PIE speaks to PlasticsEurope's president Patrick Thomas / Fracking is an important energy source / Industry needs leadership and brokerage from Brussels / TTIP likely to bring gas prices down

PIE speaks to ECPI's sector group manager Stéphane Content about the European plasticisers market / Media wrongly group all phthalates together as harmful / Sustainability a key focus / REACH implementation should be balanced and pragmatic

PIE speaks to Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe / “Clearly the vast majority of our investment today is going to be in the USA” / Manufacturers have no chance in Europe / Shale exploration could restore competitiveness

PIE speaks to Klaus Ries, business manager Styrenic Foams & Styrene Monomers at BASF / EPS market expected to continue consolidating / New impulses brought by PolyFR flame retardant

PIE speaks to EuPC's new president Michael Kundel / Need for deregulation at the EU level / Energy remains a key problem / Converters need to innovate and create added value to survive / Product recyclability increasingly important

PIE talks to IK general manager Ulf Kelterborn / Strong economic boost for packaging industry continues / German EEG subsidies must be drastically reduced

"Chinaplas" exclusive: PIE speaks to Sibur managing director and head of Basic Polymers Sergey Komyshan / Sell-and-build strategy / Focus on integrated sites / Export share expected to rise / Ukraine crisis has no significant impact on operations

"Chinaplas" exclusive: PIE speaks to Holly Lei, vice president Commercial Operations China Polycarbonates Bayer MaterialScience / PC and sustainability / Sponsoring “The City of Tomorrow” / Integrated Site Shanghai capacity expansion on track

Bayer MaterialScience: Polycarbonate industry in China still developing / Capacity expansion in Shanghai in 2015 / Automotive glazing meets Chinese market needs / Michelle Jou, head of Commercial Operations PC in Asia, talks to PIE

Borealis' executive vice president Polyolefins Alfred Stern talks to PIE about the global and European market situation and the company's experiences with “Borstar”

Roland Roth, president of the German packaging producers' association, talks to PIE about the state of Germany's plastics packaging sector

German plastics packaging: Ulf Kelterborn, head of IK business association, talks to PIE about plastic bag bans

Bayer MaterialScience's relocation to Shanghai has been successful / “No intention whatsoever” to close any European facilities / PC capacity expansion in Shanghai on track / Michael Koenig, head of Polycarbonate business unit, talks to PIE

Lightweighted HDPE bottle is the “ideal packaging system” for short shelf life products / James Crick of Nampak Plastics Europe talks to PIE about the company's “Infini” bottle, future lightweighting plans and the road towards increase recyclate content

“There will be a collective outcry” if the indexing system is changed / Roland Roth, CEO of RKW, talks to PIE about new price risks, supply and competition issues in Europe's plastics processing sector