We are delighted to announce the launch of our free-to-attend Plastics and the Pandemic virtual forum series. This series will focus on analysing the impact of Covid-19 on the global plastics industry and will be held over three consecutive Tuesdays on 21 July, 28 July and 4 August 2020.

Attend the forum series to:

Secure your free place now

The coronavirus (Covid-19) global pandemic has created significant disruption across global markets with far-reaching effects across personal and professional life. 

This social and economic shock has resulted in market uncertainty across the global plastics industry. Disruption to raw materials supply and distribution logistics are one aspect of how markets have had to rapidly adapt to meet changing patterns of demand.

To help understand the impact coronavirus has had on your industry, David Buckby, Principal Global Resin Analyst at AMI, discusses forecasting the impact of coronavirus on economies and plastics markets in this free to watch webinar.

Forecasting the impact of coronavirus on economies and plastics market

Presenter:  David Buckby, Principal Global Resin Analyst, AMI

Length: 22 minutes 

Cost: Free

Watch it here

David will be speaking at our new event Plastics and the Pandemic, 21st July 2020, Virtual Forum

Contact david.buckby@ami.international for further information

AMI is pleased to announce the first in a series of free webinars we are hosting so you can keep up to date with the latest industry news and stay in touch with your industry.

Trends in thermally conductive plastics compounds

Presenter: Chris Smith, Editor, Compounding World magazine

Length: 15 minutes 

Cost: Free

Watch it here

Chris will be speaking at the following events in 2020:

Compounding World Expo Europe, 7-8 October, Messe Essen Germany

Compounding World Expo North America, 4-5 November, The Huntington Convention Center, Cleveland, OH, USA

Conductive Plastics conference, 1-2 December, Munich Marriott Hotel, München, Germany

The BOPP film industry is facing a number of challenges creating significant trading turbulence; resin price fluctuations, trade tariffs, trade barriers and currency shocks all affect working capital and business planning. Companies are acting more cautiously than in previous years in the face of this economic turbulence and financial risk. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, with disruption to raw materials supply and distribution logistics.

Even with this multitude of factors being present, the BOPP film industry has seen an improvement in margins overall since its low point of two years ago thanks to a reduction in overcapacity and more favourable raw materials prices.

Read the full press release here

AMI Consulting estimates that global demand for materials (in weight) for the production of wind turbine blades grew at an average rate of 12.5% p.a. between 2017 and 2019. Demand growth has been particularly strong in Asia and North America. The “PTC bubble” in the US and China’s 13^th Five Year Plan on Energy Development (2016-2020) are the two main drivers for the fast growth seen between 2017 and 2019. In turn this has made 2020 a critical year for both China and the US, the two largest wind energy markets in the world.

The industry had anticipated blade production to reach a peak in 2020, all driven by government incentives. The COVID-19 pandemic is having a clear impact on the wind turbine blades supply chain in this critical year. 

Read the full press release here

AMI has just released the programme for Polymer Foam 2020. The conference takes place on 5 – 6 October 2020 at the Messe Essen, Essen, Germany. This will be the eighth time the conference has been held in Europe which is now well established as an important meeting place for the international industry.

Expert speakers from Ikea, BASF, Pyrowave, Borealis and more have been confirmed to speak on the latest developments in technologies, materials and processes.

Key presentations include:

• ‘Everybody wants to get a good night’s sleep’ presented by Ms Caroline McGarvey, Sustainability Manager for Ikea Range and Supply  
• ‘Enabling plastic (polystyrene) circularity’ presented by Mr. Jocelyn Doucet, President of Pyrowave
• ‘Innovative particle foams for versatile applications’ presented by Dr. Florian Rapp, Research Engineer Thermoplastic Foams at BASF

This year’s programme features high-level industry experts from across Europe and beyond, including sessions on particle foam innovations, chemical foaming and sustainability. Participants will be able to join the conversation with expert panellists about practical solutions and developments for the sustainability of foams. This year’s panel will answer questions and promote an audience wide discussion on this key topic for the industry, which presents many opportunities and challenges in today’s climate.

Bringing together key representatives and decision makers from all areas of the foam market in both industry and academia, this conference is an ideal place to study the marketplace and stay up to date with the latest innovations in cellular polymers.

The full programme is available on the AMI website: www.ami.ltd/event-foam

Agricultural productivity and output have increased significantly over the past sixty years, plastic agricultural films has made a fundamental contribution to this development. The agricultural sector is challenged with the task of feeding a rapidly growing world population while managing increased scarcity of resources such as water, agricultural land and soil. In order to meet these challenges, agriculture is a key sector for technological innovation where concepts including smart farming, precision agriculture, and the use of innovative agricultural films for productivity improvements are increasingly prevalent.

The 2020 edition of AMI’s Agricultural films – The global market report is the result of an extensive research programme, providing a detailed independent assessment of this industry in times of uncertainty as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The report quantifies demand and production of film for silage, mulch and greenhouse applications as well as the relevant sub-applications for each of the three types of film in each world region with a five-year forecast.

Read the full press release: Covid-19_pandemic_accelerates_the_trend_for_efficiency_in_crop_production

As the recycling industry restructures itself and settles down following the Chinese National Sword Policy, it is clear that the reliance of countries on being able to export their waste, along with recyclers dependence on imports for feedstock, cannot be guaranteed.  The only truly sustainable solution is for domestic waste collection and recycling infrastructure to be adequate to deal with the domestic demand, creating national self-sufficiency.  

Over 36 million tonnes of recyclate was produced globally in 2019.  Although PET has the highest capture rate of waste, PE makes up the largest volumes of recyclate production.  All regions (other than South East Asia) are expected to see an increase in recycling capacity by 2030, contributing to global capacity of over 77 million tonnes by 2030.  

Read the full press release here: Global mechanical recycling capacity expected to grow to 77 million tonnes by 2030 despite Covid-19 slowdown 2020-2022

AMI Consulting has published the eighth edition of its authoritative report on the Artificial Grass market. The market has grown strongly in recent years but is currently suffering the impact of Covid-19 on global demand. A key feature of the industry is the way that its structure keeps changing in response to new technology, new opportunities and new strategies.

Read the full press release