Relive the 2012 EPDA Annual Conference in Budapest, Hungary, with presentations from the keynote speakers and market segment meetings. Image from all the events are also ready to viewed. Visit the Members Area and enter the password EpdaPlastics.
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The Board spoke with many members during the conference to gather input. Some of the ideas and suggestions that were given include: (1) creating a separate meeting for distributors prior to the joint meeting of distributors and manufacturers during the Plastics Stock Shapes Committee Meeting; (2) deliver better content for the committee meetings, specifically the PVF and Stock Shapes Meetings; (3) include the conference fee for one delegate into the membership dues; (4) provide more plastics industry data for EPDA’s market niche; (5) get more distributors to attend the conference; and (6) promote more distributor-focused best practices sharing and networking.
Your input is vital to assisting EPDA in making the conference programme more valuable to your learning experience. Please share your thoughts on the meeting so the EPDA Board of Directors and staff can provide an even better experience next year.
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Thank you,
EPDA Board of Directors
Message from the President
This year’s European Plastics Distributors Association conference was held in Budapest, where again it provided important networking opportunities for our members. Over the course of three days, our delegates were able to attend lectures, committee meetings and participate in market segment panel discussions that enabled participants to connect with allied professionals to debate and discuss new issues and challenges facing the industry. We made sure there was time for networking during each day, as well as at our evening reception and conference dinners.
EPDA’s keynote speakers this year were Dr Gábor Kelemen of Hungary’s Ministry of Economy and Daniel Stricker, Head of Market Research at KI Group.
Slides/literature from these lectures and the market segment presentations are now available on the “member’s only” section of the EPDA website.
The conference also marked the end of Steffen Oeller’s tenure of EPDA Presidency, and the start of mine. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Steffen for his support and leadership over the past two years, and look forward to continuing his many initiatives.
As your new President, I look forward to working on your behalf to grow and develop EPDA’s remit and identify and address some of the key challenges in the plastics distribution/manufacturing industry today.
We will share more information on the conference in our forthcoming issue of the EPDA newsletter.
David Ladyman, EPDA President
Director of Supplier Relations at Vink Holdings Ltd
KYDEX Introduces Translucents and New Colour Palette
KYDEX has unveiled its line of FAA and aviation OEM -compliant, colourful thermoplastic translucent sheets. The KYDEX frosted translucent sheets liberate light and colour. Seating installations, monuments and dividers that once blocked light can now transmit it, colour it and transform it into an active design element. With this material, designers can create a cohesive, consistent and customized interior that makes the most of LED lighting and communicates the airline brand through form, colour and texture. The new material is being introduced to select specifiers and customers, with a focus on project-specific applications. As the product and palette expands so will the availability of this innovative product.
KYDEX International Business Manager Ronn Cort elaborates on the evolution of KYDEX translucent. “The giant leap was to actually get to a point where we had a product that had the ability to interact in a bigger environment. The ability to play on the advent of light and mood was a significant game change. Since then we’ve evolved with the advent of a compliant, translucent material.”
KYDEX also recently hosted the European debut of its new palette. The bold 64-colour offering consists of six collections: Constant, Impulse, Resolve, Tangents, Tempest and Repose. The colours can be mixed and matched, and also be used as starting points for customized hues.
For more information, visit www.kydex.com.
System Meets Safety in SIMONA Chemical Tank and Equipment Engineering
SIMONA, a system provider of thermoplastic solutions, has a comprehensive range of sheets, rods, profiles, welding rods, pipes, fittings, valves and finished parts. One of the company’s areas of expertise is products for chemical tank and equipment engineering – within this safety-specific field of application SIMONA is acknowledged for its product quality as well as its technical consulting services.
SIMONA offers a range of materials for lining the interior of steel and concrete tanks as well as for thermoplastic and GRP composite structures. Whilst PVC can be glued directly using reaction resins, polyolefins (PE, PP) and fluorinated plastics (PVDF, E-CTFE) require fabrics as an adhesion substrate for interlocking connections. SIMONA offers sheets with four different adhesion systems – thermoplastic polyester fabric backing (SK), glass fibre fabric backing (GK), polypropylene fabric backing (PK) and an highly chemical- and heat- resistant aramid fabric backing (AK). These fabric backings act as an optimal mechanical bridge between the lining and the base material to be protected against corrosion.
SIMONA® industrial double-containment pipes provide standardised end-to-end system for the safe transport of aggressive substances. To increase the level of safety in transporting aggressive substances, double-containment piping systems are made of highly corrosion-resistant materials such as PE, PP and PVDF, making them ideal for use in the chemical industry, semiconductors production, the pharmaceutical sector, metal treatment or paper and cellulose production. SIMONA industrial double-containment pipes can be used for transporting liquid and gaseous substances. The company is able to provide an extensive range of material combinations for the carrier pipe and containment pipe, always tailored to match the relevant requirements profile.
The partially fluorinated high-performance material E-CTFE is also used in chemical tank and equipment engineering – for example, in the form of butterfly valves or pumps. In addition to its very good processing capability, excellent weather resistance and superb impact strength, this material has a wide service temperature range from -40°C to 150°C and an increased level of chemical resistance even in the alkaline range. The trade fair exhibit is an E-CTFE pressed sheet with a thickness of 50 mm.
When selecting a suitable material for a specific application, the level of chemical resistance proves to be a crucial criterion in many cases. The 7th edition of SIMCHEM is now available online. SIMCHEM is a standard work of reference and a competent and comprehensive practical guide on all issues concerning the chemical resistance of SIMONA materials; it is designed to provide users with important guidance for day-to-day operations. It lists almost 4,000 media and proprietary products. In addition, the database provides valuable information about the numerous materials and the properties of plastics.
For more information, visit www.simona.de.
Nylacast Support UK Manufacturing in Constructing the Future
Leicester-based plastics manufacturer Nylacast are delighted to be a part of the CEA Construction Equipment Showcase which Business Minister Mark Prisk took a tour of at the Department of Business and Innovation Skills (BIS) in Westminster yesterday morning, meeting with business leaders and seeing for himself some of the advanced construction equipment technology manufactured in the UK – standing testament to why this country remains one of the world’s leading manufacturing nations.
Nylacast are one of the six companies involved in the display and represented the “innovative” sector of the industry, showcasing their range of pioneering polymers and solutions which are all proudly developed and produced in the UK.
Established in 1967, Nylacast today, in addition to strategic worldwide locations, continues to hold its headquarters locally in Leicester where it has numerous production sites employing many local members of its communities.
Business Minister Mark Prisk was greeted by Nylacast Marketing Executive Junaid Makda, who presented and explained in depth about Nylacast and its activities, as well as its unique product range, Mark Prisk was delighted to hear that Nylacast remains a strong UK manufacturer with over 78 percent of its business being exported to all areas of the globe for numerous projects and applications.
Speaking on the event the Minister said:
“The construction equipment industry is one of the UK’s most dynamic sectors, and contributes £8.5 billion to our economy each year. Most people don’t realise that the UK is the second largest net exporter of construction equipment in the world. Over 75 percent of products manufactured in the UK are exported to 150 countries world-wide. That is an impressive figure.
“This showcase is just one of the steps this Government is taking to demonstrate just how innovative and world-leading our manufacturing base is here in the UK, and change perceptions that as a country we don’t make anything anymore.
“We’ve launched the Make it in Great Britain campaign which is hunting for fresh pre-market ideas and concepts, culminating in an exhibition during the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. So too, businesses up and down the country will be opening their factories to visitors next month as part of our See Inside Manufacturing campaign.
“Image is important, but we also need to ensure that businesses get the support they need to grow. This is why we have rolled out initiatives such as the £125 million Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative and recently re-launched the Manufacturing Advisory Service.”
Rob Oliver, Chief Executive of the CEA, which organised the event said:
“There is a growing awareness that Britain’s construction equipment sector is a major force in manufacturing and worth billions to the UK economy; this showcase is the perfect platform to shout about just how ‘great’ Britain is.
The Showcase is on until 25th May 2012. The showcase is underlining just how important the UK Construction Equipment Industry is to Britain’s economy.
Visitors are encouraged to visit and see the showcase from 14th – 25th of May and show their support of the UK construction equipment sector. For more information, see www.nylacast.com.
