The European plastics industry has set an ambitious target: total elimination of plastics waste going to landfills by 2020. PlasticsEurope, with the support of other representative bodies, declared the industry’s intent last year when it called for a Europewide landfill ban. Read more.
Klöckner Pentaplast breaks ground on new Chinese production facility
The Klöckner Pentaplast Group announced that it broke ground on its first manufacturing facility in China on January 18, 2012. Located 80 km west of Shanghai in the Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, China, the new site will produce packaging films for the growing domestic Chinese market. The first phase of production capacity will focus on transverse-direction oriented shrink-label films, used primarily for full- or partial-body shrink-sleeve applications. Klöckner Pentaplast is the only producer of shrink-label films with global manufacturing in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Read more.
Wind blade composites market grows as offshore wind energy advances
Many nations have set challenging targets for renewable energy production and it was in this setting that AMI held the latest global conference on Wind Turbine Blade Manufacture in December 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany. The UK Minister for the Environment had announced potential plans for another 29,000 wind turbines mainly offshore, and Siemens Energy had unveiled its latest 6MW turbine with rotor diameters of 120 and 154 metres. In the same month the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced that more than 1200MW were installed in the US in the third quarter of 2011, which is better than any quarter since 2008: the US wind energy market has been boosted by the federal Production Tax Credit. In January the Spanish wind turbine company Gamesa, announced a new blade manufacturing plant in the emerging market of India. China is a leading nation in windpower and has two new wind farm projects, one near the Mongolian border that has just come online at 300MW and Longyuan Power connected 99.3MW in December on the coast in Jiangsu Province. Read more.
Angst+Pfister receives ISO 14001:2004 environmental management certification
Angst+Pfister affirmed its commitment to building a sustainable future through ecologically sound business practices by attaining the ISO 14001:2004 environmental management certification. Read more.
Looking back at plastics in 2011
2011 was a turbulent year for many industries, with financial problems threatening the security of countries across the Eurozone. However, a look back at the world of plastics for the past 12 months demonstrates a number of reasons to stay positive, with many countries looking to emerging markets, particularly Asia, for growth according European Plastics News. Read more
European Plastics News unveils fresh look
Starting this month, the print version of European Plastics News has a fresh new look, including a new logo and new editorial elements.
European Plastics News is a monthly magazine and sister publication to Plastics News. Take a look at a virtual edition here.
Have you looked in the Members Area?
A new password has been created for the EPDA.com Members Area. The new password was necessary following a hacking incident. However, the security and technical issues have been resolved and we apologize for this page being temporarily unavailable.
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Röchling taking over the Italian machining specialist Leder Orago
The Röchling Engineering Plastics Group has taken over the North Italian machining specialist Leder Orago S.r.l. in Gozzano effective as of the 1 December 2011. Leder Orago will become part of the Business Unit Machined Components of the Röchling High-Performance Plastics Group, which operates 15 machining facilities worldwide. With the take-over, Röchling raises their competence in the field of plastic applications, material development as well as machining. Read the full release.
Energy management training for European plastics processors
Interactive online modules are now available on the ENERGYWISE project website. The modules are free to access providing training materials for those working within the plastics industry to increase their knowledge and understanding of energy management.
Three supporting hard copy resources have also been developed to provide a comprehensive, multi-media learning package:
• Practical Guide to Energy Management of Facilities and Utilities
• Practical Guide to Energy Management for Managers
• Practical Guide to Energy Management for Processors
For more information, please visit the ENERGYWISE project website
World demand for bioplastics to exceed 1 million metric tons in 2015
Global demand for biodegradable and bio-based plastics will more than triple to over one million metric tons in 2015, valued at $2.9 billion. Bioplastics have moved past the initial phase of market introduction and are now experiencing robust increases in demand in virtually all parts of the world. Read the full release.
