NEWS Poor year for Italian machinery


Trade data for the first three quarters of 2019, generated by the Italian National Statistical Institute and analysed by the sector trade association Amaplast, indicates a negative year-end result for the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery industry. Amaplast attributes the


poor result to “many issues and unknowns characterising the current world economic climate, compounded by the announced, but as yet poorly defined, legislative and fiscal measures aiming at reducing the use of plastics”. Both exports and imports


Italian market for plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and moulds (Forecast Δ% 2019/2018)


Production Exports Imports


Domestic market Trade balance


Source: Amaplast


were down on the same period in 2018. The former fell by 8.5% to €2.16bn; the latter 13.1% down to €645m. The trade balance fell by 6% but remains positive at €1.5bn, according to the association. “I note a certain amount


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of concern deriving from the less than encouraging prospects for both the domestic and foreign markets,” said Amaplast president Dario Previero. “However, we must not overlook the fact that this slump – whose first signs were seen in the year-end results for 2018 – comes after a long period of growth. With the sole exception of 2013, we have witnessed seven years with a plus sign.” Germany remains the top


export market, though sales there were 19.9% down at €270m and its share of the total fell from 14.3% to


Grupa Azoty starts 50ktpa PA compounding facility


Grupa Azoty has started up a 50,000 tonnes/yr PA compounding operation at its plant at Tarnów in Poland. It has invested PLN100m (€24m) in the project, which has been supported by German compounder Akro-Plastic. Grupa Azoty is a leading


European producer of PA6 with an annual capacity of


around 170,000 tonnes. According to Dr Wojciech


Wardacki, President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty, the investment continues the company’s strategy of moving to higher value products. “We have been


consistently implementing the strategy of extending the product chain and ensuring


the highest quality at every stage, from caprolactam produced in Tarnów and Puławy, converted to polyamide 6 in the full viscosity range in Tarnów and Guben in Germany, to various advanced modified materials with the addition of glass or carbon fibres,” he said. � www.grupaazoty.com


12.5%. Most other European export markets were also weak. However, Italy’s second biggest market, the US, bucked the trend with sales 15.0% up to €224m, taking its share of the total to 10.4%. Some of the sharpest declines were in Turkey (-30%), Austria (-28%) and Switzerland (-24%). South Korea also saw a decline (-31%). However, positive growth was seen in other Asian markets, notably Thailand (+24%), Indonesia (+39%), China (+14%) and Japan (+33%). � www.amaplast.org


Parx wins Pepsico


Anitmicrobial polymer producer Parx Plastics said it has signed a Master Service Agreement with PepsiCo to develop a system to provide high level microbiological reduction in high performance plastics. It said the companies have been working together since 2016. � www.parxmaterials.com


Asahi Kasei targets auto “Big Three” in US


Asahi Kasei America has opened an office in Novi, Michigan, US, as part of an effort to strengthen its presence in the North American automotive market. It supplies compounds, battery


separator materials and electronic components to the industry in the region, which is still a major base for the ‘Big Three’ automotive makers.


14 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2020


“This new office will give us a place to connect and collaborate with our different automotive businesses in North America, OEMs and Tier Ones”, said John W Moyer, Senior Executive Officer of Asahi Kasei Corp and Chief Strategic Officer of Asahi Kasei America. � www.asahi-kasei.co.jp


www.compoundingworld.com


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