Dr. Johannes Kilian is the new Head of Process Technologies at Engel Austria. Following the retirement of Prof. Dr. Georg Steinbichler, Engel has reorganised its development department and is now focusing even more strongly on process technology. Products and solutions for increasing process capability, such as the smart assistance systems of the iQ product family, but also innovative services, have been bundled in the Process Technologies department under the responsibility of Johannes Kilian.

Hennecke-OMS announced that it has signed a new contract with Ballytherm UK Ltd. for the supply of a high-speed lamination line to produce polyisocyanurate panels with flexible facings. According to the manufacturer, the line has a speed of 45 m/min, with future potential of up to 70 m/min.

With HEY! TALKS online talk-shows, KraussMaffei will this year provide compact information on novelties in plastics processing. Six half-hour talk rounds will take place from 20 – 22 October 2020. The themes will range from digitalisation in service and production, innovations in injection moulding, extrusion and reaction process machinery, to solutions that promote the circular economy, plastics recycling and recompounding.

The European Coatings Show (ECS), a leading trade fair of the international coatings industry, has been postponed. Instead of holding ECS 2021 in March next year as planned, Vincentz Network, the organizer of ECS, and NürnbergMesse have rescheduled it for 14 – 16 September 2021 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the associated travel restrictions.

On 7 October 2020, The Vita Group and Dow jointly announced a new collaboration for the production of flexible polyurethane foams made with Renuva polyols – raw materials created from recycled mattress content. The Renuva mattress recycling programme is a circular economy initiative from Dow.

EuPC, the European Plastics Converters Association, partnered with the Circularise Plastics Group – currently composed of its members Covestro, Domo Chemicals and Circularise – to cooperate in the development of a tool to monitor the use of recycled plastics by converters in Europe.

With the market launch of its new Aerothan bicycle tube on 8 October 2020, Schwalbe has presented a new generation of bicycle tubes based on BASF's thermoplastic polyurethane Elastollan. According to the companies, this innovation scores top marks in terms of weight, puncture resistance, handling characteristics, ease of assembly and packing size. Aerothan bicycle tubes are the result of unique developmental work between the producer of bicycle tyres and tubes and BASF's Performance Material Division.

In a year that will not let the Fakuma show happen, Engel will present its innovations at the Engel live e-xperience from 13 to 16 October 2020. The injection moulding machine manufacturer and system solutions provider has developed a completely new virtual trade fair and event format to meet customers and prospects despite contact restrictions and travel restrictions. Live exhibits, an online specialist congress and one-on-one meetings with familiar local contacts and other experts ensure that the Engel live e-xperience is on a par with a physical trade fair.

Acmos Chemie KG has announced a distribution partnership with the Shanghai LoreChem Company.  LoreChem will be the representative for rubber and polyurethane release agents from Acmos in mainland China.