Engineering plastics for growth and sustainability

 Zainab Mansoor

The second GPCA Plastics Summit held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in April 2011, gathered a number of business leaders and stakeholders from the petrochemical and plastics industry who shared thoughts and ideas for growth, sustainability, success and innovation. Key speakers discussed various emerging trends and opportunities in the Gulf region, spearheading effective decisions for waste management, and improvisation of methods of various plastic conversion activities.
However, the focus was inherently on innovation and sustainability of the plastics industry through alliances, investments in new technology and superior workmanship. Moayyed I. Al Qurtas, Vice Chairman and CEO, TASNEE and Chairman of the GPCA Plastics Committee said: "The only limit is our capacity to innovate." Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, the Secretary General of GPCA, said: "It is heartening to see continued industry support to an initiative that drives technology and innovation through leadership. The proactive nature of the industry is a must to ensure sustainable development in a society that relies heavily on plastics in all walks of life." He added: "Innovation in the Gulf's plastics conversion industry is considered an essential requirement in order to make it more competitive to meet the needs of regional and global markets."
Researches indicate that the Middle East region is ripe and currently suitable for  growth. Key is to find leading OEMs and moulders with the desire to drive change, co-invest with technology, engineering and innovation and develop a structured/ consistent demand creation process.

Demand growth in innovative materials
Richard Crosby, General Manager, MEA at SABIC Innovative Plastics commented that for the plastics industry to foster and demand to spur, the three following conditions were required: The Right Environment, The Right Customers and The Right Partner and Technology. The Right Environment would be incumbent on governments to provide the right incentives to encourage investments from OEMs and local investors. Customers would act as change agents while sound technical partners with application, technology and market know-how with global reach would serve as the Right Partners.
He said that the Middle East not only offers an opportunity in core industries such as packaging, appliances and electrical but also growth industries such as alternate energy, automotive and oil & gas. The company's Innovative Plastics business leverages its industry expertise in automotive, electronics, healthcare, infrastructure, media and security, transportation and other new markets. However, demand for customer products can be created through trend analysis and anticipation, partnership through customers, innovative industry application designs and development and validation of new materials and technologies with industry leaders.
SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a 75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers' most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environment ally responsible solutions. The company's extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings , specialty compounds, film, and sheet.
Within the Middle East regions, companies are spearheading activities and developing innovative solutions across various verticals within the plastics industry. SABIC Innovative Plastics recently announced its tie up with IAV GmbH, a world leader in advanced vehicle and power train systems, to develop advanced thermoplastic solutions that can helJordan Hydro 6 Sandals