Business levels for manufacturers and suppliers of primary plastics machinery improved smartly in the third quarter of 2013.

Economists attribute the plastics industry’s continued growth to positive trends in overall economic health and an abundant supply of inexpensive natural gas.

Plastics & Rubber Vietnam 2014, The 5th International Plastics & Rubber Technologies and Materials Exhibition for Vietnam, will take place from March 4 - 6, 2014 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre, Ho Chi Minh City.

Global plastics processing machinery demand is expected to advance 6.9% annually through 2017 to $37.1 billion. A healthier sales climate, resulting from accelerations in fixed investment spending and growth in the production of plastic goods, will spur gains.

This year’s winners are being celebrated for developing innovative processes and products using post-industrial and/or post-consumer recycled plastics.

Mayor encourages Milwaukeeans to think beyond the bag and recycle wraps

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the plastics industry gave little thought to sensible ways of disposing of or recovering waste plastics but the issue became relevant by 1991 when the German Packaging Ordinance came into effect.

Avantium, a renewable chemicals company, and ALPLA Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH, one of the world’s leading plastic converters, announce their Joint Development Agreement for the development of PEF bottles. After The Coca-Cola Company and Danone, ALPLA is the third company to collaborate with Avantium on PEF, a bioplastic based on Avantium’s proprietary YXY technology. The goal of these collaborations is to bring 100% biobased PEF bottles to the market by 2016.

Toray Plastics (America), Inc., the only United States manufacturer of precision-performance polyester, polypropylene, and bio-based films, has named Kerri Boyens its new Product Manager for the Torayfan® Polypropylene Film Division. She will be responsible for the growth of OPP film products among key customers in the packaging sector.