Extrusion International 5-2022

8 Extrusion International 5/2022 INDUSTRY NEWS German Plastics and Rubber Machinery Industry Currently Facing Major Challenges After a Good Previous Year  "German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers can look back on the year 2021 with satisfac- tion, achieving a turnover plus of 12 per cent," said Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association in the VDMA, summarising the situation. "It didn't turn out to be a record year, as the impetus from the automotive sec- tor in 2018 and 2019 was too strong for that, but we are more than satis- fied with the order intake in 2021 as a whole (up 39 percent against the previous year)," Reifenhäuser con- tinues. Currently, the order books of com- panies are still reasonably well filled, but due to supply chain problems resulting from lockdowns and the Ukraine war, it is becoming increas- ingly difficult for companies to con- vert orders into turnover. Added to this are the rapidly rising prices for raw materials and energy. And fi- nally, after the small interim peak in 2021, there is now a saturation ef- fect in addition to a base effect. Both these factors mean that the new or- der volume is declining. "In the first four months of the cur- rent year, new orders fell 17 per cent short of those of the same period last year," says Thorsten Kühmann, managing director of the trade as- sociation, explaining the reason for the many worries among plastics and rubber machinery manufactur- ers. "Availability of supplier parts is the predominant issue in the me- chanical engineering sector, which, according to surveys, will become more acute again in the coming months before the sector can expect it to ease," Kühmann continues. The uncertainty in the world market as a result of the Ukraine war is doing the rest. For this reason, the trade asso- ciation recently revised its turnover 2022 forecast of 5 to 10 per cent, and now expects a sideways move - ment, or at best a small increase of no more than 2 percent. Alongside climate protection and digitalisation, the circular economy is one of the key themes of K 2022. If the plastics cycle is to be successful, recyclable products are needed, as well as high-performance machines and systems that can turn plastic waste into good quality recyclates, and then process the recyclates into new, high-quality products. At the VDMA Circular Economy Fo - rum on the open-air site of K 2022, visitors to the fair can see how the circular economy works in practice in the plastics industry. Throughout ten pavilions, the VDMA and its mem - bers – manufacturers of plastics ma- chinery and equipment – together with their partners, will be showing the technologies they utilise to make the plastics cycle possible in the first place. This involves the processing of plastic waste, as well as the pro- duction of re-granulate, which is then processed into new products. The digitalisation of the procedures plays an important role here. The VDMA Dome is at the centre of the forum. It is once again the meeting place for everyone who wants to know more about the circu- lar economy in the world of plastics. The installation named "The Ma- chine" provides an overview of the individual process steps of the cycle. Here, 40 companies will present their highlights on the circular economy in video clips, and where these can be found at the fair. The accompanying exhibition shows what is produced on the machines: exciting plastic products made from recyclate. VDMA Kunststoff- und Gummimaschinen vdma.org/ kunststoffmaschinen-gummimaschinen Chemical Recycling Europe Annual Conference (CRE) 13. - 14. 10. 2022 Brussels, Belgium www.chemicalrecyclingeurope.eu 4TH EAST AFRICA INTERNATIONAL PPPEXPOAFRICA ETHIOPIA 2022 (Plastic, Printing and Packaging Exhibition ) 18. – 20. 10. 2022 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia www.expogr.com/ethiopia/pppexpo/ K 2022 19. – 26. 10. 2022 Düsseldorf, Germany www.k-online.com wire South America TUBOTECH 25. - 27. 10. 2022 www.wire-south-america.com www.tubotech-online.com INDIA ESSENWELDING& CUTTING 2021 23. - 25. 11. 2022 Bombay, India www.india-essen-welding-cutting.com Plast Eurasia 23. – 26. 11. 2022 Istanbul, Turkey www.plasteurasia.com ICE Europe 2023 14. - 16. 03. 2023 Munich / Germany www.ice-x.com Chinaplas 2023 17. - 20. 04. 2023 Shenzhen / PR China www.chinaplasonline.com interpack 2023 04. - 10. 05. 2023 Düsseldorf, Germany www.interpack.de PLAST 2023 05. - 08. 09. 2023 Milan, Italy www.plastonline.org