Page 41 - Plastics News April 2018

internAtionAL news

German packaging industry FRP makers push Washington

upbeat despite pricing woes on funding, standards

erman plastics packaging producers have shown he plastics composites industry
Gcontinued optimism for business growth in the second Tis making a push for government
quarter of 2018, according to a recent survey. Some 40 support to develop standards for
percent of companies questioned by the German plastic fiber-reinforced polymers in roads,
trade association (IK), said they expected to see an bridges and other infrastructure
projects, seeing it as way to build
some much-needed acceptance of
the material. At an April 18 hearing
before a House subcommittee on
science and technology, industry executives and others
urged Congress to budget money for a five-year project
to develop the same kind of standards for plastics
composites that they say legacy materials like steel
and concrete already have. Shane Weyant, CEO of
Creative Pultrusions Inc. in Alum Bank, Pa., told the
committee that FRP can last longer and be cheaper than
conventional materials over the lifespan of a product.
But sizable barriers remain to more widespread use in
government projects."What we know from experience
is that the lack of awareness of and importantly
standards for composites is our threshold problem,"
increase in sales, with exports gaining momentum among he testified. The effort would be spearheaded by the
a quarter of respondents. Good economic growth in the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of
European Union has been cited as the main contributor the Department of Commerce. It grows out of a NIST
to the positive forecast, even as almost half of all report from December and a year-long effort to identify
companies are forecasting higher raw material prices for barriers to greater use of FRP in infrastructure projects.
the second quarter. The IK survey also revealed that the In its report, NIST said composites could provide an
topic of recycling was becoming increasingly important attractive "price-performance tradeoff" to reduce the
for customers, particularly the use of recycled material cost to rebuild infrastructure in the United States.. The
in packaging. The poll also found that customers are now agency estimated infrastructure needs in the U.S. call
more interested in the use of plastics from renewable for about $460 billion a year in spending through 2025,
resources. By contrast, the survey found that the topics well above current actual spending of $250 billion.
of marine litter and the EU plastics strategy only play “a "While private and public entities have begun to
minor role” for customers. In response to the results of introduce FRP composites into real-world applications,
the survey, IK General Manager, Ulf Kelterborn, said the barriers to widespread use of these materials in
use of recycled material in packaging could be promoted infrastructure continue to exist at all levels, from
more strongly, especially in the non-food area. “Despite regulation to fundamental materials science," NIST
the public commitment of many customer industries to said.The new federal research program would be very
use more recycled material in plastic packaging, it has modest by Washington standards, costing an estimated
only been implemented in a few cases,” he noted. He $11 million. No one testifying or speaking among the
added that a “a clear increase in the use of recyclates” members of Congress at the hearing said they opposed
would be very welcome particularly against the backdrop it, but some noted tight federal budgets and growing
of recent environmental policies and targets by the EU. deficits, suggesting that funding is by no means assured.

41 April 2018 Plastics News