At formnext 2018 trade show, to be held from 13 to 16 November 2018 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Arburg will be celebrating a world premiere with its Freeformer 300-3X. The new large machine will process three components using the Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF) process, enabling the industrial additive manufacturing of complex functional parts in resilient hard/soft combinations with support structure as a world first. In addition to the new "big version", two proven Freeformer 200-3X machines will be on view.

During the 2018 Fakuma show next week in Friedrichshafen, Germany, PolyOne will inform visitors about its new OnFlex LO Low VOC / FOG and odor TPEs. This series of thermoplastic elastomers help meet Vehicle Interior Air Quality (VIAQ) standards for automotive interior components. They are well suited for the production of HVAC flaps, interior trays and fasteners and clips, etc.

BASF has launched a new production facility for Infinergy expanded thermoplastic polyurethanes (E-TPU) at its Changhua manufacturing site in Taiwan.

According to the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds manufacturers' association Amaplast, based on foreign trade data published by the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT), Italian imports of plastics and rubber processing machinery racked up a 23 % increase in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 – a clear contrast to the weak development of exports. Despite a decline of 7 %, the trade balance has remained positive by over EUR 1 billion. The growth in imports may be interpreted as renewed faith in the domestic market, mainly due to investment incentives that are likely to be renewed, said the association.

Sibur announced that it will boost the TPE production capacity at its Voronezh site by 50,000 t/y. The project has been approved by Russia’s General Board of State Expert Review (Glavgosexpertiza) and the Sibur’s investment committee. With the current TPE output of 85,000 t/y, Voronezhsintezkauchuk’s design capacity is set to increase to 135,000 t/y.

Zeon Corporation has announced that global selling prices for the company’s thermoplastic elastomers (SIS) under the brandname Quintac will be raised. The increase is USD 220 per metric ton. The price increase will be effective for product deliveries from 1 October 2018.

Fried-Walter Münstermann, President, Procurement, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, will assume responsibility for the “Task Force Process Simplification” effective from 1 January 2019. He will be succeeded by Stefano Pigozzi, President, Monomers, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen.

At Fakuma 2018, Covestro will be presenting a whole spectrum of plastics solutions for various industries.

According to a report in the news portal “Arab News” on 11 September 2018, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) is considering plans to build a petrochemical complex in the Chinese province of Fujian as part of wider efforts to diversify its business internationally.

Trelleborg has opened a facility in Querétaro, Mexico, to manufacture sealing profiles, such as control cable protector tubes and other critical automotive sealing components. The site covers a total of 1,250 m². According to Trelleborg, the state-of-the-art facility will serve the needs of the company’s existing and future tier one customers within the automotive industry. The investment is part of Trelleborg’s continued long-term strategy to invest in markets with favourable growth potential.