S a plastics '014 02 (web)

CREATIVE MATERIALS FOR CREATIVE IDEAS

Summit Publishing cct: +27 (21) 712 1408

f: 086 519 6089c: +27 (82) 822 8115

e: [email protected] Suite 42, Private Bag X16,

Constantia 7848, Cape Town, South Africa70 Newton Drive, Meadowridge, Cape Town

www.saplastics.co.za

GAUTENG Lowrie Sharp

t: (011) 793 4691f: (011) 791 0544c: 082 344 7870

e: [email protected]

KZN Lynne Askew

t: (031) 764 2494f: (031) 764 0676

e: [email protected]

Printed by: Tandym Print, Maitland, Cape Town

SA Plastics Composites + Rubber Technology is published six times a year and focuses on these industries in South

and southern Africa. We welcome news, articles, technical reports, information in general and photographs about

events and developments related to the plastics industry. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Views expressed are not necessar-ily those of the Plastics Converters Association, Institute of

Materials or Association of Rotational Moulders either.

Copyright: All rights reserved.ISSN number: 1684-2855 (ISDS Centre, Paris)

Summit Publishing: CK 9863581/23VAT reg: 4600187902

Plastics Institute of Southern Africa

PET Plastic Recycling South Africa

Plastics Federation of SA

Association of Rotational Moulders of South Africa

Plastics Converters Association

Institute of Materials

Publisher: Martin Wells([email protected])

Editor: Tessa OHara([email protected])

Editorial assistant: Heather Peplow([email protected])

Financial manager: Lisa Mulligan([email protected])

Designer: Jeanette Erasmus Graphic Design([email protected])

IN THE last issue we published an article about the new Enviroserv tyre recycling plant in Cape Town. Enviroserv is one of the top multi-material recycling businesses in South Africa which has been partnering with organisations looking for best practice sustainable waste solutions for over three decades.

As many of us know, tyre recycling James Parks of Victoria International of Durban, a supplier of a range of materials itself (including plastic and rubber materials), wrote and summarised the tyres, of which there are a LOT about 10 million tyres enter the waste stream a year in South Africa.

Parks noted that the energy and transport costs are high, and would probably amount to about 70% of the total cost. Another hazard is the

Peter Waldburger of Enviroserv thanked James for his summary and said Enviroserv (which has proven that it can manage the logistics aspect of recycling process streams) could adequately deal with the transport issues, in terms of the Waste Act and REDISA initiative. He added: The only comment I can make is that no one goes into any

Tragic setback for leopard conservation manIN OUR last issue we reported optimistically about the leopard conservation programme embarked on by industry veteran Bob Boden of Johannesburg, whos been hard at work trying to capture leopards on camera. Working near Broederstroom and Hartbeespoort in the Witwatersberg hills, Bob had as yet had no success with his camera traps. Very sadly, poachers were successful. On the night of 14 January at Hartbeeshoek, about 20kms west of the study area, !"#$&restriction. Bob and his team were deeply traumatized by the tragedy, but the number of people who came out in support of their work and the conservation programme has created hope. Keep up the good '*

Massive PVC reservoir was not made in SAIN OUR August/September 2013 issue we published an article Two-;?QYZ#$stated that the PVC-lined tank was installed in SA. The installation was done by Steelfab with whom Steelfab Water Solutions Africa have a joint venture, but not in South Africa as mentioned.

The tank was installed by Steelfab Water Solutions Asia in Subic Bay in the Philippines. The technology and capability for an installation like this is available in South Africa through the joint venture between Steelfab Water Solutions Africa and Steelfab Water Solutions Asia.

BY THE WAY . . .

IF YOU HAVE SOMET

HING

TO SAYLook at the b

right side: if you

have some gem of wisdo

m to

impart, please write to us

at

[email protected]

You dont get involved in recycling to make a quick buck

About 10 million tyres enter waste

stream a year in SA

www.Steelfab.com.au

www.sinvacplastics.co.za

for large injection moulds, extruders, rollers, autoclaves and other processing equipment

s3IMULTANEOUSREADOUTOFTEMPERATUREset-point and actual value

s#LEARARRANGEMENTOFOPERATINGANDindicating elements

s3OLIDSTATERELAY332INSTEADOFheating contactor

s!LLCOMPONENTSEXPOSEDTOWATERAREmade of non-rusting materials, hence long service-life

s!CHIEVESESTIMATEDREDUCTIONINREJECTSANDINCREASEINPRODUCTIVITY

REGLOPLAS

High-performance temperature control units

Type 90 Smart

Temperature control units for water up to 90C

Ui,/*Ui>}V>>V7U}V>>V{7U*V>>Vi]nL>

JENOWILL SERVICES

Type 150 Smart

Temperature control units for oil up to 150C

Ui,/*U"iii>i>xc

Ui>}V>>V>{67U}V>>Vn7J{c

U*V>>Vi]nL>

#ONTACTn7ILLY4SCHOPP 4EL&AX#,ILLY0ARK2AILWAY2D -ONTAGUE'ARDENS#APE4OWNJENOWILL IAFRICACOM

WWWREGLOPLASCOM

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2014

Contents

www.sasol.com

ON THE COVER

!"#$unit a R1.9-billion venture which will enable it produce an additional 47,000 tons of polyethylene a year at Sasolburg in January. The EPU5 plant has been in operation since mid-October and is expected to reach its nameplate capacity by 2017. Located at the Sasol Polymers Plant in Sasolburg, the R1.9-billion ethylene for polyethylene. The plant will also ensure better use of Sasols existing downstream polyethylene facilities. The plant took 4.6 million man-hours to build. At the peak of production, more than 1000 workers were on site. See page 6-7 for more.

Find out more at www.saplastics.co.za

VOLUME 12 NR 1

63

60

6

8

10

12

16

18

28

30

32

46

70

92

INDUSTRY NEWSSasol inaugurates plant to boost

polyethylene production

Massive bag machine from Technimac

West African Group buys Frontier

Seecor goes on its own

Habitat expands, opens mould service centre

Zico, ?\=]

ASSOCIATION NEWSIOM3^_`

SAPPMA signs cooperationagreement with SAICE

PETCO international recycling colloquiumsets stage for global partnerships

COMPOSITESJEC Europe Innovation Awards programme

DESIGNDesign critical to growth of viable product

manufacturing sector in SA

SPORTSEPDM wings for joggers

19

84

34

EPU5

I WAS PRIVILEGED recently to be a guest of Sasol Polymers at the launch of the Sasol Y{;|}{;|~Y$?

For anyone involved in the polymer or chemicals business in South Africa, as well as Africa for that matter, ?Ythe plant before, which is disappointing for a person whos been in the industry for over 20 years, but perhaps the

Together with a group of delegates, I was fortunate to be bussed from Jozi down to the plant on 14 January, giving ?impressive things: the plant is massive (even by global $*Y

Obviously the Sasol people were on their best behaviour on the day, but it was good to be able to meet and talk with so many of them, plus the Sasol groups CEO David Constable and Sasol Polymers MD Marinus Sieberhagen

And Minister of Trade & Industry Rob Davies hit the right notes too, mentioning thankfully that the government *electrical power was previously an advantage in South Q**State was looking at developing some advantage from the regions mineral resources, possibly at a price advantage,

By the way, this may not have gone down that well with ?*Z>{;|~plant alone!

Its going to be tough|?#ZY

The dismal performance of the rand since late last year has resulted in polymer prices increasing by, in some

*#?the devalued rand will create opportunities for exports, and to an extent offset the high rate of imports, but the problem >^similar rate, and our customers continue to resist price Y*##Y

The other problem with the rapid rate of change is that

!

Nevertheless, although there is and will be an attrition rate, many of the manufacturers in the industry have and are showing resilience and {*owners and managers cant allow the

One possible plus at present is the reduced level of labour union activity problem in the mining sector, and a return to the problems of 2011/12 would Obviously young people want to improve themselves, and visualising better income is a reality, but unchecked strike action can undermine businesses and even entire

On the plus side, we look in this issue at several notable done guys!

Lets try and keep our cool and get the job done this

COM

MEN

T Polymer prices increasing in some case by more than 20%

THIS ISSUE

Energy group has achieved a lot at Sasolburg

4 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2014

Martin Wells, Publisher

EPU5 launch Marinus Sieberhagen, the

managing director of Sasol Polymers,

welcomed dignitaries and guests at the launch

of the groups Ethylene "#$

Sasolburg in January

is seriously impressiveSasol EPU5 plant

SASOL unveiled its new EPU5 Z>

*?

{;|~>!#Z

?;;?*Z>

?Y!

*

*{;|~*?*?Q

*?

!=

{;|~_

!!*

!#Z?Q

~

Sasol inaugurates plant to boost polyethylene production

Plant is expected to reach full capacity by 2017


!"#%"&'()*

!"#$

+/;;;

'>?B!"#$(+QX["\>\]>=^^]?\_\\]`!>`^!`^

EPU5

INDUSTRY NEWS

*!*\?*?;

*};*Y

{?Y>>?\*Z*?

&*

?Y?Q

>!!*">

Q*Z*??**

***

*=`*\*??Q

&*

**

?*Z*_Y*

*>*#Z*

))

`!>`\?B>'>

!"#$(+Q

(;;;_q_{_?^_!"#$

Control room ?

^_^_?

)B

q

Ferro to buy Arkema business in SA{;!^Q_=

Q

~>#Z#**

Q

''*?Q=?*?QY

**Q$_=$

**?Q

Zibo buys Groplast'=*

*]*

**

]*;#"*

Y]^#Z#]*]

;!>;$*Q

JUST BRIEFLY

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2014 7

_{Q*?!

Q*'!=

Q!!*;**'==Q

!

Q$*

&QZ>Z#*Q*

>Q*

=>!_B=)})(*$_;()?)\>`)B=__)B)B__\)

'?\??\

*ZZ#""

The knives are in as Zanogen rebrandsNew name for company thats been cutting blades since 52

))~

Its so wide! ^\?^(;;=\X[()$$

)?^

DTI develops strategy for sector_{==*{=={$;

*;\

=={=

Jhb convertor falls victim as sand baggers strike againQ_{Q

=*=*^Z*>*}Y!*;Y

**

*=_?$_']*

*_

*

JUST BRIEFLY


)~))~

WEST AFRICAN Group (WAG) has expanded its materials portfolio for the rubber and tyre markets through its recent purchase of Frontier Industries (FI).

As one of South Africas top suppliers of rubber-related raw materials, processing aids and additives, FI was established in 1981 in Durban by John Everitt. FI supplies both natural and synthetic rubber grades as well as a comprehensive range of processing aids and rubber/plastic-related raw materials and chemicals; it supplies the tyre and rubber/plastic industrial sectors across southern Africa.

WAG, set up by Jack Doherty in 1992, also in Durban, has due to the strategy adopted over the past two decades become a far larger entity with regional 'various natural and synthetic rubber grades, WAG also supplies a range of strategic polymers and other materials.

Frontier enjoys a good reputation in

the marketplace, dating back to the time of Johns father, the late Ray Everitt. Co-founder of the erstwhile Lewis & Everitt Z*material supply businesses in South Africa.

With the market having changed *viability of smaller operations supplying a national Industry has been tested.

Prices for raw materials have increased have proved risky, with smaller operations at times being exposed in the process.

It will certainly be more suitable to supply the FI range on a national basis, in which respect WAG has greater resources and a far wider area of established representation and technical expertise, he added.

Doherty said some of the processing aids and other specialist materials supplied by FI are complimentary to the NR/SR materials that WAG offers and the tie-up hence offers >

FI will run as a fully-owned subsidiary of WAG, operating out of the groups ]*Q>serving FI secretary/PA Leslie Ogle, John will remain involved, but he will operate as an independent consultant with a renewable annual consultancy agreement Umgeni Park, Durban North.

West African Group buys FrontierWAG expands service to rubber and tyre market

www.westafricangroup.co.za10 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

West African Groups Jack Doherty (left) and Frontier Industries John Everitt: WAG has purchased FI and will continue to supply the materials it provides and plans to expand the service

A Personal Service

SEECOR Blow Molders and Maritime Marketing have terminated their cooperation arrangement by mutual consent. The companies entered into a marketing and technical cooperation agreement in 2010 but decided to end the deal late last year.

Seecor is South Africas leading manufacturer and supplier of blow moulding machinery. One of the sequels to the scenario is that two of the Maritime groups blow moulding specialists, John Craw and Joe Spohr, have now joined Seecor. The advantage for Cape Town-based Seecor is that it now gains direct representation in Johannesburg and Durban, through Craw and Spohr respectively.

Clive Corder and Darrin Botha head Seecor, based at the companys machine building centre in Viking Business Park,

Epping, Cape Town, where it rebuilds blow moulding equipment.

Backed up by a full contingent of service and technical personnel, Seecor continues to supply the very popular SIKA extrusion blow moulding machines, built in Taiwan, but it will from now also supply machines from Urola, Keli and Magic, agencies which have been brought on board by Craw and Spohr.

KELI, of China, is a manufacturer of injection blow moulding machines.

Magic, of Italy, is a top international builder of extrusion blow moulding equipment.

The Urola rotary-wheel extrusion blow moulders for high-speed mono- and multi-layer bottle production, as well as re-heat PET equipment from 2-8 linear cavities, are built in Spain. Urola also supplies moulds.

Seecors rebuild and remanufacturing business is going strong, focusing on shuttle and small-wheel rebuilds, said Corder.

We also supply complete control and automation services, machinery maintenance and up-keep programmes, as well as a full range of material handling and granulator machinery.

We now focus on the entire African market we have been involved in *\**`*sub-Saharan areas, plus Israel, said Corder.

Seecor will continue to cooperate with Maritime when turnkey systems are required, such as for injection moulding and recycling, he added.

THE challenges for SMEs are enormous, from red tape to access to market. However, one of the biggest problems for entrepreneurs is that they usually have huge passion and skill in one area of the business and a lack of skill or

**sales, and team management).

As a result they may be overwhelmed by the admin, work longer hours than they ever imagined as an employee, &*to delegate work, are trying to compete on price and try to be everything to everyone.

It used to be said that over 60% of all start-up businesses would fail in the of start-ups make it to 10 years. In the meantime big business is downsizing and EMEs now employ more than 60% of the South African workforce. The economy is relying on small business

for growth. This year, Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry reported that the business failure rate has worsened to 71%.

Margaret Fry, well-known to the plastics and packaging industry after more than two decades in technical service, product development, key account management and business Q{=*;*?and Huhtamaki, has established a new venture, ActionCOACH, which provides guidance to owner-managed businesses !

As a business coach I want to help business owners to grow their business. My aim to work with business owners so that running their business becomes fun again. Together we identify new business leads, improve turnover, improve *strategy and goal setting, to take the

business to the next level. Our aim is *enterprise that works without you. This will give you the freedom to take holidays, have a succession plan and a !*!

*something to do that would give back, doing things I am passionate about and using my skills and education. I was already coaching MBA students at Wits Business School and candidates in the Cape Wine Master programme, so when I founded ActionCOACH, it provided another opportunity to do something in that line. Its fascinating to challenge people out of their comfort zone and to expose them to the self-limiting beliefs that are holding them and the business back.

Seecor goes on its own,JV with Maritime ends

Owner-managed businesses can take it to the next level with the right coaching

Top blow moulding marques now represented by SA machine rebuilder

Most of use have skills in some areas and a lack of skills in others but solutions that work for you are achievable

www.seecor.co.za

www.actioncoach.com

INDUSTRY NEWS


ActionCOACH Margaret Fry has

strategies that could help you make running your business

fun again

SABIC group has expanded its footprint in South Africa with the opening of a warehouse in Cape Town.

The Saudi Arabian materials manufacturer decided in 2007 to introduce storage facilities in South Africa and in the country in Durban, to supply the Gauteng and KZN markets.

The Cape warehouse in Montague Gardens, opened late last year, will be materials as well as PET and PVC grades for converters in the Western and Eastern Cape which will greatly improve logistical

This is an important step for SABIC group as it strengthens its position in the local market and improves customer service levels, especially as regards supply reliability and delivery lead times.

SABIC South Africa director Dr Antonie Potgieter said the decision to warehouse material in Cape Town was aimed at improving the groups service offering to customers in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth

and surrounding areas. Sub-Saharan Africa is a key and strategic market for not only SABICs polymer products, but also for its wide range of chemicals, specialty chemicals and fertilizer products, he added.

Waseem Abdulla, acting sales manager

for polymers at SABIC SA, said initial market reaction to the improved Cape stocks had moved rapidly.

WHEN a well-known local household appliance manufacturer approached Miracle Mould International with a request to design and manufacture a new kettle requiring minimum post-moulding assembly of components, MMI accepted the challenge without hesitation.

MMI, Brian Almanzas company in Durban, chose a product designer to work with and guided the designer through the design phase. The end result was a cordless kettle which can be assembled with minimum post-moulding work, and which is practical from both a moulding and mould manufacture point view.

]!*&analysis was conducted and a team of experienced MMI engineers was assigned to design the suite of moulds. The moulds provided interesting challenges, particularly regarding core extraction and post-moulding shrinkage. While the handle was moulded with cores extracted on a radius that was actuated with a hydraulically driven rack-and-pinion system, post-moulding shrinkage was predicted by sequential mould completion and shrinkage measurement which allowed accurate measurement of the shrinkage direction and the extent of shrinkage of the mating surfaces.

Having run successful plastic injection moulding and metal

pressing businesses prior to the founding \\*Qa mould to be able to produce components with repeatable accuracy and quality, the rigidity, build proportions and quality of a mould is crucial. This cannot be more evident than when viewing the moulds in operation and comparing them to similar moulds, while running.

This project has become something of a conversation topic with visitors to the plant, said Almanza, in Durban after a recent visit to China.

When purchasing a mould from Eastern companies, it should be taken

into account that, yes, you can get cheaper moulds, but you will always only get what you pay for.

MMi prides itself as being the best of the West in the East! MMI **

This is achieved by careful design and an effective and continuous benchmarking system coupled with comprehensive and analytical project management, assisted and made possible by carefully chosen colleagues and partners, said Almanza, who is involved in mould production in South Africa as well as in China, depending on the needs of the project. Brian Almanza, +27 82 821 4775

SABIC now warehousing in CapeSaudi group improves supply to local market

www.miraclemould.com

INDUSTRY NEWS


www.sabic.com

Waseem Abdulla and Antonie Potgieter, sales manager for polymers and managing director of SABIC South Africa respectively, with Sipho Manjenjalo of FreightMax at the warehouse in Montague Gardens

Best of the West in the East !

Hot job To all intents and purposes, the new kettles appear very similar to those available on the market, but the big positive from the Miracle Mould project was that a minimum of post-moulding work is required, and the production of the moulds was easier

SABIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd18th Floor, Metropolitan Centre,7 Walter Sisulu (Coen Steytler) Avenue,Cape Town, 8001Tel: +27 21 409 6100Fax: +27 21 409 6101

www.sabic.com

SABICs products touch the lives of millions of people around the world.The company works closely with its customers to achieve their commercialambitions and provides the right level of support to meet theirmanufacturing challenges.

SABIC offers its customers a wide range of polymer products such as LLDPE,HDPE, Bimodal HDPE, LDPE, PET and EPVC.

HABITAT Industries, one of South Africas top blow mould manufacturers, has opened a new business, Habitat Mould Services, where it is handling mould refurbishing, repairs and ultrasonic cleaning of moulds, plus other services.

Habitat MD Donovan Barnes found that production at the main mould manufacturing plant in Killarney Gardens, Cape Town, was being interrupted by requests from convertors to refurb or service moulds, so when premises nearby became available decided to hive off these activities.

A substantial investment has been made in the new plant, with facilities including CNC mills and lathes, ultrasonic cleaning equipment and baths as well as a 3D printing system for the development of prototypes. The plant became operational in March 2012 and is now running seven-days-a-week.

Cornelius Bezuidenhout (ex-Rage Tool & Die, Bowler) was strategically planned into the system and made managing director of HMS, which

has helped make the strategy feasible, said Barnes.

Habitat Mould Services also offers laser welding, which enables it to repair split-line and other wear related problems in moulds, minimising the cost of re-manufacturing cores and components.

The opening of the Mould ?to Habitat Industries, creating more time for its main mould manufacturing operation and more moulds at the main plant.

Barnes has been running Habitat Industries since 2002 (he worked at the company from 1995, left and joined another mould maker and then returned to Habitat, and ultimately purchased it from the previous owner). The company builds blow moulds for most of South Africas top container manufacturing businesses, for both extrusion-blow moulding, injection-stretch blow moulding (for PET bottles) and injection-blow moulding (mainly for PP jars).

Habitat expands, opens mould service centre

www.habitatindustries.co.za

INDUSTRY NEWS

Emeraude group in Cape clean-up


Making a Habitat of it! Donovan Barnes of Habitat Industries and Cornelius Bezuidenhout, who is running the Habitat Mould Services business nearby in Killarney Gardens, which handles mould refurbishing (see below), repairs and ultrasonic cleaning of moulds, plus other services

International polymers and chemicals supplier

Emeraude held its annual sales meeting in Cape Town in December, a move wisely and timeously coordinated by Emeraude SA manager

Trevor Moroney. On one of the afternoons the sales

team took part in their own beach clean-up on

Milnerton Beach and, even though the Cape Town

council had already been to clean the beach earlier in the day, they managed to collect a fair amount of

waste, as can be seen. That

gesture by the French groups team well done!

www.emeraude-international.com

CONTACT USP.O. Box 1070, Kempton Park, 1620Johannesburg, South AfricaTel : +27(11) 552 6200 Fax : +27(11) 552 6499 Email : [email protected]

SUN ACE South Africa (Pty) Ltd12 Innes Road, Jet Park 1459, East RandJohannesburg GPS: S26 09.957 E028 12.610

The Worlds leading

producers of PVC additives

and metallic stearateswww.sunace.co.za

RARE Holdings has purchased the assets of an HDPE pipe extrusion business at Meyerton near Vereeniging and commenced production, marking its entry to the plastic pipe manufacturing sector.

The plant was formerly run by the First Tech group company Flexicon, of Witbank, but ceased production after the First Tech implosion last year.

In a R30.9-million investment, RARE purchased the production assets and structured the business to recommence

production. It has employed Tony Dean, formerly MD of Flo-Tek Pipe, Tanks & Irrigation of Olifantsfontein, to run the plant.

The development effectively means that some of the pipe capacity lost in the First Tech fallout when both the First Tech group companies involved in the sector, Flexicon and Gazelle Plastics, shut doors is re-entering the market.

RARE is a distributor and service provider of piping and related products

&

cycle. It evolved through management buyout and acquisitions from a specialist pipe supplier in 1975 through to the listed entity, RARE Holdings in 2007 and ultimately the current B-BBEE-accredited and transformed RARE Group.

This deal includes the acquisition *!in Meyerton, which will enable the company to manufacture HDPE pipe up to 1000mm in diameter for the mining, infrastructure, agricultural and industrial Q{Y

ZICO, a leading privately-held investment company, together ?;{*>?{>?_*in MCG Industries.Q>?*in the business. MCG is a market leader in the manufacture of injection moulded products, particularly crates, servicing customers in the beer, soft drinks, agricultural, dairy, bread and poultry industries. It operates manufacturing plants in =

MCG is a solid business with strong market position. This acquisition presents us a solid platform on which we would seek to bolt on other synergistic businesses. Additionally; we are ?;Equity, our partner in the business, said Zico CEO Tshego Sefolo.

\=]*in operation since 1956: the company is currently involved in a growth phase, including product expansion, made possible through a licence agreement with Schoeller Arca Systems of Germany, one of the largest global manufacturers of injection moulds. The agreement gives MCG access to Schoellers global product range and R+D resources for future product \!opportunities for MCG to take its product offering beyond South Africas borders into the rest of Africa will also provide growth.

Acquisition opportunities\=]?prospects. We are excited to be supporting the robust management team of the business to achieve such growth prospects. Furthermore, we are actively exploring additional acquisition opportunities in the *{*?

MCG has a predominantly blue-chip customer base in a number of different industries; its products include crates and containers, pallets and chairs (for schools, auditoriums, passenger trains and stadia).

New MD for MCG opportunitiesIan Victor has been appointed managing director of \=]*\*Qengineer with an MBA, Ian has extensive experience in ^then joined the Group 5 company Everite Building Products. In 2001 he joined Dunlop Industrial products in Benoni as works manager and, when Dunlop sold off its Industrial products division, moved to Pandrol SA as MD. Pandrol is a manufacturer of products for the mines and railways; he was MD of Pandrol Mozambique for the _;Ycompany, Sturrock & Robson Industries.

I needed a new challenge and this came about when I was offered the opportunity to join a consortium, which eventually bought

Some pipe capacity lost in the First Tech fallout is re-entering the market

MCG gains access to Schoellers global product range and R+D

RARE Holdings invest in pipe manufacturing plant

acquisition


into pipe manufacturing.The new division will trade under the

name RARE Plastics. Dean previously managed some well-known plastic pipe businesses in South Africa and Botswana and comes with over 30 years industry experience.

According to the CEO of RARE Holdings, Wally van Coller, this acquisition will improve RAREs competitiveness in offering piping solutions to the industry by supplying a turnkey service ranging from

manufacturing through installation and maintenance.

RAREs main activities will remain in Kliprivier while RARE Plastics will manufacture the HDPE pipe in Meyerton. RARE has evolved through a

management buyout and acquisitions from a specialist pipe supplier in 1975 through to the listed entity, RARE Holdings, in 2007 and ultimately to the current B-BBEE-accredited and transformed RARE Group.

Tony Dean, who is well-known in plastic pipe industry, has been appointed MD of the RARE Plastics

Wally van Coller of RARE group was formerly involved in pipe production at DPI

INDUSTRY NEWS

www.zico.co.za


MCG Industries, said Ian.We understand it is a very competitive

industry but there are always opportunities available, even if it means some consolidation. It is a known fact that fragments up to a point and then some consolidation takes place: maybe this holds true for our industry?

We plan to develop the group and grow !as many viable countries as possible. I believe the key to success is people, and this will determine our growth path and the rate at which we grow, so we will look for talented people to join MCG, he added.

)))~

Ian Victor has been appointed managing director of MCG, based in Malvern, Johannesburg

BEAUTIFUL design is all well and good, but what actually matters is that a product sells and makes you money.

Thats the rationale behind the strategy at SKEG Product Development, a Cape Town design business which has put together a strong team for just this purpose and backed that up with a range of equipment to manufacture close-to-identical prototypes as well as moulds for short-run or trial production.

Skeg founder Pierre Becker, who trained as a mechanical engineer while in the Navy before becoming involved in plastic converting, was part of the team that oversaw the relocation of local production of the Freeplay wind-up radio to China in the 1990s. Although it appeared at the time that it would be far more cost-effective to produce the radios in the East, the process ultimately proved to be massively disappointing as the SA team lost control of the development process but the experience led directly to the creation of Skeg. Becker believes the South African scenario is highly suited for active design and development and that there is a creative culture in the country to support this.

South Africa has a proud record of product development, with a lot of independent thinkers and mavericks active in the plastic moulding sector. That was turned into reality during the sanctions era under the former regime in South Africa, when import substitution was a necessity. That period had barely drawn to a close in the mid-90s,

however, when brand owners began to be enticed to manufacture in China. Chinese mould makers and convertors were offering very attractive rates, which led to the large-scale shift of mould manufacture as well as mould design and development to the East.

This was obviously disheartening for designers and mould makers around the country, but Becker resolved to start a prototyping business and Skeg was duly formed in 2004. The intention was to produce prototypes that would resemble *Skeg team has built on this standard since and produced work for over 150 customers.

It develops the technology for new products; does the industrial and electronic design; builds fully functional prototypes and handles functional lifetime testing. It designs for manufacture in either South Africa or the Far East.

Yattractive designs, but whats more important is to generate products that will be popular with consumers and sell otherwise you dont actually have a product, said Becker.

Skeg has focused on integrating the varied skills of its 20-strong team including industrial and electronics

INDUSTRY NEWS

Prototyped components such as even fairly large housings are produced to scale on the Objet printer; here the process is overseen by Christo Botha, one of the engineers at Skeg

To achieve fully functioning prototypes, all the necessary components are produced in-house at Skeg. The machinist deburrs and polishes tiny parts such as this accessory

Skeg achieves design direction


designers, mecatronics specialists as well as model makers and machinists to enable it to achieve good turnaround times and world class standards.

The main processes the company employs include: 3D printing; CNC turning and milling (for the cutting

of metal or cast polyurethane slab); vacuum casting; overmoulding for short-run production;

and low-pressure casting and fabrication.

Using its in-house facilities, Skeg can manufacture products in the 5-500 unit range quickly and cost effectively, without the major outlay of expensive tooling.

Moulds for large components such as gym equipment are cut from polyurethane block. The texturing is handled in a subsequent process. Such large components are normally produced in composite materials, possibly by vacuum infusion

Best Plastics exits production in Cape Town, sells plantBEST Plastics has ceased production in Cape Town and will in future operate as a distribution business in the Western Cape, supplying products from its parent company, Best Engineering of Turffontein, Johannesburg.

In what was virtually the end of an era for the area in which it operated, Phillipi, Best Plastics auctioned off the manufacturing equipment at its premises in Protea Road in January: the same large factory was used previously by the Harmed medical mouldings venture in the 1990s. That visionary business failed, after which Best Plastics took over the site and, under the management of Elsa Spiess, operated successfully for over a decade. The company moulded mainly household items. But the operation became tenuous in recent years, leading Spiess and her father, Bruno Spiess of Best Plastics Engineer, to consider switching focus.

Last year they received an attractive offer for the property, which they accepted. Elsa now begins a new career as a distributor, supplying the Best range of products and potentially other products as well.

Hedge fund suggests Dow spin off petrochemicalsAMERICAN hedge fund Third Point LLC purchased a stake in Dow Chemical in January and, incredibly, immediately urged the groups management to evaluate a spin-off of its petrochemical operations.

Third Point CEO Daniel Loeb called on Dow to hire advisors to conduct an assessment of whether its current !and aligns with Dows goal of transforming into a specialty chemicals company.

The review should explicitly explore whether separating Dows petrochemical businesses via a spin-off would drive greater stakeholder value, Loeb said in a letter to investors. Dow shares were up 6% on news of this on 21 January.

Third Point did not disclose the actual size of its stake, but says Dow is now its largest current investment. Sources put the size of the investment at $1.3-billion, a roughly 2.3% stake based on Dows current market capitalization. Third Point has about $14 billion in assets under management.

The companys weak performance is even more surprising given that the North American shale gas revolution has been a powerful tailwind for Dows largest business exposure in petrochemicals, said Loeb.

JUST BRIEFLY

www.skeg.com


Skeg operates its own paint booth, allowing it to generate exactly the appearance required

RECENT studies have revealed that South Africa boasts the second highest plastics recycling rate in the world, with 18% of all virgin plastics produced in the country being processed for reuse. However, according to Damax Sebenza Pack managing director, Brian Lovell, while the ranking is impressive, there is room for improvement, particularly within the local packaging industry.

Lovell says that although the annual percentage of plastic recycled in South Africa is slowly increasing, the total amount of plastic that is not recycled is rising due to annual increases in the amount of the material being produced.

Johannesburg-based packaging solutions provider Damax Sebenza Pack operates from a 3 500 m2 manufacturing facility that specialises in the production of plastic packaging for numerous products, including; food, cosmetics, gardening and industrial applications. The company processes 75 tons per month of a variety of plastics, including PET, PVC, PP and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to satisfy

requirements.

Lovell says that PVC is particularly well recycled in the local industry, while PET is generally not. He does, however, highlight the fact

driving a major initiative to use up to 30% recycled rPET in its food and beverage packaging by 2014 a move Damax Sebenza Pack fully supports.

Another major environmental advantage of PET and PVC is the fact that the raw materials do not go to waste during production. Brian adds: One of the greatest advantages of these materials is that almost nothing goes to waste during the manufacturing process. The by-product from both materials is used in the manufacture of numerous items, ranging

In the USA, a polylactic acid polymer (PLA) bioplastic manufactured from carbon found in simple plant sugars has proven to be highly popular, as it is easy

PLA is manufactured by NatureWorks, a US-based company jointly-owned by Cargill and PTT Global Chemical. Brian points out that the implementation of PLA in packaging locally is challenging, as it is almost double the price of other materials, with no local recycling facilities.

Lovell points out that organisations can help to improve plastic recycling rates in South Africa by separating waste at source and by purchasing recycled plastic products.

Even if there are no recycling companies nearby, waste can still be easily separated at source to ensure

easy access for waste pickers, who are collections, thereby increasing collected tonnages. This not only increases the earnings of the individual waste picker, but also the total amount of plastics *

According to Lovell, the purchase of recycled products ensures sustainability, in addition to stimulating the plastic ;wrapping, supermarket carrier bags and garbage bags amount to approximately one third of recycled plastic products in South Africa. By making the simple decision to consciously purchase everyday products that are manufactured from recycled plastic, individuals and companies can continue to play their role in ensuring that South Africa remains a world leader in *

Damax Sebenza Pack managing director, Brian Lovell

Buying recycled products ensures sustainability

Packaging industry plays important role in recycling plastics


www.damax-group.co.za/sebenza2.htm

Johannesburg-based packaging solutions provider Damax Sebenza Pack operates from a 3 500 m2 manufacturing facility

INDUSTRY NEWS


BY JIM JOHNSON, PLASTICSNEWS

FULL-WRAP shrink sleeve labels are a marketers dream and a recyclers nightmare. But one of the largest companies in the world believes it is on to a solution for a problem thats been creeping up on the PET recycling industry in recent years.

Full-sleeve labels can fool optical sorting equipment into believing they are seeing coloured resin. They also can mix with and contaminate clear PET grind at the bottom of separation tanks. And they can become mixed in with PET from

lightweight water bottles because of their similar characteristics when recyclers use an elutriation process that uses air for sortation.

Bottles with full-sleeve labels account for about 5% of the recycled plastic bale these days and is expected to continue to grow in the years ahead.

Now Coke has developed a new label !;{!&&&from PET that settles to the bottom.

=Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers compatible label a trade group that has been working to address shrink sleeve label impacts on recycling. The group has established a set of shrink sleeve guidelines to help manufacturers make their products more recyclable.

Coca-Cola tested thousands of bottles in real-world conditions by !labels and pushing product through the supply chain to make sure this

new material would stand the test of time in real-world conditions. Cole also sent the bottles to a few different PET recycling plants.

With encouraging results, Coca-Cola decided to use the new shrink sleeve on its single-serve orb-shaped bottle available during the holiday season at Wal-Mart. Every one of those bottles has the new label.

and the last word from our very own Annab Pretorius (SAPRO) The South African Plastics Recycling Organisations (SAPRO) Annab Pretorius was extremely happy to hear the news! shrink sleeve is certainly a step in the right direction. What is excellent news for me is that a brand owner is thinking about the end-of-life of his product at the design stage; actually thinking about the way the product will be recycled. This is exactly what SAPRO is asking from brand owners. With all the check-boxes for market appeal, aesthetics, shelf life, etc, there should also be a check-box for recycling at its end-of-life stage. Congratulations, Coca =

Coke testing shrink sleeve designed for easier recycling

www.plasticsrecycling.org`_|"!?|__)?_"!?

CHRIS Dickie of Nampak Flexible has retired from active duty after a 40-year career which virtually spanned the entire history of the plastic shopping bag to date.

Dickie was working as an industrial engineer trainee at Cullinan Refractories in Zabout the new plastic bag, which was $_potential customer, wanting to develop an all-weather plastic cement bag with Reed Corporation.

Dickie was approached by the young and dynamic Polyfoil Packaging management team to join them and, under the mentorship of Austrian-born technical manager Paul Meusberger, he started his career in plastic packaging. Polyfoil was at the time =

Z"the reputed inventor of the Paperlite plastic shopping bag, Tommy Hutt).

Polyfoil had established a strong national structure by setting up four regional *;*$*;*{;{$?=$

It was an exciting time: retailer demand for the Paperlite bags took off and the technology developed at a rapid pace. The =~microns thick, a yellow masterbatch colour

!*=&!and the famous etchekkers was born.

The next 30 years until 2003 saw constant improvement in extrusion and conversion technology as well as raw material advancement: the bag thickness *~ZZ~#*same carrying capabilities.

Career with NampakDickie had in the meantime switched to Nampak: ironically, his former employer, =*Z"majority control of Nampak group and the business was renamed Reed Nampak Ltd.

!*Z~*to the Nampak Polyfoil plant in Sander Road, Pinetown, where he was appointed factory manager. The bag evolution process continued at pace and a custom designed factory was constructed in Westmead, Pinetown.

Nampak Polyfoil in 1978 acquired ;*Johannesburg, and Dickie was transferred from Pinetown to manage the new amalgamated factory. The production equipment from the Pretoria factory was moved to the Johannesburg plant, which at the time was reputed to be the largest plastic packaging factory in the Southern Hemisphere.

In 1983, he was transferred to the Nampak Polyfoil plant in Bellville, Cape Town, and shifted from production to sales, taking up positions of general manager and sales director. The momentum did not drop; he could virtually enter a retail area and sell bags to just about every shopkeeper in sight! One of Polyfoils successes at the time was exporting container loads of printed carrier bags to supermarkets in the United Kingdom, Asda and Tesco being the most notable.

That phase came to an abrupt halt with the passing of the plastic bag legislation Z~micron to 30 micron) and the introduction of the government bag levy in 2003.

#"to exit the retail checkout bag market and the Nampak Polyfoil plant in Bellville which

had been one of the top bag manufacturing factories in Southern Africa began a gradual decline that culminated with its #"

That year Dickie relocated to the Nampak Flexible Packaging plant in Ndabeni, Cape Town, where the group was involved in the and pouches for the multi-national FMCG companies.

Dickie has enjoyed the Nampak culture throughout his four decades of service, and played a key role in the process. He coined the more concept, which implied that one of the best strategies for a company to gain customer loyalty was for all its employees to deliver more value for the same price. This theme has played an important role in the retention of the groups valued customers well done Chris!

Next phase(s)Chris strategy from here involves two new ^;#**cycling, golf and tennis will take priority. And phase 3 is possibly a training function.

CHRIS Dickies four decades in the plastic industry overlapped almost entirely with the formation and history of the Nampak group to date, and makes for interesting. The sequence, based on the book The Making of Nampak by Anthony Hocking, was as follows.

1964 Tommy Hutt forms Polyfoil Packaging in Pretoria;1968 National Packaging/Natpack and Amalgamated Packaging Industries/API agree to merge through

a new holding company, National Amalgamated Packaging Ltd or NAMPAK;1970 Reed group takes over Polyfoil Packaging of Pretoria, notable for its Paperlite shopping bags made from HDPE;1976 Reed achieves majority control of (June) Nampak by buying the 31 percent of Nampak shares held by St Regis, and also buys Oscar Frumans stake;1976 Nampak reregistered as Reed

(Sept) Nampak Ltd;1977 Reed Nampak takes over Reed Corporations packaging interests, one of which was Polyfoil;1978 Reed Nampak taken over by Barlows (July) Packaging and renamed Nampak Limited;1978 Nampak Limited acquires Rubenstein(Nov) Plastics, which operated a factory in **

Polyfoil Pretoria transfers to ;

Chris Dickie with some of the printed manufactured at Nampak Flexible. Chris involvement in the packaging industry began with the development of HDPE shopping bags in 1973 and he continued with that until 2006; more recently hes worked with reclosable

Played important role in open communication process at Nampak


Dickies 40yr career spanned the bag revolution

Brief history of Nampak


INTERPACK will take place at the Dsseldorf exhibition grounds from 8-14 May, and is again building on the Innovationparc packaging and Metal Packaging Plaza, the special themes that were so successful at interpack 2011. The elaborately planned and organised special themes have now become a hallmark of Interpack and attracted much acclaim. We shall therefore continue to do all we can to carefully prepare forward-looking topics with our partners from industry and present them visually and thematically to the highest standards, said Bernd Jablonowski, Interpack Director. Pictured here at a breakfast seminar in November in Johannesburg to promote the fair were, Werner Dornscheidt, president & CEO of Messe Dsseldorf, F. Klefenz, director of Interpak and president of Robert Bosch, and Carryn Todd and Marc Cousins, both of the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. www.interpack.com

IAN Strachan at the Gordons Bay waterfront, during a recent visit to the country. He has found _thermoformed polystyrene trays, to be of a very high level in South Africa. In the USA, says Ian, brands owners wanting high quality have to pay a premium

THERMOFORMING fundi Ian Strachan has transferred many of the skills gained in South Africa for effective use in the USA, where he has been involved in thermoforming consulting and training for the past two decades.

Originally a millwright and engineering trainee with Iscor in the Z"*?Zhe was general manager of the blow moulding business Elvinco Q\Q$*ZZhe was MD of the thermoforming business Mono Containers.

He then joined Sun Packaging in Atlantis, a company which challenged the conventional leaders in the polystyrene foam thermoforming sector with some unconventional strategies and products. After 1992 Ian became involved in consulting to the $\]QInc of the United States. Hes been consulting in this area for the past two decades.

I am working wherever I can help in the USA and occasionally other strange places, says Ian. My son, Mark, has made his mark in the US in the thermoforming industry and is now chairman of the SPE thermoforming division.

Ian and his son run several training programmes in the USA in between their respective consulting projects. The SPE thermoforming conference in Atlanta in September is an annual event where Mark and Ian host a one-day thermoforming workshop.

I also occasionally get involved in waste management and PET bottle projects in various parts of the world, but still mainly with roll fed thermoforming companies, Ian adds.

Mark and Ian also serve on the Advisory Board of Penn State Universitys College of Plastics Innovation and Technology.

Interpack just around the corner!

SA thermoforming fundi transfers skills in USA

Sun Ace board appointments

Veronique-Chantelle MewAlistair Calder

GIULIANO Minucci has recently rejoined the Intrinsys engineering services team after six months training at Intrinsys in the UK.

Giuliano is now charged with delivering his newly developed experience and skill back in South Africa. During his secondment to the UK, Giuliano was exposed to all aspects of the company and was involved in a number of engineering projects, software support activities and training activities.

Giuliano has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. His lifelong interest in motor racing and the automotive industry is the primary reason for choosing a career in mechanical engineering and his four years at university fuelled his passion and excitement for high-performance engineering and innovative thinking. While at university, Giuliano developed strong design skills as he worked in a closeknit team on a high performance internal combustion engine and enjoyed his ?;{leading SA production car racing series team) performing a number of tests and analysis on the torsional rigidity of a roll cage.

Welcome back Giuliano!

Intrinsys Giuliano back from 6 months in the UK

SUN ACE South Africa has appointed two new directors, with Alistair Calder and Veronique-Chantelle Mew joining the groups board in January.

Alistair, who is well recognised for his prowess in PVC converting locally and regionally in African markets, has been appointed as an executive director, and will champion the companys vision to take advantage of economic growth north of our borders.

Alistair was invited to join the Sun Ace Group technical department to provide specialist skills developing business opportunities internationally. His competence was instrumental in supporting the groups investment in South America. He will also progress business opportunities on the subcontinent, where the group has been present for over 12 years. During 2013 Sun Ace Kenya was established; the business unit has a fully equipped technical service centre.

Veronique, who has a B Comm from Tukkies, completed =Q?Q$;=Y{Q#~;=Y{??Qand effective 1 January this year joined the board as an executive director of Sun Ace South Africa.

_

to Sun Ace South Africa, developing its overall African strategy alongside new investments in non-vinyl production.

PEOPLE

VIRGIN POLYMERS & RECYCLED MATERIAL

!"# $$%'(% '%!

DISTRIBUTION AGENT INTO AFRICA

%)

!"#

$%#&'%(#)'*+)-'.#+/0"

KEN BARNES, rubber business unit manager for Protea Polymers, will give a presentation titled How Globalisation and the Economy has Impacted on the South African Rubber Industry at the Institute of Materials Foundation Lecture at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Thursday 13 March.

The event the 32nd occasion on which the IOM has hosted the Foundation Lecture is being presented by the Institutes Northern Branch.

Ken has been involved in the rubber industry for a whopping 38 *market and more recently in the

material supply sector, with Protea group. Hes also assisted the IOM over many years and knows the industry well, so his presentation will be enlightening.

Accommodation is available at the Birchwood Hotel; for more info, contact one of the IOM branches.

KEN BARNES, the man who is going to give the IOM Foundation Lecture in March, got some practice in when &of the year in November. His title was Compounding with Antioxidants and Anti-ozonants, which included a brief history of antioxidants and anti-ozonants in rubber. Ken highlighted the theory of oxidation and the effects of vulcanization and antioxidants. He discussed the rate of oxidation due to temperature, light and motion. He also listed important properties of antioxidants and antiozonants and concluded his presentation with the various types of these additives used in the rubber industry. The function, held at the Victoria Country Club in Maritzburg, was sponsored by Protea Polymers, a member of Omnia group.

THE IOM3s website address has changed and has also undergone an upgrade and is now more user-friendly. Information covered on the website includes links to our Patron members websites, information on membership, the constitution, branch contact details, information on Education, Events and news about the association.

Institute of Materials: Southern Africa Region www.iom3.co.za

www.iom3.org

National ChairmanAndr Cornelius Z"#[email protected]

Vice-chair/KwaZulu-NatalJaco Smithc. 082 808 [email protected]

Eastern CapeCoen Burger

#~"""~"[email protected]

NorthernSpike Taylorp. 011 928 4172

#~"[email protected]

SecretaryWendy Knott-Craig #Z"[email protected]

Ken gets in practice with rubber additives chat

IOM3 web upgraded


Foundation Lecture, 13 March, in Boksburg

Ken Barnes of Protea Polymers

www.iom3.co.za

www.petco.co.za

Tuks student wins IOM global lecture event

Hong Kong, the inviting venue for the competition, has one of the most impressive night skylines anywhere

The students visited power stations as well as an underground construction site on the MTR subway

system, which is being extended: witnessing the challenges of this complex undertaking was

Cornelis and Wendy enjoyed the vibe at the night markets in Hong Kong, with shopping and eating being interspersed with karaoke, and quite a bit besides

young academic

THE exposure and experience gained on a trip to the Far East for young individuals can be invaluable. That certainly was the case for Cornelis van Niekerk, the South African entrant in the IOMs Young Persons World Lecture Competition in Hong Kong in October 2013.

Cornelis travelled to the Far East with the IOM secretariate Wendy Knott-Craig for a 6-day tour which involved visits to industrial and research locations as well as cultural experiences in the company of fellow entrants from Brazil, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and USA all countries where the IOM is strong.

The tour included visits to a large recycling plant; the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; a construction site on the MTR underground/subway transportation system, which is being extended; the Haesl plant, where repairs and overhauls of Rolls-Royce aircraft engines are conducted; and visits to two power plants (where coal imported from Singapore is used).

Besides that, the group also received a

thorough introduction to Chinese cuisine and enjoyed a cruise on a junk courtesy of the IOM HK members to Lamma Island that included watching sunset over Hong Kong.

The lecture competition itself, held at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, was both intense and entertaining, with high standard presentations from all the participants. Cornelis was phenomenal on stage, with his passion for his topic, Novel Technique for in-situ laser alloying of AISI 410L stainless steel with nitrogen during laser cladding, quite evident. Cornelis, who is studying towards a Masters degree in metallurgical engineering at the University of Pretoria, also performed well during judges question time.

Dr Phil Bischler, senior vice-president of the IOMs in London who has visited South Africa on a number of occasions, then announced the winners: third place went to Adam Brown of the UK and Hendrik Hans of Singapore was adjudged as the runner-up. The South African attendees were thrilled when Cornelis was announced as the winner: congratulations

are due to the Tukkies student.That evening the contingent was bussed

to The Peak to enjoy a celebratory dinner at Caf Deco, one of the territorys most successful restaurants. The evening ended with a few cocktails at a nightclub at the top of the tallest building in Kowloon with, once again, phenomenal views of Hong Kong Island.

Wendy was also able to attend the IOM International Affairs Forum meeting, which was held before the lecture competition, from the experience of the other IOM delegates.

academic is the opportunity to visit industries of a global nature, to participate in experiences they would not have in their own country, to network with other like-minded individuals and to enjoy a new culture.

Its the type of international experience that could be of huge value to all young people entering the industry, many thanks to the IOM.

www.iom3.org

28

FEB

RU

AR

Y /

MA

RC

H 2

014


heavy metal free by 2015SAPPMA has welcomed the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) announcement that all PVC pipes manufactured in South Africa have to be free of heavy metals by July 2015.

?\?Q'?*?*earlier that the technical committee of the SABS has amended its standards to ensure that all heavy metal stabilisers are removed in the manufacturing of PVC pipes.

Local manufacturers of PVC pipes have been granted a window period of 18 months to get their house in order and to comply with the new legislation, Dhlamini said, adding that the SABS will be the custodian of the new standard and enforce the new legislation. Pipes bearing the SABS mark of quality would have to be resubmitted for testing, after which new permits will be issued.

SAPPMA chairman Jan Venter said that the association welcomed the decision by the SABS. SAPPMA already embarked on a voluntary removal of heavy metal stabilizers from PVC pipes back in 2006 because it added value to SAPPMAs life cycle thinking and took into account end-of-life issues and waste management options. The reason for the initiative was based on health and environmental considerations and was done at considerable cost to our members, Venter explained.

The policy was fully implemented by SAPPMA in July 2009 and applied to drinking water systems as well as

sewer, drainage and mine pipes. As a result, all PVC pipe manufactured by SAPPMA members are lead-free and are stabilised with environmentally friendly materials such as calcium zinc or organics based stabilisers instead.

www.sappma.co.za www.sabs.co.za

"#"$$%&

SAPPMA signs cooperation agreement with SAICE

www.sappma.co.za www.saice.org.za

SAPPMA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) aimed at expanding the associations reach to the new generation of engineers entering the South African market.

It is important for the local pipe industry to ensure an &!the sector, said SAPPMA CEO, Jan Venter.

The MoU encourages the two parties to cooperate to lobby and challenge statutory legislation and structures to facilitate the achievement of their common objectives. Some of the areas of cooperation agreed on include the mobilisation of resources, where the two parties have agreed to support each other in sourcing funds for the implementation of their activities and plans that fall within the framework of the MoU.

The agreement also entails a commitment to enhance and support each party in the creation and maintaining of relations with similar international institutions. With SAICEs backing, SAPPMA will be able to participate in graduate engagement programmes at various universities in the country and spread the message about the need for engineers who are dedicated to advancing the pipes and plastic industry.


ASSOCIATION NEWS

SAPPMAs 5th annual golf day will take place on Thursday, 20 March at the Copperleaf Golf Estate. Built on land once lived on by Ernie Els grandfather, Ernie Vermaak, =?QY{Club, and the second signature Ernie Els designed golf course in South Africa.

We are very excited to host this years Golf Day at a

}Y the layout tests every aspect of the game and provides even the longest hitters with a challenge. The course is one !_*and players experience a sense of openness and freedom with the Magaliesberg backdrop adding to the country atmosphere, says SAPPMA CEO, Jan Venter.

Entry fees for four balls are R3 500 and SAPPMA is inviting all golfers to enter early to enjoy a great round of golf, fun and relaxation. The days activities will once again conclude with a gala dinner at the clubhouse, during which various prizes will be awarded.

The following sponsorship opportunities are available: Tee: R4 000; wet hole: R4 000; green/hole: R3 000. Other sponsorships could include caps, shirts and team prizes. For more information or entry forms, visit

the SAPPMA website or contact Louise Muller via email on [email protected].

SAPPMA 5th annual golf day

_?YQ\?Qconference will be held in Cape Town on 29 and 30 May. The ARMSA team is busy organising the annual event, to be presented at the beautiful

THERE is no Planet B. We are all a part of the global market and live on a planet

?Q{

Cape Town, entitled Global Partnerships ??^?Q*PETCO.

;*{|Commissioner on the Environment, **

;Y

$!Z~{Q;{;$*Z~?QY!

**

**!

SA can be proud of plastics recycling achievements?Q

*]{*=?*={;{=

?QQ{

{;?QQ

the sharing of ideas and set the stage for *

SA can learn from developed countries *?Q*#Z#~~

*often seen as a means to provide *development and

livelihoods. For this reason, waste management in ?Q*

]{*

*?

_*

*{!;*

*added.

_{!;=Y; =Y$>={*\*Z

!!; =\operational leadership, *

**relationship management

*\*; =

#~*

?Q?

divisional manager for Protea Food Ingredients. =; =*she was responsible for the advertising and promotional *; =Y

!*Yasset.

=*?*'

!; =

; = \=

^


International recycling global partnerships

' (

)*%

"#"$$%&

The goal of inviting EPRO to South Africa

was to create a platform for the sharing of ideas and set the

stage for future global partnerships that would

make this possible

Encouraged joint efforts, initiatives aimed at increasing material recovery

POLYCOs new CEO, Mandy Naud

TEL: +27 (0) 11 462 2990

FAX: +27 (0) 11 462 8229

e-mail: [email protected] (PTY) LTDOne total solution for Injection Moulding


colloquium sets stage for

;?*?>]{;*{?Q?QQ{*{!;*{|#Z#*?

Looking ahead*?>*

***=

=*; =*\;?Q*

]{

"!?``!`~_by Francis Huysman (EPRO co-chairperson/Val-l-Pac) and on the right, Geraud Delorme (EPRO co-chairperson/Valorplast) and EPRO Secretary General, Peter Sundt

The PETCO team who helped to make the colloquium the success it was Sahra Heuwel, Agripa Munyai, Nabilah Hassen, Cheri Scholtz, Belinda Booker, Lisa Parkes, Monique Holthausen and Oscar Baruffa

ww

w.petco.co.za

PLASTICS|SA will be telling the plastics story in a series of light-hearted, but educational English and Afrikaans radio spots that will be kicking off at the end of February 2014.

According to Monya Vermaak, Plastics|SA Marketing and association is advertising on broadcast media, although the decision has been a long time coming.

Propak in Johannesburg last year, the industry made it clear that they wanted to see more pro-active marketing of plastics as a material to a wider audience. This has given us the mandate to proceed with our plans and long-term strategy to hit the airwaves with the message about the good qualities of plastics, Vermaak said.

Three national radio stations have been selected based on the demographics of their listenership and ability to reach a wide selection of the industrys target market. We have selected SAFM, Radiosondergrense (RSG) and 5 FM for the !February and at various time slots, Vermaak said.

"##

February, March and April and will raise awareness of the versatility of plastics, and that this is a material that has made modern convenience a possibility.

A second three month campaign will begin during the last week of May, focusing more on the message of plastics recycling. We are hoping to conclude this years advertising campaign with a broader selection of radio stations and possibility also a television advertising campaign on selected DStv channels, which will coincide with our national Clean-Up and Recycle campaign which take place in September each year, Vermaak explained.

Last year alone, Plastics|SAs website and social media platforms attracted close to 8 000 unique visitors per month, while its public relations strategy generated exposure worth more than R18 million compared to R4.5 million during 2012.


www.plasticsinfo.co.za

ADVENTURER Ray Chaplin celebrates the end of his

2,460km river boarding journey down the length

of the Orange River. Sponsored by Plastics|SA

and Nampak Rigid Plastics, Ray started his quest in April 2013 from the

rivers source in Lesotho, reaching Alexander

Bay in early December. Doing presentations

on environmental responsibility and the

importance of living sustainably to schools along the way was part of the programme. Ray

presented to over 9,500 learners along the river with

over 5,500 bags of litter collected by schools and

communities.

Plastics|SA takes to the airwaves!

First-ever Plastics|SA advertising campaign on radio

Epic Orange River journey ends

New faces at PSPC

www.RayChaplin.com

Thinus Prinsloo has been appointed as Recycling Co-ordinator for the Polystyrene Packaging Council (PSPC). Prior to joining the PSPC, Thinus was involved in various government departments over the past 21 years, including the Department of Health, Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and the Department of Environmental Affairs. His main area of focus will be coordinating the collection of polystyrene from collectors for recycling around the country, and facilitating the entire process making use of the new PolyNet software. He will also be responsible for conducting training on polystyrene recycling and help to educate the general public and schools about the process

Wesi Jillian Mathebe has

Administrator for the PSPC. Wesi has ample experience

reception, having worked in a busy medical practice at Life Fourways Hospital. Wesi will

also assist the PSPC directors with the administration and

communication process

Monya Vermaak, Plastics|SA Marketing and Communications Executive

Major growth gives SA plastics industry a bullish outlookDESPITE a challenging economic climate, cheap imports threatening our local manufacturing industry, expensive operating costs and other obstacles, the South African plastics industry has managed to achieve impressive growth in all areas this past year.

Few industries in South Africa, and indeed around the world, have seen such rapid growth, technological advancement, innovation and a changing business environment, as we have in the local plastics industry this $%&'*+Philip de Weerdt, said. We were forced to embrace change, adapt and face enormous challenges in a struggling economy that doesnt always facilitate local manufacturing. However, we managed to make headway on many important challenges facing the plastics industry this past year.

Continued growth over past 5 yearsDe Weerdt said the industry has seen a consistent year-on-year growth since 2008.

Last year the South African plastics industry grew by 5.4%, despite the fact that the GDP only achieved a 0.9% growth for the same year. Plastics manufacturing contributed approximately 1.6% to South Africas GDP and 14.2% to the manufacturing sector during 2013. The combined turnover of the industry is currently in the region of R50 billion per annum and consumption is approximately

7!:%;#said.

De Weerdt said this marginal year-on-year improvement is expected to continue in 2014 as a result of investments made by plastic manufacturers and recyclers.

Developing new export marketsEurope continued to be the largest export market for plastic products during 2013, although a growing demand for plastic packaging has also been noticed from other African countries.

Africa has seen major investments and expansions in its infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and manufacturing activities. These growth areas have had a direct impact on the economies, resulting in the demand for plastic packaging in Africa growing by approximately 8% this past year. This is higher than the current demand for plastic packaging in Western Europe and we are preparing to see growing competition from other African countries competing to meet this demand as international companies are becoming aware of this lucrative, new market, De Weerdt said.

Plastics and sustainability Plastics|SA continued to make good progress on improving recycling rates through its Sustainability Council. Various initiatives took place throughout the year, such as beach and river clean ups, recycling awareness campaigns and sustainability initiatives, to help raise the publics awareness about the importance

of ensuring that their plastics are recycled and that they view plastic as a valuable resource that needs to be recycled ##?#the plastics industry as a potential growth #manufacturing industry, he explained.

Facing future challenges head onDe Weerdt said a decrease in the demand for plastic in the coming year is not expected. However, we are expecting that local manufacturing costs will continue to be negatively impacted by escalating electricity costs, increased labour costs versus reduced worker productivity, higher transportation costs and the continued threats of cheaper imports and dumping of inferior plastic products, he added.

Other challenges include technological #@$#because it requires high capital input), increased delivery costs (due to the nature of plastics manufacturing, industries are not in close proximity to their markets) and skills shortage.

Investment in research and design resulted in phenomenal growth

ASSOCIATION NEWS

www.plasticsinfo.co.za


Executive Director of Plastics|SA, Anton Hanekom with guest speaker Andre du Toit

Graeme Smith of Vinmar International Ltd, Fernando Monteiro, MD of Tega Industries South Africa and Les Whittal of Advanced Polymers

Loutjie de Jongh, MD of Mpact Limited, was elected to the board

s0RESSTOOLSs#OMPONENTPRODUCTIONSUPPLYs$EEPDRAWINGTOOLSs4HINWALLHIGHPRECISIONTHROUGHHARDENEDMOULDSs3ILICONEMOULDS

#/.4!#453

#HINA-OBILE 0086 151 685 69018-OBILE +27 (0)82 821 4775

%MAIL [email protected]

#/34#/-0%4)4)6%/.',/"!,3#!,%

PLASTICS|SA, the coordinator of South African volunteers participating in the annual International Coastal Clean-Up (ICC), has just released the results for the Cape Provinces of the 28th International Coastal Clean Up which took place in September.

According to John Kieser, sustainability manager of Plastics|SA and national coordinator for the ICC, this is the worlds biggest volunteer effort for ocean health. This year in the Cape alone (Northern, Western and Eastern Cape, and Marion B#Q!X7Y#

##Zlook data sheets which were developed by Ocean Conservancy. Various diving clubs took the initiative to coordinate underwater clean-ups in harbours, whilst a beach clean-up also took place on Robben Island. KwaZulu-Natals beach clean-ups attracted more than 6 000 volunteers with 1 600 youths attending a beach clean-up in the Durban Mangroves.

A total of 90 732 items were collected from beaches in the Cape ##Z

%80%2)%.#%s&,%8)"),)49s30%%$s!UTOMOTIVEMOULDSs-EDICALCOMPONENTMOULDSsYEARSEXPERIENCEs)3/CERTIlEDTOOLROOMs(OUSEWAREMOULDSs0%4PREFORMMOULDSBLOWMOULDSs)3/CERTIlEDINJECTIONMOULDINGANDTESTINGFACILITYs/PTIMISEDFASTCYCLINGMOULDSs#OSTEFFECTIVEs2APIDPROTOTYPINGAND#.#PROTOTYPEMANUFACTUREs&INITEELEMENTSTUDIESUNDERTAKEN

350%2)/215!,)49

Plastic micro debris was by far the most prevalent litter source on the beaches, followed by bottle caps, beverage bottles, food wrappers and straws.

With the focus changing to material smaller than 2, 5 cm

$

#moved up in numbers as compared to previous years. We recognise this problem and Plastics|SA is engaged in on-going

###%_# 10,25 tons (does not include non-aidited cleanup data)

Distance cleaned > 79 km (does not include non-aidited cleanup data)

# ]:::

Underwater Cleanups

Number of people 78

Weight of debris collected 500 kg

Distance cleaned ]::

# 800

This year in the Cape alone, 7 532 volunteers picked up litter and

_data sheets which were developed by Ocean Conservancy. KwaZulu-Natals beach clean-ups attracted more than 6 000 volunteers with 1 600 youths attending a beach clean-up in the Durban Mangroves

THE Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) has welcomed three new companies as members to the association CJP Chemicals, Eastman Chemicals and Betafence South Africa.

CJP Chemicals is a leading importer, stockist and distributor of chemical raw materials and ingredients into the South African market. (www.cjpchemicals.co.za)

Eastman Chemicals is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, additives and #$##in products people use every day. www.eastman.com

Betafence South Africa is an industry leader in manufacturing innovative architectural and security fencing (coated in PVC) and gate systems. (www.betafence.co.za)

According to SAVA CEO, Delanie Bezuidenhout, these new members all decided to join SAVA after hearing about the work the association is doing through its Product Stewardship Programme (PSP).

SAVA currently represents close to 80% of the local PVC industry with 34 members. As the representative body of the Southern African vinyls industry, SAVA is ideally positioned within the local plastics industry with representation on the Recovery Action Group (RAG), the Packaging Council of South Africa (PACSA) and the Plastics|SA Sustainability Council to ensure that its members are represented on a broader platform.

SAVA also participates in knowledge transfer activities with the Australian Vinyls Council, The Global Vinyls Council, Vinyls Plus and other international organisations. Its main purpose is representing its members interests in the Southern Africa region

##$##and sustain markets for the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) business.

Dates to diarise The SAVA AGM on 9 April SAVA will also be representing the local vinyls industry at

the PVC2014 conference in Brighton Vinyl Sustainability Conference hosted by SAVA in October

which will be attended by members of the Global Vinyls CouncilEnquiries about membership should be directed to Delanie

Bezuidenhout via email at [email protected] or telephonically at (082) 444-6866.


ASSO

CIAT

ION

NEW

S

Welltec Plastics has theinjection moulding machines to

meet your requirements.

PO Box 4567, Luipaardsvlei 1743Tel: (011) 762 5231 - Fax: (011) 762 5228Mobil: 083 255 9865 Les PorterEmail: [email protected]: www.edmshop.co.za

Excellentprices onexistingstock

PO Box 4567, Luipaardsvlei 1743Tel: (011) 762 5231 - Fax: (011) 762 5228Mobil: 083 255 9865 Les PorterEmail: [email protected]: www.edmshop.co.za

SAVA welcomes three new members in one month

www.savinyls.co.za

SAVA members who have committed to the Associations Product Stewardship Programme front from left, Maria Stephanou (SASOL), Pat Govender (NCP Chlorchem), Andy Halls (Floorworx), Charl Fourie (Capital Polymer Additives), Mark Holtes (Isegen), Nico Scheepers (independent consultant). Back from left, _X"[""X"[?X"[^!_X[X[^>(Continental Compounders) and Delanie Bezuidenhout (CEO: SAVA)

SOUTH African custom plastics additive compounder, Xyris Technology, understands the importance of research and development in the ever-changing chemicals industry and plays an active role in supporting research activities in South Africa.

The Bashewa-based company has worked with the Institute of Applied Materials (IAM) at the University of Pretoria to supply the masterbatches that were used in the manufacture of an insecticidal wall lining developed by the University to counter the spread of malaria.

This novel product combines the advantages of mosquito bed nets with the indoor residual spraying of walls. Field trials started two years ago and the product is performing very well. Xyris "$##product will eventually make it possible to phase out DDT, the controversial chemical currently used to ward off mosquitoes.

Xyris Technology has also ####masterbatches and compounds. These include products for deep underground mining applications that comply with the *+Chamber of Mines.

*$#woven textiles, extruded items, injection moulded and roto moulded products. Proprietary UV stable masterbatches

were supplied by Xyris "$#stadium chairs manufactured locally for football stadia used during the 2010 Soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa.

While many of these products are bromine-based, an exciting new development is the use of #retardant systems. This includes special intercalated graphite-based additives. When such graphite #they expand in a worm-like manner increasing in volume more than one hundred times.

When products containing this additive ##char layer is formed that prevents further degradation of the polymer substrate. Current expandable graphite grades $retardants in polyethylene, PVC and also in polyurethane foams. Xyris Technology future growth in this type of halogen-free system.

Xyris Technology also produces the well-known purging compounds, Extru-Clean and Eco Purge under

license to the CSIR, which are also exported worldwide. The corrosion inhibitor range includes proprietary products as well as formulations licensed from the CSIR and supplied under contract to a major *+$#

HAITIAN International, which has since 2010 been a world market leader in terms of injection moulding machines sold, continued its steady progress development with an outstanding display at the K show in Dsseldorf in October last year.

The company was founded in 1966 in Ningbo, China, by Zhang Jinzhang, and in the course of the past 40-plus years has grown to be a listed company with a consolidated turnover in 2012 of about 785-million (approximately R1.1-billion).

Currently, the Haitian group of companies serves around 30,000 customers in more than 130 countries.

The success of the

customer has always been pivotal for Haitian International. We became a global market leader as a result of our consistent customer orientation, said Jinzhang.

"#$_Venus II series 1900p machine (p is the high-speed version) with a 24-cavity mould producing coffee stirring sticks weighing 0.6g in PS with a total shot weight of 38g at a cycle time of just 2.9 seconds.

The Venus II machine has a new injection unit and a more compact shape; fewer individual components provide for greater stability and dynamics in the injection process. The optional packaging version of the Venus II p from 1,500-3,800kN clamp force offers injection speeds of up to

350mm/s (500mm/s has been successfully tested with pilot customers).

"$eight injection units available, shorter set-up times and clamping forces up to 5,500 kN.

We are convinced that full electric solutions will take the lead in the next few years, especially for small and mid clamping forces, said Professor Helmar Franz, CSO and a board member of Haitian International Ltd. The principal market, Asia, has long set the pace, and the other markets will follow suit.

Nearly 3000 Venus machines have been sold since its introduction in 2007, with the numbers virtually doubling each year. The second generation is also available in

the higher clamping forces of 3000, 3600, 4500 and 5500kN.


Professor Helmar Franz, CSO of Haitian Intl, believes that full

electric solutions will take the lead in the next few years, especially for

small and mid clamping forces

Haitian CEO Zhang Jianming started the group in 1966 and is still at the helm

Haitian expands fully-electric lineVenus continues to gain ground: now available up to 5500kN

www.haitian.com

New Venus plant The new plant for the construction &'**+0Ningbo, has a production area of 120,000m and

capacity for up to 10,000 machines a year

COSMO FILMS, one of the worlds largest producers of BOPP and thermal locations in India as well as in South Korea and in the United States, inaugurated its &#zone in Shendra, 450km north east of Mumbai, in August.

"Z#^

CONTINUED automation of processes within the manufacturing industry in Southern Africa is fuelling demand for world-class robotics that will enable local companies to compete on a global stage.

Advanced control equipment that ensures the smooth operation of robotics out in

##the robotics to work ever faster and more accurately. Like the central nervous system of a living creature, signals are constantly transmitted between these controllers and robotic devices in order to facilitate effective operation of the processes.

In most manufacturing environments however, conditions are arduous, with extreme temperatures, excessive mechanical forces and sometimes chemicals and contaminants that can interfere with machines. As a result, careful attention needs to be paid to designing and manufacturing control cablings paths that can withstand the $duration of the manufacturing process.

Cable protection systems for robots and

Control

Uniloy Milacrons latest all-electric blowmoulding shuttle machine


Power saving of 30-40% in comparison to hydraulic machines

Robotics under control Robotec Systems manufactures robotic control cabling and 44

UNILOY Milacron Germany/B&W has added a new model to its all-electric machine line the UMS 20E.S. The machine

#$#$

###$##Zjoint arms onto both mould platens right into the centre of the pinch-off areas. Once the mould is closed no power is used.

Showcased during this years K show, the machine produced 12 IT stackable UN containers including a view stripe. To achieve the highest product quality in the shortest cycle time with minimized use of resin and energy, the machine was

####&;*$#closed-loop controls for all machine movements.

#30-40% in comparison to hydraulic machines was reported.

The general machine footprint is compact due to the integrated control cabinet underneath the extruder. Access to all machine areas is easy and safe for the operators.

Additional accessories such as a Delta quality centre including leak testing and weight control as well as an Eisbr blow air cooling system was part of the full line set-up. Uniloy Milacron is represented by

Hestico in SA. 444?

Vital linkRobotic cabling, harnessing and accessory specialists Helukabel, are at the forefront of technology to interface controllers with robots. The companys expertise ensures that the central nervous system of an $as it was designed to, for years to come no matter what conditions need to be contended with on site.

The companys Robotec Systems Gmbh subsidiary works with customers around the world who require robotic automation in their operations. Robotec engineers are able to develop pre-assembled cable $@&Qrobots and handling systems, as well as offer additional services to ensure the optimal performance of robotic systems for almost any application. The services they offer include system analysis, consulting, planning, installation, service and warranty of mass-produced cable protection systems for robots in automation systems.

Control pathways are tailor-made to suit customers applications with products that include dress package systems and associated systems for automation, handling, and spot welding, as well as gas-shielded welding and laser welding.

Right solutionDoug Gunnewegh of Helukabel South Africa says specialists are able to assist in the

Documents

S a plastics '014 02 (web)