| Hot Topics
PackTheFuture Award 2023: These are the winners!
56 entries, 10 winners, 1 special prize and 1 honourable mention - that's the positive balance of the PackTheFuture Award 2023. The results were announced at the award ceremony at interpack in Düsseldorf. The award honours innovative and sustainable packaging solutions made of plastic.
Automated Lab: Robots optimise adhesive development
Robots already take over a large number of monotonous, repetitive tasks today – freeing up time and resources for creative and more exciting tasks. Henkel is also automating work steps in its new Inspiration Center Düsseldorf (ICD). In a data-driven laboratory, new adhesive formulations are automatically prepared and tested around the clock.
Parcel logistics: the future belongs to reusable plastic boxes
Cardboard dominates parcel logistics. Shrinkage and return transport costs have so far been too big hurdles for reusable containers made of plastic, even though there is a lot to be said for them in terms of sustainability. BOOXit overcomes these hurdles – and adds one on top: the reusable system is not only sustainable, but also robot-compatible.
| Industry Voices
Walmir Soller
CEO Braskem Netherlands BV & Vice President Olefins/Polyolefins Europe and Asia
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| Young Professionals
The future of plastics: JKU Linz trains the plastics engineers of tomorrow
Plastics must be newly thought and designed - that is the credo at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. From autumn 2023, courses on plastics technology will be offered here. Plastics don't just play a supporting role there, they are the star of the show. Because they are a key factor for both the present and the future.
A true all-rounder: with two apprenticeships to become a turnkey expert
Oliver Fuss has completed not one, but two apprenticeships at Arburg: first an apprenticeship as a mechatronics technician and then as a process mechanic for plastics and rubber technology. Now he works in the turnkey division, where fully automated manufacturing cells are designed and built.
Digitization, automation, networking: "We have the whole wide bandwidth!"
Twenty-year-old Yannick Herzog trained as an electronics technician for automation technology at Arburg and now works in the company's printed circuit board production. Since August 2021, he has been responsible for SPI and AOI for quality control of printed and assembled PCBs, respectively, in a production line. These are used in the control systems of the Arburg machines.
| Industry News
Borealis launches portfolio of circular plastomers and elastomers based on renewable feedstock
Borealis introduces the Bornewables™ line of Queo™, a range of plastomers and elastomers based on renewable feedstock. The introduction follows the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) of Borealis' production site for the Queo™ portfolio, in Geleen, the Netherlands.
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Faster mould set-up – more efficient production
ENGEL helps injection moulding processors optimize product changeover times through customized training and technologies such as the Setup wizard to achieve higher productivity, lower unit costs and more profit.
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LAPP uses new bio-based plastic from BASF – Organic ETHERLINE® now available too
The company LAPP is using a new bio-based plastic from BASF for the sustainable version of its ETHERLINE® FD P Cat.5e for Industrial Ethernet. The bio-based plastic is Elastollan® N, the thermoplastic polyurethane from BASF, which is part of its circular economy strategy.
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Covestro expands its range of more sustainable polycarbonates
Covestro AG offers a polycarbonate with a 90 percent recycled content of plastic from post-consumer waste (PCR) that can be used in consumer electronics, among other applications. The company is collaborating with Jabra on the Evolve2 headset and making progress on climate-neutral solutions through mass balancing.
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High-performance additives for sustainable plastics: Evonik invests in Interface Polymers
Evonik Industries AG has invested in the British company Interface Polymers Ltd. This investment from the Sustainability Tech Fund strengthens Evonik's position in sustainable products and recycling processes. Interface Polymers' technology enables easier processing and recycling of plastics.
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BluCon Biotech welcomes strategic investment by major chemical group LG Chem
The two companies BluCon Biotech GmbH and LG Chem Ltd entered into an investment agreement. Together, they plan to work on a novel process to convert lignocellulosic non-food raw materials into high-purity lactic acid.
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Project STOP marks major milestones and expands waste collection services to over 300,000 people
Project STOP, co-funded by Borealis and Systemiq, has created positive social and environmental impact in three cities in Indonesia, including the launch of the scale-up programme Project STOP Banyuwangi Hijau from Muncar into the Banyuwangi Region.
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Covestro expands production capacity for polycarbonate films in Thailand
The company Covestro plans to further increase its global production capacity for polycarbonate (PC) specialty films by starting to build new extrusion lines at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Park in Thailand. The completion is planned by 2025 and the investment is in the higher double-digit million euro range.
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Additive manufacturing is pioneering for Röchling Industrial
Röchling Industrial integrated the Röchling Direct Manufacturing Center from Waldachtal into the Röchling Industrial Laupheim at the Burgrieden site. The international plastics processor takes an important step in the industrialization of its 3D printing competencies and continues to focus on additive manufacturing.
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First PET Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling Line in Kenya
Megh Group company T3 (EPZ) Limited is going to install the first PET recycling system for bottle-grade rPET and resin in Kenya and Eastern Africa, a Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ recycling line, in Athi River just outside Nairobi.
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LANXESS software calculates carbon footprint for Group's own products
With the "Product Carbon Footprint Engine" developed by LANXESS, the CO2 footprint can be calculated automatically for the Group's products. With this innovation, the speciality chemicals company aims to help its customers achieve their sustainability goals.
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LyondellBasell and KIRKBI invest in APK to develop recycling technology
The two companies LyondellBasell and KIRKBI signed an agreement to make an investment in the company APK. APK has developed the unique solvent-based Newcycling® process, which separates the different polymers of multi-layer packaging materials and produces recycled materials with a high degree of purity suitable for new packaging materials.
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Covestro to build its largest TPU site in China
The company Covestro will build its largest Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPU) site in Zhuhai, China. The TPU site will be built in three phases. The first phase will be completed in late 2025 and the final phase in 2033.
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Borealis Borcycle™ C chemical recycling provides circular solutions for crosslinked polyethylene for the Wire & Cable and Infrastructure sectors
The company Borealis is using its Borcycle™ C chemical recycling process to recycle crosslinked polyethylene (PE) types into recycled polyethylene. The EverMinds™ approach provides innovative and viable solutions to recycling challenges in the Wire & Cable and Infrastructure industries.
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From the sea into the tunnel: KraussMaffei customer Oldroyd uses 100% sea plastics for its products
What do a tunnel and hiking boot have in common? Both have a membrane that prevents the ingress of rain. In the case of the tunnel, the Norwegian company Oldroyd is an expert for the membrane and its injection-molded fixing product. It uses CX machines from KraussMaffei and 100% sea plastics.
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Neste, Uponor, Wastewise Group and Borealis enable chemical recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic waste into new high-quality plastic pipes
Neste, Uponor, Wastewise and Borealis have successfully produced pipes made of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) which was based on feedstock gained from chemically recycled post-industrial waste plastic from PEX pipe production, using an ISCC PLUS certified mass-balancing approach. The partner companies believe this project is among the first implementations of chemical recycling of PEX.
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Covestro: New ultra-durable material solution for healthcare and life sciences
Both healthcare and life sciences applications – ranging from drug delivery devices, wellness and wearable devices, to single-use containers for biopharmaceutical manufacturing – all have one thing in common. They must be tough and durable and able to withstand everyday use while maintaining their structural integrity.
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LANXESS and TotalEnergies to cooperate on sustainable styrene
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS and French energy group TotalEnergies have entered into a cooperation on the supply of biocircular styrene. Unlike conventional styrene, the raw material used by TotalEnergies is based on tall oil, which is derived from a tree resin and is a by-product of pulp production.
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