Innovative materials and technology have been a hallmark of all presentations staged at the K trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, the international flagship fair for the plastics and rubber industry. K 2019, which will take place from 16 – 23 October 2019, will also revolve around the key issues of circular economy, resource conservation and digitisation, all of which will be addressed at exhibition stands and by the accompanying programme.

On 10 December 2018, Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS) announced its incorporation as an independent legal entity and collaboration platform. SCS was founded in 2017 by leading styrenics manufacturers and is a joint industry initiative to drive the shift to a more circular economy for styrenics.

Bill Carteaux, President and CEO of Plastics Industry Association, has passed away on 10 December 2018, due to complications from acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

On 11 December 2018, Continental performed the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony in Pune, India, signalling the start of construction work on a plant to manufacture premium surface materials for the automotive industry.

Tobias Daniel has been appointed as Vice President of Global Sales for the Injection Moulding Division at KraussMaffei, effective from 1 December 2018. In this role, he will be responsible for incoming orders for new KraussMaffei and Netstal machines.

The plastics machinery shipments in North America continued to increase in Q3 2018 according to the statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES).

Environmentalists and civic groups in Taiwan's southern port city of Kaohsiung on Sunday (11 November 2018) protested for cleaner air in the wake of air pollution caused by factory emissions. "The 2018 Anti-Air pollution Rally" was organized by a coalition of environmental and health groups, including Southern Taiwan Anti-Air Pollution Alliance and Air Clean Taiwan's Kaohsiung branch.

Lanxess announced that it is planning to invest approximately EUR 200 million until 2021 to expand its global asset base for flame retardant additives.

DuPont announced it would invest over USD 80 million in Jiangsu province for a new specialty materials manufacturing plant during the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. DuPont signed the deal with the Zhangjiagang local government during the CIIE on Thursday (8 November 2018) for a USD 80 million manufacturing facility, expected to become operational in 2020 and further expanded by 2023.

Covestro announced that it has raised its stake in the Joint Venture DIC Covestro Polymer Ltd. (DCP) from 50 % to 80 %.