The successful conclusion of the Asia Plastics Processing Technology and Innovative Materials Summit 2017 (or the APPT Summit) reflects the growing importance of breakthrough technologies and high-performance materials in Asia’s dynamic plastics industry. Held in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 6-7, the APPT Summit was packed with informative presentations from industry experts and discussions among participants who came from fast-growing sectors such as Packaging, Automotive and Consumer Electronics. Around 190 participants joined the event and listened to 13 presentations of speakers and sponsors who represented leading companies and organizations in plastics and plastics-related industries.

Participants of the 2017 Asia Plastics Processing Technology and Innovative Materials Summit

The APPT Summit was organized by Ringier Trade Media Ltd. in partnership with Indonesian Packaging Association, Indonesia Plastic Recycling Association (ADUPI), PLASTINDIA Foundation, Plastics Institute of Thailand, and Indonesian Plastic Industry Association (INAplas). Representatives from these organizations were also present to provide information about their respective organizations and their projects.

Major sponsors in this event included Chen Hsong Group, Frigel Asia Pacific Co., Ltd, Taizhou Kaihua Automould Co.,Ltd, Ningbo Konger Machinery, Guangdong Liansu Machinery Manufacturing Co.,Ltd., Guangdong Forstar Precision Machine Co., Ltd, Fomtec Plastic Machinery (Guangzhou) Co.,Ltd. A mini-expo was set up at the venue where sponsors and partner organizations showcased their products and services. A Buyer – Supplier match making service was made available.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Mike Hay, President of Ringier Trade Media Ltd. said: “The ASEAN region offers vast opportunities especially with the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The AEC is a huge market of US$2.6 trillion and over 622 million people, and collectively, it is the third largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world. In turn, the plastics industry in ASEAN continues to grow with global developments impacting key sectors relying on plastics.” Mr. Hay also noted that the APPT Summit in Indonesia far exceeded expectations as it recorded a large number of participants from various sectors in the region.

Relevant issues covered by industry experts

Three main sectors that are currently posing high demand for innovative high-performance materials and breakthrough processing technologies in the ASEAN region were covered in the two-day Summit – packaging, automotive and consumer electronics. The presentations created awareness on recycling, sustainable production and innovative technologies, as well as Industry 4.0 as applied in plastics processing.

Mr. Sugianto Tandio, Co-Founder and Chairman of Greenhope (PT Harapan Interaksi Swadaya) and representative of Asosiasi Daur Ulang Plastik Indonesia (ADUPI) focused on the holistic approach on circular economy and plastic waste management where the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) can be further enhanced with 4R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Return to Earth) to close the loop in waste management.

In his presentation on flexible packaging, Mr. Henky Wibawa, Executive Director of Indonesian Packaging Federation, Indonesia (IPF) identified the developments in film extrusion and flexible packaging technology as a result of the growth in consumer market in the ASEAN region. A well-known packaging expert, Mr. Wibawa also looked at the megatrends in packaging and discussed recent and upcoming trends in materials and polymer extrusion.

In the area of innovative materials, Mr. Ian Toh, Commercial Director for Asia Pacific at NatureWorks LLC, stated the role of bioplastics in the new plastics economy. Mr. Toh also cited the growing preference for bioplastics as the global economy recognizes the importance of environment protection. He also stressed that the new Plastics Economy is a collaborative initiative involving leading participants from across the global plastic value chain

Delegates came from various sectors including packaging, automotive and consumer electronics

Dr. Asmuwahyu Saptorahardjo, Technical Advisor at PT Inter Aneka Lestari Kimia, tackled the replacement of petroleum-based packaging with starch-based biodegradable polymer, which also served as an apt introduction to the factory tour at PT Inter Aneka Lestari Kimia Plant in Tangerang. In his presentation, he introduced an option for plastics in the form of ENVIPLAST®, a biobased polymer compound made mainly from industrial natural starch, vegetable oil derivatives, and other natural ingredients.

An interesting topic was presented by Mr. Edi Rivai, General Manager, Pt Chandra Asri Petrochemical TBK where focused on the application of polypropylene (ICP) in automotive production to increase local content. Impact copolymer polypropylene or ICP has been widely used as covers and components in motorcycle and car, which requires balance between impact strength and stiffness, and dimensions consistency.

Bringing recycling to the next generation was the focal point of Mr. Raimon TH Wong’s presentation. Mr. Wong is Area Sales Manager(Malaysia) at Next Generation Recyclingmachines GmbH and his presentation aimed to provide an overview on recycling technologies today.

Mr. Nalin Amunugama, General Manager at Boge Kompressoren Asia Pacific, provided an update on next-generation PET blow molding process and compared the blow molding technologies available and their benefits. He also cited some cases where PET blow molding processes can be further improved through the installation of additional equipment or boosters.

The Marketing Head of Indorama Ventures PET Business Indonesia, Mr. Dhiraj Sharda, discussed the issues confronting PET packaging, sustainability and recycling where he put into limelight the benefits of sustainable PET packaging and how recycling can impact future sustainability programs.

Mr. Javad Feizabadi, Assistant Professor, Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation, dealt with the timely topic of Industry 4.0 and the prerequisites to meet the standards for Industry 4.0. He also mentioned how Industry 4.0 technologies can be an enabler of structural flexibility and some tips on how companies can adjust to achieve Industry 4.0 objectives.

Sponsored presentations added value to the Summit. Featured presentation from Chen Hsong Holdings Limited delivered by Mr. Stephen Chung, Executive Director, introduced the practical innovations for injection molding machines given the availability of a vast range of new materials. Frigel Asia Pacific Ltd Sales Director, Mr. Claudio Domasi, presented the company’s intelligent cooling solutions for the plastics industry where he emphasized that efficient plant operations can be further maximized with the use of Frigel cooling system.

The Plastindia Foundation sent two representatives. The first one, Mr.Rajiv Sanghavi, Co-Chairman for Plastindia Publicity of the Foundation delivered an information-packed presentation on artificial intelligence and how automation has changed the operations of most businesses. The second representative from the Foundation, Mr.Y.V. Raman, Chairman of International Promotion, provided an overview on PLASTINDIA 2018, as one of the world’s major exhibition for the plastics industry and the trade show’s visitors promotion efforts to invite Indonesian visitors. The video on PLASTINDIA 2018 played during breaks in the two-day APPT Summit also gave delegates a glimpse of the exhibition and the business opportunities it offers.

Another sponsor, Ningbo Konger Machinery, also provided a technical presentation on multi -component application in the plastic injection field. In this presentation, it stressed the importance of its various products to achieve highly efficient plant operation.

Panel of Experts shared their views on Industry 4.0

The last day of the Summit had the Panel of Experts participated by some of the speakers who talked about how Asian companies can move toward Industry 4.0. The panel discussion was hosted by Mr. Henky Wibawa and participated by four experts. In the discussion, the panelists gave tips on how Asian companies can move forward and make their operations more efficient and competitive. At the end of the presentations and the panel discussion, delegates were able to ask questions and consult with the speakers.

The two-day event was hosted by Mr. Emanuele Pasquinelli, Commerce & Marketing Vice President of Frigel Asia Pacific Co., Ltd.

Positive feedback and value-added highlights

The APPT Summit was capped with a visit to the factory of PT Inter Aneka Lestari Kimia, well-known manufacturer of ENVIPLAST®. Two buses filled with participants joined the tour of the company’s two factories, and listened to the program where Mr. Teddy C. Sianturi, Director for Downstream Chemical Industry of the Ministry of Industry of Indonesia, welcomed the guests and talked about how Indonesia has been encouraging investors into the plastics industry and innovations in the production process. Ir. Herman Moeliana, Director of PT Inter Aneka Lestari Kimia, gave an overview of the company and how it has been able to develop ENVIPLAST®, as well as the applications of this green alternative to plastic. He also demonstrated the key features of the product.

The APPT Summit generated positive feedback from both delegates and speakers in terms of content and organization/management.

A delegate from PT. Ultra Primaplast, Mr. Barnardus Utama, Managing Director, said that among the topics covered, he was very much interested and found useful the presentations on biodegradable plastics. “We manufacture plastics packaging products with two plants in Indonesia, and we have plans to expand our export markets. This seminar is good and I learned a lot especially on biodegradable plastics. I think Indonesia will move toward the use of biodegradable plastics as it is very important to look for another alternative to plastics.”

According to Mr. Nalin Amunugama, General Manager at Boge Kompressoren Asia Pacific: “Attendance is very good and the presentations are very informative. But I think all of us speakers are well-prepared and hope that there should be longer time for each presentation. Also, I hope that technical presentations will be published in future issues or online for the benefit of more companies.”

Plastindia Foundation representative and speaker, Mr. Rajiv Sanghavi, stated: “The conference is very good and the attendance is more than we expected. The presentations offered valuable information not only to delegates but to speakers as well. All topics covered are relevant.”

This feedback was also further strengthened by another speaker, Mr. Ian Toh, of NatureWorks LLC who said that the event was well represented especially for automotive. “The Summit is a good source of relevant information. For our side, hopefully, we will have applications for automotive. Our participation in this event created more awareness on our products and what we can do for our customers.”

A mini-expo gave participants to find out about latest products from sponsors

Another delegate, Mr. Eddy Sutanto, Head of Product Development at PT Advance Stabilindo Industry cited that the APPT Summit was very interesting. “We manufacture masterbatches for films and we have been operating since 1994 but only started masterbatch production in 2006. Since we are looking to export to new markets, like India and Australia, this event provided us with important information on new markets and technologies.”

A delegate from the academe, Dr. Supriyono, attended the APPT Summit based on invitation from the Indonesian Packaging Federation (IPF). He was happy with the content of the conference, citing that: “The presentations are very apt as we have plans to open a packaging department in our Polytechnic of AKA Bogor, which is under the Ministry of Industry.”

For the sponsors, the APPT Summit introduced them to the Indonesian market where opportunities abound. Sales Manager Ms. Jasmine Xiang of Guangdong Forstar Precision Machine Co., Ltd. said that the APPT Summit is a great way to meet prospective customers in the region. "We are happy that the delegates are from middle-level to upper-level management who are decision-makers," Ms. Xiang added. Taizhou Kaihua Automobile Moulds Co., Ltd was represented by Ms. Cindy Zheng, Regional Manager, who stated that the company has a new logo and this new corporate identity strengthens its drive toward increasing its presence in the Asian market. Fomtec Plastic Machinery was well represented with Mr. Percy Yu as Business Manager entertaining questions among delegates.