NEWS


Germany’s IK hits out at European Plastics Pact


Germany’s packaging association Industrievereini- gung Kunststoffverpackun- gen (IK) has responded critically to the European Plastics Pact — a partnership of public and private organisations initiated by France, the Netherlands and Denmark — that has pub- lished tough new targets for plastic packaging and disposable plastic recycling up to 2025. The IK said the pact was


“pure actionism, raising false expectations and thus doing more harm than good to the recycling industry”, adding that it “remains disappoint- ingly vague on the real levers”. What is needed, it argues, is not more targets but better design of the framework conditions to ensure that existing ones can be met.


Dr Isabell Schmidt, IK’s


IK Managing Director Dr Isabell Schmidt says pact targets are “pure actionism”


Managing Director for Circular Economy, said: “The EU has already set concrete goals in its plastics strategy, the Circular Plastics Alliance is pursuing them with courage, and in Germany the sharp rise in recycling quotas under the new packaging law is already demanding a joint effort along the value chain.” Even the best recyclabil-


ity, she said, is of no use if authorities do not ensure that plastic waste is col- lected separately and sent for recycling. IK said that enforcing EU-wide landfill restrictions and extending deposit systems for drinks bottles throughout Europe is vital, but added that the Plastics Pact is “surprisingly soft on these points”. IK also said the Plastics


Pact’s target of 30% of plastic packaging consisting of recycled materials by 2025 is unrealistic given that regulation effectively prevents this in the food sector, which is the main packaging consumer. It also criticised the target 20% reduction in plastics by 2025. That often “means substitut- ing them with non-recyclable paper-plastic composites or glass”, she said. � http://kunststoffverpackungen.de


Sales fall at German processors


Total sales by German plastics processors fell by 1.2% to €65.1bn in 2019, according to GKV, the organisation that repre- sents processors. The year was marked on the one hand by the emotional debate about plastics and their effects on people and the environment, said GKV. On the other hand, difficulties in key markets, including the automotive and mechanical engi- neering sectors had a negative impact. GKV said approximate- ly 14.6m tonnes of plastics were processed in Germany last year. However, the number of employees remained at a high level at processor companies, at around 336,000 people. � www.gkv.de


Haitian total revenues declined in 2019


Injection moulding machinery group Haitian International Holdings pub- lished results for 2019 which showed an overall decline. It claimed to have achieved some successes despite this being the most difficult year for the


global economy since the financial crisis of 2008. Total revenues fell by 9.6% on 2018 to RMB 9.810bn, while the total number of machines deliv- ered to customers was just over 32,000, 6.5% lower. There was better


news in the South-East Asian market, where sales were 2.9% up to RMB 3.448bn and the overall share of exports in sales continued to increase, in line with corporate strategy. � www.haitianinter.com


Ruf takes over at KraussMaffei


Michael Ruf (left) became CEO of the KraussMaffei Group as of 1 April, follow- ing the resignation of Frank Stieler. Ruf had hitherto been COO of the group; Stieler had been CEO since


10 INJECTION WORLD | April 2020


July 2015 and of the holding company since May 2019. “Under the leadership of


Dr Ruf, the company will streamline its organisation,” it was stated. His appoint- ment “allows further


rationalisation to deal with the challenges from the current complicated and volatile economic situation and the impact from the Corona crisis”. � www.kraussmaffei.com


www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: INDUSTRIEVEREINIGUNG KUNSTSTOFFVERPACKUNGEN


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