Extrusion International USA 6-2020

11 Extrusion International 6/2020 „ Preparation for the 27th Fakuma international trade fair for plastics processing – 12 to 16 October 2021 – is currently running at full bore. The trade fair, regarded internationally as the fi rst port of call for injection moulding, extrusion technology, ther- moforming and 3D printing, is being awaited by the industry as an indispensable live platform. At the moment, Fakuma-Virtual is proving itself a useful instrument for presenting trade visitors with innovations covering all aspects of materials, machines, pe- ripherals, processes, simulation, technologies and tools, as well as plastics processing. Many exhibitors are taking advantage of the opportunity to present their trade fair highlights and new developmentshere, and toget in touchwithanexpert audience. However, the virtual marketplace is neither capable of replacing the personal professional exchange between suppliers and us- ers, nor does it have any intention of doing so. The Fakuma 2021 on-site event is and will remain indispensable, for which plan- ning and preparation are currently running at full bore. As an industry and technology barometer in the fi eld of plastics processing, Fakuma will attract special attention, in particular in the wake of this pandemic year. Large numbers of projects and products have been developed in recent months in order Fakuma 2021 – Industry and Technology Barometer in Preparation to contain the spread of the virus – for example protective and shielding systems, as well as glasses and masks – which will be presented as polished concepts in 2021. In addition to products and solutions for preventing the spread of infection, above all issues including environmental compatibility, sustainability, ef- fi cient use of resources, circular economy and bioplastics are at the top of the list. Special emphasis will be placed on the recy- cling sector – the recyclatesmarketwas under considerablepres- sure in 2020 due to cheap new materials resulting the drop in rawmaterial prices. As a result, recyclates have been driven out of applications which had been built up over numerous years, and the demand for PET fl akes has collapsed. Not least of all within this context, the issueof PETbottle concepts and reusable packaging systems will be discussed at Fakuma 2021. In themeantime, many companies have honed their production concepts with regard to automation, digitalisation, networking and ef fi ciency, and have been able to implement up-to-date applications. And thus Fakuma 2021 is being especially eagerly awaited as a trade fair which, as a working platform for sea- soned practitioners, is consistently aligned to the plastics pro- cessing sequence. P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG www.Fakuma-Messe.de www.fakuma-messe.de/fakuma-virtuell/