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Editor’s Note

The Bare Essentials

News

Post Show Report- CHINAPLAS 2015

Article: Kompass Pakistan Pvt. Limited invests in state-of-the-art gravure cylinder making line

CHINAPLAS 2015 Highlights

Case Study: Stronger, thinner garbage films using Granic Masterbatch

Clariant and Technology Partners Add Holograms and Laser Marking to ColorForward® 2016 Palette

Article: Flexible Packaging Continues to Innovate

Article: Packaging Innovation as an Investment

Don’t Waste Your Time – New Guide To Plastics Recyclers In Europe

Dow Brings PacXpert™ Flexible Packaging Technology to China Through License Agreement with China Sun

Interview- Geared up for success: FAV Plastico

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Dear Readers,

Welcome once again to our quarterly issue. We continue to bring to you the latest developments in the industry and in our quest to be bring you news of current events and developments, Polymer and Packaging International has this year covered Asia’s no. 1 and world’s second largest exhibition in China. The exhibition had an auspicious list of attendees representing business and large corporations from all over the globe; the conference brought into focus innovative technologies that are bringing new dimensions to the industry worldwide.

Perhaps the most significant trend in the industry today is that Quality has become one of the main elements defining the market and the products that compete for market share. Manufacturers are working to upgrade the quality of their products and packaging services. This in turn has led to significant investment in R&D, which bodes well for the industry. Responsiveness to changing dynamics and investment in research provides a stable platform for technological advancement. The flexible packaging segment is one such example; it produces lightweight finished products that are also promoting an environment friendly culture.

For the last decade, the polymer and packaging industry in Pakistan has played a significant role in in adding to the manufacturing statistics of the country. There remains a growth potential within the industry that provides enough incentive to the players to expand, innovate and grow. The uptrend is obvious, but if international standards are a benchmark, as they must be, the need to enhance quality, acquire new technology and reengineer processes is what will differentiate the leaders from the followers. As matters stand now, market share is distributed equally between industry players. The game changer will be the opening of the Pak-China economic corridor; experts anticipate a changed and highly dynamic competitive environment. Good news for those manufacturers who are thinking ahead of the game, and even better news for consumers!

Content

OUR TEAM

Editor’s Note

Managing EditorS.H. [email protected]

Business CoordinatorM. Eijaz uddin [email protected]

Editorial AssistantKarishma [email protected]

Layout & VisualizationRehan A [email protected]

Address:Room No. 706, Business PlazaMumtaz Hassan Road,Karachi-74000, PakistanPhone: +92-21-3246-1722Website: www.thesis.com.pk

Agent in Malaysia:Al-Shams Global Sources Sdn Bhd, Suite 33, 33rd floor Menera Keck Seng, 203 Jalan Bukit Bintang,Kuala Lumpur 55100Tel 603 21163444, Fax 603 21164445

Published by:Thesis Publishing (Pvt) Ltd.

Printed at:Quick ProcessPlot No: 20, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi.


THE BARE ESSENTIALS:Graphical Representation of Pakistan’s Import of Printing Machinery (July 2010 – June 2015)

IMPORT OF PRINTING MACHINERY

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1000000

2000000

3000000

4000000

5000000

6000000

7000000

8000000

9000000

JULY 2010 -‐ JUNE 2011

JULY 2011 -‐ JUNE 2012

JULY 2012 -‐ JUNE 2013

JULY 2013 -‐ JUNE 2014

JULY 2014 -‐ JUNE 2015

Volume US $

OTHER OFFSET PRINTING MACHINERY

OFFSET PRINTING MACHINE REEL FED

GRAVURE PRINTING MACHINERY

FLEXOGRAPHIC PRINTING MACHINE

SHEET FED, OFFICE TYPE S-‐22&36

IMPORT OF PLASTIC MATERIAL

0 50,000,000

100,000,000 150,000,000 200,000,000 250,000,000 300,000,000 350,000,000 400,000,000 450,000,000 500,000,000

JULY 2010 -‐ JUNE 2011

JULY 2011 -‐ JUNE 2012

JULY 2012 -‐ JUNE 2013

JULY 2013 -‐ JUNE 2014

JULY 2014 -‐ JUNE 2015

Volume (US $) POLYETHYLENE SP GRAVITY<0.94

OTHER POLYETHERS

POLYETHYLENE SP.GRAVITY>0.94

POLYPROPYLENE

PROPYLENE COPOLYMERS


0

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JULY 2010 -‐ JUNE 2011

JULY 2011 -‐ JUNE 2012

JULY 2012 -‐ JUNE 2013

JULY 2013 -‐ JUNE 2014

JULY 2014 -‐ JUNE 2015

Volume (US $) INJECTION MOULDING MACHINES

OTHER MOULDS FOR RUBBER/PLASTICS INJECTION OR COMPRESSION TYPES EXTRUDERS

IMPORT OF PLASTIC & RUBBER MACHINERY

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JULY 2014 -‐ JUNE 2015

Volume (US $)

MACHINERY MAKE PAPER P/BOARD OTHER PART PULP/PAPER MAKING MACHINERY OTHER PARTS MACHINE PAPER P/BOARD

IMPORT OF PAPER & PAPER BOARD MACHINERY

IMPORT OF PACKAGING MACHINERY

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Volume (US $) OTHER PACKING / WRAPPING

MACHINE

OTHER PART FILLING/PACK/WRAPPING MACHINE

MACHINE FOR FILLING/CLOSING BOTTLES

Global Industry ExhibitionsAPPLAS 201501-04 Sept - Shanghai, China

EXPO Plast 201508-11 Sept - Bucharest, Romania

Gulf Plastics & Polymers Show08-10 Sept - Abu Dhabi, UAE

Plastic Osaka 201507-09 Oct - Osaka, Japan

Fakuma 201513-17 Oct - Friedrichshafen, Germany

CIRI Expo 201514-16 Oct - Qingdao, China

Plastex Uzbekistan 201520-22 Oct - Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Plast Eurasia 201503-06 Dec - Istanbul, Turkey


Poland tops the growth league in Europe’s flexible packaging market in 2014According to PCI Films Consulting’s latest review of the European marketplace, flexible packaging demand in Poland achieved solid growth of 5 percent during 2014, compared with 1.4 percent for Europe as a whole. Other national markets that significantly outperformed the European average were Turkey, the Czech and Slovak Republics, and .

Report author Paul Gaster, says: “For the second year running there have been very few inflationary pressures within the European flexible packaging market and volume consumption growth in most European countries has been tracking that of value over the last year. Poland, however, has stood out as the one major market where demand has continued to grow strongly, underpinned by robust domestic demand and a successful focus on packaged food exports.”

As a result, Poland’s flexible packaging industry has achieved enormous success by supporting the high levels of inward direct investment made by multinational food brand owners in recent years, keen to take advantage of growing packaged food markets in Eastern Europe and of lower production costs available in the Polish market. Their converted flexible packaging needs have been able to be supplied by a sophisticated domestic flexible packaging industry in which leading multinational converters Amcor, Constantia and Mondi, along with Polish converter Alupol are the major players.

In identifying another major European trend, PCI reports that growth in flexible packaging demand for coffee applications, boosted by changing consumer drinking habits, has been another driver of the market in 2014. While the volume of coffee consumed in most European markets has been broadly stable or in slow decline, new added-value formats has boosted flexible packaging usage. Examples of this positive trend include increased usage of coffee pod and capsule systems using aluminium lidding and associated outer bags; also of VFFS bags of ground coffee and beans in some national markets; and the adoption of refill bags for instant coffee.

In the 15th edition of their report on the European market, PCI notes that Europe’s €12.9 billion flexible packaging market remains one of the largest and most sophisticated in the world, accounting for over 20 percent of the global total. In 2014, flexible packaging demand in Western Europe grew by 1.2 percent in both value and area terms, while the previous rapid growth in Eastern Europe has halved following sharp declines in growth in Russia and a real decline in demand in Ukraine.

Looking forward, PCI forecasts that flexible packaging demand will pick up slightly in Western Europe in 2015 as packaged food demand in some of the struggling EU economies continues to recover. However, this is expected to be offset in Eastern Europe where demand growth is expected to fall

NEWSbelow 1 percent due to expected consumption declines in Russia and Ukraine. Between 2014 and 2019, PCI is forecasting European flexible packaging CAGR of 2 percent to reach €14.2 billion.

Challenging market for polymer distributorsDistributors gain market share, trust and importance in times of extreme raw material shortage

AMI Consulting, a division of Applied Market Information Ltd., has just published a new report on the latest developments in the polymer distribution market in Europe.

In 2014, more than 12% of polymer consumed in Europe was sold via distribution channels which are equal to around 3.4 million tonnes. After hitting its lowest point in 2009 during the great recession and with another slowdown in 2012 due to weak polymer demand affected by the eurozone crisis, distributors’ sales grew at an average of over 3%/year in 2013 and 2014 and for the first time in seven years surpassed the volume of sales reached in 2007.

Total Sales 2014: 3.4 million tonnes

The market has been driven by the on-going rationalisation by polymer suppliers of their customer base and increasing the threshold at which they handover customers to distributors. Distributors have also been securing more distribution mandates with non-European suppliers, causing traders to lose market share. In response some traders have started to establish distribution relationships with their suppliers. Plastics processors are also increasingly relying on distributors rather than holding their own stocks.

The important role that distributors play in the supply chain has been well illustrated by recent market developments. Falling oil prices in the last quarter of 2014 and weakening demand led to rapid destocking by processors. The weak euro saw imports decline as importers diverted material to dollar paying economies where they could earn better netbacks. European producers also increased

European Converted Flexible Packaging

Source: PCI Films Consulting Ltd / Industry Sources

UK

Italy

Russia

Others

Poland

Germany

France

their exporting activities for similar reasons. As a result, from the beginning of 2015, both processors and distributors were caught by surprise by extreme raw material shortages exacerbated by an unexpected string of force majeure just at a time when spring buying was kicking in. The tight market has caused prices to rebound strongly and the ensuing shortages has led some processors shutting down lines and industry trade associations lobbying hard in the press for producers to invest in new European production.

It is in difficult and tight market situations such as these when the distributors’ skilful, flexible and rapid relief offered to troubled customers is well rewarded and increasingly it is distributors who are expected to be the ones who will offset the sudden changes in the polymer supply/demand balance for both suppliers and plastics processors.

Clariant launches toolbox for sustainable hot melts Licocene® • Licocene® hot melt solutions offer superior

cohesion and adhesion for final formulations with less resin use and more sustainable processing

• Tailored toolbox with formulating guidelines creates easy formulating options

• 2015 Finalist in the world’s first innovation award – the Innovationspreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has created the complete toolbox for formulators to design hot melts with superior performance for any need, using sustainable processing. It features Clariant’s acclaimed Licocene® metallocene-based systems and formulating guidelines, and was unveiled at the European Coatings Show 2015.

Unique Licocene Performance solutions have low molecular weight yet high mechanical strength. For hot melt adhesives, they are valued for providing a perfect balance between adhesion and cohesion. The optimized Licocene viscosity profile in particular achieves desired properties even at low processing temperatures. Excellent thermal stability means less charring, no gelling, and enables higher productivity, generated by reduced cleaning downtime and increased mileage due to its low density.

Further improved Licocene solutions offer possibilities for an adhesion boost to support formulators’ switch to using less tackifying resin in PE and PP based hot melt adhesives.

Licocene’s reputation for facilitating sustainability extends beyond customers to the wider business community. Licocene was nominated as finalist in the, “Innovationspreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft 2015”. The German business award is considered to be the world’s first innovation award.

To meet the steady growth for Licocene Performance Polymers since their launch in 2006, Clariant is increasing production capacity by 50% at its facility on the


Frankfurt-Höchst Industrial Park in Germany. The additional capacity is scheduled to come on stream in Q1 2016.

“Licocene Performance solutions provide the complete toolbox needed to design better hotmelts for any need. Licocene systems are very effective, enabling formulators to achieve more with less and enjoy higher productivity, saving them money. We use ethylene and propylene monomers to ensure future proof raw material so our customers can optimize processing and end formulations for years ahead,” comments Oliver Kinkel, Head of Business Unit Additives at Clariant.

Making Polyolefins Perform!Polyolefins lead the global commodity plastics markets in volume, applications and diversity of functions. Noru Tsalic of AMI Consulting will outline the market trends at the next AMI international conference on Polyolefin Additives and compounding 2015, which will take place from 20-22 October 2015 at the Maritim Hotel in the ancient city of Cologne in Germany.

Polyethylene pipes are gaining sector share in construction, agricultural films are transforming the production potential in arid regions, polypropylene packaging is preserving foodstuffs and minimising waste and in automotive manufacturing the use of polyolefins as metal replacements is reducing weight. The different properties of polyethylene and polypropylene materials are obtained by careful selection of resin, additives, reinforcement and processing methods. A. Schulman is reviewing how to compound polypropylene to tailor properties and Lummus Novolen Technology has studied how to obtain advanced features in PP. There are now many larger scale uses of PP compounds, particularly in automotive and Leistritz Extrusionstechnik has new equipment for upscaling the compounding process, while Automatik Plastics Machinery has top of the range pelletising technology.

Single ply roofing membranes gain market shareAccording to a recently published study by leading industry consultants, Applied Market Information Ltd (AMI Consulting), polymer based single ply membranes are gaining market share strongly from bitumen for waterproofing flat roofs.

The report’s editor John Nash says that “After several years of demand being constrained by low levels of construction activity in Europe, we are now seeing significant growth in demand for single ply. The market is shifting towards lighter weight and faster construction techniques which benefits single ply at the expense of bitumen felts. In response several of the single ply producers have increased capacity or are planning to while others are still operating at rates which are unprofitable. The impact of single ply’s share gain on the bitumen roofing specialists has been severe and now many of the stronger ones also sell single ply”.

Bitumen supply has been impacted by reduced availability of heavy refinery fractions.

Between 2008 and 2014 20% of Europe’s bitumen producing refineries closed due to sharply reduced demand and a stronger focus on profitability. The reduction of supply is particularly notable in Italy where 6 of the country’s 11 bitumen producing refineries have closed in recent years.

Strong technical innovation in polymeric single ply means better durability, improved aesthetics, easier installation and improved bitumen compatibility. One of the areas in which single ply is making strong progress is in the repair of old bitumen roofs. Not many years ago this was almost always done with bitumen.

Single ply roofing membranes are made from TPOs (flexible compounds based on speciality polyethylene or polypropylene copolymers), EPDM and PVC. The key requirement is 20-25 year performance despite direct exposure to weathering. These are demanding conditions requiring a deep technical commitment by the producers of single ply membranes.

Leading suppliers of single ply membranes in Europe include Carlisle, Firestone, Protan, Renolit and Sika. Several of the bitumen producers like Bauder, Danosa, Icopal, IKO and Soprema have already entered the single ply market either via acquisition or greenfield investment as they seek to reposition their businesses. Others are reviewing their strategies which is likely to drive future M&A activity. Since 2014 TechnoNICOL has acquired both Imper and Italiana Membrane and thereby created a substantial presence in the European market.

European machine tool industry calls for EU strategy in assisting addictive manufacturing developmentThe “Additive Manufacturing European Conference” organized by CECIMO, the European Association of the Machine Tool industries was held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on June 23.

The Conference confirmed that additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, creates perspectives in terms of technology, markets and economic development, as well as sustainability.

The design freedom brought by AM stretches the imagination of designers and engineers to develop highly functional products which respond to complex customer needs. Moreover, layer-by-layer production generates unprecedented savings on material and energy usage, making AM a blueprint for

sustainable and competitive manufacturing.

Jean Camille Uring, CECIMO President said, “Addictive manufacturing can satisfy Europe’s appetite for innovation and can boost the added value of industrial production. AM is still a relatively young technology which needs to be further developed so that its full potential can be unleashed. Europe has to move amidst global competition to turn AM into a mainstream technology that serves multiple sectors.

It was recognized that AM is an integral part of digitization trend in manufacturing. AM allows o convert digital into products whilst disrupting existing production processes and supply chains. Supply chains are shifted to the virtual environment and the storage requirements are reduced to the hardware necessary to the store files. By promoting mass-customization and demand production nearby customers, AM can become a key driver of Europe’s reindustrialization.

Reinhard Butikofer, Member of the European Parliament, hosting the conference stated that “Europe is in dire need of new economic dynamism. Additive manufacturing offers great potential for disruptive innovation. It can boost industrial competitiveness and, at the same time, deliver significant material and energy efficiency gains. We need an ambitious EU industrial policy that taps into new technologies and industrial trends to promote competitiveness and sustainability.”

BASF inaugurates 160,000 tons acrylic acid complex in BrazilBASF officially inaugurated its 500 million production complex for acrylic acid, butyl acrylate and superabsorbent polymers in Camacari, Bahia, Brazil.

Offering a capacity of 160,000 tons of acrylic acid per year, this investment is BASF’s largest in South America to date. Superabsorbent polymers are important products in the acrylic acid value chain and are used in the production of baby diapers and other hygiene products. Butyl acrylate, another important derivative of acrylic acid, is used to produce adhesives, construction chemicals and decorative paints.

“This complex will secure national and regional supply of products that are currently imported”, said Ralph Schweens, President of BASF in South America. “In addition, it will positively impact the local economy by encouraging investment and innovation in the region and attracting new companies to the Camacari industrial area.”

In addition to the new Camacari complex, BASF will convert its butyl acrylate plant at its existing site in Guaratingueta near Sao Paulo to produce 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, an important raw material for the adhesive and coating industries.

This will be the first plant of its kind in South America. Production is expected to start in 2016 and will be based on acrylic acid produced in Camacari.

The European Market for Single ply Waterproof Membranes in 2014

Germany29%

Benelux13%

UK8%

France7%

Poland7%

Others36%


Solvay starts up new fluoroelastomers plant in Changshu, ChinaSolvay has begun production at its new fluoroelastomers (FKM) plant in Changshu, China, as part of its ongoing strategic site expansion, to meet booming demand for its specialty polymers from Asia’s fast-growing automotive industry and multiple other high-end markets. As Solvay Specialty Polymers’ third fluorelastomer unit in the world it benefits from the site’s existing Specialty Polymers operations* and infrastructure, as well as from secure raw material supplies through its joint venture with nearby Shanghai 3F New Material Co., Ltd..

From Changshu, Jiangsu Province, Solvay will supply its FKM brand Tecnoflon® which resists aggressive chemicals and heats of more than 300°C, has excellent low-temperature elasticity and is easy to process in various different molding techniques. Typical end-use products are gaskets, shaft seals, hoses and cables used in automotive, industrial and oil and gas applications.

“This state-of-art fluoroelastomers facility considerably strengthens our global industrial footprint, extending our reach from Europe and the United States to Asia,” said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit. “Solvay Specialty Polymers offers the industry’s most diversified range of high-end polymers and our expansions in Changshu will bring us closer to our customers and support them in maintaining their competitive edge in their market segments.”

At the same site, Solvay Specialty Polymers is constructing a unit for the production of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to supply Solef®. The unit is due to come on-stream by end-2016. In addition to fluoroelastomers, Solvay’s operations at Changshu include compounding, based on its specialty polymers resins.

Iceland Foods Embraces On-Demand Digitally Printed Food Packaging“Test marketing of actual products in store, customised, regionalised products and special promotions can now be produced in small volumes on really short lead times.”

Describing the process, Ian said: “The chilled British Sausage range has been launched on a very tight deadline. Ultimate digitally printed the packaging film on their recently installed HP Indigo 20000 wide width presses, using only four process colors and white resulting in superb quality packs and a successful launch for Iceland.”

Ultimate has a 15 year history in the manufacture of printed, flexible packaging and as a business are regarded as an innovative and responsive supplier, producing high-quality, flexible packaging for food manufacturers across the UK. Ultimate owner and director Chris Tonge said: “With a large percentage of flexible packaging specifications now achievable using digital print technology this is a real game changer for brands and retailers. Test marketing of actual products in

store, customized, regionalized products and special promotions can now be produced in small volumes on really short lead times. “

Digital print complements the Ultimate flexo business, attracting new, big brand clients who are looking to increase consumer engagement using digitally printed packaging that features customization, personalization, one off designs and promotional links.

The Ultimate business has a broad capability and can offer customers a complete packaging service from design to digital print, flexo print, and packaging research and development.

Metal foam offers lightweighting options for automotiveA lightweight metal matrix syntactic foam sandwiched between two carbon fabric layers reportedly offers properties advantageous to the transportation sector such as extreme light weight, flexibility, and the ability to withstand deformation and absorb energy.

The aluminum alloy foam structure was developed by a team led by Nikhil Gupta, a NYU School of Engineering associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, working with the Deep Springs Technology (Toledo, OH) and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. They believe that this layered material with a lightweight metal matrix syntactic foam core holds significant potential for automobiles, trains, ships, and other applications requiring lightweight structural components that retain their strength even when bent or compressed. Conventional metal foams have gas-filled pores within the metal, which reduce weight but pose some drawbacks, such as difficulty in controlling the size and shape of the pores during manufacturing.

By contrast, metal matrix syntactic foams incorporate porosity in their foam-like structure by means of hollow particles. In recent years there has been an upsurge in the use of these materials, mainly because of their compressive strength. However, bending strength was a limitation for many potential applications, notably automotive structures.

Metallic foams previously have been sandwiched between two stiff sheets, which provide increased flexural strength while the foam core allows the material to withstand large deformation and absorb energy. But Gupta and his colleagues are the first to develop a metal matrix syntactic foam core sandwich composite.

Their study focused on an aluminum alloy filled with hollow alumina particles sandwiched with carbon fabric face-sheets. The researchers discovered that the resulting layered material reduced weight but also

increased stiffness and offered high energy absorption. These qualities make the metal matrix syntactic foam sandwich attractive for automotive floor board panels and other applications in which bending properties are important.

“This work could result in a new generation of ships and ground vehicles for both the military and civilian sectors,” says Gupta. “Trains can also benefit from the lightweight and high energy absorbing panels made possible by the new sandwich composite.”

IMCD appoints Regional Business Group Director, Plastics AsiaIMCD N.V. announces the appointment of Mr. Patrick van Vugt as Regional Business Group Director, Plastics for Asia. Relocating from his current IMCD role based in the Netherlands, the appointment is effective 1 August and follows IMCD’s expansion of its plastics business in Asia. It also affirms both the region’s importance to the speciality chemical distributor and the relevance and opportunities the plastics business holds there.

IMCD covers the following key sectors - Food & Nutrition, Personal Care, Coatings, Pharmaceuticals, Detergents, Lubricants, Synthesis and Plastics. In the area of plastics, the company’s extensive portfolio of over 4.000 different products is divided into five subgroups: compounders, converters, rubber, polyurethane and composite.

Its high-quality additives and compounds serve a wide range of market segments from automotive, packaging, electrics & electronics, industry and consumer applications to wire & cable. Included in the product portfolio are functional masterbatches, speciality wire & cable compounds, thermally conductive compounds, high performance polyamides, electrically conductive plastics, thermoplastic elastomers and others.

IMCD has made a number of strategic moves in Asia and is looking to further grow its footprint in the region. In August 2013, it acquired Singapore-based plastics distributor, Paceco Industrial Supplies. The firm’s operations also covered China and Malaysia, enabling IMCD to strengthen its portfolio of high-end speciality plastic compounds in these territories. This acquisition complemented IMCD’s plastics business in China and also provided a platform for further expansion in South East Asia. Since then, IMCD has also established a Plastics team in Thailand and Indonesia.

Beyond plastics, in October 2012, IMCD expanded into Indonesia in the areas of Food & Nutrition, Personal Care and Pharmaceuticals. In 2013, it also opened an office in Thailand focusing on Food & Nutrition as well as Personal Care portfolios and in 2014, it entered the Philippines with a focus on Food & Nutrition. IMCD currently has 17 offices, 21 warehouses and 7 laboratories in Asia-Pacific.

Mr Albert Stevens, VP IMCD Asia, commented: “We very much look forward to Patrick joining the ever-expanding Asia-Pacific team. We are confident that his extensive knowledge and expertise will help us to further grow our Plastics division in the region.”


Cherat Packaging to increase production capacity for PP woven bagsCherat Packaging (CPL), the largest manufacturer and producer of cement bags in Pakistan has decided to increase production capacity of polypropylene woven bags by adding a third line to their existing facility.

In order to meet the growing demand for PP woven bags in the country, CPL will acquire the new line from leading European manufacturers BSW - Windmoller & Holscher. Considered the fastest and most efficient technology of its type, the new line will be installed at CPL’s existing facility in Gadoon Amazai in Khyber Pakhtukhwa province. In the first phase, a capacity of 50 million PP bags will be added by June 2016 while an additional capacity of 50 million bags will follow in the second phase by June 2017.

SK Chemical launches venture with SABICSK Global Chemical has joined with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) to launch a joint venture firm in Singapore on Sunday, 05th July, 2015. Industry insiders say the joint venture firm will provide an opportunity for the group to take a “quantum leap” in the global chemical industry. The two signed a 50:50 partnership on Friday, 03rd July, 2015 to establish the 710 billion-won SABIC SK Nexlene Company (SSNC).

Under the agreement, SK Global Chemical and SK Innovation will provide the technology and production facilities for its flagship product, Nexlene, to SSNC, worth 540 billion won, while SABIC will focus on sales through its global marketing networks.

The venture with the world’s largest ethylene producer is the brainchild of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who has worked to make it happen while serving a four-year prison term since 2013 for embezzlement.

Chey, during his Middle East tour in March

2011, was known to have made contact with the Saudi chemical giant more than 10 times before he was jailed.

Nexlene is a high-performance polyethylene brand that SK developed in 2010. The premium polyethylene is used in products in a wide range of areas of the automotive, utilities, construction and other industries.

Until now, American chemical and gas companies such as Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobile have been dominating its production.

The joint venture will operate a series of manufacturing plants, including one SK Global Chemical recently completed in Ulsan, with an expected annual capacity of 230,000 tons.

A second plant is planned for Saudi Arabia, the company said without elaborating on the details.

“Source technology-holding SK Global Chemical met with SABIC, which can offer raw materials and marketing networks, enabling us to target the global chemical market,” said SK Global Chemical CEO Cha Hwa-yeop. “Armed with high-end chemical products, we will continuously upgrade our business portfolio looking for the next Nexlene.” It is the second time SABIC has forged a joint partnership in Asia, following one with the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation in 2009, according to the company.

Pakistan’s flexible and carton packaging industries participate in BOBST & partners Karachi roadshowThe two-day BOBST & partners packaging print and converting roadshow, held in Karachi in May 2015, brought together over 140 prominent representatives of the Pakistani flexible and carton packaging industries. Together, delegates heard from world-leading equipment and consumables manufacturers about the latest technologies and processes for packaging printing and converting.

The focus of day one was on the latest innovations in flexible packaging solutions, from raw materials to finished products.

A new report from leading industry consultants Applied Market Information Ltd, shows that polymer demand is slowly returning to growth, after nearly three years of fairly flat market conditions, but markets are potentially being harmed by the shortages of raw material. In AMI’s 2015 European Plastics Industry Report just published, European polymer markets are forecast to grow by 1.3% this year, building on a recovery of less than 1% for 2014. However, even this modest gain is under risk from the region’s tight supply for many materials and rapidly rising prices.

As a result the European plastics industry in 2015 finds itself in another period of upheaval and change as it looks to pull out of the stagnation caused first by the Great Recession in 2008-2009 and then by the eurozone crisis 2012-2013. In the two years since AMI published its last review, in 2013, demand

has barely shifted from just over 36 million tonnes and the volume of polymers consumed in 2014 was still some 10% below that used in 2007 before the Great Recession hit.

However, whilst at a top line level the trend looks pretty static, patterns of demand have been variable by polymer, by application and by country and the report shows who have been the winners and losers over the past five

years. Demand for LL/LDPE, for example, has shown no overall growth through a combination of material shortages, reformulations and packaging downgauging. HDPE in contrast which has less exposure to the film sector has seen more solid growth approaching 2% for 2014, driven by developments in closures, automotive applications and some pipe applications, although film markets have been weak for similar reasons to LL/LDPE. The PP market has developed positively driven by increasing automotive production (which was up 4% in 2014 after two rather flat years) and strong demand for food packaging and medical/hygiene products. Polystyrene, however, remains structurally weak with the market continuing to be eroded by its relatively high price, supply issues and the attrition of processing capacity.

These were presented by BOBST and its industry partners Atlas Converting, Coim, Kodak, Macchi and Schmid Rhyner.

Carton packaging was covered on day two of the roadshow. BOBST presented its latest solutions designed to help carton makers work towards “zero-fault” packaging, along with highlighting some specific process developments in hot-foil stamping, the die-cutting of in-mold labels, rotary Braille embossing, and litho-lamination. Industry partners Kodak, BW Paper System, and Schmid Rhyner also showcased their latest solutions, aimed at driving innovation through the corrugated board and folding carton packaging supply chain and giving converters a competitive advantage.

Mr. Samir Khoudja, Head of Zone, Bobst Africa & Middle East, said, “Pakistan in an important market for us. It already has a large number of BOBST folding carton installations and we expect further development in the corrugated board industry over the coming years.” He added, “This seminar brought a unique opportunity for us and our industry partners to demonstrate to customers in Pakistan how we can help them improve the quality of their output while at the same time reducing their costs. Our presence in Pakistan shows our commitment to supporting the development of the packaging industry in this key market.”

Complementing the technical presentations, very valuable insights on trends in both the flexible and carton sectors of Pakistan’s packaging industry were given by Mr. Rizwan Ghani, General Manager of Packages Limited, Lahore, and Mr. Ahmed Farooq, Corporate Packaging Services Manager, Nestlé Pakistan, who relayed the perspectives of a major converting company and a brand owner respectively. Also of interest were the addresses given at the opening of each day of the roadshow. On the day dedicated to flexible packaging, Mr. Syed Aarij Iqbal, CEO of M/s Alpha Penta Pvt Ltd, spoke in his capacity as Executive Member of the Italian Development Committee (IDC) about the promotion of bi-lateral trade between Pakistan and Italy, as well as about the role of the IDC.

INDUSTRIAL ANALYSISPolymer industry turns the corner but will supply issues hold growth back?


Emerging Opportunities in Thai Market for Plastics Manufacturers in AsiaInterPlas Thailand 2015, Thailand’s only International Trade Exhibition and Conference for Plastics and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Machinery and Technology – 24th edition is held from 9-12 July at BITEC in Bangkok.

Thailand as one of the strongest in automobile manufacturing related to plastics industry shows the readiness of Thai infrastructure and the readiness to become the plastic manufacturing hub for plastic industries. Another advantage is production cost overall in Thailand is equitable due to more favorable infrastructure. While the Thai people’s friendly attitude presents an attractive working environment. Thailand’s location in ASEAN, its reliable plastics material resources such natural rubber, tapioca and coconut makes Thailand poised to become the hub of plastics manufacturing in ASEAN.

Ms Chanapa Lertrungruang, Project Manager, Reed Tradex Company showed how InterPlas Thailand 2015 is ready to help investors network to find matching partners in Thailand, and provide an insight into the ASEAN market. The show is the most comprehensive Plastics and Petrochemicals Manufacturing and Technology exhibition in ASEAN. Investors and traders will find the entire manufacturing value chain of the plastics industry represented at this show – from plastics molding to injection applications, from auto-parts making to plastic packaging production, from upstream to downstream and including bio plastics and recycling processes available from over 300 brands from 20 countries. At InterPlas Thailand –visitors will meet more than 12,000 other quality visitors from many countries in Asia who are members of the plastics industry. Visitors will have the opportunity to network with others at the exclusive Plastics Forum 2015, an annual meeting of top executives in the Plastics industry, and also through the Sourcing Business Matchmaking program which is specialized business matchmaking between suppliers and the delegates.

Plasprintpack Nigeria’ 2015The premier edition of plastprintpack & Agrofood Nigeria was successful in meeting up the expectations of the professionals. Around 91 exhibitors participated in the event and 1349 trade visitors attended it and 82% of the visitors plan for the investment decisions in the next 12 months. The exhibition was organized by fair trade which was held on 28-30 April, 2015. The exhibitors were highly satisfied with the quality of their business contacts and the high number of attendees. The main objective of the event was to add value to the modernization of the Nigerian Plast-pack and Agro-food Industries. Among different categories of exhibitors at the events, it was found that majority of the visitors showed their interest in the packaging machines sector. One of the speakers at the

event Mr. Godwin Ogilo, CFO, HEIDELBERG Nigeria said that “Nigeria is a challenging but rapidly growing and profitable market for most types of manufacturers, especially consumer products packaging. Heidelberg has been operating a sales & service organization in Nigeria for over 50 years – it has been a very interesting and sometimes bumpy ride”. Another speaker at the event; Mr. Mohamed Ikar, Sales Manager of Kautex Maschinenbau communicated that “we are here to submit solutions and services to our customers and to regain the market, win and convince new customers and improve the relationship with our existing customers. We are very satisfied with the quality of the professional visitors who came to discuss business at our booth”.

International lightweights at AMI’s Polymer Foam conference!The next AMI Polymer Foam 2015 international conference features top foam producers and experts from around the world and takes place from 2-4 November at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany. The use of foam technology is growing rapidly across all fields of plastics processing and Professor Volker Altstaedt will review the state of the art in thermoplastic foam production to kick off the conference. The major applications of foam include construction from wall panels to pipes and flooring;, furnishing; automotive components; marine and wind blade composite structures (where the foam is provided by expert companies such as 3A Composites/Airex); and protective packaging.

Polymer foams provide beneficial properties such as heat and sound insulation: Armacell and Techno Nicol are leaders in the field of construction foams, while BASF Polyurethanes has a new high performance insulation board material. There are other advantages of foams such as cushioning and impact resistance, weight reduction and cost reduction due to reduced material usage. Foams can be manufactured on many different types of equipment from extruders to injection moulding machines and steam chest moulding, and techniques vary from structural foam moulding to bead processing and sheet extrusion.

In the automotive foam arena Valeo Thermal Systems has used foaming for cycle time reduction and light-weighting. Meanwhile Faurecia Interior Systems has worked on optimizing the morphology of a stiff hybrid injected foam insulator. There has been an on-going research project between automotive companies and Mecaplast, which has focused on foaming visible parts.

Bright future for plastic industry in PakistanIn Pakistan there are immense opportunities in plastic industry, which is a thriving sector, as in the past 30 years international plastics production has grown by more than 500%, said speakers at the 10th International Plastic,

Printing & Packaging Industry Exhibition 2014 began at Expo Centre Karachi on Tuesday.

The three-day exhibition was organized by FAKT Exhibitions, a leading trade exhibition organization company of Pakistan.

The event is hosting over 200 exhibitors from around 20 countries. Exhibitors from all over Pakistan are participating at this event along with foreign companies from Austria, China, India, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA etc.

According to international study, the global plastics industry has recorded average annual growth of 9% since 1950. In the past 30 years alone, international plastics production has grown by more than 500%. Global plastics consumption is forecast to grow five per cent per annum for the period 2007 through 2015. In actual production terms, this represents an overall global production level of 330 million tons by 2015.

Iran, China to set up pavilions at Plastics and Packaging ExhibitionThe International Plastics and Packaging Industry Exhibition – Plastic & Pack 2015 has become the hallmark of introducing the most innovative and latest technologies of plastics and packaging in Pakistan. The notion is endorsed by the biggest country pavilions confirmed by China and Iran.

Chinese participation is marked by exhibitors belonging to injection moulding; mould making; extrusion; printing and packaging machinery; testing equipment and raw materials. The plastics sector from Iran is represented by INPIA, Iran National Plastics Industry Association which is organizing the biggest ever single country pavilion in Plastic & Pack Pakistan 2015.

International exhibitors from Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Taiwan, and UAE are also going to display latest display of high speed printing packaging machines, injection moulding machines, solvent less laminators, compressors, mono and multi-layer blown film lines and petrochemicals products.

Another highlight of Plastic & Pack 2015 is a national pavilion of locally made packaging machines from some of the biggest names of the industry. Local participation also consists of converters, packaging suppliers, printers and representatives of international companies.

Plastic & Pack 2015 is “a not to miss event” for the industry sourcing for the latest plastics processing and packaging machinery and material, and looking to forge long term business ties with some of the leading suppliers of these technologies, said the Chief Organizer, Aamer Khanzada. Plastic & Pack is fully supported by trade associations like FLEXPAC and PEIAC China, government bodies EOBI, PCSIR and global agent network and partner publications, he added.

SPOTLIGHT ON EXHIBITIONS & CONFERENCES


CHINAPLAS 2015 closed successfully on 23 May 2015 with a big success, with the no of visitors surpassing the last exhibition held in Guangzhou in 2013, despite the bad weather that caused flight and train disruptions during the show period. The heavy downpours could not cool down the determination of visitors to come to the show. The Asia’s largest and the world’s second largest plastics and rubber trade fair held on 20-23 May has attracted a total of 128,264 visitors. The visitors peaked on the second day, having 49,732 visitors attended. As CHINAPLAS has been well-recognized by the plastics and rubber industries as well as their downstream sectors globally, the show this year welcomed 35,090 overseas visitors, representing 27.36% of the total. They came from 137 countries and regions with India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Iran, Malaysia and Japan as the top ten origins. As compared with the show held in Guangzhou in 2013, the show registered a 12.41% growth in visitors, while overseas visitors rose by 14.04%.

Apart from the impressive visitor figures, CHINAPLAS 2015 also marked new records in the show scale in terms of exhibition area and no of exhibitors over the past editions. This year, 3,275 exhibitors from 39 countries and regions participated in the show, of which over 700 exhibitors joined CHINAPLAS for the first time, representing over 20% of total exhibitors. The show also marked unprecedented exhibition area, with floor space over 240,000 sqm, up 9% compared to last CHINAPLAS held in Guangzhou in 2013, with the exhibitor number up more than 10%.

Ada Leung, General Manager of Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd., the organizer of CHINAPLAS, said, “The majority of our exhibitors are very happy with the visitor quality and their participation results. Despite the heavy rain during the show, the fairground was busy

with business networking and technological exchange activities. At the same time, we have received many positive feedbacks from the visitors that the technology levels of exhibits and the quality of the show have kept on rising”. She added, “As the show organizer, we are very glad to see that the global plastics and rubber industries have fully recognized CHINAPLAS as an effective platform for technology and trade promotion, and for the setting of market trends.”

The show got compliments from both exhibitors and visitors. Exhibitors were satisfied with the high quality visitors came from different countries.

“It has been a very busy CHINAPLAS probably one of the best of the last 5-6 years in terms of quality of companies and credibility of visitors - who were mostly purchasing people and decision makers, who know exactly what they were looking for and in a position to buy. The facilities and logistics around the show have been first class and the whole operation has been incredibly smooth. We have already expressed our interest in signing up for the next CHINAPLAS held in Shanghai,” said Mr. Eddie Grant, The Aerogen Company Ltd.

“NatureWorks has participated in CHINAPLAS since 2011. It’s a very good platform for us to meet with potential customers and supply chain partners. At the same time, it provided an opportunity for us to showcase the latest bioplastics innovations made with Ingeo to the visitors coming from all over the world. It’s a show not just we cannot miss, but you too!” commented by Ms Pauline Ning, Marketing Manager, Marketing & Communications Asia Pacific, NatureWorks LLC

Besides, visitors acknowledged CHINAPLAS as the professional sourcing platform in the industry.

Victor Zhang, General Manager, Visource (HK) Limited said “CHINAPLAS is a very professional exhibition. I noticed that the booths of Chinese enterprises are bigger than ever. It means that the gap between Chinese enterprises and global giants is narrowing.”

Mr. Esat TAS, Managing Director of ENPA from Turkey said , “CHINAPLAS is the fair worth coming and worth my time. The exhibits are very comprehensive. The quality of people and companies of this show are getting better and better.”

Similar contentment is also found among the domestic visitors. “CHINAPLAS is a very professional and a comprehensive show in plastics and rubber industries. I can see there are new technologies and new highlights in every year. This year, the Industrial Automation Zone in particular has inspired me with a lot of new ideas to improve my existing production facilities’, said Miss Hu Huifang, Head of Production, OPPLE Lighting (Zhongshan).

CHINAPLAS 2016 will celebrate its 30th edition next year and will be held on 25-28 April, 2016 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, PR China.

POST SHOW REPORT

CHINAPLAS 2015 comes to a successful close, with a double digit growth in the no. of visitors

CHINAPLAS 2015four-day attendance

Overseas Visitor,35,090 (27.36%)

Domestic Visitor,93,174 (72.64%)


Kompass Pakistan Pvt. Limited invests in state-of-the-art gravure cylinder making lineKompass Pakistan Pvt. Limited has achieved a great reputation as an innovator in Pakistan’s flexible packaging sector. To maintain its lead in the rapidly growing Pakistani market, Kompass decided to acquire its own gravure cylinder making facility from Heliograph Holding.

Right from the start, Daetwyler, as the Heliograph Holding’s general contractor, K group of companies as exclusive distributors of Heliograph Holdings in Pakistan and Kompass Pakistan Private Limited collaborated as very close partners. Especially in regard to building preparations, everything was carried out very professionally and cleanly, which enabled us to successfully complete the installation within a very short time. In addition, the client provided a very motivated and experienced team, which greatly contributed to the success of the project.In regard to the machines, the client chose Econoline electroplating systems from Kaspar Walter; CFM and Finishstar from Daetwyler Graphics; and a Hell K5 engraver, which went into operation in spring 2015.Today, Kompass is successfully producing 10-15 cylinder per day, which print at 500 revolutions per minute in a new W&H gravure printing press.We are happy about this reference project in Pakistan and we thank Kompass for the great collaboration.


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Delegates of Medical Plastic Conference at Chinaplas 2015.

A busy view of Haitian stand.

A view of Bruckner stand at Chinaplas.

A view Liansu stand at Chinaplas.

BASF stand at design X innovation in Chinaplas



Torelina product display at Chinaplas

Hengxin Mould stand at Chinaplas Display of Kronce upgraded technology

Visitors at Bourge stand

Polymer & Packaging International magazine at News stand.


With such a strong value proposition for customers, Granic developed a new high-performance masterbatch, Granic 1522, which uses Vistamaxx polymers as a carrier resin.

“Granic 1522 masterbatch has significant benefits. Using Vistamaxx as a carrier resin in the masterbatch enables increased productivity, reduced energy consumption and improved mechanical properties,” said Victor Oliva, Commercial Director and R&D manager of GCR Group.

Successful salesSince its introduction, Granic® 1522 masterbatch has been well accepted in the marketplace and the company has been successful in generating new sales.

One customer, a leading producer of polyethylene (PE) packaging materials for the converting industry, is producing stronger, thinner garbage bag films by adding Granic 1522 to its existing HDPE resin formulation. The new masterbatch also delivers better processing and lower costs.

Adding Granic 1522 masterbatch to the existing HDPE resin formulation delivers the following key advantages:

• enhanced dart impact despite thinner film structure

• improved thickness tolerance for better processing and less material use

• cost saving opportunities

The commercial garbage bag film produced by this customer which includes 20% Granic 1522, exhibits twice the impact resistance and is 16% thinner than the original film.

Granic, a leader in the production of plastic concentrates with mineral fillers, has developed a new high- performance masterbatch using Vistamaxx™ performance polymers from ExxonMobil Chemical. The new Granic 1522 masterbatch uses Vistamaxx polymers as a carrier resin for calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to deliver significant performance and processing benefits.

Looking to develop a new masterbatch to complement its existing product portfolio, Granic, a division of the GCR Group® in Spain, contacted ExxonMobil Chemical to learn more about Vistamaxx polymers.

High filler loadingExxonMobil Chemical demonstrated that by using a Vistamaxx polymers-based CaCO3 masterbatch in film formulations instead of a typical linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) or polypropylene (PP)-based masterbatch, mineral filler loadings could be increased without sacrificing key mechanical properties.

Also highlighted were the benefits for end-use applications, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) shopper bags, HDPE garbage bags and PP raffia (slit) tape and bags. These benefits include increasing the concentration of recycled material, making the bags thinner, or improving performance, such as dart impact resistance.

Key advantages• Masterbatch allowing increased filler

loadings without sacrificing mechanical properties

• Enhanced dart impact resistance for thinner films

• Improved film processing• Film cost saving opportunities

Better processingAs well as performance improvements, the thickness tolerance of the film is improved. A more consistent film thickness leads to better, smoother processing that requires less adjustments.

The company also benefits from significantly lower costs because, optimizing the formulation us-

ing Granic 1522 masterbatch, uses less material through thinner films.

“Our customer is delighted with the new film formulation as it provides a stronger, thinner film with better overall garbage bag performance for consumers,” said Oliva. “It is an innovative solution that aligns with their wish to become a market-leader in certain defined market segments”.

Market potential“We are very excited about the market potential for Granic 1522 and are targeting key applications,” said Oliva. “These include shopper and garbage bags, raffia tapes and bags, and thermoforming/ blow molding where increased filler loadings and improved toughness can make a big difference to customers.”

GCR Group® corporate headquarters in Tarragona, Spain


–could be marked in fine detail using lasers. The surface of a plastics part can be made to change color when subjected to laser light or thin outer layers of multilayer parts can be removed to reveal the layer underneath or to allow light transmission. Lasers can be used to melt microscopic areas of plastic parts to create tiny gas bubbles that diffuse light so those areas appear distinctly different from unaffected areas. The ColorForward chip was molded with Clariant’s CESA®-laser additive masterbatch, which enhances the markability of the polymer.

“The My New Soulmate chip gave Clariant and TRUMPF the opportunity to demonstrate both creativity and technology,” says Aziz. “They were very professional and cooperative. As an equipment supplier, TRUMPF would not normally have the resources to mark the 900 chips we needed, but they dedicated a technical sales representative who did the work personally and completed the project on time.”

Clariant and Technology Partners Add Holograms and Laser Marking to ColorForward® 2016 Palette• ColorForward® goes high-tech for 2016 with help from Morphotonix and TRUMPF• Demonstrates novel approaches to decorating plastics• Trend analysis and design tool looks beyond the surface of color

Muttenz, May 21, 2015 – Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, recently teamed up with two other innovative companies to use the latest technology in laser marking and holography to capture important societal trends affecting consumer behavior. The high-tech graphics are rendered on molded plastic chips in ColorForward® 2016, the latest edition of Clariant’s groundbreaking trend analysis and color-design tool.

“Even though these technologies are not directly connected to the use of color in plastics,” explains Joanna Marguier, Color Scientist, Clariant ColorWorks® Europe/IMEA, “it is important for us to be on the lookout for any innovations that can stimulate creative thinking.”

The ColorForward trend analysis and color design tool is released annually to help plastic product designers and marketing professionals make more informed color choices. Each edition of ColorForward presents four global societal trends that can be expected to influence consumers in the near future, and connects them to colors that evoke an emotional response related to each trend.

Past editions of ColorForward have used texture, smell, special effects and other aesthetic elements to render colors more imaginatively. For 2016, the Clariant specialists decided to use holograms and laser marking in two of the four trend themes.

CREATING A HOLOGRAM IN ‘OH, MY GO(L)D!Morphotonix is a company created by a group of post-graduate researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland that developed micro-technology to etch mold surfaces to create diffractive and nano-patterns that are then transferred to molded articles where they appear as holographic and invisible security features. Because it can be seamlessly integrated in the production of injection-molded plastic parts, the Clariant ColorWorks specialists decided it was perfect for one of the ColorForward color chips in the 2016 trend theme called Oh, my go(l)d!.

This theme, an unapologetic tribute to excess, celebrates the fact that, like it or not, outlandish, gaudy baubles and outrageous behavior are “in”. The chip is made in a brilliant black color called “All nights are ours” and has a molded-in Morphotonix hologram that shows stars swirling in the shape of the Clariant ‘C’ logo. It also includes dozens of dollar signs that are laser etched in

the surface of the chip along with a profile of a rubber duck (an element from ColorForward 2015 that has become the group’s official mascot) and the notation “1 Million Duck Dollars.”

Joanna Marguier explains that “the hologram gives a shiny, kitschy vibe to the color. It reminds me of a poker chip and this is all definitely in line with the bling-bling of OMG. Part of the purpose of ColorForward is to stimulate creativity in a fun way – here we do even more: we integrate an innovative look and anti-counterfeiting features that are obtained straight out of the injection line. Also, we are always interested in exploring, with our customers, the broader aspects of plastics technology so it can be used to make products and packaging more successful in the marketplace.”

She says Morphotonix was very helpful in getting the prototypes tooling completed in a compressed time frame. “We are grateful that Morphotonix made such an effort to help us meet these objectives, and we are definitely talking about collaborating more in the future.”

EXPLORING LASER MARKING POTENTIALTRUMPF Group, the global manufacturer of industrial lasers and metal-fabricating equipment, through its Asia Pacific subsidiary in Singapore, partnered with Clariant to demonstrate the potential of laser-marking on a chip representing one of the colors in the LOVE trend theme.

Lasers were used to create a complex circuit-board-like pattern on a white chip called My New Soulmate. The surface decoration also includes a small reproduction of the ColorWorks duck, along with the words “In- Between Technology.” This image has several connotations: first, the LOVE theme (with the word “love” spelled graphically with a Wi-Fi symbol in place of the ‘o’) acknowledges the ways in which technology is creating new connections between people. The duck also symbolizes the in-between positioning of Clariant ColorWorks, which seeks to bring the aesthetic side of plastics design into harmony with the technical side of polymer coloration.

“Laser marking is a highly versatile process”, says Norzihan Aziz, Head of ColorWorks and Color Communication Asia Pacific, who coordinated TRUMPF’s efforts on ColorForward 2016. Electric toothbrushes, telephone keypads, switches, push buttons, silicon chips –almost any product, in fact

This white color chip, called ‘My new soulmate,’ from the ColorForward® 2016 trend theme call Love, was laser marked with the help of TRUMPF. In addition to color, the chip incorporates an additive masterbatch, which enhances the markability of the polymer. (Photo: Clariant)

A process for making molded-in holographic images on plastic parts, developed by the Swiss start-up Morphotonix, was used to produce this color chip representing Oh, my go(l)d. The chip is part of ColorForward® 2016 the trend analysis and colordesign tool from Clariant ColorWorks®. (Photo: Clariant)



The increasing demand for more SKU sizes, a wide range of colored packaging products, and different packaging solutions for different products is expected to positively influence the demand for flexible packaging market products. In addition, numerous vendors are establishing manufacturing plants in emerging markets where production costs are low and the efficiency level is high. Factors driving the flexible packaging market include increasing demand for convenient packaging, rising demand for packaged food and beverages, increased demand for plastic-based flexible packaging products, growing demand for stand-up pouches, increased preference for aesthetically appealing products and increase in technological innovations.

According to a new market report, the global demand for flexible packaging is continuously increasing and it is projected to reach $210 billion in 2015 and grow at an annual average rate of 3% reaching $248 billion in 2020. According to the report, flexible packaging has been one of the fastest growing packaging sectors over the past 10 years, due to increased consumer focus on convenience and sustainability, and this rapid development will continue to accelerate.

The report found that the global consumer flexible packaging market value is estimated at $91.7 billion for 2015 and is forecast to grow at an annual average rate of 4.4% during the period 2015–2020 to reach $114 billion. The market tonnage of this segment is estimated at 26.2 million tons (29 million tons) in 2015 and is forecast to grow on average by 3.8% during the period 2015–2020 to reach 31.7 million tons (35 million tons).

The above indications are that world demand for consumer flexible packaging that will continue its upward growth trend in 2015 and well beyond, especially as developing economies continue to expand. China is the largest national market for consumer flexible packaging, with a market tonnage of 6.07 million tons (6.69 million tons). Asia is the largest regional market with 40% of global market volume, followed by Western Europe and North America. Trends often come and go before you notice them. Flexible packaging trends seem to have a longer life span than most, signaling that the format is here to stay. Here are some recent and developing trends we’re monitoring.

1. More easy-open, easy-reclose options. A much wider range of opening treatments, fitments, and closures is available today than ever before, including linear tear characteristics, reclosable zippers that don’t require any tearing of the pouch header to open, and screw-on spouts for liquid pouches. Machinery has advanced, too, with increased ability to apply these features in-line during filling and sealing with minimal downtime issues.

2. Penetration into entirely new categories. Flexible packaging tends to sweep through entire product categories, though admittedly over a period of years. Classic examples include tuna fish and pet food, where retort pouches are now common after decades of can dominance. More recently baby food retort pouches (and thermoformed trays) are replacing glass jars. Flexibles are also being used for home and garden supplies such as fertilizers, where resealability is a key feature.

3. Clear high-barrier films. A new generation of clear films and coatings is beginning to approach the barrier properties of foil and metallized films. This provides new opportunities to showcase appetizing products while avoiding the flex-cracking problems associated with foil and some older coating technologies. These structures also offer the potential for microwave-compatible pouches.

4. Shaped flexible packaging. The current generation of form/fill/seal packaging can produce more bag shapes and styles than ever. That’s important for consumer packaged goods companies hungry for new shapes that stand out on the shelf. Shaped pouches that cut a mostly two-dimensional, curvy shape have been out for years, though mostly in other countries. Machinery manufacturers are working on efficient equipment for creating pouches with a conical or three-dimensional shape. A challenge here is to hold down the design waste inherent in more complex profiles.

5. Pouches’ wide impact. Because pouch structures can be customized to meet a wide range of barrier requirements, a host of new product applications is emerging: liquid, viscous, powdered, granulated, and particulate. This growth will cross multiple markets, including food and beverage,

cosmetics, healthcare, pet foods, automotive, pharmaceutical, and agricultural. While pouch-filling speeds are not yet up to par with those of many conventional container types, this gap is closing, particularly in the dry product arena.

6. Sustainable packaging is taking on new forms. Many people play up the recyclability aspect of sustainability as it relates to packaging at the exclusion of the front end of a package’s life cycle. The carbon footprint of various packaging types has to consider many factors. For example, pouches offer tremendous energy savings both in their production and transport. Comparing rigid containers versus pouches, you can ship one truckload of flat pouches that have the equivalent product-holding capacity of upwards of 15 to 25 truckloads of empty rigid containers.

7. More retortable pouches. A retort package is “cooked” after it is filled at high-enough temperatures long enough to kill bacteria and microorganisms that can spoil food. Several factors are driving the growth of retortable flexible packaging. They are easier to open than cans, weigh much less, and can have a smaller environmental impact versus metal cans and glass jars. Additionally, pouches can minimize loss from denting or breakage and enable package innovations such as cooking capability.

Thus, the industry of flexible packaging will continue to grow in years to come.

Flexible Packaging Continues to Innovate


Innovative Packaging as an investment is a relatively new concept. With constant innovation tailored to the market, brand owners can maintain the legacy of their brands while at the same time keep their customers on toes with what they introduce next.

Internationally produced products, whether imported legally or brought in to Pakistan through international transit, are widely available that make the use of eye catching packaging that local products fail to offer. Not only are these products internationally recognized brands but are available in the market at similar pricings to local products.

This produces two challenges for the local industry; one, competition with international brands in terms of appearance and two, competition with international brands in terms of pricing.

As for the latter , it entirely depends on each company’s’ individual efficiency by ensuring the production and distribution is done in the most economical way. It is important to understand that an average consumers’ patriotism stops the moment he or she has to pay for any item or service. At that point, the only considerations are “what’s best for me and my family, within my budget”. While it is important to make yourself efficient to reduce your costs to either earn a better margin or to provide your customers with a better price, it is equally important to constantly work on making your product physically more attractive.

In terms of physical appearance, it is high time local brand owners understood the effectiveness of innovative on-pack marketing and general appearance of their brands on shelves. As every generation is different from the rest, it is important for companies to realize that the look of their product has to change from time to time (in small iterations or in extreme cases, a complete makeover). The operations of companies do not stay static, so why should the look of their brand? Numerous technologies are available in the world whereby products

can retain their legacy but still stay fresh with the passage of time. At the point of sale, a product which physically looks better almost always trumps the one that does not, irrespective of what need the product satisfies. The right packaging, appealing to the right influencer can lead to trials amongst new consumers and eventually create repeat customers.

The opportunity that local businesses have in order to stay fresh is that they do not need to invest in R&D themselves. There is an abundance of examples for what is available in rest of the world yet has not gained a footing locally.

Consider the following example, in quite a few countries, businesses are shifting from in-store brand ambassadors for passing on information/competition details/ etc. to consumers to on pack Fix-a-Form (Leaflet) Labels to provide the same information. Not only does it insure that the intended message has reached its intended audience, it also removes the potential nuisance that the general public considers as in-store brand ambassadors. By going this route, it is ensured that every single consumer of your product has the information with them, compared to when businesses are banking on their brand ambassadors to pass the message on.

In Europe, it is now a government regulation that all medicines should employ the use of Fix-a-Form labels on their bottled products in order to ensure relevant important information is available with the consumer for as long as they have the bottle with them so they can easily refer to it when the need arises. By employing Fix-a-From labels, local businesses can qualify such government restrictions and have a new market open to them for exporting their product. For the FMCG industry, Fix-a-Form labels offer brand owners the opportunity to make their brands more presentable and appealing to the international consumer. To see more examples, one only has to visit their closest large retailer.

As mentioned earlier, whether imported legally or smuggled in to the country, similarly priced international brands make use of the latest technologies for packaging, ranging from popup labels to fix-a-form. When the local brands reach the market, they are placed next to these transit brands on the shelves. Given the mindset of a consumer, an “imported” product is better than a local one, the appearance of the local brand compared to the transit brand simply reinforces this fallacy.

How is it that the transit brands, which are produced by businesses abroad able to employ sophisticated packaging yet their pricing is similar to local manufacturers even if those brands are smuggled in to the country? One could make the argument that since they are smuggled, they bypass import duties and taxes, so they can be priced similarly to local products. In that case, local brands do not have to pay the import duties and taxes, so why are they priced in such a manner?

At the end, the ground reality is whether brought in through international transit or imported, these attractively package and internationally recognizable products are available in the market for consumers to buy. Local businesses have to weigh the value addition brought by innovative packaging albeit at a higher cost with the loss of revenue that occurs by losing sales to transit brands. There is absolutely no doubt about the quality of products produced locally, but cutting costs on packaging has long lasting consequences for the brand image.

As a final note, consumer/buyers are fickle and are always seeking new experiences. Constant innovation is required to keep your customers engaged with your company and with the product itself. There are many techniques available that allow businesses to encourage their customers to engage with the product. Through such means, businesses begin the process of inculcating long–term loyalty in their customers. Hence, businesses need to accept the fact that packaging innovation is not a cost, it is an investment.

Packaging Innovation as an InvestmentBy Hassan Zahid, CEO - Bushra Trading International (Pvt) Ltd


New AMI directory details activities of over 990 plastics recyclers in EuropeApplied Market Information Ltd. (AMI) has recently published a new edition of its directory of Plastics Recyclers in Europe listing 993 plastics recycling sites, giving a clear picture of Europe’s recycling capabilities. This publication forms part of AMI’s informative plastics processing series, detailing the plant locations and activities of Europe’s mechanical plastics recyclers.

Dow Brings PacXpert™ Flexible Packaging Technology to China Through License Agreement with China Sun

Don’t Waste Your Time – New Guide To Plastics Recyclers In Europe

Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) has announced its collaboration with Hunan China Sun Pharmaceutical Machinery Co., Ltd. (“China Sun”) to bring Dow’s PacXpert™ flexible packaging technology to

China. With the license agreement, China Sun will introduce the innovative packaging PacXpert™ in its packages to their wide customer base in Greater China. The officiating signing ceremony is held today at Shanghai Dow Centre.

China Sun, a leading pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturer, and high end packaging solution provider of pharmaceutical and space foods packages, will leverage PacXpert™ packaging technology to promote differentiated flexible packaging solutions in engine oils, edible oils, rice and detergent in Greater China. This agreement marks the second license in Asia Pacific, after Kyodo

The plastics recycling industry is an extremely diverse sector covering most plastic materials and numerous applications from the various processing industries. Those covered in AMI’s Directory, Plastics Recyclers in Europe; include recyclers of packaging, building, agricultural, automotive, textiles, electrical WEEE and non-WEEE, along with a variety of other products. As recycling technologies develop, so too has the ability to recover more plastics, with closed loop recycling of post-consumer waste becoming ever more evident. However, the majority of waste recycled is still post-industrial production scrap due to its ready availability and the minimal amount of processing required to turn it back into reusable material.

Almost all polymers can to be recycled, however the extent to which they are varies due to the technologies required, cost of processing and inevitably demand. The most commonly recycled polymer in Europe according to AMI’s directory is currently HDPE with 64% of the sites listed recycling it. This is closely followed by LDPE and PP.

The distribution of the 993 mechanical recycling sites listed in AMI’s directory is

Printing in Japan in 2014 and the ninth, globally.

“Asia Pacific has the largest regional flexible packaging market size with 38% of global market volume, and is also predicted to be the fastest growing market for consumer flexible packaging according to Smithers Pira1, the worldwide authority on the packaging, paper and print industry supply chains. With huge growth potential in this region, we are excited to partner with China Sun to bring PacXpert™ to the market, and continue to introduce innovative flexible packaging solutions, raising the standards of packaging in China.” said Mark Saurin, commercial vice president for Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, Asia Pacific.

“This collaboration with Dow strengthens our position in the market, and allows us to further explore and expand our opportunities. We are confident that our customers will appreciate the benefits the unique PacXpert™ flexible packaging technology brings, propelling us to greater success in the industry.” commented Mr. Xianghua Liu, Founder and President of China Sun.

PacXpert™ Flexible Packaging Technology is licensed globally by Dow through an agreement with Smart Bottle, Inc. This lightweight packaging design offers a fitment closure and integrated ergonomic dual handles,

spread across Western and Central Europe. Germany is leading the way, housing over 20% of the sites listed due to their strict policies and targets for recycling which over recent years has seen it maintain its steady lead in Europe. The scale and size of Germany’s recycling industry is also reflected in it being home to more of the larger processors, with over 40% of Germany’s recycling sites producing more than 5000 tonnes of recyclate per annum. Italy and the United Kingdom come joint second to Germany each with 13% of sites listed however there is still a large gap to bridge before they can compete with the plastics recycling capacity offered by Germany.

In a time when the European thermoplastics industry cannot ignore environmental issues, AMI’s Directory, Plastics Recyclers in Europe is an indispensable source of information for companies who want to find an environmentally friendly and financially beneficial solution to recycling their waste and/or source recycled materials for their production needs.

enabling precision pouring with no glugging, easy reclosing and convenient carrying. While flexible, PacXpert™ is shelf stable and can stand upright or on its side once filled, and facilitates the conversion of large hard plastics containers to portable packages. It also provides multiple environmental benefits by minimizing content waste, reducing raw materials and offering a higher product-to-package ratio. The PacXpert™ technology shows enormous potential for household, institutional, food service and industrial applications.

Globally, PacXpert™ flexible packaging technology has received nine prestigious awards, with the most recent at the 2015 Ringier Technology Innovation Awards in China for Packaging Design. The other recognitions includes the ABRE Gold Award from the Brazilian Packaging Association (2013), the WorldStar Packaging Award from the World Packaging Organization (2013/2014), the Innovation Award by the Emballage Pack Expert Committee 2014, the China Sustainable Package Technology Award 2014, the Plasticon Gold Award for Innovative Finished Product / Process 2015, the Silver Edison Award in the Food and Beverage category 2015 and Trophees de l’Innovation by CFIA 2015. It is also the L’Oscar de L’Emballage winner in 2014.


talked about Pak-China economic corridor being one of the most promising regional developments, local companies must gear up in order to gain the most from the opportunity when it comes through. In order to prepare for it, it is very important for local companies to join hand with the Chinese companies and also pair up with European associations.

Q. What are you comments on Pakistan’s packaging industry?

Plastics have transformed the old trends of packaging globally. However, in Pakistan’s context, there is still a lot of scope for improvement. For instance, it has been seen all over the world that daily consumable items such as eggs are sold in special and environment friendly packaging that help protect them while we in Pakistan are still using low-quality plastic bags. Our companies therefore need to bridge the gaps and invest on technology and use material that not only will upkeep the freshness and quality of produce and products but will also increase accessibility and shelf life. Moreover, bio-based products should be developed in order to maintain low cost of the products and to keep the environment safe and pollution free for us and our future generations.

It is a unique achievement for a five year old local company to supply top quality masterbatch that is used in the interior of a world class SUV of European origin. It is also significant for a relatively new entrant in the realm to supply material that large numbers of quality conscious FMCGs use in their leading products. According to the Farid Ahmed Vawda, the pioneer and CEO of FAV Plastico Pvt. Ltd, dreaming big does make a difference but at the end of the day, success comes after well drawn out feasibilities are meticulously followed by though and high end technology, which is used to consistently process top quality raw material without cutting any corners and compromising on quality. He was recently kind enough to grant Polymer & Packaging International time to discuss his company with us. Here is what he had to say:

Q: What makes FAV Plastico different from other competitors in the market?

A: The main objective of FAV Plastico is to deliver quality products to our customers. With this end in mind, our first priority is at first to understand the needs of our customers in order to ensure that not only do we deliver the best quality product to them; we do so at the best price. At FAV Plastico, we are very particular about not using any recycled material in our manufacturing processes so as to cut corners or reduce cost. We abide by our mission statement which is to be identified as a company that will never compromise on quality to increase profits and instead thrives on long standing relationships with our clientele.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about the technology you use and how do you see yourself apart from other competitors?

A. The use of cutting edge technology is the

corner stone of our business plan. We have recently imported machinery from Germany that gives us an output at the rate of 1200 kg/hr. Before shipping products to our customers, we put them through rigorous quality inspection procedures carried out on state of the art European machines. This ensures that the masterbatches finally supplied to our customers are of top quality. Another factor that differentiates our products in the industry is that a number of FAV products are certified from global testing and certification authorities. In turn, we are also very conscious about choosing our vendors and partner and work with only those who are certified and comply with international quality standards. We believe that our customers vest their faith in us because not only do we deliver them quality consistently but also strive for continuous improvement. Besides, we also invest heavily in research & development activities that are the back bone of our company and we are proud to have a well-equipped laboratory and highly trained and diligent set of professionals who man our processes.

Q. How do you see the future of the plastics industry in Pakistan shaping and in your opinion, can the local industry benefit from developments like the Pak-China economic corridor in the future?

Plastics are coming more and more into our daily usage. However, the industry of Pakistan is stagnant and as such are no such major developments taking place. Although there is a lot of potential but at present, we have few players controlling the market. In order to bring about positive change, for one our style of doing business needs to change. Other than companies investing in top of the line and highly efficient technology, quality consciousness and good customer service should remain the primary focus. The much

Geared up for success: FAV Plastico



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