Extrusion International 6-2019

12 Extrusion International 6/2019 INDUSTRY NEWS THE SPE THERMOFORMING DIVISION thermoformingdivision.com Lesley Kyle, lesley@openmindworks.com The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Di- vision has changed the frequency of its SPE Thermoforming Conference from annual to biennial. The Division is cancelling plans for the 2020 SPE Thermo- forming Conference and will hold the next Conference in 2021. The event will take place on September 20-22, 2021 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “For the past several years, the Division’s Board of Directors has received feedback from attendees, sponsors and exhibi- tors that an annual conference is no longer what the industry needs,” said Eric Short, SPE Thermoforming Division Chair. “The Board felt that it was time to act by moving the confer- ence to every other year. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we are convinced that it was the right one.” Short added that the Division plans to further enrich the content delivered during the Conference, minimize conflicts with other events, and ultimately deliver greater value to all stakeholders. “Our challenge as a board is to develop creative strategies to continue to fulfill our mission during the non-conference years,” said Short. More information is available by contacting. SPE Thermoforming Division Conference will be Biennial The Reifenhäuser Group and Russia’s largest integrated pet- rochemicals producer SIBUR extended their cooperation and joined forces in new projects aimed at polymer processors. SIBUR experts attended the Reifenhäuser Open House on Oc- tober 17-22 at the Troisdorf headquarters during K 2019. At its Technology Center, Reifenhäuser demonstrated seven extru- sion lines – six of which are completely new. In May, Reifenhäuser and SIBUR signed a cooperation agree- ment to develop new polymer products at SIBUR’s PolyLab center, Russia’s first R&D center for the development and test- ing of polymer products. Reifenhäuser will use the products developed at PolyLab based on SIBUR’s polymers as demons- tration projects for its potential customers. Moreover, the two companies will use the PolyLab to launch custom solutions for the production of polymer sheet, film, and nonwoven materi- als for mutual customers. Cooperation Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating supplied two extrusion lines and Reifenhäuser Blown Film Polyrema delivered a 3-layer blown film line for PolyLab. SIBUR employs all three lines for R&D purposes to test new developments and film recipes. The cast film line, a type MIDEX 5–60/120/60–2000, is de- signed to produce CPP film, LDPE film, and stretch film. Its particular features include Reifenhäuser extruders that pro- cess all polymers without changing screws and the MIDEX- RA rotary arm winder that is adapted to processing stretch and PET film. SIBUR uses the second line, a type MIREX-MT-H 1-80-0900 sheet line, to process polypropylene film which is then processed into cups and trays on a thermoformer. The core of this line is the polishing stack of the MIRX-MT-H se- ries. It has vertical polishing rolls and mechatronic nip adjust- ment. The two lines are equipped for the production of PET film. New raw materials and film recipes go hand in hand with the current debate on sustainability and the Circular Economy. Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO of the Reifenhäuser Group, empha- sized that the absolute decisive factor here is the practical han- dling of plastics. “Our industry is called upon to incorporate plastics into the Circular Economy. We bear co-responsibility for setting up collection systems to recycle plastic waste, mini- mize production waste, and make advances in new applica- tion fields, such as lightweight construction in the automotive industry. This is one of the reasons we are particularly delight- ed in the cooperation with SIBUR. They will test new raw ma- terials developments at their ultra-modern R&D center and in the future, they will launch products that are recyclable and reusable,” he said. Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating www.reifenhauser-csc.com/en/ The cooperation now goes one step further. At the end of August, Reifenhäuser and SIBUR defined the cooperation’s next steps and goals. In future, SIBUR’s R&D center, which measures over 5000 sq. m, will process new raw materials that meet sustainability requirements