Some of the best manufacturers and solutions providers in plastics,food packaging and printing industries were in Johannesburg in March 2019 for the premiere industry event Africa Propack 2019. Itachi Plastics and Packaging was there and had a very successful event. The plastics manufacturing industry is in full digitilization mode and the themes of most of the exhibitors were centered around a few key things.
Automation and Injection Blow Moulding
Automation was front and center and on display were some of the best in robotics and machine vision and learning coupled with IBM machines. Itachi proudly uses injection blow moulding machines to produce containers of an international standard. Injection blow molding provides manufacturers with several benefits as there is no unwanted scrap material generated, neck and threading is tighter and the finishes are smoother and more aesthetically pleasing.
Sustainability
The plastics packaging industry is coming to terms with the role that we must play in making sure that our practices are serving the planet as well as the bottom line. The theme of looking at the solutions we provide as a full circle from manufacture to reuse and recycle has been adopted fully by the industry. There were many displays of efficient cleaning, sorting and repelleting machines. Products suitable for use with recycled plastics were also on display.