In the latest issue of International Plastics News for Asia, we got some excellent insights from industry experts on what would be the trends in the plastics industry for 2016 and beyond, and what factors would affect their operations in the coming years.
Here are some of their forecasts:
Two trends are currently in evidence among plastics processing companies: On the one hand, the complexity of systems is increasing through the integration of functions in the mold and/or downstream processing steps in automated production cells. There is rising market demand e. g. for components with pleasant tactile qualities, with joints, or with insulating properties. The wide variety of these additional functions is matched by the options for integrating them. The know-how of experts is in ever greater demand when it comes to finding efficient, value-adding solutions. Thus, the customers want a partner who provides them with comprehensive advice and support on the way to new products and innovations. For this reason, Arburg offers individually matched turnkey systems and provides advice throughout the entire value-added chain. On the other hand, customers are seeking flexible solutions owing to ever faster product changes, increasing variant diversity and, consequently, ever smaller unit volumes per order, down to one-off parts. These requirements can be met, for example, by combining injection molding, additive manufacturing and "Industry 4.0" technologies to individualise large-volume products in order to create single-unit batches in a cost-effective manner using an automated, digitally networked cyberphysical production system. The internet has reached plastic processing. - Mr. Heinz Gaub, Managing Director Technology & Engineering, ARBURG GmbH + Co KG
As global economic uncertainties continue, capital investment will be impacted. Davis-Standard will continue to focus on offering high quality products that provide a rapid return on investment. We will also focus on the excellent opportunities for upgrading existing lines and providing 24/7 aftermarket services. Specific to Asia, we anticipate the food packaging market to continue to grow by 10 to 15 percent. Our line of dsX™ products are doing very well in the marketplace due to their exceptional value, high performance and fast delivery, and we expect this to continue. Examples of this include our dsX s-tretch™, dsX flex-pack™ and dsX flex-film™ lines. The dsX s-tretch™ cast film line is the first in-line pre-stretch machine to provide exceptionally strong, thin film that can be run at higher speeds. It can produce three-, five- or seven-layer conventional or pre-stretched films with greater efficiency and consistency. The dsX flex-pack is engineered for cost-sensitive flexible packaging applications where fast and reliable production is essential. It features an adaptable machine configuration to support converters, printing companies, multinational companies and start-ups. - Mr. James Murphy, President & CEO, Davis-Standard LLC
Quality standards in the plastic manufacturing and processing industry will further rise in 2016 and accordingly this high standard creates the need to inspect and analyse the plastic material before it enters the production process and the final product. Contamination, colour anomalies and inhomogeneities have to be detected reliably. This trend of achieving excellence in end-product quality has pushed SIKORA to develop solutions to meet the diverse and strict requirement of compounds, masterbatch, and recycling industries SIKORA offers an innovative portfolio of systems for inspection, analysis and sorting of plastic material. The SIKORA systems contribute to increase quality, optimize processes and reduce costs during the manufacturing and processing of plastic materials. For 2016, SIKORA will put great emphasis on technological solutions for inspection, analysis and sorting of plastic material. One highlight in 2016 will be the Purity Scanner, a system for 100% online inspection and automatic sorting of plastic material. Equipped with X-ray technology and an optical inspection system the Purity Scanner detects contamination down to a size of 50μm inside and on the plastic pellet. Contaminated pellets are sorted out. We see a general trend towards increased quality of plastic materials all over Asia. From discussions with customers, we notice that greater focus is placed on process optimisation, increased productivity and cost saving. The aim of plastic producers and processors in Asia is to remain competitive in the global market. - Mr. Wanbin Chen, President - SIKORA Asia
Read the full Outlook 2016 Report and learn valuable insights from industry experts.
