Telford to Showcase Sustainable Plastics Design and Moulding
Trailblazers in plastics innovation, manufacturing, and recycling are to convene at Telford International Centre for the annual Plastics Design & Moulding exhibition and conference on 19th and 20th June.
A true showcase of the UK’s dynamic plastics sector, the free-to-attend PDM event brings together all the latest in plastics design, technology, moulding techniques, material developments and plastics science.
In the PDM 2018 conference (sponsored by Distrupol), speakers from across UK plastics will tackle the most challenging issues facing the industry today. Keith Freegard, director, Axion Consulting will show how sustainable product design puts materials together into recyclable products that can be recovered at end of life. The British Plastics Federation (BPF) Recycling Group will explain how to design a product to maximise resource efficiency. Logoplaste is to look at the future of recycled materials. There will be an update on world bioplastics technology and solutions for sorting non-clear packaging waste. Brexit and the Chinese import ban will also be covered and there will be a lively panel discussion on how the industry can improve plastic’s image.
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK will run a series of live four half-hour injection moulding workshops for process technicians and engineers over both days. “There is a serious skills shortage in the UK injection moulding industry and the easiest way to address it is to upskill our existing moulders to work with the latest equipment and techniques,” comments Nigel Flowers, the company’s managing director.
Elsewhere on the exhibition floor the Plastics Consultancy Network (PCN), which celebrates its 30th anniversary at PDM this year, will be running a Plastics’ Surgery. Visitors are invited to bring along questions they may have relating to plastics design and moulding and PCN’s consultants will be on hand to offer effective, creative and cost-effective advice and solutions.
Visitors also have the opportunity to discuss projects with over 90 exhibiting companies including rotational and blow moulding machinery suppliers, toolmakers, 3D printing and rapid prototyping specialists, moulders and mouldmakers, masterbatch specialists, software suppliers and materials testing specialists.
Finnish bioplastics pioneer Aqvacomp makes its first appearance at PDM this year promoting its biocomposite with pulp fibre reinforcement for many different plastics. Luxus subsidiary Colour Tone will be sharing details of its rapid coloured polymer analysis service that tests for ‘end-of-life’ recyclability of non-clear packaging. It enables producers to discover if their plastics packaging can be detected via near-infrared (NIR) sorting. STV Machinery will be displaying the first working YIZUMI injection moulding machine to be shown in the UK. Negri Bossi and Borche will also be bringing new injection moulding machines to the show.
PDM 2018 is the perfect place for plastics and design professionals to network, learn and do business. Industry associations supporting PDM 2018 include: the BPF, plastics recycling organisation RECOUP, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the Gauge & Toolmakers Association (GTMA) and the Scottish Plastics & Rubber Association.
The PDM 2018 exhibition and conference are both free to attend. For more information visit: www.pdmevent.com.
