Trendsetting technologies in record-breaking edition

NPE 2015 has surpassed the previous NPE record in exhibit space, according to SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, which produces the triennial NPE. Based on the number of exhibitors, booths fill more than 1 million net sq.ft. (over 106,000 sq.m) of exhibit space, the figure recorded at NPE 2000, the largest NPE on the books until now.

Exhibitors cite the success of the previous NPE in 2012 and the robust plastics industry as reasons for their strong investment in NPE 2015. Equipment companies also opted for larger booths to be able to display and demonstrate more machines. More than 600 companies are expected to have equipment at their booths and over 400 are set to operate their systems.

In some exhibits, multiple machines, some of them completely integrated manufacturing cells, will run simultaneously. Another major highlight of the event is the Startup Garage, which has already attracted so many startup ventures with exciting new technologies that the special exhibit for these companies has been expanded by SPI. The Startup Garage is a programme developed by SPI in partnership with the new-venture tracking firm Startup.Directory to provide startups with prominently located exhibit stations at the show. The plan originally called for a limited number of startups to be selected by show management and Startup.Directory, but with twelve startups selected and additional demand from the marketplace, SPI says it will expand the Startup Garage space and accept more applications.

Companies selected thus far will highlight innovations in bioplastics, recycling, 3D printing, polymerisation, resin processing, and antimicrobial polymers. Three of the startups report developments in the burgeoning field of graphenes — two-dimensional carbon-atom nanostructures that can be used for formulating plastics composites with dramatically enhanced properties. "The response to our call for applicants has been met with an enthusiastic response by new companies doing exciting things at the forefront of polymer technology," according to Brad Williams, SPI's director of trade show sales and marketing. "While some of these startups propose new ways to address pressing issues involving renewable resources and waste reduction, others offer enhancements of plastics manufacture and product performance. The quality of the exhibitors so far has led us to extend the call for more."

Educational conferences on technical and business topics
The show's organiser, SPI, has lined up a broad array of educational programmes to enable visitors to maximise the return on their trade show investment. These include breakfast briefings on key markets and panel discussions on plastics design—both free to NPE attendees. These are in addition to an agenda that already includes four extensive, multi-day, paid conferences on a range of technical and business topics relevant to all sectors of the plastics and end-use industries.

SPI's Business of Plastics Conference will provide a broad menu of timely topics with business implications. The conference consists of 37 presentations in nine topic areas. Also on the agenda is the SPE ANTEC® Orlando 2015, produced by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). The annual ANTEC is the world's largest plastics technical conference, with hundreds of technical papers consisting of original content reviewed by industry peers. The SPE is also scheduled to present its annual awards for outstanding contributions to the plastics industry to four distinguished individuals during SPE ANTEC. The awardees are Dr. Richard J. Spontak who will receive SPE's most distinguished award, presented to honour an individual's lifetime achievement. The Business Management Awardee is Charles A. Sholtis, CEO of Plastic Molding Technology, Inc. (PMT). The Education Award is given to Dr. Sarah E. Morgan, Professor in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi. The Research / Engineering Technology Awardee is Dr. Sureshkumar D. Shah, who has 30 years of experience in the automotive industry and an expert in the innovative use of plastics in automotive.