Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman discusses with Matt Flanigan, director of APenergy, how plastics processors might be able to trim energy costs by undertaking upgrades that could cost them nothing… thanks to energy incentive programs.

The plastics industry is a “target-rich environment” when it comes to energy efficiency, Flanigan said.

APenergy is a consulting business that helps industrial plants not only identify energy savings opportunities, but also apply for and obtain funding assistance.

Flanigan explains a little more about his company, what they do and how to take advantage of incentive programs.

Read the story.

Welcome to Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman shares three things you need to know.

No. 1 -- Sensors that detect melt conditions in real time can help processors reduce cycle times and waste, according to sensXpert, a German company that provides equipment, artificial intelligence software, and machine-learning technologies to optimize plastics processing and reduce costs. Read more.

No. 2 – The Plastics Industry Association is crediting exhibitors and its recycling partners with helping to recycle or repurpose 516,160 pounds of plastic, cardboard and aluminum collected at NPE2024. Read more.

No. 3 -- The worldwide slowdown in plastics processing machinery sales is causing Sumitomo (SHI) Demag to cut production jobs and make other changes at its German locations. Read more.

Welcome to PMM Insight: Machinery Minutes, a quick look at three important stories from Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing. New episodes drop every Monday.

On today's episode, Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman discusses these stories:

• APenergy, a consulting company, is helping plastics processors get utility incentives to undertake energy savings projects, which can trim their bills at little to no cost.
• Coperion has introduced its STS 75 MC Plus, which can be used for multiple applications, including recycling and production of masterbatches.
• American Plastic Molding is a company on a mission. It hopes the addition of a 3D printer for prototyping will allow the company within 10 years to increase its annual sales from about $20 million to $50 million.

The weaknesses of the U.S. electrical grid have never been more apparent, as natural disasters cause outages and EVs, cryptocurrency farms and other energy-hungry activities boost demand. Going dark, even for an hour or two, can deliver a significant hit to your plastics plant.

Microgrids are small, local energy delivery systems that are built on Industry 4.0 technology and can reduce your energy costs, provide power stability and help you meet environmental goals.

Find out more in this PMM Insight commentary by Editor Ron Shinn.

Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman rounds up five essential stories, including a look at the bioplastics supply chain, new service options and smart technology from Conair, the return of Rethink Robotics to the cobot market and a leadership change at Husky Technologies.

Bioresins are currently a small fraction of the resin market, but their use is likely to grow as companies face pressure to improve sustainability. What does that mean for plastics processors? Will they have to make big new investments in machinery?

Senior reporter Karen Hanna interviewed several equipment OEMs who said for the most part, your current machines should do just fine with the new materials, but they may require different processing parameters than traditional resins.

"If you can melt it and inject it, we can mold it," said Michael Sansoucy of Arburg. Other OEMs agree. Find out more in this episode of the PMM Insight podcast.

John Erkert, Piovan’s regional CEO for North America, expects the plastics industry economy to accelerate in 2025.

Piovan is world’s biggest supplier of auxiliary equipment to the plastics industry. The Italian-based company had revenue from its polymer related businesses of $574.4 million in 2023, with $333.9 million coming from North American sales. Its brands include UnaDyn, Conair, Doteco and Thermal Care.

In this PMM Insight interview, Erkert said there has been increased interest in Piovan products since NPE but not a bump in sales. He said uncertainty in the economy caused by the U.S. presidential election is currently holding back sales.

Erkert also predicted more manufacturing of Piovan products in North America in the future.

If you enjoyed this interview, check out our recent chat with Conair President Jason Ganim, and subscribe to PMM Insight on your favorite podcast app.

Senior reporter Karen Hanna researched biomaterials for our September cover story package. She says that while these new materials may be a solution for the future, production is too low so far to make a dent in the problem of plastic waste, and we need to focus on recycling the more common materials that are right in front of us.