites

Bio-based, easy-to-recycle self-reinforced composite materials using high-stiffness PLA ﬁbres for use in sports, automotive and medical applications.

Technical University of Denmark Key beneﬁts • Biobased: composites made from two PLA grades with different melting temperatures • Performance: high mechanical strength, temperature and hydrolytic stability • Cost: far below carbon ﬁbre composites, comparable to or even below SR-PP • Upscalable: using commercially-available materials and industrial equipment • EoL: re-usable, recyclable or industrially compostable as the composite is made of PLA

68 APRIL / MAY 2019

The composite materials developed in the Bio4self project are fully bio-based, easily recyclable, reshapable and even industrially biodegradable. The composites are produced using one type of material: poly(lactic acid) or PLA, a thermoplastic bio-polyester derived from renewable resources

such as agricultural waste, non-food crops or sugar cane. Apart from some medical applications (e.g. tissue scaffolds), PLA use is currently very limited, e.g. lowdemanding packaging or agrotextiles. Bio4self brought PLA to the next level of application, such as parts for automotive and home appliances, by combining two types of PLA to form so called self- reinforced PLA composites (PLA SRPC). The PLA SRPC developed in Bio4self matches the requirements of current commercial self-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. Self-reinforced PLA composites made of 0/90 fabric have a stiffness of 4 GPa, which is comparable to the stiffness achieved by selfreinforced PP, but the PLA SRPC has the advantage of using renewable materials with a better end-of-life perspective. www.bio4self.eu/

www.dtu.dk/english

SPORTS & HEALTHCARE

FMC for the KTM carbon skid plate

Readily bendable thermoplastic composite bar and cable for reinforced and prestressed concrete revolutionising the durability of construction.

KTM-Technologies GmbH (Austria) Key benefits • New look with the best product-market fit in terms of properties and costs compared to current parts • Creation of material cards for new hybrid material mixes • Complex hybrid part manufactured with a time-saving one-shot process (< 4min) • Reduced CO2 emissions due to direct production with less transport effort • Reliable because calculated, tested, and proven in a real-life use case This is the first structural composite skid plate produced using an FMC/NCF/ elastomer hybrid. The direct production line with a one-shot process enables the best product-market fit in series production in terms of properties and costs. This new engineering process is pushing

the boundaries within the composite market. Combining the materials in a single, fully automated process step enables a new generation of sustainable composite structures offering huge design freedom. Joining is achieved by a direct chemical bond between different thermosets and elastomers without additional joining processes. This easy production also allows the manufacturing of most materials and parts in one location, thus saving transportation costs, emissions and time. This hybridized part with a refreshing carbon look leads to the best productmarket ﬁt compared to current skid plates made of aluminium, CFRP-fabrics or plastic materials. It is as light as a standard CFRP solution (lighter than plastic and aluminium) but 50% cheaper. www.ktm-technologies.com

Clas

3D PRINTING

Continuous Fibre 3D Printing

Continuous Fibre 3D Printing (CF3D™) combines composite materials with a 3D printing process, creating a mouldless out-of-autoclave process. The result is a drastic reduction in cost and lead times.

Continuous Composites USA Key benefits • Eliminates expensive capital equipment such as moulds, autoclaves and ovens • Automates fibre laying and removes costly manual labour • Leverages low-cost, high-performance dry fibre impregnated in-situ • Enables on-the-fly design changes and complex designs with composites • CF3D™ can directly print functionality into composite parts In the CF3D™ patented technology, rather than using costly prepreg fibre, high-performance dry continuous fibres

(AS4, IM7, T1100, etc.) are impregnated with a rapid-curing thermoset inside the print head. The head is attached to an industrial robot controlled by the company’s CF3D™ software. The fully impregnated fibre is pulled through the print head where, upon discharge, a high-intensity energy source (e.g. UV, heat, etc) is directed at the wet fibre, curing the fibre(s) instantaneously and resulting in a true 3D composite part. As a result of the fibre being cured immediately after discharge, the CF3D™ technology does not require moulds or other support materials. www.continuouscomposites.com APRIL / MAY 2019 69

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Design

INDUSTRY & EQUIPMENT

Ultra-fast consolidator machine system

Modular production system for the mass-production of individual tailored blanks based on a piece ﬂow approach in combination with laser-assisted thermoplastic tape placement with in-situ consolidation.

AZL Aachen GmbH (Germany) Key beneﬁts

• Mass production of thermoplastic tailored laminates: >500 kg/hour

• Cycle time <5 seconds (state of the art: several minutes)

• Using in-situ consolidation: fast, ﬂexible and energy efﬁcient

• Laser-safe configurable, flexible production system with piece-flow principle

• Enabling new business models such as stiffening structures for injection moulding

The new ultra-fast consolidator machine offers both high ﬂexibility and mass production. Fully consolidated multi-layer laminates with different ﬁbre directions and

minimised waste (tailored blanks) can be produced in cycle times under 5 seconds for the first time, whereas the most recent machines need several minutes. This is accomplished by a new piece-flow principle that is state of the art in the printing industry but has not been used in composite production. The production principle is based on moving carrier plates (for the transportation of the laminates), which are moved by a conveyor system and fed through several applicator stations. Each applicator station is equipped with innovative narrow applicator cassettes for laserassisted tape placement with on-the-fly cut-and-add. The applicator cassettes are 50 mm wide and can process a tape width of 25mm. Larger tape widths are also possible as the applicator cassettes are scalable.

70 APRIL / MAY 2019

www.azl-aachen-gmbh.de

LAND TRANSPORTATION

ACCUM: universal composite catenary cantilever ACCUM is a universal composite catenary cantilever validated from 750V to 25kV and suitable for all standard and speciﬁc rail track proﬁles, designed for easy supply, installation and maintenance.

Stratiforme Industries (France) Key benefits • Dramatically reduced installation and maintenance times • Can be used with 750 to 25 kV lines, on all standard and specific points • Increases the system reliability by eliminating glass and ceramic insulators • Pre-assembled by Stratiforme Industries and delivered ready to mount • Number of components dropped down to 10+ parts versus 100+ Stratiforme Industries improved the inner dielectric and mechanical properties of the composite material to bring it to a level never before reached with an SMC component, through specific testing, coating and a clever universal design. The SMC part was thoroughly tested in collaboration with SNCF (electrical) and ARMINES (mechanical) during 10 years in order to prove its relevance for use as a stand-alone insulator on multi-voltage catenary systems (750 to 25 kV). Different environmental protection coatings were developed and tested on tracks with the support of the CEF testing centre. More than 100 prototypes are currently on test tracks in France. www.stratiforme.fr

Untit

bio-based composites A runner-up in the competition, this innovation uses natural fibres in place of carbon fibres as a reinforcing material in a motorsport vehicle, illustrating the relationship between application and material selection. The door, as a body part, and the rear wing, as a dynamically-loaded component, show the implementation of different load cases. Key benefits • Sustainable racing sports vehicle parts

• Use of conventional RTM systems for mass production of NFRP in the automotive industry • Easy recycling compared to carbon ﬁbre-reinforced plastics

To achieve this, the tool geometry was adapted and speciﬁc properties of renewable raw materials were used. Balsa wood was successfully used as a sandwich core for the door leaf. With 25% less ﬁbres, a similar bending stiffness

was achieved as in the comparable component made of carbon ﬁbrereinforced plastics. For the rear wing, lattice structures (PowerRips®) were used instead of a core, so layers were saved and a high load of about 300kg could still be collected in use. The resin transfer moulding process is used for the doors and the rear wing is manufactured in an autoclave process.

PORSCHE AG (GERMANY)

Series production of

www.porsche.com/international/ APRIL / MAY 2019 71

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Untitled-2 1

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2018/09/14 11:41

World News

AROUND THE WORLD

Berry of USA considers rival bid for RPC BERRY Global Group of the United States, one of the largest converting groups in the world, is considering a cash bid for UK-based global plastics packaging manufacturer RPC Group. The possible bid is viewed as a challenge to a $4.3-billion (R63-billion) offer tabled by private equity ﬁrm Apollo Global, Berry’s former parent company. Berry, which is now a Fortune 500 company, has come a long way since it was established in 1967 as Imperial Plastics, an injection moulding business based in Evansville, Indiana: it is now a multi-billion operation with 23,000-plus employees and over 18,000 customers (nice ratio), it said. In ‘72, the company entered the container market and in ‘83 Plastics was purchased by Jack Berry snr and renamed Berry Plastics. Since 1988 Berry Plastics Group has completed over 40 acquisitions. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2012 under the ticker symbol BERY. RPC, a FTSE 250 (Financial Times Stock Exchange) business, ended takeover talks with Bain Capital, another US-based private equity ﬁrm, in December. • RPC, as you know, is the owner of Astrapak in South Africa, which now trades as RPC Astrapak, so the Astra guys could reach the unusual point of having two separate global owners within the space of just three years.

Ravago buys California distributor RAVAGO Americas has acquired materials distributor Bolcof-Port Polymers of Azusa, California, towards the end of last year; its 10th deal overall since 2016. Bolcof-Port will become part of Ravago’s Amco Polymers unit. Bolcof-Port has been in operation since the 1960s and was one of the ﬁrst polymers distributors in southern California. • Ravago is the owner of Plastomark and Ultra Polymers in South Africa. 72

Greek city turns street furniture Offers residents a recycling facility for plastic waste and ability to choose what the waste is turned into

RESIDENTS of Thessaloniki, Greece, can now recycle their plastic waste into 3D printed furniture for the city, using a new laboratory set up by Rotterdam studio The New Raw. The Zero Waste Lab is the latest enterprise of The New Raw’s plastic recycling initiative, Print Your City, established in collaboration with drinks brand Coca Cola. It offers local residents a recycling facility for their plastic waste as well as the ability to choose what the waste is turned into, with a robotic 3D-printing arm that can transform the sorted plastic into street furniture. Users can customise the furniture via a website, choosing between different colours and functionalities. Options for each object include a planter, a bike rack, a feeding bowl for

dogs and a bookcase, among other functions. Once the design is chosen, the website tells the user how much recycled plastic would be needed to make the object. For instance, a large triangle-shaped bench with a library and an urban garden would require 90kg of recycled plastic to build. The furniture is made primarily from PP and PE plastics commonly used in food packaging, which is sourced directly from the plastic waste donated to the lab. The waste is sorted, washed and shredded before being melted and combined with pigments to create a printable material. The furniture can also be made from PET and PS plastics. Over 2 900 citizens of Thessaloniki voted on the location of the furniture. Print Your City aims to engage residents

High-speed 3D printer Process eight times faster than conventional 3D printing

THE additive manufacture of large-volume plastic components is a time-consuming undertaking. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU have now developed Screw Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (SEAM), a system and process that is eight times faster than conventional 3D printing. SEAM can accelerate the additive manufacture of plastic components eightfold over conventional processes. The process achieves this ultra-fast production speed by combining 3D printing with the motion system of a machine tool. This experimental component is a hybrid of CFRP sheet metal and 3D printed SEAM can accelerate the additive manufacture of plastic components eightfold over conventional processes. The process achieves this ultra-fast production speed by combining 3D printing with the motion system of a machine tool

APR / MAY 2019

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2019/04/11 17:53

recycled plastic into

of cities around the world more directly with the recycling process by both turning the waste into objects that can be used by the public and giving them some control over what those objects are and where they might be placed.

Hanth Park in central Thessaloniki became the ﬁrst public space to be redesigned with Print Your City furniture in January. The designers hope to recycle four tons of plastic waste during the

project, which they say is equivalent to the amount produced by 14 family households in Greece. www.printyour.city

for high-performance plastics

Thermostat housings and water outlets made with Zytel

processes, enormously reducing the production times for plastic components,” Dr Kausch addes. The 3D printer processes cost-effective basic material Every hour, up to 7kg of plastic are pressed through the hot nozzle with a diameter of one millimetre. Comparable 3D printing processes, such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Modeling (FLM), usually achieve only 50g of plastic per hour. A unique feature is that, instead of expensive FLM filament, SEAM processes free-flowing, cost-effective standard plastic granulate into resilient, fibre-reinforced components that are several metres in size. This method allows material costs to be reduced by a factor of two hundred. SEAM allows researchers to implement complex geometries without supporting structures. The highlight is that the new system even makes it possible to print on existing injection-moulded components. “As our construction platform can be swiveled, we are able to print on curved structures with a separately moving Z-axis,” says Kausch. “In tests, we were able to process a wide variety of plastics. They ranged from thermoplastic elastomers to high-performance plastics with a 50% content of carbon fibre. These plastics are materials that are particularly relevant to industry and cannot be processed with traditional 3D printers.” APR / MAY 2019

WORLD NEWS-1.indd 73

www.iwu.fraunhofer.de/en.html

structures – SEAM makes it possible to print on injectionmoulded components or sheet metal for the ﬁrst time. The system’s high-speed technology takes only 18 minutes to produce a plastic component that is 30 centimetres high. How does SEAM achieve these high process speeds? “By combining machine tool technology with 3D printing,” says Dr Martin Kausch, a scientist at Fraunhofer IWU. To process the plastic, the researchers use a specially designed unit that melts the raw material and ejects it at a high output rate. This unit is installed above a construction platform that can be swiveled in six axes by using the motion system of a machine tool. “So far, this combination is unique,” adds Dr Kausch. The hot plastic is deposited in layers on the construction platform. The motion system of the machine ensures that the construction panel slides along under the nozzle in such a way that the previously programmed component shape is produced. The table can be moved at a speed of one metre per second in the X-, Y- and Z-axes and can also be tilted by up to 45 degrees. “This enables us to print eight times faster than conventional

2019/04/11 17:54

World News ALPLA completes takeover of Zamil ALPLA

PACKAGING solutions specialist Alpla, based in Austria, has completed a 100% takeover of Zamil Alpla of Saudi Arabia. Alpla and Zamil founded a joint venture in 2008, of which Alpla previously held a 49% share. The buyer will continue to run the company as before with all employees, under the name Alpla. Around 390 employees produce preforms and packaging made from HDPE and PET at three locations in Dammam and Jeddah (both Saudi Arabia) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

www.alpla.com

AROUND THE WORLD

Evonik agrees €3-billion sale of acrylic sheet unit

GERMAN chemicals group Evonik has agreed the key terms of a €3-billion (R47-bn) sale of its methacrylates plastics unit to buyout group Advent a year after its decision to shed the business. The company announced plans in March 2018 to sell the business, looking to focus on faster-growing sectors, such as feed additives and rubber silica for tyres. The Evonik unit competes with Arkema’s Altuglas unit in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) – or clear acrylic sheet – and MMA, a precursor material for PMMA, glues and paints. PMMA is used in the construction, automotive and electronics industries and known by brand names such as Plexiglas.

North American plastics machinery shipments up

PLASTICS machinery shipments in North America continued to increase in the second quarter of 2018 according to statistics compiled by the Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES). This is the ﬁfth consecutive quarterly year-over-year increase. The preliminary estimate of shipments of primary plastics equipment (injection moulding and extrusion machines) for reporting companies totalled $335-million in the second quarter of 2018. This was a moderate increase of 1.6% from the $329-million revised ﬁgure in the previous quarter, but a 5.9% increase from Q2 of 2017. 74

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Although the surface remains smooth, Cell-Struct produces a visually intriguing three-dimensional texture resembling cellular structures

Ampacet introduces special eﬀects masterbatch Delivers on the cellular level

AMPACET, a global masterbatch leader, has released its new Cell-Struct line of special effects that visually interprets today’s intersection of technology and organic elements in an engaging dimensional look for rigid packaging. “There is increased consumer interest in product customisation by manipulating matter on a cellular level. Cell-Struct portrays this fascination with the dynamic inner world through an osmotic relationship between colour and texture,” says Elise Fenwick, Ampacet Insight & Innovation Manager, Americas. “Although the surface remains smooth, Cell-Struct produces a visually intriguing threedimensional texture resembling cellular structures. The integration of special effects and technology combines to provide an aesthetic with natural elements for an unexpected juxtaposition.” Intended for blow-moulded applications, such as personal care products, cosmetics and home and household products, the line features six colours: Basal Blue, Genome Green. Golden Golgi, Receptor Red, Synaptic Silver and Telomere Teal. Cell-Struct is appropriate for multi-layer processing, www.ampacet.com allowing accentuation of the dimensional effects.

Kraiburg TPE achieves new Asia Paciﬁc milestone with additional production line

KRAIBURG TPE’s has begun operations of a new production line at its Malaysia plant to boost production capacity by 35% and increase Kraiburg TPE’s total production capabilities to 60 000 tons worldwide. Kraiburg TPE is expanding its ofﬁces and warehouse in Malaysia in tandem with the new production line to complement its production expansion. The company will also be extending its sales network in Hanoi, Vietnam, to increase its brand presence and enhance its customer serve in the region. Kraiburg TPE has relied on its three production sites for many years, namely Waldkraiburg (Germany), Atlanta (Georgia, USA) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to guarantee delivery of its TPE compounds on a long-term basis.

www.kraiburg-tpe.com

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2019/02/04 10:48

World News BASF expands innovation in Asia Paciﬁc

BASF is enhancing its regional innovation capabilities with new facilities at the Innovation Campus Shanghai, to further strengthen collaboration with the automotive industry and to offer new process catalysts to the chemical industry. With an investment of approximately €34 million, the new 5 000m2 facilities include the Automotive Application Centre and the Process Catalysis Research & Development (R&D) Centre. Equipped with a state-of-the-art spray booth for electrostatic applications, a physical testing lab and a 3D robot, the BASF Automotive Application Centre is designed to enable customer-oriented R&D activities.

AROUND THE WORLD

Reifenhäuser acquires blown ﬁlms specialist Plamex

REIFENHÄUSER group of Germany has bought Plamex Maschinenbau of Kelberg, Germany, a specialised supplier of blown film lines and extrusion components. Plamex’s core competences are blown film lines for water-cooled and biaxiallyoriented films for the medical and food packaging industry. The company will continue its operations under the name Reifenhäuser Blown Film Plamex GmbH & Co KG. The acquisition expands the Reifenhäuser groups’ product range to include an innovative technology for flexible film production. In addition to technological synergies, Plamex benefits from the strong global network of the Reifenhäuser group – the ‘Extrusioneers’ – and the close connection to the specialist machinery manufacturer Polyrema. www.reifenhauser.com

3M medical tape a Golden Mousetrap winner

USA-based 3M Company’s health care segment has won a 2019 materials and assembly Golden Mousetrap Award for its 4077 elastic polyurethane-blend nonwoven extended-wear medical tape. The 4077 tape has a white elastic nonwoven backing, a tackiﬁed acrylic-based adhesive suitable for skin contact and a liner of 60-pound bleached poly-coated kraft paper with a silicone release on one side. The breathable and conformable tape can stretch omni-directionally, designed for long-term wear applications with medical devices. Products in the portfolio reduce the number of times a wearer needs to change the tape.

New solutions for recycling packaging material – EPS can be used as a secondary raw material for recycling even after at the end of its useful life

Airpop/styrofoam

is being successfully recycled Industry defends itself against ‘non-recyclable’ label EUROPE’S forum for EPS recycling, EPSY, organised within the German Association for Plastics Packaging and Films and the Airpop expert group wish to set the record straight: Airpop can be recycled and is being recycled successfully. The recycling rate for Airpop packages is around 50% in Germany (Conversio study) – an exemplary result compared with the rest of Europe and one that is being successively extended. Expanded polystyrene (EPS), which provides convincing protective and insulating functions with regard to sustainability in the ﬁrst stage of its useful life, can also be used as a secondary raw material for recycling even after at the end of its useful life. However, the “Guidelines for assessing the recyclability of packaging subject to mandatory participation in a dual system” published by the Central

Packaging Registry Office (ZSVR) are causing uncertainty. EPS is excluded from the group of good materials and is thus by definition categorised as not recyclable. “The classification of Airpop as non-recyclable is based on purely commercial decisions by the sorting companies,” emphasises Mara Hancker, Head of PR at IK Industrievereinigung and contact person for the Airpop expert group. “First, the quantities that find their way into the yellow sack are small, and second, the material delivers excellent results in energy recovery. This classification has nothing to do with the actual physical recyclability of the material.” The overall recycling rate of Airpop is around 50% in Germany. Used Airpop packages become new Airpop applications following processing. www.airpop.de

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World News Michelin’s ‘Vision’ tyre provides critical feedback to drivers. It also embraces 3D printing technologies to manufacture and renew tread made of recycled and biosourced parts, which makes it 100% recyclable according to Michelin

Michelin’s ‘Vision’ concept tyre part of Smithsonian design exhibit Plans for tyres to contain 80% sustainable materials by 2048

AROUND THE WORLD

www.cubedesignmuseum.nl/en

DowDuPont completes sale of European extruded PS business to Ravago DOWDUPONT completed the sale of the European part of its extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation business to Ravago. The sale includes all of the XPS operations in Dilovasi, Turkey; Drusenheim, France; Kings Lynn, UK; Lavrion, Greece; Norrkoeping, Sweden; Rheinmunster and Schkopau, Germany. It also includes support functions such as marketing and sales, research and development (R&D), supply chain and customer service. The deal closed on 1 December, the company said. 78

VISION, Michelin North America’s nonpneumatic, concept tyre made with biosourced and recycled parts, will be included in a Smithsonian exhibit paying tribute to scientiﬁc and technological advancements that simulate and support nature. The exhibit, dubbed ‘Nature – Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial’, runs simultaneously at the Cube design museum in Kerkrade, Netherlands, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. It features more than 60 works across a variety of disciplines including architecture, product design, and landscape and fashion, and is intended to explore the ways in which scientists and engineers work with farmers and environmentalists to design sustainable and innovative products that support a regenerative future. Vision is a connected tyre that provides critical feedback to drivers. It also embraces 3D printing technologies to manufacture and renew tread made of recycled and biosourced parts, which makes it 100% recyclable according to Michelin. Michelin said its commitment to sustainability goes beyond concept tyres. The tyre maker has unveiled plans for its tyres to contain 80% sustainable materials by 2048. Currently, Michelin said, its tyres contain 28% biosourced materials, including products such as natural rubber, sunﬂower oil and limonene. By 2048, Michelin also plans to have 100% of its tyres collected and recycled. Currently, 70% of its tyres are collected and half are recycled.

DowDuPont board approves separation of materials science division DOWDUPONT said its board approved the separation of its materials science division, which became the ‘new’ Dow, on 1 April. This will be followed by the expected separation of Corteva Agriscience from the new DuPont on 1 June. DowDuPont said it believed that each of the intended three independent companies were set to be industry leaders with the right management and capital structure to better serve customers, compete in their end markets and focus on their innovation priorities.

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2019/04/11 18:06

Qatar plastics sector builds trade ties with Mexico By Rhys Evans, MD at ALCO-Safe

QATAR wants to strengthen its trade links with Mexico as it strives to overcome the crippling effects of an economic blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others almost two years ago. The tiny Persian Gulf state of 2.7 million had 13 companies exhibiting at the Qatari pavilion at Plastimagen 2019 in Mexico City. They are the first Qatari businesses ever to participate in a trade show in Mexico, Mohammed Alkuwari, Qatar’s ambassador to Mexico, told PlasticsNews. “We’re aiming to export to North, Central and South America, which are growing markets,” Alkuwari said, although he was unable to specify the value of trade between Mexico and the Middle Eastern state. “We see lots of potential in Mexico,”

said Saoud Algosaibi, a marketing and communications specialist for the Doha-based, governmentowned Qatar Development Bank, which is sponsoring the pavilion. “Mexico’s geographical location makes it a very important market. The blockade is still on, which is why we’re trying to promote these companies’ exports as much as we can. They offer great quality at competitive prices. But we’re also looking at North and South America and other parts of Asia, such as Singapore,” Algosaibi said. Qatar is rich in crude oil, but several months ago it won a Mexican government contract to drill for crude in several locations off of Mexico’s Gulf coast. It is also one of the world’s largest producers of liquefied natural gas.

Michael A. Marcotte Construction crews put the finishing touches on a new pavilion for Qatar businesses at Plastimagen 2019

The 13 companies at Plastimagen included Sarplast Qatar which makes PVC pipe, fittings and tanks, and Qatar Polymer Industrial Co, which has capacity to make 120 million polypropylene woven sacks and bags a year. APR / MAY 2019

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World News

Thanks to high mechanical, chemical and thermal properties and the microporous structure that can be obtained (shown above right at 2-μm magniﬁcation), PES is increasingly the choice to produce cast membranes for particle ﬁltration

Polyethersulfone (PES) is increasingly the choice to produce hollow fibres for fluid transport in applications like dialyzer filter packs for low- and high-flux hemodialysis procedures. The microporous structure of the hollow fibres (pictured top at 100-μm and bottom at 20-μm magnification) help enhance dialyser filter-pack performance

PES increasingly preferred for hollow fibres & cast-membrane filter media high-flux hemodialysis procedures, particle filtration for wastewater treatment, microfiltration for beverage clarification, ultrafiltration drinking-water decontamination, reverse osmosis for seawater desalination or drinking-water purification, and chemical separators. PES is an amber-transparent, amorphous engineering thermoplastic known for its high mechanical properties, including high strength and impact resistance, low creep even at elevated temperatures and loads, low warpage (owing to the complete absence of crystallization), high dimensional stability and low coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) over a broad temperature range. The polymer also provides superior stress-crack and good and broad chemical resistance (particularly for an amorphous thermoplastic). It also offers excellent thermal stability, including long-term heat aging and performance at elevated temperatures. Filtration applications are enhanced by the

microporous structure that can be created in either hollow tubes or cast membranes. (Although not critical in this market, PES also has inherent flame retardance, low smoke, and minimal outgasing.) Combined, these attributes enable PES hollow fibres and cast membranes to withstand high-pressure cleaning processes like gas backwashing, as well as super-heated steam, e-beam radiation and ethylene-oxide sterilization, and exposure to sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite and surfactants. That, in turn, helps ensure high flow, long use-life and low fouling in critical filtration media. PES polymer is offered pelletized for injection moulding, extrusion and film processes and in powder form for cast films, filtration membranes and as an epoxy additive for composites, high-temperature paints and coatings and adhesives. PES grades are used in the aerospace, automotive, electrical/ electronics, medical-device and foodhandling industries.

www.sumikamaterials.com

THE engineering thermoplastic polyethersulfone (PES) is increasingly the choice to produce hollow fibres for fluid transport and cast membranes for filtration applications thanks to its high mechanical, chemical and thermal properties and a microporous structure that makes PES a very-effective filter medium. Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technologies offers four grades (4800P, 5200P, 5400P, and 5900P) of PES for the filtration market segment under the tradename SumikaExcel™. Each grade is supplied as a powder, which is subsequently dissolved in an organic solvent and either spun into hollow fibres or cast as membranes with controllable pore size and distribution, excellent strength and chemical stability, as well as high porosity and permeability for long use-life, low fouling and superior separation performance. These filter media are used in applications as diverse as hollowfibre dialyser filter packs for low- and

Cost-eﬀective alternative to stainless steel

APR / MAY 2019

Solvay’s Ixef® PARA enables Zillion Black® single-use instruments

PORTUGUESE company, Bastos Viegas, uses Solvay’s Ixef® PARA for its Zillion Black® single-use surgical instruments as a cost-effective alternative to stainless steel. The existing array of Zillion Black single-use instruments are moulded from Solvay’s high-stiffness, medical-grade Ixef GS1022 GY51 gamma-stabilised polyarylamide (PARA) resin and include curettes, a wide variety of forceps, needle holders and skin staple removers. The European-made Zillion Black single use instruments are manufactured under strict clean room conditions, sterilised in-house using ethylene oxide and are EU medical device CE Class IIa certiﬁed. “Hospitals and healthcare practices are now, more than ever, in need of ready-to-use ambulatory and operating theatre instruments that offer optimal mechanical and ergonomic properties with minimum handling costs,” said Luis Guimarães, CEO at Bastos Viegas. “Solvay’s Ixef PARA provides rigidity,

www.bastosviegas.com

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dimensional stability and metal-like strength.” Currently, Portugal-based Bastos Viegas is extending the product line to include up to 100 single use instruments that replace stainless steel instruments, all to be moulded using Ixef PARA biocompatible resins. Bastos Viegas is unique in that it designs and manufactures in-house its injection moulding tools using advanced predictive modelling and 3D printing prototyping to fully optimise the instruments and appropriate tooling.

www.solvayspecialtypolymers.com

2019/04/11 17:55

IN March, Eastman revealed plans to launch an advanced circular recycling technology that breaks down polyester waste that cannot be recycled by current

mechanical methods into basic polymer building blocks that can be reintroduced as new polyester-based polymers, delivering a true circular solution.

APR / MAY 2019 81

The technology partially oxidizes the waste plastic, converting the feedstock input derived from ﬂexible packaging and plastic ﬁlms waste into “the basic building blocks of Eastman’s cellulosics product lines”

Eastman has called the innovation ‘carbon renewal technology’, which is capable of recycling some of the most complex plastic waste, including non-polyester plastics and mixed plastics that cannot be recycled with conventional recycling technologies. With this new recycling technology, materials such as flexible packaging and plastic films, among others, can be diverted from landfills. By modifying the front end of Eastman’s cellulosics production, carbon renewal technology uses plastic waste as feedstock and converts it back to simple and versatile molecular components. The process partially oxidizes the plastic and, at a very high efficiency, converts it into the basic building blocks of certain Eastman products, including advanced materials and fibres segment products that serve ophthalmics, durables, packaging, textiles and nonwovens end-use markets. Eastman has completed pilot tests at its US site and plans commercial production in 2019 by leveraging existing assets.

World News

Eastman oﬀers recycling solution

www.eastman.com

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2019/04/11 17:55

Diary INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALISATION COLLOQUIUM THE second annual Intellectual Property (IP) and Technology Commercialization Colloquium under the theme ‘Propelling Innovation towards Full-Scale Industrialisation and Inclusive Growth’ takes place on 8-9 April in Pretoria. The colloquium offers the National System of Innovation actors on IP and technology commercialisation a platform to exchange ideas and experiences in addressing the challenges that inhibit successful commercialisation. It intends to cover key areas such as IP management, commercialisation process, venture capital funding, knowledge for equity structures and creating channels to market. www.thedti.gov.za

COMING UP

SHOW FOCUSSED WHOLLY ON CONTROL GOM of Germany will present current technologies in the ﬁeld of optical 3D metrology as well as the latest version of its measurement and evaluation software GOM Inspect Professional with new functions at this year’s Control show in Stuttgart (7-10 May). GOM develops, produces and distributes software, machines and systems for industrial and automated 3D coordinate measuring technology and 3D testing based on latest research results and innovative technologies. The company has been developing measuring technology in Braunschweig since 1990. In its R+D departments, more than 100 engineers, mathematicians and scientists shape the measuring technology of the present and the future. www.gom.com

COMPOUNDING WORLD EXPO VISITORS to the Compounding World Expo will be able to attend a series of six free training seminars on a range of plastics compounding topics. The practical seminars will take place over both days of the exhibition, at the Huntington Convention Centre in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, USA on 8-9 May. The opening training seminar – by Adam Dreiblatt, the director of process technology at CPM Extrusion Group – will cover the specification of twin-screw extruders for compounding. Dreiblatt has over 35 years’ twin-screw extrusion experience. Evaluating and controlling colour in plastics will be covered in a seminar by Frank Koger, technical sales engineer at Konica Minolta Sensing Americas. He will share key knowledge garnered during the 30 years that he has worked in the world of colour. Spotlight on Women in Plastics Also at Compounding/Extrusion/Recycling World Expo, a panel discussion will debate a number of key issues surrounding the professional development of women in the plastics industry. Women in Plastics: Empowering Industry Change will feature highachieving women from across the world of plastics sharing their perspectives on breaking through in this traditionally male-dominated industry. The line-up includes Lauren Hickey, director of marketing and product management at masterbatch manufacturer Americhem; Jennifer Profitt, plant manager at profile and sidings producer Associated Materials; Meli Laurance, regional commercial manager at BASF Colors and Effects; Candace Sanders, assistant plant manager at PVC product supplier Genova Products; and Molly Bridger, group director of marketing at thermoplastic materials manufacturer Simona America. www.compoundingworldexpo.com 82

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Local manufacturing key to economic growth No reason for the African market to source products outside the continent THE manufacturing sector in Southern Africa is primed to take a more active role in supplying goods to the continent and internationally. Characterised by a pioneering die-hard attitude, this sector has a solid reputation of developing products that can readily compete with the best the international market has to offer. Eric Bruggeman, CEO at the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC), says that in the majority of cases there is simply no reason for the African market to source products outside the continent. “The innovation and quality of locally produced goods is exemplary and we believe that this message needs to be conveyed to those people responsible

for the procurement of goods within organisations.” The Local Southern African Manufacturing Expo (LME) will be held at the Expo Centre, Nasrec from 21-23 May. The event, which will also include free-to-attend seminars hosted by SAIMechE, has attracted a wealth of local manufacturing intellectual property and expertise. The expo will also play host to an arei (Association of Representatives for the Electronics Industry) Pavilion and the Skills Development Zone hosted by the Artisan Training Institute (ATI). AREI represents the interests of the electronics industry in South Africa and aims to contribute to the creation of an environment which encourages

Propak West Africa’s Sharing important insights and crucial experience PROPAK West Africa 2019 is the region’s largest exhibition and conference dedicated to the rapidly expanding sector of packaging, plastics, printing and food processing. Taking place in West Africa’s economic hub; Lagos, Nigeria, the exhibition will be held between the 17–19 September at the Landmark Centre. With a record-breaking 4 265 attendees and at 2 049m2 in size, Propak

West Africa 2018 was the largest edition to date. Attendees increased by an astonishing 31% from 2017 while the size of the show itself grew by almost 40% after adding a brand new third Hall. Positioning itself as a truly international event, the exhibition attracted visitors from 32 different countries, the top ﬁve of which included Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa and Togo.

With a record-breaking 4 265 attendees and at 2 049m2 in size, Propak West Africa 2018 was the largest edition to date

APR / MAY 2019

2019/04/11 17:56

Cosmic blue stir-in pigment Visitors will be spoilt for choice with a wide array of products from reputable wellknown local manufacturers taking centre stage. Among these is National Urethane Industries’ polyurethane hot and cold cure elastomers

a dynamic growth of the electronic manufacturing industry, at both component and system level, in South Africa. The Artisan Training Institute (ATI) will use the Skills Development Zone. ATI to display their technical skills in an interactive workshop setting. ATI is making a substantial difference in the technical training environment as it drives quality training throughout its operations. www.localmanufacturingexpo.co.za

APR / MAY 2019

7th edition

The manufacturing event for Africans, by Africans

www.colors-effects.basf.com

AT the European Coatings Show from 19-21 March, BASF introduced a stir-in pigment for automotive coatings with the pioneering eXpand!™ technology, enabling enhanced colour depth, ﬂop and sparkle. eXpand! Blue EH 6001, a deep blue pigment, features both high transparency and high tinting strength for more chromatic shades with lower scattering. The small particle sized stir-in pigment is easily dispersible, which signiﬁcantly reduces cost and time spent in production processing. At the same time, it is compatible with modern automotive coating systems and is suitable for outdoor applications

THE annual Manufacturing Indaba will be hosted at Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg from 25-26 June. The two-day 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. The aim of the annual Manufacturing Indaba and its provincial roadshows is to bring together manufacturers, industry leaders, government officials, capital providers and professional experts to explore opportunities and grow their manufacturing operations. The event is designed specifically for SANDTON CONVENTION CENTRE private and public company JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA THE FLAGSHIP representatives to hear from MANUFACTURING industry experts as they manufacturing CONFERENCE & unpack challenges and find indaba EXHIBITION solutions for growth across the manufacturing sectors and explore regional trade into Africa. The event will comprise a two-day conference and exhibition and is hosted in partnership with the South African Department of Trade & Industry (the dti), the Department of Science & Technology and the Manufacturing Circle, REGISTER TODAY representing the private www.manufacturingindaba.co.za sector.

With sister shows in Kenya and South Africa, the exhibition is West Africa’s most convenient platform for business, innovation and knowledge in the industry. Join thousands of senior packaging managers, consultants, suppliers and printers as they collaborate in sharing important insights and crucial experience at the industry event of the year. This September will mark the show’s 7th edition and is expected to welcome more than 5 000 key industry stakeholders with over 200 leading industry brands on display. Enjoy unique networking and learning opportunities over three days with numerous product launches, live equipment demonstrations from the industry’s leading brands and a daily freeto-attend conference. Running daily sessions of prominent presentations, technical classes and panel discussions from expert representatives and government ofﬁcials, learn about the latest issues surrounding the market and understand how you can apply this knowledge to your business. www.propakwestafrica.com

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Diary SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR FOOD PLASTIC PACKAGING AT MEETINGPACK MEETINGPACK 2019 will take place from 29-30 May in Valencia (Spain). Packaging manufacturers, such as the multinationals Total Corbion, Nippon Goshei, Kuraray, Dow Chemical, UBE, Klökner Pentaplast, Knauf Industries and SP Group; leading food companies such as Unilever, Danone and AMC Grupo alimentario; certiﬁcation bodies such as TÜV Austria Ibérica; recyclers such as Ecoembes, APK among others, will gather and present their innovations and cutting-edge technologies at MeetingPack. MeetingPack2019 is the only global meeting specialised in plastic materials and food barrier packaging. Technology challenges posed by the Circular Economy as well as the innovation opportunities offered by the industry will be discussed in this fourth edition. www.meetingpack.com

COMING UP

NEW EFFORTS BRING HOPE FOR INDUSTRY 4.0-READY SA WORKFORCE INDUSTRY 4.0 is rapidly changing the face of manufacturing and industry around the world. Without a concerted effort to change industry processes, infrastructure and upskill the workforce, South Africa risks falling behind the world in its efforts to become a player in the global manufacturing market. However, new industry initiatives are emerging to address the skills shortfall and help propel South Africa into a smarter era of manufacturing. These initiatives will be part of the focus at Africa Automation Fair 2019. Automation industry stakeholders have suggested that aligning with the global Industry 4.0 revolution would demand a great deal of change and progress in South Africa. A key priority will need to be skills. The Africa Automation Fair together with the Connected Industries Conference and Pollution & Waste Technology Africa will be staged from 4-6 June at the Ticketpro Dome, Northgate, Johannesburg. www.africaautomationfair.com

PLASTIC POLLUTION EVENT POSTPONED TO JUNE THE Plastic Pollution: Effects and Solutions conference, which was to have taken place in April, has been postponed to 5-6 June at Emperors Palace. Presented by PMS Consulting, the event is to focus on waste management, research on bio-based polymers and recycling technologies. Key speakers include Dr Martin Bletter of the National Scientiﬁc and Technical Research Council of Argentina and Jacques Lightfoot, sustainability manager of PlasticsSA. To register, contact sean@psmconsulting.co.za

PUMPS, VALVES & PIPES AFRICA IN JUNE The Pumps, Valves & Pipes Africa show, the largest and most comprehensive event in Africa dedicated to all industries involved in the conveyance of liquids, gases & slurries sectors, forms part of the Indutec show takes place at Gallagher from 11-13 June. It is co-located with the African Construction Expo and Totally Concrete Expo and expecting more than 10 500 industry professionals from over 45 countries for three days of business networking. www.pumpsvalvesandpipesafrica.com 84

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APR / MAY 2019

K2019

New technologies Over 3000 exhibitors from more than 60 countries

K2019, known as ‘The World’s No. 1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber’ in Düsseldorf from 16-23 October, is fully booked. Over 3 000 exhibitors from more than 60 countries have registered to participate. K will occupy the entire Düsseldorf exhibition grounds with some 175 000m² of exhibition space, and more than 200 000 trade visitors from all over the world are expected to come to the event. K is the performance barometer for the entire industry and its global marketplace for innovations. For eight days, the ‘who’s who’ of the plastics and rubber world will meet to demonstrate the industry’s capabilities, discuss current trends and set the course for the future. K 2019 underscores its special position not only through its popularity with the global industry but also by addressing the current challenges of our era and especially of

its sector, ﬁrst and foremost in regard to plastics for sustainable development and the circular economy. The special exhibition ‘Plastics Shape the Future’ also sees itself as a podium for solutions and answers to current social trends and discussions. Crucial topics will be discussed in detail, including packaging waste, marine litter and climate change on the one hand and resource conservation, energy efﬁciency and recycling on the other. The Science Campus at K2019 stands for the dialogue between science and industry, with sustainability and recycling management also being examined intensively. Last but not least, the joint appearance of VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and its member companies will also be focused this time on the topic of the circular economy. Those who want to already now begin preparing for their visit to K 2019 in

Borealis, Borouge launch new healthcare solution Enabling healthcare customers to achieve full regulatory compliance BOREALIS and Borouge introduced Borealis Bormed™ BJ868MO, a high ﬂow, heterophasic polypropylene copolymer used for the production of medical and diagnostic devices, in February at Pharmapack 2019 in Paris, France. This new and regulated solution is an important extension of the dedicated Borealis Bormed portfolio of PE and PP products. Validation of this newly-developed material solution was carried out in cooperation with

Premix Oy, a leading manufacturer of electrically conductive and high frequency plastics. Borealis Bormed BJ868MO was used as a base for a new electrically conductive compound in the production of high precision pipettes. This new material solution offers several compelling benefits: • High impact resistance minimises risk of breakage, ensures good drop performance • Superior high flow enables fast and easy mould filling; flow length-wall thickness ratios of up to 300 • Lower holding pressures, lower processing temperatures and faster cycle times Borealis Bormed BJ868MO as a base for a new electrically conductive compound used in high precision pipettes

www.borealisgroup.com

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as drivers of innovation October can find the exhibitor database at www.k-online. com/2410. At the end of March 2019, the ticket office for K2019 will also be launched on the portal. The eTicket also benefits you two-fold by saving time and money. Visitors can purchase their ticket online, print it out on their own printer or download it as a code and then travel to the trade fair free of charge by bus and train. In addition, the eTicket is much less expensive than one purchased on site. Those who are still looking for accommodation for K 2019 should make the most of the services offered by Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourismus (DMT), www.duesseldorf-tourismus. de/messe/k.

Over 3 000 exhibitors from more than 60 countries have registered to participate in K2019 with exhibition grounds covering 175 000m² and more than 200 000 trade visitors from all over the world expected APR / MAY 2019 85

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2019/04/11 17:58

Diary FOOD & DRINK TECHNOLOGY AFRICA THE food & drink technology Africa show, from 9-11 July, is becoming one of the most important networking and business platforms for the beverage and food industry in South Africa, designed especially for the needs of the Southern African market. It gives a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the beverage and food industry. Visitors will learn about groundbreaking new ideas, including international and national trends and developments, make contacts to the international trade, daily and business press, and learn from presentation meetings for practical knowledge transfer, information and networking throughout the year. www.fdt-africa.com

COMING UP

SAPPMA’S PIPES XII CONFERENCE SAPPMA has reserved two full days for PIPES XII to once again bring the South African plastic pipe industry a worldclass line-up of local and international presenters. The conference takes place on 27-28 August. The SAPPMA pipe conference only takes place every second year – don’t miss out on this unique opportunity! www.sappma.co.za

COMPOSITES EUROPE The forthcoming Composites Europe and the International Composites Conference (ICC) will be held in Stuttgart from 10-12 September. The conference programme will centre on the focal themes Smart Composites (BioComposites and Processing Technologies), Applications (Thermoplastics, Thermosets), Markets (New Mobility, Building & Construction), Future Challenges (Regulations and New Applications) and Composites Science (R+D Updates, Young Innovators Solutions). www.composites-europe.com

DIGITALISATION is increasingly making inroads into maintenance, too. A few years ago the word maintenance immediately evoked an image of a man wearing blue overalls: today, however, it is increasingly characterised by digital services and mobile devices such as tablets and data glasses. Exhibitors will be presenting examples of these at EMO Hannover from 16-21 September in Hannover, Germany. The Smart Factory and the related digitalisation offer wide-ranging potential for long-term and predictive maintenance. But what are the beneﬁts for companies? And what are the prerequisites for ensuring that the data necessary for planning, processing and documenting maintenance measures is exchanged reliably? www.thecompositesgroup.co.za 86

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plastics processing, sustainability Clariﬁers, nucleators and colorants on display in Dubai

SPECIALTY chemicals supplier Milliken & Co exhibited at Arabplast in January in Dubai – where it showcased how its additives can help address the key challenges confronting today’s plastics processing industry. Milliken demonstrated how its portfolio of products can enhance both production and sustainability, offering technology-leading clariﬁers and nucleators to improve PP resins (Milliken’s Millad® NX™ 8000), UV absorbers (ClearShield UV) that improve key properties in PET packaging and colourants (Keyplast range of dyes and pigments) for use with high-performance engineering polymers. Milliken’s Millad NX 8000 is used to produce UltraClear PP resin for injection moulded, blow moulded and thermoformed polypropylene products. Hyperform HPN nucleating agents enable the production of stronger, lighter parts by increasing stiffness by about 10% when compared to conventionally nucleated PP, while still retaining the same impact behaviour as a non-nucleated resin. Additionally, Hyperform HPN improves the stiffness of non-nucleated PP by 25-30%. Milliken’s ClearShield UV absorber effectively protects UV-sensitive packed contents from ultraviolet-light degradation while maintaining the clarity and transparency of PET. The Keyplast range of dyes yield a vast spectrum of stable, reproducible colours and are suitable for use with a wide range of resins. www.millikenchemical.com

Smart tyres for the future Fifth generation synthetic rubber and fibre technologies ASAHI Kasei recently presented its technologies for the next-generation tyre at the international tyre exhibition ‘Tire Technology EXPO’ in Hanover, Germany, in March. Fifth generation synthetic rubber and fibre technologies, as well as sensor solutions for intelligent tyres were the focus of Asahi Kasei’s exhibition. Using the 5th generation solution-polymerised styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) of the fifth generation – a double-sided functionalised rubber – the company offers tyre manufacturers a balanced solution for rolling resistance, wet grip and wear resistance. Another highlight are the Japanese technology group’s sensor solutions for the smart tyres of tomorrow: With a tread wear and a deformation sensor, Asahi Kasei introduced two technical components that can be used to determine the tread wear level as well as irregularities in the surface of the tyre. If irregularities are detected, the sensors emit a warning and thus contribute to increased safety and efficiency. The company also presented Leona PA66 Filament and Precisé, two fibre technologies increasing the strength and robustness of the tyres while at the same time reducing the tyre rolling noise.

www.automotive-asahi-kasei.eu

MOBILISING MAINTENANCE THROUGH DIGITALISATION AT EMO

Milliken highlights additives that improve

APR / MAY 2019

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METYX’s TYCOR ﬁbre reinforced core material The latest innovation in packaging design

METYX TYCOR® W4 and W1 ﬁbre reinforced core materials compared with conventional contour cut balsa and PVC panels infused with UP resin in a wind blade mould

and taking up far less resin during infusion, compared with a conventional cut Balsa core, yet still providing the desired mechanical properties. The standard sheet range available has ﬁve grades, offered in a choice of thickness from 12mm to 75mm, with four drapable contour grades and a rigid sheet option. Depending on the end use application, each TYCOR grade offers a choice of bulk density, resin pickup and infused core properties.

www.metyx.com

AT JEC World 2019 in Paris in March, METYX Group showcased its newly acquired TYCOR fibre reinforced core sheet material, now produced by METYX USA. TYCOR is a dry fibre and foam core, drapable, sandwich preform which achieves its final end use properties though the vacuum infusion process. TYCOR fibre reinforced cores provide design engineers and convertors with an alternative reinforcement material to balsa and conventional PVC foam cores. The core material used in TYCOR is flexible, nonstructural, fine closed cell PU foam, designed to minimise resin absorption, with excellent temperature stability and compressive and shear strength. Significant overall part weight savings in excess of 30% can be achieved from a combination of TYCOR having much less core foam volume

Growing Loctite MAX resin portfolio

High temperatures resistance, toughness and clarity for automotive applications AT JEC World 2019 in Paris in March, Henkel highlighted the latest developments of its Loctite MAX PU and epoxy matrix resins technology, addressing the continuing need for both lightweighting and cost-effective as well as higher-performing composite solutions for the automotive industry. As a world leader in the ﬁeld of

www.henkel.com

polyurethane-based resin systems, Henkel is actively expanding its Loctite MAX polyurethane (PU) matrix resins portfolio by a family of high-performance materials based on epoxy. This resin portfolio is targeting the market of demanding automotive composite high temperature applications, such as wheels. Loctite MAX5 NextGen exhibits APR / MAY 2019

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Diary

JEC World 2019 closes its doors 115 participating countries, 27 national pavilions

JEC World 2019 closed on 14 March, after three intense days of innovation, networking and knowledge sharing. JEC World organisers created special tracks, displays and conference programmes dedicated to the speciﬁc audience of aerospace, automotive and construction sectors. Announcements included Solvay and Airborne signing a Memorandum of Understanding, Coriolis and Cevotec

joined the Fibre Placement Centre (FPC) and SGL Carbon and Onur are to cooperate on aero engine insulation. Organisers say inspiring speakers brought the JEC Group global innovation programmes to a new dimension. Inaugurating the JEC Startup Booster event, Enrico Palermo, CEO of the TSC, currently developing the spaceship for the Virgin Galactic space ﬂight programme, presented the next

generation of reusable space vehicles, and their impact on costs, safety and the environment during the launch into space. Hemant Bheda, Co-founder of Arevo, introduced the JEC Composites Challenge ceremony, with a conference on additive manufacturing, in line with the showcase of 3D printing technologies. “With 115 participating countries and

World’s first automated digital system for rapid, large-scale laminate manufacturing Digitize, automate large-scale composites manufacturing SABIC celebrated a major milestone for its ground-breaking Digital Composites Manufacturing line at JEC World 2019. The company, in collaboration with Airborne and powered by Siemens and Kuka technologies, has successfully completed the pilot phase of the world’s first automated digital system for rapid, large-scale laminate manufacturing using SABIC’s continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite tape. The Digital Composites Manufacturing line has been nominated for the 2019 JEC Innovation Awards in the category “Industry & Engineering”. Plans for the new system were announced at JEC World 2018 and SABIC and Airborne are now beginning the transition

to full-scale production, which is slated for the end of 2019. The new automated digital manufacturing system was built at Airborne’s facility in The Netherlands and is capable of producing four thermoplastic composite laminates every 60 seconds, totaling up to 1.5 million parts annually. Potential applications include cases and covers for consumer electronics, aircraft inserts, automotive components and sports goods. Industrialization of laminate production using the new Digital Composite Manufacturing line will enable customers in diverse industries to mass-produce high performance thermoplastic composite parts, gaining advantages of faster speed, higher efﬁciency and lower costs. www.sabic.com

APR / MAY 2019

SABIC highlighted, in collaboration with Airborne, its Digital Composites Manufacturing line through a 360-degree virtual reality experience at the 2019 JEC World Exhibition.

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2019 IOM National Rubber Conference Cape St Francis Resort Plastic Pipes in Infrastructure Düsseldorf, Germany Plastic Pollution: Effects & Solutions Emperors Palace, Joburg Plastics Recycling Show Amsterdam, The Netherlands Compounding World Expo Cleveland, Ohio, USA SA Manufacturing Expo Expo Centre, Nasrec, Johanensburg Chinaplas Pazhou, Guangzhou, PR China Africa Automation Fair Ticketpro Dome, Northgate, Joburg

4-7 April iomsa@mweb.co.za 9-10 April www.ami.international/events 10-11 April www.pmsconsulting.co.za 10-11 April www.prseventeurope.com 8-9 May www.compoundingworldexpo.com 21-23 May www.localmanufacturingexpo.co.za 21-24 May www.ChinaplasOnline.com 4-6 June www.africaautomationfair.com

Pumps, Valves & Pipes Africa Gallagher Estate, Midrand

11-13 June www.pumpsvalvesandpipesafrica.com

Plastics Recycling Technology Düsseldorf, Germany

18-19 June www.emo-hannover.de

Manufacturing Indaba Sandton Convention Centre, Joburg fdt Africa (Lab Africa, IFAT Africa) Gallagher, Johannesburg KITE (KZN Industrial show) Durban Exhibition Centre SAPPMA Pipes XII Altron Business Park, Midrand Composites Europe Messe Stuttgart, Germany ARMO Global (hosted by ARMSA) Sun City

25-26 June www.manufacturingindaba.co.za 9-11 July www.fdt-africa.com 24-26 July www.kznindustrial.co.za 27-28 August www.sappma.co.za 10-12 September www.composites-europe.com 16-18 September www.armsa.co.za

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for another year 27 national pavilions, JEC World – the place where the world of Composites meets – gathered the key players of the industry and their representatives, as illustrated by the premiere meeting of the global and European industry associations,” explained Adeline Larroque, Show Director JEC World. “On top of that, the show highlighted

the dynamic ecosystems of composite materials in France, Turkey as well as in the Netherlands, thanks to the special visit in Paris and an active participation

of their companies, ofﬁcials and government bodies.” • JEC World 2020 will take place from 3-5 March in Paris Nord Villepinte. www.jec-world.events

Huntsman enhances design freedom of core composites with new PU resin system New RIMLINE® HC+ resin system was launched at JEC World 2019, Paris

Machine Tools Africa 2020 Expo Centre, Nasrec, Johannesburg Electra Mining Africa 2020 Expo Centre, Nasrec, Johannesburg OzPipe XIX Hotel Okura, Amsterdam, Holland

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16-21 September www.emo-hannover.de 17-19 September www.propakwestafrica.com 16-23 October www.k-online.com 7-8 November www.pipa.com.au 27-29 November www.mandelabaycompositescluster.co.za

EMO Hannover Hannover, Germany Propak West Africa Landmark Centre, Lagos, Nigeria K2019 Düsseldorf, Germany OzPipe XIX Sydney, Australia African Adv Manf & Comp Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, PE

APR / MAY 2019

HUNTSMAN Corporation introduced a new RIMLINE® HC+ PU resin system that offers significant benefits for automotive interior vehicle design and efficiency. Joining the trusted RIMLINE resin technology suite of automotive composites proven solutions, RIMLINE® HC+ PU resin system is a two-part product that can be spray-applied to fibreglass reinforced honeycomb panels to form a tough, robust and longlasting lightweight composite material. Such composites can be used to provide versatile, weight-saving solutions with high strength and rigidity for parcel shelves, trunk load floors, interior panels, etc. Enabling design freedom through its suitability to more complex honeycomb panel shapes, the outstanding performance characteristics of RIMLINE HC+ PU resin system are complemented by superior edge finishing and reproduction of intricate mould details. Combined with a good adhesion profile and high resistance to temperature, RIMLINE® HC+ PU resin system is easy to apply with a long spray time and short cure time, permitting a high number of releases between cleaning cycles with low levels of material waste. www.huntsman.com

• Official Distributor in Southern Africa for BASF

on TPU Elastollan® Thermoplastic Polyurethane

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

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

• Distributor for Weifang on Weipren CPE • Suppliers of EPS, Various Grades • Engineering Polymers • Polyolefins • Reworked and Repaletised Materials • Official distributor for Politem on PA6, PA66 ®

unfilled and filled compounds

2020 12-15 May www.machinetoolsafrica.co.za 7-11 September www.electramining.co.za 21-23 September www.pipa.com.au

2019/04/11 17:59

Books

Injection moulding expert addresses

requirements for

Dirt particles increase the risk of faults in electronic components. In its guideline “Technical Cleanliness in Electronics” the German Central Association of the Electrical Engineering and Electronics Industry (ZVEI) names nine possible faults, including short circuits and electrical isolation, that can lead to non-functioning conditions.

circuit-board industry

90 APRIL / MAY 2019

Integration of clean production into existing processes by enclosures DIRT particles increase the risk of faults in electronic components. In its guideline ‘Technical Cleanliness in Electronics’, the German Central Association of the Electrical Engineering and Electronics Industry (ZVEI) names nine possible faults, including short circuits and electrical isolation, that can lead to nonfunctioning conditions. Manufacturers are steadily tightening their cleanliness requirements, both for themselves and for suppliers like injection moulding specialist Hans Geiger Spritzgießtechnik GmbH. The company’s products are used in circuit boards that must meet the highest quality standards. The company has responded to these requirements by developing an enclosed production line which meets all the criteria of a cleanroom efﬁciently and in a small space. This enables it to do clean manufacturing to individual

speciﬁcations, without added costs or time for additional parts cleaning. “Particle-free production is already common in many industries. It is not a new criterion in the electronics industry, but the demands placed on components for installation in circuit boards have risen considerably in recent years”, explains Eva Söhnlein, senior manager of Hans Geiger Spritzgießtechnik GmbH. “Since more and more plug connections are used on circuit boards, our products need to be particle-free as well. Highquality ﬁnal products are possible only with the use of essentially particle-free components.” There are several ways to make technically clean products. Often, part of a building will be converted into a cleanroom. Industrial parts cleaning following production is another method that is often preferred. But instead, Geiger decided to enclose a production

line in Plexiglas. Two laminar ﬂow boxes on the sealed enclosure create a constant overpressure and a steady air current prevents particles from settling in the clean area. The line is a complete, compact production system with injection moulding machine, removal robot and packaging station. This makes it possible to make parts, remove them by robot and place them on the cooling line without danger of contamination. The ﬁnished products are then automatically counted and packed, ensuring that they reach the customer in clean condition. All told, it enables a cleanliness level corresponding to cleanroom class 7.

www.abopr.de www.geiger-formenbau.de

Masterbatch industry showing strong growth THE masterbatch industry is showing strong growth on the back of growing polymer demand and its ability to replace alternative methods of polymer modiﬁcation, according to an authoritative new report - Thermoplastic Masterbatch: The Global Market 2019 - published by leading industry consultants in the ﬁeld,

AMI Consulting. The global masterbatch industry continues to outperform both GDP and polymer demand growth with all regions of the world and all product types beneﬁting from these trends. The result will be a growth rate in excess of 5% per annum for the medium term. The report details

supply and demand and also comments on the changing nature of the industry structure. Currently the largest 10 global producers of masterbatch account for around one-third of the industry, given the pace of this change in the world this share is forecast to accelerate in the medium-term future. The report quantiﬁes, in detail, masterbatch demand for each world region according to masterbatch type (black, white, colour and additive) as well as providing an analysis of the industry’s supply structure and up-to-date information on the end-use application demand for each variety. www.ami.international

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Masterbatch SA MBT MGMW Trading MJH Machine Tools Mould Base Nissei ASB Orion Engineered Carbons Performance Colour Systems Plastomark Propak West Africa Rawmac Relloy Relloy – EREMA Safripol SAPY Colours Taghleef Industries Userve Plastics Machinery West African Group Zerma Africa

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

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Material solutions for growing pet toy market material solutions such as styrenic block copolymers (SBCs), thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), copolyesters and thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) that allow brand owners to position their products at various retail price points – from highend, boutique products to mass market, big box store materials.

APR / MAY 2019 91

US company, Audia Elastomers in Washington, Pennsylvania – a global supplier of innovative elastomer materials – is meeting the growing needs of the durable pet toy market with an extensive range of leading-edge material solutions. The company provides brand owners with high-performance elastomers that deliver durability, tear strength, high clarity and adhesion for a range of pet toys, including dog chew toys and treats. The market for safe, durable pet toys continues to grow as changing demographics cause shifts in pet ownership and care trends, according to Anthony Marozsan, market development manager for Audia Elastomers. Millennials are leading the way in pet ownership, comprising 35% of all pet owners, according to the American Pet Products Association. And as household sizes decrease, more people are treating their pets like family members, including a willingness to spend more on premium and custom offerings. “There is plenty of opportunity and the competition is tight as companies vie for their piece of the $10 billion annual pet accessory market,” explained Marozsan. Audia Elastomers offers customised Audia dog toy www.audiaelastomers.com

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Sport

A thermal wellness wearable from Embr Labs which allows people to hack the way they feel temperature. The company uses the Makrolon 2407 polycarbonate from Covestro for the frosted light guide with LEDs

Illuminated interface of

thermal wellness wearable Customised applications with polycarbonate A thermal wellness wearable from Embr Labs allows people to hack the way they feel temperature. The company uses the Makrolon® 2407 polycarbonate from Covestro for the frosted light guide with LEDs. It is a UV-stabilised grade designed for applications in the electronics, IT and telecommunications industry. Covestro, as a materials innovation partner, helped bring this next-gen technology to market. “Successfully taking a product from concept to commercialization requires being able to juggle multiple factors,” explains Joel Matsco, senior marketing manager for polycarbonates at Covestro. “We collaborate early on with our customers, helping them to overcome their product design, engineering and materials challenges. This approach accelerates innovation, which is particularly critical given the rapid electronics product life cycle.” Control how you feel A highlight development is called Embr 92 APRIL / MAY 2019

Wave – an intelligent bracelet that allows people to hack the way they feel temperature. According to Embr Labs, the bracelet’s scientifically developed waveforms precisely stimulate a person’s thermoreceptors, leveraging the body’s natural systems to make the wearer feel cooler or warmer by up to 5 degrees in just a few minutes. The technology is based on a breakthrough physiological insight: Warming or cooling specific parts of the human body can make someone feel more comfortable without changing his or her core body temperature.This is based on the fact that thermoreceptor stimulation e.g. at the wrist, triggers the specific regions of the brain that control thermoregulation and pleasure. Embr Labs developed the product through years of iterative prototyping and customer testing. When it came time for the production design, the company wanted to use a frosted light pipe with LEDs as the primary user interface. “We turned to Covestro to help

select the right material and optimize the design for optical performance,” explains Embr Labs cofounder Sam Shames. Optimal polycarbonate grade Based on the requirements, Embr Labs chose Makrolon 2407 polycarbonate, a UV-stabilised grade that offers proven performance for electronics, IT and telecommunications applications. For the Embr Wave, diffusers and optical brighteners were compounded into the resin to achieve the desired visual effect. According to Joel Matsco from Covestro LLC, this application follows the company´s foresight into the use of light as information. “Instead of using text or symbols, colour and light are simple, minimalist, yet effective, means to convey information to the user,” he explains. “Covestro has deep expertise in helping brand and electronics manufacturers design with light.” www.covestro.com

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The Home of Size Reduction

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2018/01/29 12:33