NEWS


VDMA: machinery sales expanded by 4% in 2023


Sales of German plastics and rubber machinery exceeded €12 billion (US$13bn) in 2023, an increase of around 4%. VDMA, the trade body


that represents manufactur- ers, also noted that exports rose by 7%. However, it added that incoming orders have fallen by around 22%. “After having to cope with a price-adjusted decline of 13% in 2022, we recorded 22% fewer orders on the books last year, after adjusting for price changes,” said Thorsten Kühmann, managing director of the association. “As a result, many companies were forced to introduce reduced working hours.”


€1 billion (US$1.1bn), while sales of flexographic printing machines for film grew nearly 17% to €430 million (US$461m). The main changes in


Kühmann: “Many companies have been forced to introduce reduced working hours”


Within the overall sales


figures, sales of moulds and dies were healthy, rising more than 6% in 2023 to exceed €2 billion (US$2.1bn). Resin and parts handling machinery rose 3% to top


exports included a 49% increase in sales to Mexico (to €238m) and a 40% dip in sales to India (reaching €158m). Other key figures included: 86% capacity utilisation (down from 93% the previous year); no change in imports – which remained steady at around €1.47 bn; a 3% dip in the size of the domestic market, to around €4.1bn; and a 1% dip in workforce, taking it below 31,000. � https://www.vdma.org/ plastics-rubber-machinery


North America machine sales fall in first quarter


Sales of plastics machinery in North America fell in the first quarter of this year. The Plastics Industry


Association’s estimates Q1 sales of nearly US$262 million – around 25% down compared to both the preceding quarter and the same period in 2023. Injection moulding sales


were down one-third compared to Q4 and down nearly 25% year-on-year. By comparison, single-screw extrusion machines saw sales halve since the previous quarter and fall


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23% year-on-year. Twin- screw extruder sales fell 7% compared to Q4, and 17% year-on-year.


“It is common to see lower shipments in the first quarter of each year,” said Perc Pineda, chief econo- mist at the association. “Accounting for such seasonality, shipments decreased by 8.5% quarter- over-quarter.” The latest quarterly survey shows nearly 75% of participants anticipate steady or improved market conditions over the next 12


INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2024


months. At the same time, nearly half (49%) expect an increase in quoting activity – compared to 17% of participants in the previous survey.


In Q1 2024, US exports of plastics equipment fell more than 7%, while imports grew 7% from the previous quarter. Mexico and Canada remained the top export markets, together account- ing for US$191m in exports – just under 48% of total US plastics machinery exports globally. � www.plasticsindustry.org


Thai bank helps fund PLA plant


NatureWorks has secured funding of US$350 million from a major bank in Thailand, for the PLA manufacturing plant that it plans to build in the country. The funding from Krungthai Bank will support the construction of the plant and its ongoing operations. “The funding will enable


us to expand our interna- tional customer access to fully biobased, low-carbon biomaterials,” said Erik Ripple, president and CEO of NatureWorks. The new facility is designed to be a fully integrated PLA complex, including production sites for lactic acid, lactide and polymer. It will produce the company’s full portfo- lio of Ingeo PLA grades, with an annual capacity of 75,000 tonnes. Suratun Kongton, chief wholesale banking officer of Krungthai Bank, added: “We’ve provided this financing because Nature- Works is a leader in manufacturing biomateri- als, and meets the require- ments to drive our country’s BCG [Bio-Circular-Green] model forward.”


Biopolymers made at this site will be made from sugarcane sourced from farms within a 50km radius of the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex. It is sched- uled to reach full produc- tion in 2025. � www.natureworksllc.com


www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: MESSE DÜSSELDORF/TILLMANN


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