Markets Applications

Italian machinery producer delivers pipe extrusion plants to Mexico's Valtic / Focus on PE pipes for construction applications

German insulation producers suspected of cartel agreement / IVH federation offices searched

USD 82m acquisition of Pactiv's North American Building Insulation business

Acquisition of Germany's Weidenhammer Packaging completed

Airbag manufacturer in the crosshairs of US media / Almost 8m passenger vehicles recalled

South Korean automotive supplier builds second plant in Poland / Manufacturing interior components for Hyundai

Scotland's retailers now charging 5p for all single-trip bags of all materials / England to follow suit in 2015 / Northern Ireland to extend levies to cheap reusable bags from January

Expanding commitment to plastics recycling in packaging / 20% packaging reduction targeted for 2020

Raising plastics processing activities in Hungary / No longer sourcing parts from China

Distributing Borealis' “Fibremod” PP-LGF grades in select western European countries

Goal of sourcing 25% of PET from recycled or renewable materials by 2015 likely to fail / High recyclate prices, regulatory restrictions blamed / 7.5 bn "PlantBottles" sold in 2013 / "2013/2014 Sustainability Report"

Global healthcare 3D printing market forecast to grow by 16% per year / Implants drive growth / New 3D medical trends at "Compamed" / Grand View Research report

Extra capacity now available / Demand from new and existing customers spurs management to add new production line

Takeover of US injection moulder C+N Packaging complete

Rising international competition / “Reserved” outlook for Q4 / Suffering from high energy costs / Sector meets sustainability goals / Latest IK industry association poll

Acquisition of Voestalpine's plastics plants in The Netherlands / 2014 financial performance stable

German manufacturer loses second PLA-based carrier bag lawsuit / Appeal to federal court

Swiss Environment Office life-cycle analysis says existing collection and recycling systems ecologically sound / No such thing as "good" and "bad" packaging / PE pouches enable significant weight savings / PET bottles best suited for carbonated drinks

Global demand expected to rise by 6% per year to 2020 / Customers switching to more durable products / Grand View Research study

New plant commissioned in Kunshan / Chinese facility to manufacture automotive components

Developing new transparent polymer for displays / Plans to produce in Japan

Plastic accounted for 30% of packaging shipments in financial year 2013 / Japan Packaging Institute data

German partners end appliances jv / Bosch to be sole owner / Investment in R&D and brands

Management board approves acquisition of TRW Automotive / Deal expected to close in mid-2015 / Birth of new global OEM giant

Strong growth in emerging countries / Germany still doing relatively well in global comparison / US and Japan are the big losers / Chinese output will soon amount to half of global production / ZVEI study