K Trade Show

The world's largest plastics show will tackle one of plastics largest contributions to the world: mobility. "Plastics move the world" has been announced as the theme for K2013 to be held from Oct. 16-23, 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Flexible plastics packaging powerhouse Bemis Company Inc. has acquired Mayor Packaging, a privately-owned converter of consumer and specialty flexible packaging. Mayor is based in Hong Kong but in 2008 it shifted its film conversion processing to a new purpose-built facility in Dongguan, China. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The most recent sales results reported at Mayor's website are for 2008 when the processor's revenue exceeded (U.S.) $40 million.

Plastics processor APPE is the first to install one of the ProShape stretch blow molding systems developed and marketed by beverage packaging machinery specialist Krones. ProShape is a module for alignment and responsive temperature control for out-of-the-ordinary performs, added to the established heating and stretch blowmolding technology of the manufacturer's Contiform series, to ensure even these oddball preforms are appropriately pre-conditioned.

The global beauty care brand owner has bought a mold and installed it at Dutch processor Plasticum, which is using the tool to supply L'Oréal with bi-material injection molded plastic tubes that beat extruded ones for design and novelty.

Every year the German plastics machinery manufacturing landscape is enlivened by a few open houses where a processor can get his fill of new machinery technology as well as the fresh bread and pretzels, bratwurst and good beer for which the country also is well known.

This May, Rapid Granulator is exhibiting at three shows, one each in Brazil, China, and Poland, which makes clear the company is keen to continue the expansion of its global customer base. Bengt Rimark, the granulator manufacturer's director of sales and marketing, said the company (Brebaryd, Sweden) has bounced back strongly in the past 18 months after hitting a low-note and being forced to reorganize in 2009.

In the months since the closing of the K Show in Germany, the resin reclamation sector of the plastics market has shown significant movement and progress, reports John Farney, global sales manager-size reduction at the ACS Group, which makes the Cumberland-brand range of plastics granulators. "For all polymers, the expansion, growth, and enhancement of the processing capabilities of both our existing clients, and emerging/first time clients, has been exciting and promising," he said in comments to PlasticsToday.

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The carmaker plans to collaborate with RockTron to use that company's technology to recycle coal-fired power station waste into glass spheres that can be used to fill plastic compounds. The fillers have the potential to replace talc or established glass sphere fillers, and in the process lower a compound's density as well as improve its scratch resistance.

Toymaker Playmobil has padded its injection molding arsenal with 30 new machines from manufacturer Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. The order actually was made during the K show in Düsseldorf, Germany, which ended early last month.