PMM Insight: A Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing Podcast
Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing brings you our podcast! Each month we will provide an interview with a plastics industry professional, PMM in Person; an audio article, PMM Perspective; and a Commentary examining an issue in the industry. Find more of our content at plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.
Episodes
On this episode of Machinery Minutes, you'll hear about the two large extruders KraussMaffei is building at its facility in Florence, Ky. The move is intended to reduce lead times in the growing North American market, and enhance regional customer support and access to parts.
Conair's new SureLaunch program sends a technician to your facility for a day to make sure your new auxiliary equipment is started up and optimized for maximu...
On this episode of Machinery Minutes, we focus on our deep dive on the future of your workforce. The need for tech skills to take advantage of increasingly complex equipment is creating new job opportunities, and companies that hope to land these data-savvy workers will need to offer the right mix of pay and perks.
The Association for Advancing Automation (known as A3) has published updated ISO 10218 standards, the global flagship...
PMM Editor Ron Shinn has visited a lot of plastics processors. In this podcast episode, he shares thoughts on what the best plants are doing to prepare for the future of manufacturing, and steps you can take to ensure you have the right equipment and the workers to run it.
On this episode of Machinery Minutes, you'll hear about U.S. plastics processors and recyclers searching for domestic suppliers of plastic scrap as they face the prospect of significant tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.
In other news, sales of automation equipment are in a slump, with few signs that things are going to pick up this year. The Association for Advancing Automation (known as A3) recently released sales...
In this episode of Machinery Minutes, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman looks at the potential ramifications of President Trump’s announcement that he planned to enact 25 percent tariffs against goods imported from Canada and Mexico.
Though they are currently on hold, the prospect elicited strong reactions from manufacturers, plastic industry leaders and consultants, both positive and negative. We also share ways you can prepare now ...
The proposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico have the potential to affect plastics recyclers and the processors who buy their resins.
The U.S. is a net importer of plastic scrap, getting about 40 percent of it from Canada and 18 percent from Mexico, said Emily Friedman, who monitors the plastics recycling market for ICIS. Recyclers would need to realign their sourcing strategies.
It could also affect what processors pay f...
On this week's Machinery Minutes podcast, we give you a quick rundown on these three stories:
Wittmann's SmartPower Combimould line of injection molding machines, designed for multi-component molding, now offer servo-electric injection units for improved efficiency and performance.
David Stahl, a wealth management partner at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, offers three personal wealth planning steps owners of plastics businesses s...
Taking the first step for adding collaborative robots need not be a daunting task, according to Chris Buse, Universal Robot’s Applications Engineering Manager for North America West.
Buse, who has a plastics engineering college degree, outlined the process and talked about the value cobots bring to plastics processing in an interview with Editor Ron Shinn at the inaugural Collaborate conference and trade show in Novi, Mich., on Jan...
In this week's Machinery Minutes, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman updates you on a roundtable in which the PMM staff discusses what may lie ahead for machinery makers in 2025. Are they optimistic that interest rate cuts will boost business, or do they see continued tough times ahead?
Another vision of the future comes from Slant 3D president Gabe Bentz, who wants to revolutionize manufacturing in a way that allows anyone to turn an...
The year ahead looks uncertain for many plastics machinery OEMs and processors. Will lower interest rates spur investment in equipment? What effect might tariffs have? What end markets are on the rise?
In this episode of the PMM Insight podcast, editors Ron Shinn, Lynne Sherwin, Bruce Geiselman and Karen Hanna discuss the results of our annual survey and comments from machinery makers about their expectations.
This week's Machinery Minutes podcast, summarizing three important stories from the plastics machinery world, begins with our take on the story everyone's talking about: the beginning of Donald Trump's second term and what it might mean for the industry.
We also report on Netstal's new subsidiary in Mexico, following a trend among injection molding OEMs, and a large-format 3D printer from Wasp that was designed for boat builders.
J...
The city of Akron, Ohio, implemented the Recycle Right public education program to curb costly contamination in the recycling stream. It's been so successful, it cut nearly $200,000 in costs and is now turning a profit, setting an example that other municipalities should notice.
PMM editors Ron Shinn and Lynne Sherwin, who both live in Akron, have seen its success from their own front yards, and discuss it in this episode of PMM In...
In this episode of Machinery Minutes, learn about the results of our annual survey of processors' machinery investment plans, and what OEMs anticipate for the market in 2025.
You'll also hear about a new cobot-centric spinoff business of blow molding automation provider Proco Machinery, and an upgraded control system for the Geiss T11 thermoforming machine.
The latest round of talks to establish an international treaty on the use and disposal of plastics ended in December with the sides still far apart.
Another session is planned for 2025, but who's the biggest loser if no agreement is reached? The plastics industry, says Editor Ron Shinn in this PMM Insight commentary.
On today's Machinery Minutes podcast, Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman briefs you on an expansion at Windmöller & Hölscher's North American headquarters in Rhode Island; advice on ransomware remediation from the CEO of OnSecurity, as hackers ramp up their use of artificial intelligence; and the 10th anniversary of Future Leaders in Plastics (FLiP), a program for young professionals in the Plastics Industry Association.
In this episode, Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman looks at the benefits of lean beyond sustainability gains; an upgraded robotic programming system from Flexiv; and some of our most popular features from 2024.
For her latest series on lean manufacturing and how it's practiced in the plastics industry, Senior Reporter Karen Hanna looked at a lesser-known benefit of the philosophy: sustainability improvements. Lean's focus on eliminating waste and boosting efficiency can lead to savings in resin, energy and scrap.
In this episode of PMM Insight, Karen discusses the series with Editor Ron Shinn.
On this week's episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll hear about PMM's visit to Engel's North American headquarters and what their leaders have to say about the secrets to the company's success.
You'll also learn about a new large-part printer from Formlabs, and the inaugural Collaborate North America, a trade show and conference centered around cobots.
In this week's episode of our Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll hear about a molding shop that implemented lean practices and discovered a side benefit: better sustainability.
We also wish Jim Healy of Sepro North America well as he heads into retirement, and tell you about Diversys, which has a software program to keep track of your recycling data so you can meet EPR or company goals.
Extended Producer Responsibility policies and recycling mandates are taking root in the U.S., putting pressure on plastics recyclers and processors to track and report details of their operations.
In this PMM Insight interview, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman speaks with Roger Barlow, CEO and co-founder of Diversys, about the company's cloud-based software that optimizes and tracks recycling data to verify compliance with EPR regu...
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