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economics

Plastics Processing Index Rebounds with 48.5 Reading in May

Plastics processors recover some ground after sharp April drop, but not enough to avoid contraction.

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July 2025: Prices for Volume Resins Flat to Down Heading to Third Quarter

Apparent stabilization was driven by supply-and-demand dynamics, but the uncertainty of tariffs and the hurricane season are looming.

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processor's edge

Keeping Process Water Cool and Efficiency High in the Desert

Rehrig Pacific turned to Process Cooling Systems to create a high-efficiency plantwide process-cooling system for its newest injection molding facility outside of Phoenix.

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Processing Plant Tour

sustainability

Closing the Loop in Food Packaging

How polyolefin recycler Nuvida and sheet extruder/thermoformer Sabert combine to innovate in sustainable food packaging.  

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Automotive

Skipping the Pellet for Efficient Recycling in Molded Engineering Plastics Applications

AGS Technology leverages deep experience in molding with recycled engineering materials for automotive and heavy equipment parts.

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MPM’s Second Act: Keeping Injection Molding, Moldmaking in the Midwest

Larry Austin’s 35 years at a highly successful injection molding company inform much of what he does and doesn’t want in his second act in plastics owning an injection molding company.

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Technology in Depth

SPONSORED

AI-Driven Capabilities Advance Efficiency and Quality in Your Molding Environment

New for many molders, AI isn’t as complicated to learn as some may think.

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Novel Profile Cooling Technology Promises Big Output Boost

Aimed at complex profiles such as PVC lineals, retrofittable system adds turbulent cooling to calibrator to boost output by 25-50%.  

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Fermentation Process to Enable Compostable Biopolymers

Valerian Materials was founded to commercialize the results of federally funded research conducted at the University of Minnesota, producing bio-based alternatives to fossil-based polyurethanes.

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Process Cooling
 KNOWLEDGE CENTERS

Solutions

Through Thick and Thin: Reflecting on Injection Molding Thin and Thick Walls

Author considers time molding thin-wall food packaging and thicker-walled interior automotive trim, weighing the differences and similarities in process, molds and materials.

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best practices

The 3 C's of Clean Lubricants

Clean lubricants enable machines to meet OEM specifications from the outset, keeping sensitive components like servovalves, hoses and proportional control valves operating smoothly while avoiding contaminants — even as small as a few microns — that drastically shorten their lifespans.

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ICYMI: May Roundup

May was a busy month, especially with the buzz coming out of the Extrusion Conference. Here’s a quick look at the top articles from May you might have missed. 

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Blending & Dosing

Essential Reading

When Injection Molding Simulation Can Be a Great Troubleshooting Tool

Injection molding simulation can serve as a powerful tool not just for design but also for ongoing production optimization.

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Extrusion

How Compression Ratio Impacts Extruder Performance

Let’s investigate how compression ratio affects performance of an extruder processing LLDPE.  

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Materials

Polymer Science for Those Who Work With Plastics: Why Entanglements — Not Just Molecular Weight — Drive Plastic Performance

Ever try running your fingers through tangled hair? Yeah … that’s not fun, but that’s what happens at the molecular level when polymer chains reach the right length. They wrap around each other, intertwine and … get stuck — and those tangles are the real reason plastics perform the way they do.

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ICYMI: April Roundup

Catch up on the most-read articles that captivated our readers in April.

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Use a Process Assessment to Determine the Benefits of Screw-Design Modification

This type of analysis analysis will provide the converter with a clear picture of whether changes to the screw could provide economic gains through increased rate, yield, and quality.   

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Polymer Showdown — PPO vs. PA66: May the Best Material Win

Second in a series, an expert from plastics engineering consultancy The Madison Group pits leading thermoplastics against each other to see how they differ in processing characteristics, chemical resistance, thermal and mechanical performance, and more.

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