Industry Takes on Thermoforming at NPE 2024
By Conor Carlin, Editor
NPE returned to Orlando in May 2024 after a 6-year hiatus, so expectations were high leading up to the event. With over 50,000 attendees expected, this show was expected by many to be barometer for the plastics industry as a whole, especially machinery manufacturers whose wares were on display in both the South and the West Halls at the Orange County Convention Center.
We posed the following questions to a cross-section of individuals involved in thermoforming: processors, policy experts, OEMs, recruiters, and more. Though each was not qualified to answer all questions, the answers we received painted a moderately positive view of the outlook for thermoforming. The quotes below are directly attributed to the respondents who participated in our discussion.
QUESTION 1: General impressions: compared to previous NPE events, did you think the 2024 show was better, worse, or the same as the most recent show in 2018? Why?
- “We felt the show was about the same as the last one.”H. Kittelmann, Marbach (OEM – tooling)
- “This NPE show was much better than previous. We had many more sheet fed thermoforming companies visit when compared to prior shows.” M. Alongi, MAAC Machinery (OEM – heavy gauge)
- “This was our first time at the NPE, so we do not have a comparison to previous NPE shows, but we would like to see a separate area around thermoforming and all the suppliers for thermoforming in one place.” R. Doshi, Machinecraft (OEM – heavy gauge)
- “It was better than previous NPE events as the quality of the leads were much better. Roughly 90% were actually real thermoforming companies.” P. Caiani, OMG Italy (OEM – thin gauge)
- “NPE this year seemed quieter compared to my memory from six years ago, though I cannot say how accurately recall 2018. Many exhibitors noted that foot traffic felt “slow.” However, nearly every speaking session had standing-room-only attendance. I think the significant number of first-time attendees might be using NPE more for educational purposes rather than networking, as their professional networks are less established compared to those who have been in the industry for decades.” M. Moore, NAPCOR (Policy).
- “The show seemed to be well attended; however in recent years, NPE was combined with ANTEC which brought in a lot of additional engineers and other professionals for the technical conference. There was a lot of energy and buzz going into the week and it felt that everyone was excited to be back at NPE after a 6 year gap.Overall, it seemed to be a very successful show for us and our clients.” Z. Ernest, KLA Industries (Recruiting)
- It’s hard to have a general impression other than “WOW.” What I appreciate about NPE is how it provides a perspective of the scale of the plastics industry. As a sustainability professional, I immediately think about how we can harness the weight of that scale to tackle the issues we face as an industry.How do we get alignment between the converters, raw material suppliers, tooling manufacturers, and equipment suppliers? The Sustainability Hub provided a place at NPE for everyone interested in sustainability to network and discuss potential solutions. We are all facing similar challenges – the stigmatization of plastic, the need to improve resource efficiency, increasing regulation, etc. Collaboration is the only way forward.” Z. Muscato, Plastic Ingenuity (Converter – thin gauge)
- “We did not exhibit at the last NPE, but I did attend it and worked closely with Polytype who owned OMV at the time.This year’s conference, in my opinion, was tremendous due to the fact that we saw a lot of decision makers and had the opportunity to spend quality time with each.We were not yet able to exhibit a machine, due to the size of our booth and having to wait our turn on the exhibitor space waiting list.” M. Strachan (OEM – machinery)
QUESTION 2: Did you see any new developments in thermoforming, whether in technology (machinery, tooling), materials, or applications? Please provide a short commentary on why this caught your attention.
- “Digitalization is taking more and more space. From CMM equipment to process settings & monitoring it becomes a forceful tool for the future.”H. Kittelmann, Marbach
- “The new technology we demonstrated showing automation and quick change over times was certainly of the highest interest.It seems the customer base is very focused on being more efficient and more repeatable.” M. Alongi, MAAC Machinery
- “From the heavy gauge side, there were not a lot of machines on display. We saw new types of materials specially from Highland – the special NVH materials for automotive could be a game changer for lightweighting. Also, the carbon composite from Westlake for sporting gear was fascinating. We also saw the developments around EV battery products at the SABIC booth.” R. Doshi, Machinecraft
- “We displayed a new development showing a system for knickless cutting and stacking that is appealing to medical formers with a standard machine.” P. Caiani, OMG Italy
- “There was a notable increase in discussions around the production of high PCR-content sheet.” M. Moore, NAPCOR
- “I did not see any substantial machinery or tooling developments other than the new Microwave Technology offered by SMC. This new technology for drying PET flake offers shorter drying times with minimal energy and very low moisture (55ppm). I did notice a lot of developments in materials and additives. This caught my attention due to the need for sustainability options.PET is the most recycled material and PET PCR is more readily available to converters.Unfortunately, the heat deflection temperature and barrier properties of PET are not sufficient for some applications, but there are now proven alternatives such as PEF from Avantium that increase the oxygen and water vapor barrier properties substantially. Additives from Sukano AG were used in the development of CPET light that increase the heat deflection temperature such that PET can be used in hot fill applications and even coffee pods.” M. Strachan, OMV
QUESTION 3: Did the topic recycling – specifically, thermoform recycling (not bottles) – come up in any of your discussions at the show? If so, please comment briefly.
- “I specifically asked about tray-to-tray recycling, primarily focusing on recycling OEMs. All indicated that they are developing technology capable of processing the more fragile, lower IV thermoform material. A significant concern highlighted was the increased PE contamination resulting from (what they think is) the growing use of lidding films on trays compared to clamshells. This is crucial to address as the existing PET design for recyclability guidance doesn’t contend with lidding films explicitly. Thermoform guidance is incomplete in a number of areas which need resolution prior to California’s SB 54 mandates going into effect, namely the requirement for 65% reclamation of this category by 2032. If lidding films are indeed hindering circularity, the industry could face significant challenges, as guidelines for acceptable films are not yet established.” M. Moore, NAPCOR
- “OEMs seem to be focusing on how to provide more friction to thermoforms flake to remove labels with difficult to remove adhesives, but not so much that fine particle losses increase. I’m referring mostly to AMUT, Sorema, Lindner, etc. The SSP system providers are interested in contending with the increases PE contamination which can cause flakes to stick to the internal surfaces of drying units.” M. Moore, NAPCOR
- “The message in the industry continues to be sustainability.It can be difficult to differentiate between the message and the progress for recycling and sustainability.The industry seems to be committed to sustainability if their customers are willing to make the investment.” Z. Ernest, KLA Industries
- “This topic came up quite a bit, probably because I raised it with most everyone I talked to. This topic is very important to me and the company I work for, Plastic Ingenuity. As a custom thermoformer, we need to do everything we can to ensure thermoforms get recycled in practice. The fact is, not enough of them get recycled today, which contributes to the stigmatization of plastics in the eyes of consumers. Many bottlenecks to recycling more thermoforms are outside our direct control, but we cannot wash our hands of the issue.”Z. Muscato, Plastic Ingenuity
- “Yes, very much so. Many are concerned about the Single use plastics bans in Europe and the need to include high percentages of PCR into their products. Many are moving to more sustainable materials such as PET and are trying to find ways to broaden the capabilities of the more sustainable materials.OMV performed additive trials for Avantium in Verona, Italy to extrude, thermoform, and test the barrier properties of their PEF additives and the results were tremendous. The additive filled regrind flakes can be fully recycled again and again. This would allow the use of PET in barrier applications that could not till now be feasible using only PET.” M. Strachan, OMV
QUESTION 4: Automation and staffing continue to be key topics among thermoforming processors. Did you see or hear anything to suggest that these topics are less important now? Are companies investing more or less in automation? In qualified personnel?
- “Seems that automation will be high in demand also for the future due to lack of available staff for simple and even advanced requests.” H. Kittelmann, Marbach
- “Automation was a big topic but seemed to be more so to gain efficiency, repeatability, and consistency. No companies really talked to us about staffing concerns.” M. Alongi, MAAC Machinery
- “The biggest problem we heard from the heavy gauge thermoformers was the problem of product changeover. It seemed that the time can be reduced by a factor of 10 with the selection of the right equipment and automation techniques.” R. Doshi, Machinecraft
- “Robots and automation only came up when doing ABCD stacking for food trays.Staffing came up a lot of times, as everybody is scrambling for qualified people.”P. Caiani, OMG Italy
- “Exhibitors and visitors to our booth consistently named staffing of experienced plastics professionals as a major challenge. The demographics continue to cause issues as retirements outpace new grads coming into the industry.” Z. Ernest, KLA Industries
- “Companies have become more and more concerned about automation due to staffing issues and this is a worldwide issue. The need for visual checks using cameras and ways to eject poor product before being counted, bagged and boxed are critical. Process and onboarding training is needed in every sector.” M. Strachan, OMV
What do you think? Did you attend NPE and come away with a dramatically different opinion? Let us know or start a thread on the Thermoforming Division social media channels including LinkedIn and X.