PLASTICS MACHINERY MARKET
Germany's VDMA and NPE organiser SPI stress importance of sustainability at US plastics fair / Collaboration on resource efficiency
At its press conference at the ongoing “NPE” plastics industry fair (www.npe.org), the German association for plastics and rubber machinery VDMA Kunststoff- und Gummimaschinen (KuG, Frankfurt; http://kug.vdma.org) stressed the importance of common values and the objective of sustainability. Held together with fair organiser SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association (Washington DC / USA; www.plasticsindustry.org), the event also reported the first results of the ISO standardisation for injection moulding machines.
Both VMDA and SPI used the event to underline the importance of cooperation, especially when it comes to standardisation. To simplify machinery deliveries, the two associations want to ensure the greatest possible alignment of technical requirements, especially with regard to safety. SPI chief executive Bill Carteaux and VDMA managing director Thorsten Kühmann had already emphasised their focus on safety in June last year, when they signed a declaration of intent on the TTIP free trade agreement. At the time, Kühmann acted in his capacity as secretary general of the European plastics and rubber machinery association Euromap (Frankfurt / Germany; www.euromap.org) – for details, see Plasteurope.com of 25.06.2014.
Both VMDA and SPI used the event to underline the importance of cooperation, especially when it comes to standardisation. To simplify machinery deliveries, the two associations want to ensure the greatest possible alignment of technical requirements, especially with regard to safety. SPI chief executive Bill Carteaux and VDMA managing director Thorsten Kühmann had already emphasised their focus on safety in June last year, when they signed a declaration of intent on the TTIP free trade agreement. At the time, Kühmann acted in his capacity as secretary general of the European plastics and rubber machinery association Euromap (Frankfurt / Germany; www.euromap.org) – for details, see Plasteurope.com of 25.06.2014.
 At last year's "Fakuma" industry fair, VDMA used blue Playmobil horses and riders to advertise its "Blue Competence" initiative (Photo: VDMA) |
For the German association, NPE constitutes a good opportunity to once again present its “Blue Competence” sustainability initiative, focused on “Resource efficiency in plastics and rubber machinery: the key driver of economic success.” The initiative is in line with SPI’s focus on sustainable technologies, specifically with a view to resource efficiency.
There are a number of ways to achieve resource efficiency, VDMA points out, adding that one of them is recycling. Another is lightweight construction, a trend that is particularly dominant in the automotive industry. Addressing fears that lightweighting efforts could clash with safety requirements, Engel Austria (Schwertberg / Austria; www.engelglobal.com) CSO Christoph Steger said this conflict can be resolved by using composite materials. He added that integrated processes also contribute to resource efficiency, saying, “An integrated process requires less energy than multiple individual process steps, and expenses for handling, transportation and storage of intermediate products are avoided. In addition, the integrated manufacturing cell also requires much less space. In many companies, productivity per floor space has already become an important gauge of efficiency.”
Another factor that comes to play in terms of resource efficiency is “Industry 4.0” manufacturing, which includes intelligent control technology that coordinates all stages in the material flow, as well as the constant communication between all components in real time, from material dryer to the processing machine, VDMA added.
e-Service:
VDMA's "Blue Competence with resource efficiency: Flying high for success" NPE 2015 brochure as a PDF file
There are a number of ways to achieve resource efficiency, VDMA points out, adding that one of them is recycling. Another is lightweight construction, a trend that is particularly dominant in the automotive industry. Addressing fears that lightweighting efforts could clash with safety requirements, Engel Austria (Schwertberg / Austria; www.engelglobal.com) CSO Christoph Steger said this conflict can be resolved by using composite materials. He added that integrated processes also contribute to resource efficiency, saying, “An integrated process requires less energy than multiple individual process steps, and expenses for handling, transportation and storage of intermediate products are avoided. In addition, the integrated manufacturing cell also requires much less space. In many companies, productivity per floor space has already become an important gauge of efficiency.”
Another factor that comes to play in terms of resource efficiency is “Industry 4.0” manufacturing, which includes intelligent control technology that coordinates all stages in the material flow, as well as the constant communication between all components in real time, from material dryer to the processing machine, VDMA added.
e-Service:
VDMA's "Blue Competence with resource efficiency: Flying high for success" NPE 2015 brochure as a PDF file
26.03.2015 Plasteurope.com [230825-0]
Published on 26.03.2015
German version of this article...