PMM Insight: A Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing Podcast

On this episode of Machinery Minutes:

• Bekum America builds application-specific extrusion blow molding equipment and prides itself on customer support, especially to new blow molders. Take a look behind the scenes. 
• The SPE Thermoforming Division presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Greg McCunn, staff engineer for materials at John Deere, at its recent conference. 
• Learn about Wittmann’s latest granulator, the S-Max Dua...

Key points from this PMM Insight podcast, with Editor Ron Shinn and Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna:  

• Leaders can put their heads down and cope with a crisis, but to successfully deal with change they have to keep their heads up, take a deep breath and make decisions that gets them to their goal. 

• Lean manufacturing plays an important role in dealing with chaotic times. 

• Believe it or not, there are ne...

Key points from this episode: 

• Digital transformation holds the key to making better decisions about your customers’ needs, machine maintenance, supply chain trends and more.  

• A top leadership consultant discusses how to cope with fear, volatile markets, global instability and waves of tariff announcements and suspensions. 

• PTi has upgraded and rebranded its twin-screw dryerless sheet extruder formerly k...

Key points from this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast:

• A survey of PMM readers found processors and equipment suppliers are unhappy and are at a loss as to how to deal with the constantly changing tariff landscape. Orders are slowing down and processors are postponing equipment purchases. Read the summary story or listen to our podcast commentary. 
• It may seem like chaos in the business world, but you still have to pul...

Key points from this PMM Insight podcast episode: 

• Processors and others responding to a PMM survey said they believe that the Trump administration’s trade policies will have a negative impact on their business and that customers are already delaying orders. 

• More than 60 percent said they are delaying purchases of new machinery and equipment. 

• There was little optimism that reshoring would result in new ...

Key points in this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast: 

• There are significant stumbling blocks to reshoring, including our labor shortage, lack of manufacturing capacity and failure to invest in artificial intelligence, according to the annual Kearney Reshoring Index. 

• China is eating our lunch when it comes to investing in automation and industrial robotics. Can plastics processors help? 

• Smart tec...

Key points in this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast: 

• Andrew Wheeler, president of Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp., discusses how packaging markets have changed, the growing use of recycled plastics and whether the W&H Group might start building machines in the U.S. 

• Manufacturers will continue to invest in artificial intelligence, but are moving toward generative AI, according to international busines...

Key points from this podcast episode:

• Collecting operational data has become easy. Using it effectively is the difficult part. For our recent cover story, three consultants talked about the competitive price processors pay when they don’t effectively use their data. Editor Ron Shinn discusses.  
• The IT director at a Pennsylvania thermoformer has seen spectacular on-time-delivery results pulling data from the company’s ERP syst...

Key points in this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast:  

• Modern processing machinery collects plenty of data, but using it can be problematic. Three experts explain how it can help your molding business and the high cost of ignoring it.  

• Bobby May, the IT director at Pennsylvania thermoformer SAY Plastics, has built 120 dashboards that puts the right ERP data in front of decision-makers at the right time. Res...

Key points in this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast: 

• Molding bioresins takes patience, skill and determination. Having a good partner helps too, as Refork found in Mold-Masters. 

• The 3D printing equipment market is struggling under the weight of high interest rates. But big-name OEMs are still embracing the technology. Are we at a turning point for the 3D printing industry? 

• Endeavor Business Med...

The domestic auto industry is in big trouble, with no sign that things will get better anytime soon. The industry was making progress in transitioning to electric vehicles, but at a critical time when it needs support, it is not getting it. 

While domestic EV production is being slowed by tariffs and automakers are trying to figure out how to move forward, other countries are racing ahead. What does it mean for the plastics industr...

UBQ Materials has developed a process to turn organic waste into biobased composite materials. Think banana peels, dirty diapers, chicken bones, greasy pizza boxes or even unrecyclable plastic. Now they want to build a U.S. plant.

A new thermoforming technology from Origin Materials can produce PET and recycled PET caps at a speed that’s competitive with other processes.  

Talks on a global treaty to end plastic pollution drag on. ...

Plastics machinery sales are down — again. On this episode of Machinery Minutes, hear more about the latest figures from PLASTICS' Committee on Equipment Statistics and the outlook for the rest of the year. 

Bioresins are growing in popularity as companies emphasize sustainability, but they pose processing challenges. Hear how extrusion and blow molding equipment makers are adapting. 

Artie Riegger, who is 40 years into a career in...

In this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll hear about the new production facility Engel has opened in Mexico, aimed at providing faster delivery times and increased availability of injection molding machines in the Americas.   

Also, Husky Technologies has acquired secondary injection unit and rotary platen technologies from MGS Healthcare Manufacturing to complement its multi-material and multicolor solutions. And Pl...

Manufacturing jobs are evolving, and your hiring practices need to change as well if you want to be prepared for the future. 

Modern equipment generates rivers of data that, used and interpreted properly, can make your processes more efficient, reliable and profitable. But you need workers who know how to put that data to work.

In this episode, PMM senior reporter Karen Hanna and editor Ron Shinn discuss her stories detailing the k...

On today's episode of Machinery Minutes, learn about a spike in the unemployment rate in plastics and rubber, its highest since the pandemic. It's a sudden reversal as not long ago, companies were complaining about a tight labor market.  

Also, Absolute Haitian has introduced new, lower-cost versions of its Mars and Jupiter injection molding machines known as the SE (Special Edition) models; and we share factors to consider if you ...

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, you'll hear about the two large extruders KraussMaffei is building at its facility in Florence, Ky. The move is intended to reduce lead times in the growing North American market, and enhance regional customer support and access to parts.

Conair's new SureLaunch program sends a technician to your facility for a day to make sure your new auxiliary equipment is started up and optimized for maximu...