Page 42 - Plastics News October 2023

Let the show begin - Interplas opens this week Monthly Resin Report: Strong
Sales, Feedstock Costs Push
Themes for the sessions include: ‘De-
signing in Plastics: Materials of the Up Contract Prices
Future’, ‘The Future of UK Plastics’,
‘A Road to Net Zero and A Circular
Economy ’,‘Digitalisation for Sustain-
able Manufacturing’, ‘Diversity in Plas-
tics’ and ‘Research and Development
in Plastics’.
Highlights from this year’s agenda in- eptember PE contracts rose 3
clude: Scents/lb compared with August,
o here it is: after a two year wait, the second consecutive monthly in-
SInterplas is back. The largest gath- Digitalisation for Sustainable Manufac- crease.
ering of the plastics industry on UK turing: September brought higher contract
shores returns for a three-day event  The Importance of Industry 4.0 in prices to both the US polyethylene
that promises to inject more than just the UK Plastics Industry to Jaguar (PE) and polypropylene (PP) mar-
copious amounts of innovative mate- Land Rover kets, driven primarily by stronger
rials: an injection of investment, the  Achieving Sustainable Plastic domestic sales and higher feedstock
birth of new ideas, acquisitions, new Products with Data-Driven All- costs.
job opportunities, optimism, learning Electric Injection Moulding –
and so much more await the plastics Bloom in Box Sales data through August showed
community at the NEC Birmingham. both domestic and overall PP sales
 The Road to Net Zero & A Circu- reaching their year-to-date highs
Taking place across halls 3A and 4 lar Economy: on the month. Domestic PP sales
this week, with over 500 exhibitors  What the Industry is Doing to in North America through the first
on the floor, this year’s show reflects Tackle Plastic Pollution – Plastic eight months of 2023 are down
a vastly different industry to that of Bank 4.5% compared with the same time
COVID-era Interplas 2021. On a lo- period of 2022.
cal level, the plastics packaging tax,  Top Tips for Plastics Processors
soaring energy costs, and reshoring/ to Achieve Net Zero –Tangram Meanwhile, domestic PE sales saw
offshoring again have all presented Technology their second highest monthly year-
challenges – but also opportunities  The Future of UK Plastics: to-date sales figures in August, trail-
– for stakeholders across the supply  The Big Debate: Reshoring and ing only the month of March. Total
chain. On a global level, the war in Contract Manufacturing – Panel domestic PE sales declined by 7.6%
Ukraine, oil and gas prices, and talk in association with British Plastics over the first eight months of 2023
of a global plastics treaty have also & Rubber Magazine compared with the same period of
sent ripples through the sector. With 2022, while overall sales rose 4.9%
these factors in mind, the team at In-  Innovations Changing the Poly- over the same time period, driven
terplas have spent the last two years mer Sector – Panel in association by persistent strength in exports.
working with the UK plastics indus- with UK Circular Plastics Net- US PE remains competitive in ex-
try to deliver an event that will start work & Innovate UK KTN port markets
new discussions and inject contem- For the visitor less concerned with Integrated ethylene cash costs rose
porary innovation and learning. That industry trends, and more concerned by around 1.25 cents/lb in Septem-
learning will begin on the new Inter- with the latest cutting-edge technol- ber relative to August, the highest
plas Insights conference stage, which ogy for moulders and converters, the we have seen year to date. Braskem
combines short, snappy sessions with Introducing Stage will be a showcase announced plans to idle one of its
longer, interactive panel sessions. This for the best of the show floor, with two production lines at its Marcus
fresh new format promises a dynamic everything from NIR absorbers for Hook, PA, plant until market condi-
lineup, with over 40 sessions and 70- plastic, to double filtration technology tions improve.
plus speakers scheduled to present. being presented.

42 PLASTICS NEWSASTICS NEWS October 2023
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