Senior reporter Bruce Geiselman rounds up five essential stories, including a look at the bioplastics supply chain, new service options and smart technology from Conair, the return of Rethink Robotics to the cobot market and a leadership change at Husky Technologies.

Bioresins are currently a small fraction of the resin market, but their use is likely to grow as companies face pressure to improve sustainability. What does that mean for plastics processors? Will they have to make big new investments in machinery?

Senior reporter Karen Hanna interviewed several equipment OEMs who said for the most part, your current machines should do just fine with the new materials, but they may require different processing parameters than traditional resins.

"If you can melt it and inject it, we can mold it," said Michael Sansoucy of Arburg. Other OEMs agree. Find out more in this episode of the PMM Insight podcast.

John Erkert, Piovan’s regional CEO for North America, expects the plastics industry economy to accelerate in 2025.

Piovan is world’s biggest supplier of auxiliary equipment to the plastics industry. The Italian-based company had revenue from its polymer related businesses of $574.4 million in 2023, with $333.9 million coming from North American sales. Its brands include UnaDyn, Conair, Doteco and Thermal Care.

In this PMM Insight interview, Erkert said there has been increased interest in Piovan products since NPE but not a bump in sales. He said uncertainty in the economy caused by the U.S. presidential election is currently holding back sales.

Erkert also predicted more manufacturing of Piovan products in North America in the future.

If you enjoyed this interview, check out our recent chat with Conair President Jason Ganim, and subscribe to PMM Insight on your favorite podcast app.