NEWS US machine shipments down 16%


US primary plastics machin- ery shipments in the final quarter of 2019 totalled $316m, up on the previous quarter but down by 16% on the same period in 2018, according to data from the Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES). CES has not published


full-year figures, but compiling previously published quarterly release numbers shows that shipments for the whole of 2019 were about 16% down on 2018 at $1.18bn.


Vynova launches “bio” PVC


Vynova has launched a range of “bio-attributed” PVC resins. Available for both rigid and flexible applications, the new grades will be offered in a range of K-values and will be produced at its sites at Beek in the Netherlands and at Mazingarbe in France. The resins are manufac-


tured using renewable ethylene from second-gen- eration biomass feedstock from SABIC’s facility at Geleen in the Netherlands. The company said that this will reduce its fossil feedstock requirement and cut CO2 emissions by more than 90%. Vynova said the


materials carry ISCC Plus certification. � www.vynova-group.com


14 Shipments of twin screw


extruders declined by 7.7% in the final quarter of last year. Shipments of single screw extruders were also


down — by 0.9% — but injection machinery posted a 9.6% gain. The association’s Chief Economist Dr Perc Pineda


attributed the weaker figures to “uncertainties from trade and tariffs, and overall weaker manufactur- ing activity”. Both exports and imports of primary machinery also fell in Q4. He said that moderate


growth is expected for the coming year but, if recent positive developments on trade and tariffs translate into improved confidence and interest rates stay low “we could see better numbers for plastics machinery shipments”. � www.plasticsindustry.org


Clariant connects FAKRA colours


Clariant has announced a range of 14 new colour mas- terbatches formulated to meet the performance requirements of the new FAKRA high speed data connectors for automotive applications. FAKRA connectors will be


rolled out on new cars from 2021, according to the company. They provide 6 GHz of bandwidth to handle 5G cellular/data traffic for automotive monitoring, diagnostic, safety, performance,


navigation, and entertainment systems. The FAKRA standard details 14 standard plug/jack combinations, each


assigned with a colour and a coded mating configuration to prevent mis-connection. They will typically be moulded in PA66, PPA or PBT due to temperature requirements. Meeting the required


levels of performance for this application is a chal- lenge, according to Peter Dufour, Global Segment


Head and Business Devel- opment for Consumer Electronics, Electricals and Electronics at Clariant Masterbatches. “When mixed with natural


resin, these new masterbatches produce materials that not only meet FAKRA standards for colour, mechanical properties and melt flow, but also meet UL94 flammability resistance requirements without the use of halogens or SVHCs, either UL94 HB or V-0 rated.” � www.clariant.com


Smart investment for IKV


The Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University is to build the Plastics Innovation Centre 4.0 (PIC 4.0) on a 4,200 m2


site at Seffenter Weg in Aachen,


Germany. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia and


the European Regional Development Fund are funding the €19.5m project. PIC 4.0 is described as “a completely


COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2020


interconnected R&D environment”, which will enable IKV to carry out training in the digitisation of plastics processing. Its integrated research infrastructure will also provide a testing environment for future developments within RWTH Aachen’s Internet of Production ‘cluster of excellence’, it said. � www.ikv-aachen.de


www.compoundingworld.com


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