Page 42 - Plastics News June 2023

US Plastics Processing Equipment Shipments Post
Recycling Program
Slight Year-Over-Year Increase
Announced for Nylon
3D Printed Parts

Sculpteo, a 3D printing service
provider and part of BASF chemi-
cal company, announced a new
take-back program, branded “RE-
hipments of injection molding and pliers. Fewer respondents said they cycleo”, that will recycle 3D printed
Sextrusion equipment increased by expected market conditions to remain parts returned by its customers.
1.6% compared with Q1 2022. unchanged or to improve in the next Clients will be able to send nylon
quarter, 35.0% versus 33.0% in the
Shipments of injection molding and PA11 and PA12 3D printed parts
extrusion equipment in Q1 2023 con- previous quarter. Similarly, the per- back to Sculpteo with a destruction
tracted just over 20% compared with centage of respondents anticipating authorization. Sculpteo will sort and
the previous quarter, according to the unchanged or improved conditions in grind the parts before sending the
Plastics Industry Association's Com- the next 12 months decreased from material on to its partner Arkema,
mittee on Equipment Statistics (CES). 45.0% to 38.0%.
The $345.8 million preliminary esti- Exports decline, imports increase where it will be compounded and
mate for the quarter, however, repre- US plastics machinery exports expe- pelletized as part of Arkema’s Vir-
sents a 1.6% increase in value com- rienced a 2.9% decrease in Q1 2023, tucycle program. The new mate-
pared with the same period last year. amounting to $229.3 million. Mexico rial will be used in various industrial
Single-screw extruder shipments and Canada remained the top export applications. Production scrap will
drop 28% markets for US plastics machinery, also be accepted.
Single-screw extruders saw the larg- with combined exports to these coun- The entire process is completed us-
est decrease in value at 28.4%, fol- tries totaling $115.6 million, account- ing 100% renewable energy, says
lowed by a 19.9% decrease in in- ing for approximately half (50.4%) of the company. RE-cycleo is part of
jection molding shipments from the the total US plastics machinery ex- Sculpteo’s strategy to offer more
previous quarter, according to the ports, according to the CES. Imports sustainable solutions, which also in-
CES. Shipments of twin-screw ex- increased by 6.7% to $535.7 million cludes expanding its line of sustain-
truders declined by 14.7% during in fi quarter. result, able materials such as biosourced
the same period. When comparing US plastic machin defic PA11.
shipments to a year earlier, however, reached $306.4 million.
single-screw and twin-screw extrud- The implementation of contraction-
ers increased by 11.4% and 94.9% ary monetary policy in March 2022 is
respectively. Injection molding ship- beginning to impact the financial mar-
ments, on the other hand, experi- ket and will have broader implications
enced a 2.7% decline. for the manufacturing sector, includ-
The CES also conducts a quarterly ing the plastics industry, said Pineda in
survey among plastics machinery sup- the news release.

42 PLASTICS NEWS June 2023