NEWS
Simona interim sales and profits increase
German plastics extruder Simona – whose products include plastic sheet – saw sales and profits increase in the first half of the year. The company reported
sales revenues of nearly €260 million (US$307m), an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year. It put this down to a general recovery in the global economy – and enjoyed a particularly strong second quarter (sales up 51% to €138m, or US$163m). Profitability (EBIT) for the
first half of the year rose by more than 80%, to €27m (US$32m).
“Buoyant global demand for plastics led to a consid- erable increase in the cost of raw materials, which we were able to offset to some
Turkey, which is active in digital printing and construc- tion applications. Overall, sales in Europe
Schönberg: “Simona products in high demand in construc- tion, chemical plants and semiconductor factories”
extent by raising prices,” said the company. Another reason for the
increased sales was the inclusion of revenue from newly acquired businesses such as Simona Plastech in
rose by almost 34% to reach €175m (US$207m). In North America, sales rose by around 18% to €66m (US$78m), while Asia saw a 50% increase in sales to around €19m (US$22m). “Our products are in high demand within construction and are also used in the expansion of chemical plants and semiconductor factories,” according to Matthias Schönberg, CEO of Simona.
Based on these results, Simona has raised its revenue guidance for the year as a whole to €495-505 million (US$585-597m). �
www.simona.de
VDMA’s growth in China
VDMA, which represents Germany machinery manufacturers, says that its members are expanding their workforces in China. The results were
revealed in VDMA’s latest personnel and salary survey.
Most responding
companies said they had recovered well from the 2019 crisis. As in earlier years, members with less than 8% turnover of senior staff performed better than participants in the German Chamber’s annual survey. While English has
improved, the biggest challenges remain the recruitment of qualified staff and rising labour costs. �
https://www.vdma.org/ plastics-rubber-machinery
Hospital surfaces kept pathogen-free
A project carried out at a Swiss hospital has shown that anti-microbial adhesive film helped to reduce the level of pathogens on surfaces. The study, at University Hospital Basel, looked at how effectively a coated plastic adhesive film from Hexis – using additives from Sanitized – acted against pathogens that can cause hospital-acquired infections. The film was applied to
frequently touched surfaces – such as overbed tables and toilet seats. Half the surface was left exposed as a ‘control’. Over several
10
months, normal cleaning routines were carried out. Swabs were taken from the treated and untreated surfaces twice a week from a
25 cm² area and examined for microorganisms. The treated film led to a
reduction in total viable count of more than 98%
Above: Anti-microbial adhesive film helped reduce pathogen levels at a Swiss hospital
FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | September 2021
across all surface types. “Antimicrobial-treated surfaces can prevent the spread of multidrug-resist- ant pathogens in hospitals,” said Andreas Widmer, who led the study. “Even daily disinfection of surfaces cannot prevent recontamination within a few hours – but antimicrobi- al-treated surfaces can close this gap.” The results were pub- lished in a recent edition of the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control. �
www.sanitized.com �
www.hexisgroup.com
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: SANITIZED
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