Usually, industry trade shows are a time for celebration as companies unveil new technologies, announce expansions and highlight positive financial results.
This has not been a normal year, especially for the European plastics industry, which faces a tougher economic climate than its U.S. and Asian rivals.
Fakuma 2024 opened today in Friedrichshafen, Germany, just hours after exhibitor Sumitomo (SHI) Demag announced major changes designed to help its long-term prospects.
Machinery maker Sumitomo is cutting jobs and will make structural changes to its German operations to cope with a 50% drop in demand for its products by 2024.
Falling sales, rising energy costs, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 are nothing new. For years, the European plastics industry has faced increasing headwinds but persevered. But with recovery still to come — officials at Germany’s mechanical engineering industry association (VDMA) noted that companies must “wait a little longer to see a turnaround” — some are finding they can’t wait any longer.
"In the medium term, a recovery in investment activity ... is to be expected," Sumitomo CEO Christian Maget said in a press release. "Market conditions beyond our control have exacerbated the current downturn. As with these industries, we must prioritize how we can adapt and adjust our core competencies and production capabilities to best support our customers and the broader industry transformation."
Kia launches an optional trunk liner made from plastics recovered from the Pacific Ocean.
From Pacific to trunk liner
Now we know what automaker Kia is making from plastics collected by the Pacific Cleanup: a trunk liner.
The Ocean Cleanup and Kia announced the project in September, but they did not specify which parts of the Kia EV3 electric car would be made from material collected from the Pacific Garbage Patch. Kia Executive Vice President Charles Ryu said in a press release that the limited-edition trunk liner is "tangible progress toward creating a circular resource system for ocean plastics."
