Extrusion International 4-2021

12 Extrusion International 4/2021 INDUSTRY NEWS „ On 25 and 26 May, the 9th International Polymer Technol- ogy Forum (IPTF) was held in St. Petersburg, as in previous years. The organisers – the trade magazine Extrusion (VM Verlag) and Plastics – were able to bring together 302 experts from the polymer industry from all regions of Russia, neigh- bouring countries, the USA and Europe. More than half of the participants represented the extrusion sector. This is the fi rst time that the Forum has attracted such a large number of participants. This is possibly due to the revival of business after the lockdown, but also, as some visitors pointed out, to the well-designed format of the Forum. The event cov- ered a wide range of issues related to plastics processing and gave specialists in the fi eld the opportunity to discuss impor- tant topics, exchange information, conduct negotiations and make new contacts. The general sponsor of the IPTF 2021 was the company SIBUR. Information technology support was provided by Interplastic. Within two days, a total of 40 presentations were given on various topics during the plenary session and at the individual stations. Issues were addressed such astrends in Russian plas- tics production, state of the Russian raw material base, imple- mentation of such technologies as injection and blowmould- ing, extrusion, compounding and thermoforming, modern ecological requirements and recycling technologies, novelties of laboratory equipment, methods of quality control, etc. Speakers included representatives of renowned companies such as: SIBUR, JSW, Brabender, Kautex, KraussMaffei, Gra- ham Engineering, Jwell, Reifenhäuser, Aleko, FIMIC, Herbold, EREMA, OCS, etc. Among the visitors were representatives from very different sectors of the polymer industry: from injection moulding and toolmaking, thermoforming, production of nonwovens and- geosynthetics, suppliers of equipment and rawmaterials, etc. More than half of the audience came from fi lm and sheet extrusion, pipe and pro fi le extrusion, blowmoulding, full- IPTF 2021 Successfully Completed iptf.extrusion-info.com mouldcasting and masterbatch production, fl exible and rigid packaging production and converting. Thus, the station on ex- trusion technology was also always well attended. In addition to the lectures, there was plenty of space in the conference room for exhibitors to present themselves and advise interested listeners. Some speakers brought their prod- ucts amplesand technological equipment from the exhibition to present in the lecture. The extensive theoretical programme was supplemented by practical event parts. Forexample, on 27 May the participants were able to visit companies in the plastics manufacturing in- dustry in St. Petersburg. The participants had the opportunity to visit a multidisciplinary, innovative production facility of the company StarLine and to visit the Komsomolskaja prawda plastics factory. An evening river cruise through the canals of St. Petersburg with a magni fi cent view of the city rounded off the pro- gramme. Spectators as well as speakers and exhibitors unanimously ex- pressed their positive impression of the Forum, both in terms of organisation and content. Many participants already said they would like to attend the IPTF again in 2022. The next IPTF 2022 is planned for 18 to 20 May, again in St. Petersburg.