This week we sat down with another expert speaker presenting at the Stretch and Shrink Film event on November 30 – December 1, 2022, in New Orleans, LA, USA.

Patrick R. Lancaster is the Chairman and Co-founder of Lantech, a manufacturer of secondary packaging equipment. In the early 1970’s, Pat and his brother, Bill, saw the potential for industrial machinery that could wrap pallet loads of goods at greater savings and stability than the existing technology could provide. Starting in a 1,600 square foot warehouse and only $3000, the brothers began designing and selling stretch wrap equipment.

Since that time, Pat has continually led the stretch wrap industry with his innovations. He is the named inventor on over 150 patents worldwide, including the basic stretch wrapper, resulting in over 4 billion loads shipped annually benefiting from Lantech innovations.

Just as the innovator in equipment technology, in 1992 Pat led the way for Lantech’s cutting-edge lean transformation. Anticipating increased demand for products “with a lean edge,” the lean principles continue to be applied to the development of innovations in all of Lantech’s product offerings, business areas and operations.

In 1995 Pat stepped down as President, passing that title onto his son Jim, and has remained in a “chief inventor” role ever since. Today, Lantech manufactures equipment in the US and the Netherlands and employs over 600 employees worldwide.

Read the full interview here.

On the lead up to the Stretch and Shrink Film event taking place on November 30 – December 1, 2022, in New Orleans, LA, USA, we've been catching up with our speakers. In this interview, we spoke to Kari Bliss from PADNOS.

With over 20 years’ experience, Kari leads Sustainability at PADNOS, an industrial recycler of paper, plastics, metals, and electronics. Her expertise in materials allows her to capitalize on circular economy market trends. In 2021 her team developed 27 solutions for complex circular economy challenges faced by OEM's and Tier 1 suppliers.

Read the full interview here. 

AMI Consulting, Bristol, 13/07/2022 - European market for gravity pipes showed strong growth in 2018-2019, which was followed by a significant contraction in 2020 when COVID-19 began to take effect in the region. In this extremely atypical year, the European economy saw a 6.3% decline in GDP in 2020. Construction activity was impacted initially but recovered in the second half of 2020 albeit suffered from supply-chain disruptions some of which continue into 2022.

The market for infrastructure pipes is reputed for its conservatism. At AMI Consulting, we disagree with such characterisation. Admittedly, the market moves cautiously and gradually. But over the years we have seen tremendous changes, which – despite the cautious, gradual adoption rates – can only be described as revolutionary.

While thermoplastics now command a high proportion of the small diameter gravity pipe market, there is still ample scope for growth through the substitution of traditional pipes systems in the larger diameter segment. Growth opportunities exist in the further substitution of ‘traditional’ pipes (concrete and metal), as well as in the development and commercialisation of new plastic-based systems, designed to provide better solutions (in terms of cost/performance) for modern-day needs.

Polyolefin pipes continue to gain market share from PVC and are forecast to experience the fastest growth rates. However, PVC remains the predominant thermoplastic used for gravity pipes.

PVC though has been challenged in Europe for several decades on its environmental performance. Developments include the using of biobased raw materials and the use in polymerisation of green hydrogen. There have been several recent announcements of PVC with reduced carbon footprints and even some semi-tech production of PVC with a negative CO2 footprint. PVC is also ahead of other polymers in Europe in measuring volumes of PVC recycled each year, setting and delivering ambitious future goals. Furthermore, it is claimed that PVC pipes can be recycled several times without loss of technical properties.

The use of recyclate is rising in many parts of the plastics industry. The need for high purity resins is the main barrier for increased use of recycled material to make pipes. Some pipes extruders have reported the usage of recyclate for gravity pipes. However, the use of recycled plastics for gravity pipes could diminish due to the difficulty of obtaining good quality recycled material if other applications start using more recyclate. The industry is placing R&D efforts into circular solutions in order to manage portfolio proactively.

On the other hand, plastics pressure pipes are already positioned as more sustainable to non-thermoplastic materials, with life spans well over 50 years and a lower CO2 footprint.

The increase of heavy rains and the floods experienced by several European countries in last few years are forcing governments to increase budgets for water works and flood protection systems, increasing demand for larger diameter gravity pipes and pushing an early upgrade of the well-developed European gravity pipes network.

Take a closer look: Fig1 - Installed gravity pipes (% share), Western v. Central & Eastern Europe, 2016-2026 

There are differences in growth in gravity pipe demand between the various European countries and regions. Growth is focussed on central and eastern Europe, where Poland had been the fastest-growing market in the review period. By 2026, the region is forecast to have grown to almost 30%.

The updated edition of the Plastic Gravity Pipes in Europe 2022 report analyses the market trends in-depth and presents them in an easily digestible format. The report thus constitutes an invaluable tool, aimed at helping companies make informed decisions. The report forms part of a comprehensive series, which further includes the Plastic Pressure Pipes in Europe 2022 and the Plastic Hot and Cold Water Pipes in Europe 2022.

For more information on please contact: Astrid Della Porta, Market Intelligence Sales Manager
E / astrid.dellaporta@amiplastics.com
T / +44 117 924 9442

AMI Consulting, Bristol, 13/07/22 – AMI Consulting has published the nineth edition of its authoritative report on the Synthetic Turf market. The market grew strongly in 2021 despite global supply issues.

Leisure and landscape applications were the highlight of the market in 2021. Many consumers, confined to their homes, focussed on home and garden improvements and installed artificial grass to give an uplift to their gardens and provide better space for their children to play.  Artificial turf plays a key role in providing attractive outdoor surfaces but also supports water conservation as well as reduced maintenance requirements. Product developments and improved routes to market are helping drive up product awareness and market penetration. 

Artificial turf sports pitches as endorsed by the governing bodies of various sports have a proven ability to provide a playing surface that can withstand higher intensity usage than natural grass thus enabling more sports participation and often more revenue opportunities for the pitch owner. With the finances of many clubs having taken a battering from Covid-19 this ability to access more income streams is a distinct attraction to pitch owners, on the other hand costs are rising as end-of-life tyre waste, used frequently in combination with long pile artificial grass, is the focus of environmental concern and is being displaced by elastomeric and natural products. 

Take a closer look: Figure 1: Artificial Grass: Global Content

A key feature of the industry over the last two years has been the significant amount of M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) with several key players involved including TenCate, Sports and Leisure Group (SLG), Victoria Carpets, Recreational Group and Controlled Products.

The industry continue to invest in increased manufacturing capabilities with both Bellinturf and CC Grass building new plants in Vietnam (free of both import duties and tariffs to the US). In addition Bellinturf also opened a large factory in 2022 in Mexico near the US border. 

The different components in an artificial grass system use a variety of polymers including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), nylon, polyurethane (PU), SBR (usually in the form or tyre waste), latex and thermoplastic elastomers.

Artificial Grass - The Global Market 2022 was published in May 2022 by AMI Consulting.

For further information, contact Peter Aisher, Consultant
T /+44 (0) 117 314 8198
E / peter.aisher@amiplastics.com

AMI, leading provider of market intelligence and events for the global plastics industry, has released the agenda for the 14^th edition of the PVC Formulation event in Europe. Taking place at the Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany on 12-14 September 2022, this event is the annual meeting place for the industry to connect and discover the latest market and technical developments to add value to vinyl, optimise performance and improve processing for rigid, flexible and foamed PVC applications.

Explore market insights into global factors affecting the industry, the impact of regional regulatory updates and industry led sustainability initiatives influencing formulation developments. The technical agenda also covers the latest advancements in additives for PVC functionality including plasticisers, stabilisers and flame retardants for a range of PVC applications.

Key presentations include:

• “PVC in a changed world – challenges and perspectives” presented by Kathrin Steussing, Commercial Director EAMEA at VESTOLIT
• “A new plasticizer for durable products” presented byDr Janina Fischer, Director Marketing Plasticizers at EVONIK
• “Innovative acrylic processing aids for excellent processability and high performance” presented by Camille Montchaud, TS&D Specialist at DOW PLASTICS ADDITIVES
• “Additives contribution to PVC articles for sustainability” presented by Ettore Nanni, Committee President for VINYLPLUS - SUSTAINABLE USE OF ADDITIVES
  
  

Alongside the two-day agenda, PVC Formulation will offer plenty of face-to-face networking time and a lively exhibition space. This event is the ideal meeting place for representatives from across the PVC supply chain to re-establish their network and gain insight into the latest research contributions and business trends.

For more information and to book your place, visit the website or contact Gail Green at gail.green@ami.international or +44 (0) 117 314 8152.