Extrusion International USA 5-2019

24 Extrusion International 5/2019 EXTRUSION INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS Plastic Industry VeteranMirek Planeta retires Plastic film and sheet extrusion machinery supplier Macro Engineering and Technology announced the retirement of its founder Mirek Planeta effective June 14, 2019. Planeta establishedMacro just outside of Toronto, Canada in 1978. The initial focus of the company was improving air ring design, leading to the invention of the dual lip air ring. He was always leading the company through growth, improve- ments, and tremendous change which made it possible to expand from a component supplier to offering complete ex- trusion systems and in the process became a global industry Leadership Change Maag Americas is the technology leader for melt pumps, pelletizers, pulverizers and continuous melt filters. The Maag brands „Maag Pump & Filtration Systems“, „Automa- tik Scheer Strand Pelletizers“, „Gala Automatik Underwater Pelletizers“, „Reduction Pulverizing Systems“ and Ettlinger provide customers exceptional performance and reliability in their respective field of applications. The many systems and solutions the MAAG portfolio offers for customers are criti- cal to ensure high quality end products in a wide variety of markets such as medical, automotive, construction, food and packaging. Maag announced the appointment of Martin Baumann as VP / GM for Maag Americas. “We are very happy to have Martin join our team in the USA,” says Ueli Thuerig, President Maag Group. “Martin brings a wealth of experience with him hav- ing worked previously at renowned market leaders in the plastics machinery industry.” MAAG is well positioned for continued growth in the Ameri- cas and is a market leader in the Polymer and Plastics Indus- try. By having expertise in virgin polymer as well as recycled materials production, MAAG offers solutions, support and service to all markets. “I am excited to join a global market leader, Maag Ameri- cas is known for its outstanding customer support and high product quality,” says Martin Baumann. “There is significant opportunity to further leverage our global footprint to ac- celerate product development, enhance the customer expe- rience and deepen our relationships with customers as well as driving operational improvements.” The market for plastics processing equipment is constantly changing, suppliers need to adapt, innovate and reliably pro- duce products to fulfill these requirements. Visit Maag at the K-Show in Duesseldorf, Germany from October 16-23 to ex- perience the Maag Brands coming together to provide inte- grated solutions. Maag will be displaying the entire product portfolio in one booth, showcasing Maags expertise across virgin polymer production, compounding, extraction, me- chanical recycling and industrial applications. K 2019: Hall 9, Booth A04 Maag www.maag.com Macro Engineering & Technology Inc. www.macroeng.com leader in high barrier and specialty film processing technol- ogy. Today Macro has equipment installed and operating in over 40 countries worldwide. “Mirek, we want to congratulate you on an absolutely re- markable career”, said Macro’s President and CEO Jim Sto- bie at the company’s retirement event. “You have made an enormous contribution to the plastic industry here in Canada and globally. You are admired and respected for your cre- ativity and vision by friends, customers and competitors all over the world.” Mirek was awarded with a company de- signed “Mirek-Pack coextrusion die” model. In a very emotional speech, Planeta spoke about his journey from 1978 until today, and thanked all Macro employees, especially those who started with him around 40 years ago. Martin Baumann, VP / GMMaag Americas Founder of Macro Engineering and Technology Mirek Planeta