In just five months, Plastics Technology will hold its first plastics processing exhibition in more than 10 years in the Midwest. #editorial

With our 2021 Molding and Extrusion Conference book coming to an end, the team at Gardner Business Media (the parent company of plastic technology, mold making technology, additive manufacturing, and many other magazines focused on discreet parts manufacturing) can now take notice Force to turn to its next big event.

PTXPO will be a new trade show for the North American plastics processing market. Please don't think of it as a regional performance; it is not. It is not a global exhibition like NPE, K or Chinaplas. It will be an event held in the Midwest, where various North American processors can interact and network with suppliers of primary machinery, auxiliary equipment, molds/tools, and materials/additives. The show will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont from March 29 to 31, 2022, near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Given the impact of the global pandemic and ongoing delta variants, there has been a lot of discussion about the future of live events. Faced with travel restrictions and bans, the company (including us) quickly changed direction. Thanks to technology that was largely unknown in the months before the emergence of COVID-19, a large part of our lives have become “virtual”.

Frankly speaking, I think some of the ways we learned to do business in the past 10 months or so will continue to exist. To give an example: I recently talked to a mechanical supervisor whose company often sells systems to processors with multiple factories. For example, in some cases, customers will order four machines to four different factories. As part of such an order-buying cycle, in the days before the pandemic, he and one of his salespersons—perhaps even a local salesperson—go to the customer’s headquarters. There, they will be welcomed not only by the headquarters engineering team, but also by manufacturing, engineering, and factory management personnel from each of the four locations. At this meeting, the team usually reviews engineering drawings, mechanical specifications, delivery dates, etc.

Think about the time and money needed to organize such a gathering. Will this become the norm in the future? maybe not. By using webcams and microphones (we all have them now), the same thing can be done with minimal time and expense.

But I don’t think live events such as trade shows and conferences will disappear anytime soon. No matter how high-tech your camera and microphone are, you can’t connect to the Internet on your computer. You can’t really evaluate the full capabilities of a piece of equipment behind your desk. To be sure, you might know something about it, but I don’t think the virtual experience can be compared to watching live operations, whether at a trade show or in a machine manufacturer’s factory or showroom.

I have confidence in saying this because my views are supported by the due diligence we did when planning PTXPO. In this study, up to 86% of survey respondents (subscribers of the magazine and MoldMaking Technology) told us, “The large plastic exhibitions and conferences held in the United States (especially in the Chicago area) demonstrated the latest equipment and technology. Characteristic, material advancement, innovation and industry best practices are important resources for my professional development and network in the industry."

Since NPE is a triennial event, we plan to hold our supplementary exhibition in non-NPE years. We are organizing showrooms by process and product category so that attendees can use their time as efficiently as possible without having to travel too much. We plan to designate pavilions for various major machinery, auxiliary equipment and materials/additives, as well as a mold manufacturing pavilion in the form of the Amerimold Expo jointly held by us.

Want to know more? Visit the exhibition website (ptxpo.com) and view the exhibition venue and record all exhibitors who have reserved booths. You will notice many industry leaders in the fields of injection molding machinery, extrusion, molds, auxiliary equipment, materials, etc. You can find more information about the show on p. The 37th issue of this issue.

At industry-leading conferences on the two largest processing areas, learn more about best practices, processing techniques and techniques, and problem solving-and connect with hundreds of peers and suppliers at the same time.

50 expert speakers at the Plastics Technology Annual Molding Conference will provide their insights to help you optimize your process.

CO2 can be used as a completely "green" solvent, eliminating the need for toxic solvents to remove many pollutants in recycled plastics.

© 2021 Gardner Business Media, Inc. Privacy Policy [Login]