Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and ECO Plastics announced the official opening of their ground-breaking joint venture, Continuum Recycling. Completed on time and on budget, brings the recycling process full-circle, with used plastic packaging sorted and reprocessed domestically, before returning to GB shelves as part of another bottle.

The German plastics packaging industry was able to increase production by 5 percent to a record 4.3 million tons in 2011. This is shown by current figures provided by the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.v. Plastics packaging were more in demand than ever in the previous year.

During a customer event KraussMaffei showed fascinated trade visitors a new dimension of injection molding with the progressive GX series. Presented for the first time, the GX series extends the product portfolio in the segment of hydro-mechanical dual platen machines in the medium clamping force range.

Putnam Plastics Corporation, a leader in advanced extrusions for minimally invasive medical devices, has developed a proprietary process for manufacturing custom monofilament fibers up to 0.100 inches (2.54 mm) in diameter from performance materials such as nylon and polypropylene.

Global custom engineered thermoplastics compounder RTP Company has expanded its line of biocompatible compounds for medical devices to include thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) bondable grades. RTP Company's new RTP 6042 MD and RTP 6003 MD Series TPE compounds have been pre-tested for compliance with ISO 10993 biocompatibility standards.

In cooperation with various project partners, Siemens researchers have developed a new recipe for plastic made primarily of renewable resources and CO₂. The new material is an alternative to standard polystyrene-based acrylonitrite-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer.

Ticona Engineering Polymers is showcasing its thermoplastics for composites at SAMPE 2012 from May 22 to 24 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland.

European Championship Tango 12 high-tech Soccer Ball is the result of long-standing, proven collaboration between adidas and Bayer MaterialScience dating back to the 1986 Soccer World Cup in Mexico. Bayer's Polyurethanes improve the flight properties of the European championship "Tango 12" soccer ball.

GBI Research's 'Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Global Market to 2020' is an in-depth report focusing on the demand side of the global PET industry. The report provides the reader with detailed analysis and forecasts of the major economic and market trends affecting global PET demand in all the major regions of the world.

At DKT 2012, DuPont Performance Polymers (DPP) will showcase its portfolio of high performance elastomers that help automotive design engineers increase powertrain and chassis efficiency through light-weighting, turbo charging and engine downsizing — leading to increased fuel economy and reduced emissions.

With the new flat sheet extrusion system, KraussMaffei Berstorff offers a particularly advantageous solution for manufacturers and processors of sheets made of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). For the first time, EVA sheets can be produced at high velocity with a width of over 3 m. These have optimal visual properties, return for the edge trimming and low shrinkage.

A group of researchers at the College of William & Mary have made important advances in technology combining polymers—the material of the present—with graphene—the material of the future.

Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC, a leading global supplier of high-performance thermoplastics for the automotive industry, will deliver a technical paper on the use of its high-performance polyamides for engine cooling components at the upcoming ITB Automotive Engine Air and Cooling Systems 2012 conference on May 31 at the Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel in Novi, Mich.

Ticona Engineering Polymers has extended its Vectra® portfolio of halogen free liquid crystal polymers (LCP) to include a new family of high flow, high performance thermoplastics for use in modern electronic portable devices.

Benteler-SGL GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture between Benteler Automobiltechnik GmbH and the SGL Group, has set up a new plant in Ort im Innkreis in Upper Austria. A production center for the manufacture of automotive components made of fiber reinforced composites is being built on the 45,000 m² property; the construction of the facility began in April.

The pipe grade BorECO™ BA2000 polypropylene (PP) from Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions, was chosen for a recently completed upgrade and enlargement of a sewage network in the Czech Republic for bordering municipalities Ivancice and Oslavany.

CSM, Royal DSM and Delft University of Technology are participating in a joint venture for bioprocess research. The new company Bioprocess Pilot Facility BV (BPF) is based in Delft and aims at scale-up research and education for next generation bioprocesses. The official opening of the facility is on May 15, 2012.

Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, will present its latest solar solutions at booth W3-610 at the SNEC 6th International Photovoltaic Conference and Expo, May 16-18, at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.

Energy efficiency is the number one topic at the ENGEL AUSTRIA booth during German Rubber Conference from 2nd to 5th July in Nuremberg, Germany. With three machines on show, the system supplier for injection molding technology demonstrates best-in-class approaches to manufacturing premium quality rubber and silicone parts in a sustainable and economic way.

Graphene is the strongest material ever measured the thinnest material imaginable but with record thermal conductivity. It's obvious that Plastics can be the carrier material but graphene can also add massive innovation to existing plastics applications, says BPF.