PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2011

TRADE SHOW REVIEW 34 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 07+08/11 www.petpla.net Chinaplas 2011 – Bigger than ever This year was the 25th Chinaplas jubilee and more than 2,200 exhibitors from around the world presented their products under the theme “Green Plastics – Our Goal – Our Future” to made efforts to promote environmental friendly technologies, recyclable plastics and bioplastics. It was the largest show scale ever with 21 exhibition halls and a total exhibition area reaching 180.000m². Conferences and more than 40 technical seminars accompanied the show. 94,084 visitors (thereof 20.3% from overseas) visited the 4-day exhibition. It is estimated that in 2010 the Chinese plastics industry consisted of 95,000 companies which produced more than 58 million tons of plastic products, an impressive average annual growth of 20%. Herewith also the plastics machinery sector experienced strong growth and produced 300,000 sets of machines with a total value of RMB 42 billion (€ 4.5 billion), thereof RMB 6 billion (€ 650 million) for export. China-made plastic machinery keeps its share of around 80% in the domestic market. The PET activities of the exhibitors were mainly focused on PET recycling and PET preform production. Leading PET machinery suppliers such as Husky or Sidel were not present. While some local Chinese companies wanted to show how much they have advanced in the fields of preform injec- tion moulding machines and moulds others have simply focused to offer the lowest possible price. One of the local Chinese companies for instance stated that a complete 5 gallon PET bottle production line (from preform manufac- turing to bottle manufacturing) would only cost about USD 52,000 –58,000. The finishing of the displayed moulds and machines was from rather modest to pretty good. Some local Chi- nese companies claim that they can produce up to 96 cavities and use highest-quality steel such as S420 mate- rial (Sweden ASSAB) for their moulds. However, highly polished moulds with “Please No Pictures” signs attached are no indication for good performance in the production environment. Extended range of clamping-forces with hybrid drive At the Chinaplas 2011 the hybrid version of Netstal’s Elion range was represented by a model with 2800 kN clamping force. This Elion 2800-2000 machine uses a 96-cavity mould of the Swiss mouldmaker Corvaglia and an HDPE of Ineos to mould light closing caps. It is said that with the new models Elion 2200-2000 and Elion 2800- 2000 it is possible to achieve energy savings of up to 30% compared with conventional drives. Production at the show took place at a cycle of less than 2.5s. Directly after mould- ing all parts passed through a visual inspection station for quality control purposes. This inspection system was from the German Intravis company and the raw material feeding devices from the company Piovan. www.netstal.com Light closing caps produced on a Elion 2800-2000 machine Preform equipment from local suppliers Several local companies also presented their injection moulding machines for PET preforms. Haitian Plastics Machinery (www.haitian.com), th e worldwide largest manufacturer of injection moulding machines, has no dedicated PET machine in its product range. But the com- pany stated, that there are several customers in China and overseas that are using Haitian “standard” machines for PET preforms. Chen Hsong Group (www.chenhsong.com.hk), th e number two injection moulding machinery manufacturer in China, has a special PET machine. The so-called Chen- PET is a complete preform system (injection moulding machine, hot-runner system, mould and robot) which is able to work with moulds up to 72 cavities and a maxi- mum output of up to 16,000 preforms per hour, accord- ing to the company. However, this machine was not on display this time. One of the most pro-active PET preform approaches was done by the Chinese company Yizumi Precision Machinery (www.yizumi-group.com.hk) wh o displayed a servo-driven high-speed PET preform injection moulding machine. According to the company the largest machine is able to hold 96 cavities moulds. Unique is the dual- screw design and synchronous plasticizing unit which is used to achieve higher plasticizing capacity. Yizumi can offer turnkey, i.e. injection moulding machine, moulds and robots and has a special focus on markets outside China: the company just purchased the intellectual property of bankrupt American plastics machinery maker HPM and is moving ahead with plans for a service operation for HPM machines and for a technical centre in the USA.