Optimism Abounds at NPE2015

Americhem's booth saw a steady stream of traffic throughout NPE2015.

NPE2015 is now in the history books and what a show it was! Optimism abounded among the visitors, exhibitors and show owners, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI). According to Plastics News, 65,810 visitors attended the show, representing almost a 20% increase over the 2012 show in Orlando. That first NPE show in Orlando was considered highly successful, so exceeding the attendance by that kind of  margin is noteworthy.

So what made this NPE so great? Certainly the enthusiasm of the visitors was noticed at the Americhem Group booth. They came from over 23,000 unique buying companies and they came to spend money, as more than a half dozen major machinery manufacturers announced purchases on the show floor. A continuing trend was the global nature of the show, with more than a quarter of the attendance from visitors outside of the U.S. More than 5,000 visitors were from Latin America and our Latin American representatives were the busiest guys in the booth for much of the exhibition.



Our booth featured a full-sized Arctic Cat® ATV featuring
material from Infinity LTL Engineered Compounds.

NPE records were set in the number of exhibitors and amount of booth space sold. For a show that has been in existence for 69 years, these records are especially meaningful. We observed optimistic exhibitors at nearly every turn as our staff walked the show floor. Traffic to the Americhem Group booth was especially heavy Monday through Wednesday and we even had significant conversations with buyers on Friday, the last day of the show, which is typically sparsely attended.

The favorable economy certainly contributed to the upbeat nature of NPE2015. Attendees were especially interested in innovation. “What do you have that’s new?” was the typical question asked by visitors and Americhem Group delivered with new nDuramax™ UV products for films, new Color Rx® medical grade flame retardant compounds and new manufacturing capacity at both Americhem and Infinity LTL plants.

Having Americhem and our new sister company, Infinity LTL Engineered Compounds, exhibit at the same booth was a first. Representing a broader product selection including both color and additive masterbatches and engineered compounds led to some interesting meetings and discussions. Visitors also got to check out an Arctic Cat® ATV featuring color compounds from Infinity LTL, a 3D printer demonstration, and participate in the NPE Color and Plastics Challenge, a contest testing participants’ knowledge of the industry.

So Americhem Group left NPE2015 with a very optimistic view about the industry and our place in it. We’re excited that the 2018 and 2021 shows will stay in Orlando, as this venue has been a successful one for SPI and for our Americhem group. We’re following up on discussions with dozens of companies and we’re excited to try and help their businesses grow, mirroring the optimism of the industry. 

Scott Blanchard

Corporate Marketing & Communications Manager

Buzzing About NPE2015

It’s almost here: NPE2015. In just a few short weeks (or 34 days, but who’s counting?), the largest plastics show in North America will kick off in Orlando, Fla. Since the show is only held every three years, significant changes happen to the global economy and to the plastics industry between shows. In 2009 the show was characterized by declining attendance and fewer exhibitors at the height of the global economic crisis, while the 2012 show was upbeat with the recovering economy and a new show location (Orlando), Everyone is buzzing about the prediction of a  robust and exciting show in 2015.

Americhem has proudly exhibited at every NPE since 1988 – so NPE2015 will be our tenth show as an exhibitor. We even have an employee, national account manager Doug Croley, who has worked at every single Americhem booth since that time. Congratulations, Doug, on your upcoming 10^th show.

The show takes place at a time of steady growth in the economy. Manufacturing in the U.S. is strong. 2014 witnessed the best performance from U.S. factories since 2010. Pundits predict that U.S. factories will outpace foreign plants since oil prices are falling and domestic job growth has boosted consumer spending. Favorable raw material costs seem to be benefitting companies at almost every link in the supply chain.

In fact, plastics industry insiders, like Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) President Bill Carteaux have stated that falling gas prices have “made U.S. plastics a competitive industry.”  We’re excited about the prospects of a great NPE show and look forward to hosting lots of customers and other visitors at our booth 24027 in the South Hall.

This year’s NPE has lots of special pavilions including NPE3D, which NPE is billing as a “show within a show.” This pavilion will feature everything you ever wanted to know about 3D printing, including a wide variety of working 3D equipment. Americhem has been working in this industry for some time now, and we will also feature a working 3D printer demonstration in our own booth.

The Zero Waste Zone will teach visitors how the industry is recycling, processing and using them in new products. The zone will also have demonstrations as well as a display of products created from recycled materials. It will also feature a self-directed educational tour conveying the recycling value chain and process.

Americhem is excited about all the possibilities this year’s show represents for our company and for our industry. The plastics industry is the U.S.’s third biggest manufacturing industry and we’re proud that it is going strong after all these decades. NPE will be a great place to celebrate and grow.

Material Suppliers Part of a Growing Trend at Fakuma 2014

Here at the Fakuma trade fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany, material suppliers like Americhem are part of a growing trend. The fair has developed from its roots as a plastics machinery exhibition when it began in 1981. According to P.E. Schall, the fair’s organizer, what started as a show based primarily on injection molding equipment has evolved to include suppliers of resins, compounds, molded parts and extrusion and thermoforming equipment among its 1,772 exhibitors. This is Americhem’s first time exhibiting at the show, and we’ve been pleased with what we’ve experienced.

The traffic has been brisk, particularly during the midday hours. Americhem has welcomed existing customers as well as new contacts throughout the first four days of the show, which closes tomorrow. What has surprised us is the amount of synthetic fiber producers and converters that have visited during the fair, whose primary audience come from the plastics industry. They have been receptive to the line of color and additive masterbatches that we have promoted, many of which have been newly introduced over the past year.

We’ve also welcomed writers and editors from various industry publications. Plastics News produced three English language show daily newspapers for the first time and Americhem’s products and services were featured in a full-page article distributed Wednesday. Senior reporter Frank Esposito has visited our stand on a couple of occasions and shared his observations with us. Esposito has interviewed numerous material producers scattered throughout the show’s twelve large halls, and categorizes the show as a big, busy fair with injection molding as the dominant process. However, he observed that there are not the overwhelming amount of visitors that characterize the K show, held once every three years in Germany, making the show a more pleasant experience for those who attended.

What initially has been considered a regional show primarily aimed at the three-country ‘DACH’ triangle of Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH), Fakuma has grown to include many visitors and exhibitors from throughout Europe, including the central and eastern regions, as well as a significant amount of companies based in North America. Asian visitors have not seemed as prevalent, but we have welcomed several throughout the first four days. The town of Friedrichshafen, with its picturesque location on the shores of Lake Constance on the Swiss-German border, is a big draw for visitors throughout the world. The region is characterized by beautiful rolling hills and the charming German countryside, including plentiful apple orchards, vineyards and livestock farming. This is in stark contrast with K show’s urban setting in Düsseldorf.

For our part, Americhem Europe Ltd. has been proud to make our debut at this year’s show, and we’ve considered the audience ideal for our plastics and fibers businesses. We offer a hearty thanks to all the visitors we’ve hosted and we look forward to participation in next year’s fair.

Scott Blanchard

Senior Corporate Marketing Specialist