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interpack 2017: 170,500 Visitors filled Exhibitors’ Order Books

Record-Level International AttendanceThe avid interest taken by exhibitors in the run-up to interpack 2017 that brought the world’s biggest and most important trade fair of the packaging sector and related process industries record attendance of 2,865 companies, was followed by trade fair days from 4 to 10 May with high spirits and further records: 74% of the approximately 170,500 visitors travelled to Düsseldorf from abroad – three quarters of them were decision-makers. The high percentage of German and international top-notch experts from a total of 168 countries made for highly satisfied faces among exhibitors, who delighted at promising business contacts and even concrete deals concluded in the seven-digit range. Visitors in turn benefitted from an internationally unrivalled multitude of innovations on display and a unique market overview. This was also reflected in the corresponding high scores they gave the trade fair: just under 98% stated in the official survey that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their visit to interpack 2017. They took an interest in all ranges and segments of interpack but packaging media received significantly more attention than at the previous event. “interpack is an absolute must-go event for companies in this industry and provides unique momentum. Every three years it is not only a one-of-a-kind performance showcase but also the place where suppliers and customers from all over the world get together to network and do business,” underlines Friedbert Klefenz, President of interpack 2017. Commenting on this Hans Werner Reinhard, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, explained: “interpack has again impressively confirmed its claim of being the world’s most important event and innovation platform for the industry every three years. Due to the concept of the newly created global ‘interpack alliance’, interpack as its flagship has also obtained more exposure in the growth markets abroad thereby attracting even more high-calibre experts to Düsseldorf.” Top Trends: Digitalisation, Industry 4.0 and SustainabilityProving a top trend at many stands was the further digitalisation of production processes on the way to Industry 4.0 applications. Production linked along these lines makes it possible to manufacture personalised packaging efficiently or to guarantee traceability, to name but two options. Furthermore, the modular design of packaging machines and process lines and optimised digital operating concepts play a pivotal role in order to reduce complexity in manufacturing and achieve the highest degree of flexibility possible for changing batch sizes or product versions. Some companies even focused on virtual reality applications that allow machines or equipment to be experienced holistically in order to manage complexity better even in the manufacturing process of machinery and equipment as well as in training and operation. The sustainability theme also remained “omnipresent” at interpack 2017. Companies presented improved resource efficiency in terms of both the material used with ever smaller wall thicknesses and of manufacturing processes. Moreover, alternative packaging materials are gaining ground. Successful Special FeaturesNot only the exhibitors had innovations in store for Industry 4.0 – the interpack special show of the same name organised in cooperation with the German Engineering Federation VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.) also showcased the latest ideas and approaches and was received extremely well by visitors. Proving one of the major attractions here was the Demonstrator “smart4i” that produced and packaged personalised powerbanks. Here, not only the entire workflow was digital from online ordering to tracking and tracing, but the machine itself was also installed in record time thanks to a virtual twin and the networked planning in cooperation with several universities. SAVE FOOD Congress and innovationparcSix years after SAVE FOOD was launched, the initiative has grown into a broad-based alliance of over 850 international members from industry, associations, NGOs and research institutes. One of the milestones of the Initiative is the SAVE FOOD Congress at interpack; its third edition held on 4 May was highly praised by delegates for its broad thematic coverage. The Congress pursued a multi-dimensional approach in order to address the issue of food losses and waste comprehensively. Participants included high-ranking political representatives as speakers such as Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, and Gargi Kaul, Joint Secretary & Financial Adviser at the Indian Ministry for Food Processing Industries, as well as committed NGOs activists and representatives from business. Over the course of the Congress the perspective changed, focusing either on global views or national details and conditions – with India as a focal theme this time. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented results of a study in India funded by the Initiative; it had been carried out with the aim of identifying the mechanisms involved in losses of important base foodstuffs and of finding approaches for solutions. As part of the congress the SAVE FOOD partners Messe Düsseldorf and FAO also signed a memorandum of understanding, in order to fix the cooperation for the coming four years. “It is an absolute hallmark of interpack to focus on attention-grabbing special topics. We are therefore delighted to be able to also fight food losses and waste with our partner, the FAO, and in cooperation with the industry and other supporters in future, too. This means we are committed to a good cause and communicate the potential that the packaging industry and related process industries hold in this context at the same time,” explains Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. innovationparc, the special show organised as part of interpack 2017, also addressed the theme of SAVE FOOD and presented very practical solutions for minimising food losses and waste. These also included the finalists and winners of the WorldStar Awards of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). Awards went, for instance, to plastic bags for fruit that can enormously prolong shelf life thanks to built-in ripening-gas absorbers. components: New Concept Received Very WellThe concept of “components – special trade fair by interpack”, which had been revised for interpack 2017, was received very well by visitors. According to the feedback received from the extremely satisfied exhibitors the quality of visitors was also high. “The decision to place the second “components” after a more subdued debut three years ago, in a central location of the exhibition centre now and to hold it in parallel with the complete interpack, proved absolutely right. There had never been any doubts about the importance of this theme anyway since upstream suppliers with their components and software for packaging and process technologies play a key role for the digitalisation of manufacturing processes all the way down as Industry 4.0 approaches. We will therefore also establish “components” at trade fairs of interpack alliance abroad in future,” added Bernd Jablonowski, Global Portfolio Director Processing & Packaging at Messe Düsseldorf. The coming interpack will be held in May 2020 in three years' time at Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre – then with a completely new South entrance and a new Hall 1. The exact dates will be published at a later date.

Ms. Kang 2017-05-15

“Medical Plastics Conference” at CHINAPLAS 2017

The“3rd Medical Plastics Conference” at CHINAPLAS is shaping up to be thebest ever with a packed line-up of informative topics that cover both newtechnologies and practical solutions given by experts, material providers andmedical device manufacturers from around the world. Visitors are urged to sign upquickly to the show to take full advantage of the professional, innovative anddefinitive content on the burgeoning medical plastics industry. Digging gold from medical device andpackaging industryThemedical industry is growing fast globally as economies develop, populationsexpand, societies age, and health care awareness increases. MarketsandMarkets,a global market research and consulting company has projected that the globalmedical plastics market will reach a US$6.9 billion value in 2020, with anaverage annual growth rate of US 7% from 2015 to 2020. Global sales in 2015soared to US$1.1 trillion for the pharmaceutical industry market, while medicaldevices sales reached US$350 billion, according to PMMI, the Association forPackaging and Processing Technologies, a leading global resource for processingand packaging. Inthe meantime, the Chinese medical equipment industry is divided and withoutfocus. The low industry concentration means imports monopolize the high-endsegment. However, as the Central Government increases its effort in promotingmedical industry, the sector is about to make a breakthrough. Diagnosticimaging devices take up about 37% of China’s medical equipment market; followedby disposables at 25%. Meanwhile, dental equipment is a fast-rising sector thatcannot be ignored. Hydrogels, implantable devices are on discussion at CHINAPLASComparedwith developed countries such as the US, the usage rate of orthopedic implantsis relative low in China. As population aging speeds up, health awarenessincreases and income rises, the orthopedic implants industry is poised for hugegrowth in the next five years. Oneof the keynote speakers in the conference, Len Czuba, President of CzubaEnterprises, said ahead of the show, “As the modern society expands the reachof its benefits to the most remote parts of our populated world, medicaldevices must be able to support healthcare delivery within the limitations oflocal infrastructures. Designing 'intelligent' medical devices cansignificantly improve the product development lead time and reduce costs.” MrCzuba will give a presentation at the conference on the theme of ‘Implantabledevice development - from product design, material selection to production’. Hewill look at several case studies showing medical device components such as anIV fluid manifold made with a complicated mold requiring three axis “action” ofmotion or moving inserts. A challenge of the process was to help resolve a knitline problem with a drug delivery inhaler. Anever-growing class of biomaterials utilized in the medical device industry ispolymeric hydrogels. They can be natural or synthetic, chemically or physicallycross-linked and are used in the medical device industry in a range of diverseapplications. These can range from contact lenses to wound healing bandages,bone repair scaffolds, or even catheters. Production of hydrogels with strongmechanical strength is a focus for medical industry. DrAustin Coffey, a Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Waterford Instituteof Technology in Ireland and Thammasat University in Thailand inform CHINAPLASvisitors on the methods of hydrogel manufacture, discuss the chemistry of howthey work and use a number of real-life industrial applications to show howhydrogels have become a crucial class of material in the toolbox of the modernmedical device manufacturer. Speakingahead of the show, Dr Coffey said: “I will talk about the surfaces of materialsbeing used for minimally invasive applications. These include angioplasty andurinary catheters, whereby the surface needs to have as little resistancebetween the device and the internal tissue / arteries as possible. DrCoffey will address the effect of sterilization on these materials and willhave a number of key take-home points for all attendees in relation to how theycan design ‘intelligent’ medical devices for a wide range of applications,including the treatment of arterial aneurysms and accurate artificial bloodvessel development for bench testing purposes. In a nutshell: prospects of medicalplastics in ChinaBiomaterialfor the medical industry is an emerging sector in China, with growth rate faroutpacing the country’s GDP. At the moment, biomaterials are used mainly inproduction of medical equipment for clinical applications. It has become astrong pillar of the medical device industry, with market share of up to40-50%. In2015, the sales of Chinese biomaterials medical device amounted to aboutRMB144.4 billion with an average annual growth rate of 17.2%. Within 10 years,China is about to become the world’s second largest market biomaterials medicaldevice market. TPRIhas 5,000sqm of clean room facilities which include advanced plastic processingmachines, laboratory instruments and testing equipments. The facilities havealso passed the ISO 13485 certification for quality management in medicaldevices. It specializes in cardiovascular, anaesthesia and respiration andneurosurgical products. Mr Wang Ming is the Vice President and Senior Engineer ofTianjin Plastics Research Institute Co., Ltd., has accumulated rich experiencein the research & development of production of medical plastic products formore than 30 years. He had undertaken 14 ministerial level scientific researchprojects and has published 10 papers gaining more than 20 invention and utilitymodel patents. Throughthe presentation, Mr Wang will bring in-depth discussion on the leading majordevelopment future trends such as biomaterials and how the enterprises canenter the supply chain undergoing all these changes. The2017 medical plastics conference will feature lots of new materialsapplications, such as "Innovative High Heat Polycarbonate for MedicalDevice Manufacturing Industry" by Covestro to manufacturing solutions tobest practices of end-user enterprises. KraussMaffei will talk about specialcleanroom requirement for injection molding machines, Arburg will informvisitors on applications in the medical industry.

Ms. Kang 2017-05-12

CHINAPLAS 2017: Designers take center stage to unveil the innovation in Design Forum

Design Forum will walk visitors through the design process, from inspiration to discovery and product developmentCHINAPLAS 2017: May 16-19 at China Import & Export Fair Complex, Pazhou, Guangzhou Guangzhou, China - May 4, 2017 - At the Design Forum, part of the "Design x Innovation" event held at CHINAPLAS 2017, designers will take center stage. The Design Forum will enable a deeper discussion about designing for smarter living. The prototypes developed under the TRIO co-creation project are a collaboration between top designers and brand owners, facilitated by BASF and using its advanced materials.The three-day Design Forum will walk visitors through the complex process of design, from inspiration to discovery and product development:Day 1 will cover the importance of material, technology, evolving regulations and challenges in inspiring innovative ideas. Speakers will delve into the various triggering factors for innovation, such as frustration over original ideas or current product solutions.Day 2 will delve into the same topics with a shift of focus to testing out ideas.Day 3 will highlight the process of product development, which includes producing prototypes, before introducing them into the market."This year, we are particularly excited to present various prototypes jointly developed by top designers, brand owners and BASF. The collaboration has achieved synergies not only limited to prototype development, but also along the process. In the design stage, we bring the designer's imagination to life with our solutions. At the production stage, we can jointly develop further ideas for design and manufacture," said Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, Performance Materials Asia Pacific.The line-up for the Design Forum includes:Mr Fanson Meng, Department Design Director of Yang Design will speak on the topic of "Creative Automotive Interiors - Designing for the Future of Travel".Continuing the topic of sustainable mobility, Mr. Yang Wenqing, Co-founder and General Manager of LOE Design, will present the topic of "Shuttling Between Spaces - Solutions for Smarter Travel," alongside the showcase of the airless bike tire co-creation project.Mr Xie Lei, Vice President of Putao Technology, will speak on the topic of "Stop Disrupting, Start Engaging: The Brand Story," in line with the showcase of the unique children’s toy set co-creation project. The "Design x Innovation" event at CHINAPLAS 2017 will be held at Booth 11.2A41, China Import & Export Fair Complex, Pazhou, Guangzhou, China from May 16-19, 2017. Details are available at the "Design x Innovation" official event website www.ChinaplasOnline.com/DesignxInnovation ; and http://on.basf.com/Chinaplas2017

Ms. Kang 2017-05-12

LS Mtron upgrades hydraulic injection machine series

By: Stephen MooreSouth Korea’s LS Mtron was another injection machine builder at the recent Koplas show to present processing equipment in a new livery and with a new brand: the ONE. Like other recent offerings from Asia, the two-platen series features a retractable tie-bar and LS Mtron has also done away with the guide bars employed in previous machines as well. The machines will enter serial production in June this year, initially in tonnages of 900, 1300, and 1800 tonnes. “We plan to add four or five more machines to the series,” says Sung Chui Yoo, Principal Research Engineer at LS Mtron’s R&D Center. “These will include 500 and 3200 tonnes presses.” The series also features quick change barrels, servo-hydraulic pumps, and controllers from Keba. They can also handle larger molds. “Whereas before a 1300-tonne injection machine could support a tool weighing around 19 tonnes, the ONE series version can handle a tool weighing 32 tonnes,” says Sung. Machines in the ONE series use digital position sensors in place of analog ones for mold open-close capable of controlling movement to a precision of +0.2 mm. System pressure has also been boosted to 210 bar from the previous 180 bar, resulting in a 30% dry cycle time saving for the 1300-tonne press, which dry cycles at 4.4 s. The One series machines will be marketed as LS Mtron’s high-performance series of hydraulic machines. The existing WIZ series will continue to be offered. https://www.plasticstoday.com/injection-molding/ls-mtron-upgrades-hydraulic-injection-machine-series/37964383556544

Ms. Kang 2017-04-07

Hexcel to exhibit latest composite innovations at JEC World 2017

6th March 2017Hexcel will promote a number of composite innovations for aerospace, wind energy, automotive and recreation industries at the upcoming JEC World exhibition that will take place from 14-16 March in Paris, France.Among the aerospace displays will be an Airbus A320neo fan cowl for the LEAP-1A engine manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space using Hexcel HexPly 8552/AS4 slit tape prepreg, HexFlowresin and HexForce woven carbon reinforcements.Hexcel is a supplier of composite materials for the A320neo airframe and for both engine options, supplying carbon prepreg and engineered core components for the Pure Power PW1100G-JM engine. For the LEAP-1A engine by CFM International, Hexcel supplies HexTow IM7 carbon fibre for all the fan blades and containment cases, in addition to HexPly carbon prepreg for the nacelles and engineered core for the inner trans cowl.http://www.innovationintextiles.com/hexcel-to-exhibit-latest-composite-innovations-at-jec-world-2017/

강민정 2017-03-15

5 Tips From Chinaplas Veterans

Tel: Fax:E-mail: Website:WhatsApp:(852) 2811 8897 (Hong Kong)(65) 62357996 (Singapore) (852) 2516 5024 Chinaplas.PR@adsale.com.hk www.ChinaplasOnline.com(852) 96025262 Copyright 2017 www.ChinaplasOnline.com. All rights reserved by Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.

강민정 2017-03-14

CHINAPLAS 2017 to inspire smart manufacturing through Industry 4.0 Conference

강민정 2017-02-28

Solvay to showcase lightweighting composite solutions at JEC World 2017

Solvay will present its technologically advanced lightweighting material solutions for the manufacture of cost-efficient and high-performance structures for aerospace, automotive, mass transportation, oil and gas, and other industrial end-use applications at the JEC World, which will be held in Paris, from 14-16 May.The company will exhibit an integrated offering including thermoset and thermoplastic composites, structural foams, adhesives and surfacing, composite matrix films, impact modifiers, tooling, and vacuum bagging consumables. New advances in Solvay’s polymer and composites chemistry aim to provide opportunities to accelerate the development of cost-effective lightweight solutions, especially in aerospace and automotive industries. The aim of these materials, designed to replace metal and solid plastic structures, is to increase manufacturing efficiencies and reduce fuel consumption, thereby CO2 emissions, the company reports.On displayThe company’s portfolio includes flexible CFRP blanks for high volume automotive body panel closures such as bonnets, wings and doors.TegraCore PPSU foams are used as a structural foam core for lightweight sandwich assemblies in insulative and structural components for aircraft cabin and cargo interiors that require superior resistance to damage. The company’s liquid resin infusion technology is targeting aerospace primary structure applications such as wing boxes.Finally, Ajedium high-performance films and laminates manufactured from a variety of engineering, aromatic and fluorine-based polymers will be on display. These lightweight and durable films may be mono- or multi-layer structures and meet stringent industry requirements regarding low permeability to water, as well as fire and burn-through resistance.JEC Innovation AwardSolvay has reinforced its leadership position through the alignment of its materials to the fast-rising trend of additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing). The company’s capabilities have been acknowledged by a JEC Innovation Award in the Software category.e-Xstream engineering, an MSC Software Company, and co-winner Solvay launched Digimat Additive Manufacturing, which has been recognised for its innovation and high market potential. Solvay’s expanding 3D printing materials competencies are part of the company’s global leadership in advanced lightweighting solutions utilised mostly in transport at present to replace metals. These advanced solutions are said to help reduce the weight of cars and planes and therefore CO2 emissions, and allow for more design flexibility thereby lowering waste.PresentationDuring the JEC World conference programme, further insights into Solvay’s recent developments in thermoplastic composites will be shared by Marc Doyle, Senior Vice President Research & Innovation for Solvay Composite Materials.On 14 March, Doyle opens the morning session dedicated to Thermoplastics – Multimaterial Solutions and will highlight how thermoplastic composites can address current and future needs in material selection and processing.www.solvayspecialtypolymers.com

강민정 2017-02-28