NPE REVIEW | NEWS NPE 2018 draws 56,000 visitors
More than 56,000 visitors from 19,000 different companies attended NPE 2018, North America’s biggest plastics trade show that took place in Orlando, Florida, last month. The figure was 1.7% of the previous NPE in 2015 and a record for the third NPE show event at the Florida location, according to organiser The Plastics Industry Association (it had previously set a target of 65,000 but said external analysis showed 2015 attendance had
inadvertently been overstated). The show also set exhibitor records, with 2,174 exhibitor companies taking some 111,000m2
of floor space. NPE
2018 undoubtedly benefited from the strength of the US economy, with demand for floor space outstripping availability. “We sold out our exhibit floor nearly 14 months in advance of the show and worked diligently to accommodate the companies who were unable to secure space during our Space Draw,” said Plastics Industry
NPE 2018 brought the plastics industry to Orlando in numbers
Association President and CEO William R Carteaux. The organisers had opened up additional areas within the Orange County Convention Centre to create more exhibition space and some of those lacked footfall during the week. However, most exhibitors reported high, and in some cases record, levels of visitors. Over the next 12 pages, we take a look at some of the key business and technology news to emerge from the show.
Albis resumes manufacturing in the US
With its plant at Duncan in South Carolina now opera- tional and producing Altech and Altech Eco recycled compounds, Albis was exhibiting at NPE as a US-based manufacturer once again (while having a US presence for around 50 years it has not compound- ed there since 2004). “We had long had a wish to get back into manufactur- ing so we could end the toll compounding and stop importing material from Germany,” said Ian Mills, Chief Sales Officer with responsibility for com- pounding across Albis. “We
www.compoundingworld.com
have already seen some business wins because we are manufacturing here.” The Duncan operation
has grown out of the company’s Barnet Polymers recycling joint venture, established in 2016 and 100% Albis-owned since October 2017. The company has invested in two produc- tion lines and a lab line at the facility and will be in full three-shift operation by July. The Albis product slate and the US production unit’s South Carolina location mean it is focused on automotive, but Mills said that it is already drawing
other interest. “Automotive is a strong business for us and I don’t see that chang- ing because it is growing. But we are capturing interest from other sectors – E&E and
power tools,” he said. In part, at least, that is due
Albis CSO John Mills: has seen business wins
to the recycling expertise developed by Barnet. “A lot of what we do is the ECO products. The feedstock quality we have is high – we know the source so we can be quite confident.” The Albis business in the US is currently worth around £50m in turnover terms and the aim is to double that within a five-year timescale. “When we built the new facility we did it with expansion in mind. We have the space to do that,” Mills said. �
www.albis.com
June 2018 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 21
PHOTO: ALBIS
PHOTO: PLASTICS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
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