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The thousands of attendees gathered here from across the globe clearly display the continued strength and innovation of the plastics industry.
Source: NPE2024

Over the next three or four months, we will get into the nitty-gritty of what was on display last month in Orlando at NPE2024. For now, suffice to say that trends such as sustainability, recycling, energy efficiency, automation, smart machinery/artificial intelligence and more will be coming to a processing plant near you in the future. 

By virtually every standard, NPE2024 was a success. After a six-year hiatus brought about by the cancellation of the 2021 show due to COVID-19, there was a palpable excitement on the show floor, with processors hustling from booth to booth looking for new technology to solve their problems. Early numbers from the Plastics Industry Association suggest the industry is getting younger. Of the more than 50,000 registrants, 63% said it was the first NPE they ever attended, with some 30% of attendees revealing they were under the age of 40.

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Exhibiting at a trade show the size and scope of NPE is no inexpensive endeavor. In fact, quite a few exhibitors invested seven-figure sums to bring and operate machinery to the show. In injection and blow molding, it’s not unusual to see machines running during a trade fair. This year’s show also featured three Italian extrusion machinery suppliers running lines: Bandera and Macchi of the multilayer blown film variety, a Colines of the cast/stretch film type. Salute. This is a testament, I think, of the potential for growth in the North American processing market.

Speaking of international matters, this year’s show was also more global than ever. More than 15,000 registrants traveled from beyond the U.S. to attend, making the 2024 show the most international in NPE's history. Representatives from 133 countries — or 68.2% of nations worldwide — registered to attend the global plastics trade show. This represents a 9.9% increase of countries registered at NPE2018. 

We will begin our in-depth coverage of new technology from the show floor next month.

In Memorium: Mike Sepe

The plastics industry lost a giant when Mike “The Material Analyst” Sepe passed away April 28 after an unexpected illness. He was 71.

A long-time member of SPE, Mike was an invaluable contributor to Plastics Technology, authoring a monthly column called Materials Know-How, for more than 10 years. His final article for us is published this month. Mike had a 50+ year career in injection molding and worked with processors around the world, helping them solve molding problems or determine why parts failed.

Although he attended Columbia University where he studied chemistry and anthropology, Mike once told me much much of what he learned about polymer science was self taught, which I found astounding.

Mike started his career in this industry with Stelle Plastics in 1975, where he learned injection molding. After Stelle Plastics, Michael worked as the technical director of Dickten and Masch in Nashotah, Wisconsin until 2006. In addition, he established the company’s first analytical lab.

After leaving Dickten and Masch, Mike started his own independent consulting 911������, partnering with his wife Audrey, who supported him as accountant and office manager.

Mike was a brilliant and prolific consultant, trainer, speaker and writer. He will be missed.