news
Strong Q1 for Italian machinery makers
Amaplast, the Italian trade association of 160 manufactur- ers of plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds, has published data showing trade remained strong in Q1 2017. The association (formerly
known as Assocomaplast) said exports were up 16.3% on Q1 2016, while imports were up 15.3%. Italian machinery makers export more than 70% of their production, with a value amounting to more than €4.2bn in 2016. Exports increased signifi-
cantly for almost all machinery categories, with growth strong in most regions. Europe – led by Germany, Spain and Romania – was up nearly 20% to €455m. Sales to Central and South
America were up 53% at €47m, with Brazil particularly strong. Asia and North America showed less pro- nounced growth at around 4%, according to the association. “We do not expect exports
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2016 2017 news in brief Europe Asia/Oceania NAFTA South America Africa
Italian exports of plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and moulds by region, Q1 2016 v Q1 2017 (€ millions) Source: Amaplast
to maintain double-digit growth all the way to the end of the year,” said association President Alessandro Grassi in a statement, “but neverthe- less, this is certainly a very important signal confirming ongoing growth in the sector, supported by the positive trend in the domestic market, as recorded in previous months.” l Amaplast also said that, as of 30 June 2017, more than
1,000 companies had con- firmed their participation in the Plast 2018 exhibition, which will take place at Fiera Milano in Milan, Italy, from 29 May to 1 June 2018. The association said that
more than 90% of the available space has been reserved, with a 34% increase in non-Italian participation over the last edition of the show in 2015. ❙
www.amaplast.org
China XD moves ahead on $614m investment
China XD Plastics has taken another step towards realisa- tion of its previously an- nounced $614m bio-based and ETP compounds investment project at Harbin in China with the signing of investment agreements between its Heilongjiang Xinda subsidiary and the Harbin Economic- Technological Development Zone.
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The investment project includes construction of a 300,000 tonnes/yr facility for bio-based composite materi- als, upgrading of its existing 100,000 tonnes/yr engineering plastics compounding capacity to 120,000 tonnes, and the creation of an intelligent manufacturing demonstration factory for 3D printing with 10,000 tonnes/year capacity for
COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2017
additive manufacturing materials.
The China XD Plastics board had initially announced the investment project in Decem- ber 2016. The company said all will be completed by July 2019, with the upgrade of the engineering plastics capacity expected to be in operation by the end of June 2018. ❙
www.chinaxd.net
❙ Lanxess has developed a new flame retardant glass reinforced PBT/ASA blend – Pocan AF4130 – in collabo- ration with Hella for produc- tion of battery management unit (BMU) housings for electric vehicles. The 30% glass fibre reinforced compound is formulated to provide low warp and shrinkage performance. It is already in commercial use in an unnamed German compact car, according to Lanxess.
www.lanxess.com
❙ Repsol has announced a specialised distribution network for its recently launched Repsol Healthcare portfolio, which comprises 28 grades of PP, PE and EVA copolymers for pharma pack- aging and medical device applications. They include: Arcoplex in Italy, Quimidroga in the Iberian Peninsula, Velox in the rest of Europe plus Turkey and Israel, and Snetor for Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and South Africa.
www.chemicals.repsol.com
❙ US-based A Schulman is to appoint an executive search firm to find a successor to its current Chairman, President and CEO Joseph Gingo. As widely expected, 72-year old Gingo has confirmed he will retire at the end of his two-year contract in August 2018. He had been CEO from 2008 to 2014, returning to the company in 2016 after it saw a downturn in its perfor- mance.
www.aschulman.com
www.compoundingworld.com
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