Chinaplas

Targeting the red-hot tablet market in the region of the world where most are currently made, Arburg showcased an injection molding technology at Chinaplas that can efficiently produce light-guide panels for TFT screens, despite the component's challenging geometry. Applied in everything from notebooks to iPads to LED screens, the light-guide panels are utilized to "guide light" through the screen so that it is even throughout.

An ABS resin employing a significant natural rubber component and originating from Thailand is making waves in the processing sector. Speaking to PlasticsToday at the recent Chinaplas show, supplier PTT Polymer Marketing (Bangkok) says overall up to 20% of the ABS resin is comprised of natural rubber, with the remaining 5% being synthetic rubber.

Only in China can GDP growth rates approaching 10% suggest a slowdown, but after its most recent peak in 2007, when the economy expanded by a blistering 14.7%, the Chinese economy proceeded to yo-yo over the next four years, falling to 9.6% in 2008 and 9.2% in 2009, before jerking upwards to 10.4% in 2010, and subsequently dipping once more to 8.7% growth in 2011.

Chinese labor costs continue to skyrocket so it came as no surprise to see machinery vendors aggressively promoting automation solutions at the recent Chinaplas.

Werner Wittmann, founder of the global auxiliary and automation supplier of the same name, was honored by the government of Lower Austria for his company's contributions to the province. Wittmann was presented with the Silver Commander's Cross by the governor of the province of Lower Austria, Erwin Pröll, at an award ceremony held in the assembly hall of the Lower Austrian Parliament House in St. Pölten.

An 85-machine order pushed Milacron China to its best first quarter ever, and in a bid to maintain that momentum, the company used Chinaplas 2012 to expand its range of Chinese-made all-electric injection molding machines. New to the stable is a 450-tonne model that is made in China and was injection molding an inmold-labeled 4.5-liter bucket at the company's stand. The company's Chinaplas booth also featured a 110-tonne all-electric machine running an optical lens.

Less than four years after opening the facility, Engel has doubled the size and capacity of its injection molding machine manufacturing plant near Shanghai. On Friday, April 20, the Schwertberg, Austria based supplier of injection molding and automation technology welcomed vendors and customers to an inauguration celebration, loading several buses at the Chinaplas 2012 event for the drive to its newly expanded facility in the Xinzhuang Industrial Park outside Shanghai.

One surefire way to cut cycle time in injection molding is to shorten or eliminate process steps. Working from that simple premise, Husky Injection Molding debuted a revolutionary closure technology at Chinaplas 2012 that eliminates mold open/close and the precious seconds that process eats up.

Not much is certain in the global economy these days, or the plastics sector for that matter, but one thing you take for granted: Chinaplas will keep growing. The 2012 event will set a new record in terms of scale, covering a total area of 210,000 sq m, up 10% from 2011's edition in Guangzhou. A big part of that growth: new exhibitors, with more than 400 first-time exhibitors setting up space Chinaplas 2012 in Shanghai.

Of the 2600 exhibitors at Chinaplas 2012, more than 800 will display machines and raw materials applied in the packaging industry, including Akei, Asano, DuPont, Husky, Quinko, King-plus, PTT, and Piovan, among others.