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With today’s shortage of talented professionals in almost every area of the economy, the plastics industry must aggressively pursue solutions across multiple platforms. One such area is attracting more women into the industry, and retaining them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2020 data, US women make up 47% of the overall US workforce, but they represent just over 29% in the manufacturing sector. A little good news is…

Eastman is collaborating with the United States Automotive Materials Partnership LLC (USAMP) and automotive recycler PADNOS for a concept feasibility study to demonstrate a closed-loop project to recycle automotive-industry mixed plastic waste in the supply chain. USAMP is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). When automobiles are at the end of their life, metals, tires, and glass account for 80 to 90% of the…

A new technology and materials center was recently opened by German thermoforming machinery specialist Kiefel GmbH at its Freilassing headquarters as the company is increasingly  investing in its sustainable packaging research activities with a focus on natural fibers. The market leading company for plastic thermoforming and joining technology opened up the additional business area of “Fiber Thermoforming” internationally last year. In the future, the center will be used for material…

Toray Composite Materials America Inc., a supplier of carbon-fiber materials and advanced composite prepregs, has introduced Toray 2700, an epoxy-based high-performance system employing patented resin technology and geared toward emerging aerospace programs. It reportedly satisfies stringent aerospace structural design drivers and enables the manufacture of high-quality, high-volume, cost-effective composite parts. This flexible and adaptive material is said to be ideal as emerging aerospace programs transition from prototype to high-volume production.…

Speed to market is critical. In our hyper-competitive industrial and consumer industries, new product development is moving faster than ever before with no signs of slowing down. OEMs, suppliers, and contract manufacturers are struggling to meet the demands of their customers, and are actively searching for new solutions that improve processes and meet deadlines. The technological advances in rapid prototyping have made it possible for product developers to fail fast…

July 22, 1972 – a day that will live in infamy. Well … not exactly. But it will live in my memory, since that was the day I started work at Plastics Technology magazine. Me (right), learning the craft, 1973. I was 22 years old, a former English Lit. major, fresh out of journalism school, where I’d spent a year getting closer to the “real world”; and now I was…