Extrusion International USA 4-2022

14 Extrusion International 4/2022 INDUSTRY NEWS  Based on estimates, the global production of plastics and rubber machinery grew by 13% in 2021 and reached a new record level of 38.6 bil- lion euros. China in particular stood out as a driver here, increasing its pro- duction by an above-average 15%. European plastics and rubber machin- ery manufacturers achieved a slightly below-average increase of 11%, and now account for 40% of global pro- duction. Although this means they continue to hold the lion's share of global production, the figures also make it clear that the global plastics and rubber machinery sector has un- dergone a couple of shifts in recent years. In the past, the European share still accounted for almost 45%. The fact that China exported the most plastics and rubbermachinery for the first time last year also fits this pic - ture. The People's Republic increased its exports by an impressive 28.2% to 5.7 billion euros, thus relegating Ger- many to second place, and resulting in it having to relinquish its title of world export leader, with 5.2 billion euros (plus 9.4%). "In the medium term, companies in Europe will have to prepare them- selves for a significantly higher price level, as raw materials and energy in particular, have become much more expensive. At the same time, the situ- ation in the supplier market is causing problems, plus, due to the increased uncertainty resulting from the war in Ukraine, processors are holding back on investments and therefore on new orders for machine manufacturers" stated Luciano Anceschi, President of the European umbrella organization of the most important national plas- tics and rubber machine manufactur- ers (EUROMAP), summing up the dif - ficult situation. "We have benefited from Covid, but now we have to brace ourselves for the fact that a saturation effect has occurred in large parts of our cus- tomer industries, and further growth will be difficult to achieve this year un - der the current conditions," Anceschi continues. The European plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers are looking forward to the K trade fair in October, in order to be able to present the per- formance of their machines and their technical innovations to their custom- ers, with a view to circular economy and digitalisation. At K 2022, EUROMAP will demon- strate the OPC UA technology and the specifications for digital interfaces al - ready available for plastics and rubber machinery in action. Live data from connected machines can be accessed via an online dashboard by any trade fair visitor using a smartphone. Ma- chine manufacturers worldwide can participate. This is aimed at making the great potential of platform-inde- pendent and manufacturer-indepen- dent machine-to-machine communi- cation both visible and tangible. Interoperability in production, i.e. the networking of all components within the production line, is consid- ered a prerequisite for Industry 4.0. This gives machine operators the necessary access to production data, which allows them to monitor and control the processes for greater ef- ficiency, traceability, condition moni - toring through to machine learning, and artificial intelligence – and that in turn renders decisive competitive ad- vantages for them. The prerequisite for convenient "plug-and-play" networking is glob- ally recognised, uniform standards for data exchange. The OPC UA standard as a global machine language is the perfect basis for the development of technical specifications for individual machines and components. After be- ing initiated by VDMA and EUROMAP, the development of specifications is now taking place at a global level, to- gether with the OPC Foundation and international partner associations. EUROMAP c/o VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery www.euromap.org European Plastics and Rubber Machinery Industry Fall Shy of Global Production Growth  Lenzing Plastics and SML are not just linked by their geographical proximity in Upper Austria. The companies have a “genetic relationship” through their common past and common roots. Both were once business units of Lenzing AG. Whereas SML separated from Lenzing AG in 1995, Lenzing Plastics was spun off as a separate company in the year 2000. Two years ago, Lenzing Plastics decided to invest in a modern multi-functional coating line for technical appli- cations, e.g. for the construction or the automotive indus- try. Following a tough bidding process, SML was awarded the contract. The new line, which is being commissioned, is 100 per- cent tailor-made to Lenzing Plastics’ specific requirements. Multifunctional Coating Line JürgenMiethlinger,ManagingDirector LenzingPlastics, Karl StögerManagingDirector SML