"A voice for the global production of plastics", is the role of the World Plastics Council, a new organisation established at the end of the recent "K 2013" trade fair, held in Germany this past October. The initiative is the brainchild of PlasticsEurope (Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticseurope.org) and the plastics group within the American Chemistry Council (ACC, Washington DC; www.americanchemistry.com).

Roughly 50 high-ranking managers from the largest producers in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas voted Patrick Thomas, CEO at Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, Leverkusen; www.bayerbms.com) as the first chairman of the new board. "It is very promising that 80% of the world's most influential producers have come here for this special occasion," noted Thomas in Düsseldorf. The new entity is to be a platform for future cooperations within the industry.