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In addition to exhibits, presentations and collocating with two other leading plastics processing events—Extrusion 2021 and Amerimold—Molding 2021 will also feature for the first time a parts competition: Hot Shots 2021. All attendees will be eligible to vote on which part they feel best satisfies the contest’s criteria, including technical sophistication or efficiency gains, either in the molding process or economically. Maybe you helped convert a machined metal component to…

Specialty chemicals company Evonik reports that it has embarked on a three-year collaboration with Stanford University this month to develop a technology to deliver mRNA to tissues and organs that transcends the capabilities of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). The polymer-based platform will complement Evonik’s existing portfolio of lipid-based drug delivery, including LNPs. Evonik said that it will license and commercialize the technology, part of a larger strategy to accelerate a shift in…

Wine lovers — and I am one — admittedly are a strange breed. Consider their commitment to natural cork. It can break and crumble before it is fully removed from the bottle, causing untold frustration in a vain attempt to keep cork crumbs from falling into the wine. And how many bottles of wine are ruined by cork taint annually? I return about a half-dozen bottles to my friendly neighborhood…

Working relationships between automotive OEMs and suppliers haven’t always been peachy. In fact, at times they’ve been downright adversarial in nature, which isn’t good for either entity. Plante Moran’s new Working Relations Index (WRI) study shows that supplier relationships significantly influence the automotive industry’s competitive dynamics, especially in uncertain times. The annual Plante Moran WRI Index study measures changes in and rankings of the quality of the relationships between automotive manufacturers…

Thomas latest research shows a boon in reshoring is on the horizon. With total cost of ownership becoming a key criteria used in the reshoring decision-making process, check out some tools that can help. Thomas last month released the findings of its State of North American Manufacturing 2021 Annual Report. While we’re already more than midway through the year, the report is chock full of interesting data from that you…

Higher prices across the board for commodity-grade polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) resins greeted the holiday-shortened first week of June. North American supplies remain scarce, as production continues to be hampered by planned and unexpected outages as well as a shortage of the monomers and co-monomers needed to amply produce the full slate of grades, reports the PlasticsExchange in its Market Update. In this context, light offerings were expected as…