����ý

As the calendar starts to advance from winter to spring, I thought I’d catch you up with our editorial plans for the next few months. Not surprisingly, they focus heavily on the show, coming up May 6-10 in Orlando. I know it’s just February and May might seem like it’s a bit far off, but doesn’t it seem like just yesterday when we were all isolated during the pandemic?

Our NPE2024 coverage begins in print in March, in two ways. In this magazine and on the PTonline.com website, we will have exclusive coverage of exciting new products and technologies to debut at the Orange County Convention Center. Also, your March issue of Plastics Technology will be bagged with the official NPE2024 Preview Magazine. In those pages, we will be exploring NPE2024’s mega trends. You can expect to read a lot about sustainability/recycling, automation, artificial intelligence and lots more.

Featured Content

How Vacuum Drying Is Revolutionizing Plastics Processing READ MORE

A Simpler Way to Calculate Shot Size vs. Barrel Capacity READ MORE

ColorForm From KraussMaffei Brings Key Competencies to One System READ MORE

Beginning this month, in fact, if you you will be receiving a weekly e-newsletter based on content covered in the print NPE Preview Magazine. These e-newsletters will launch Feb. 9 and will be sent to you on a weekly basis through April 26.

In April, we will publish our NPE2024 Show Issue. In those pages, our experienced editorial team will take deep dives into all the new technology that will be in display on the show floor. We will have separate articles covering all the major processes, as well as materials (resins and additives), tooling, auxiliary equipment and more. All of this content, of course, will be available in our print magazine as well on our website and in our digital publication.

In May, we will continue our coverage of new developments at the show … and even from the show. That’s because and Plastics Technology are the official providers of the official NPE2024 Show Daily. Throughout the show, we will be providing you with updates of innovations on the show floor as they are unfolding. We’ll also be delivering a variety of NPE news bulletins through the exhibit.

If you think AI won’t play a role in your future ����ý endeavors, I respectively recommend you reconsider that point of view. 

You’ll see some more NPE2024 coverage in the June issue, because, why not? In July, our editorial team will provide their insights on what they viewed as the NPE’s “showstoppers.” Our comprehensive post-show report will begin in August, when we delve into coverage of new machinery. In September, we focus on materials.

If you haven’t registered to attend NPE2024, I urge you to do so by pointing your browser to npe.org. You can register to attend right from the homepage. Yes, ours is a mature industry, but the last NPE show was six years ago. A lot has changed since then. There have been tremendous advances is material science to promote sustainability. Machinery in all processes is faster and more agile than ever before. If you think AI won’t play a role in your future ����ý endeavors, I respectively recommend you reconsider that point of view. Same with additive manufacturing. And I think the displays of automation on the show floor will knock your socks off.

This won’t be your father’s NPE Show. In addition to all the activities of processing equipment popping parts left and right, there will be unprecedented educational and networking opportunities. So your options, as I see them, are to catch up on what’s been happening by attending or risk being left behind by staying back.