JSW Plastics Machinery Inc. is returning to the NPE2009 show, drawn back by the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.'s move to reduce exhibitor costs.
JSW officials had announced in early March that the Japanese injection press maker was pulling out of NPE. That decision now has been reversed, said Bob Columbus, JSW's sales manager.
In other news, KraussMaffei AG is going to officially exhibit at NPE2009. KraussMaffei was on the fence, as officials cited high costs in a down economy.
Washington-based SPI announced March 16 what it is calling a “stimulus package.” NPE runs June 22-26 in Chicago.
Columbus said SPI's flexibility in cutting costs was a key to JSW's decision.
“Basically, through the efforts of SPI and their help and the support from everybody, they're making it where it's viable that we can go,” Columbus said in a telephone interview.
JSW, with U.S. headquarters in Corona, Calif., will show two injection molding machines in Chicago — a new press for molding liquid silicone rubber and a 150-ton machine in its AD series. Both are all-electric machines.
“We're hopeful that there will be good attendance, and the economy will be on the upswing,” Columbus said.
Paul Caprio at KraussMaffei said the SPI stimulus “helped a great deal” in convincing the company to exhibit at NPE.
“Absolutely what SPI did for the exhibitors helped with the decision in a big way,” said Caprio, president of the German company's U.S. headquarters in Florence, Ky. “We just feel that it's very important that we're showing our new general-purpose, all-electric machine to the market. We also are showing our strength on the large-tonnage side, which seems to be opportunistic with a lot of the builders getting out of large-tonnage.”
Earlier, SPI's stimulus plan also lured Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. back into the fold, when officials from Nagano, Japan-based Nissei reversed their publicly announced decision to pull out.
Meanwhile, Gammaflux LP has announced it will not exhibit at NPE.
“The bottom line is, we do not find it prudent in this current economy to spend the money necessary to exhibit at NPE. We feel we can better serve our customers by directing our resources towards working with them directly,” said Jeff Colman, president and chief executive officer at the supplier of hot-runner temperature-control systems.
Gammaflux of Sterling, Va., can use that money to make “hundreds of visits to customers” to help with specific applications, Colman said. He said Gammaflux, which has been a regular exhibitor at past NPE shows, will consider displaying its wares again at the next NPE, in 2012.
“This economic situation is extraordinary and requires some difficult decisions. We're confident things will improve and when they do, we'll go back to considering exhibiting at the major shows,” Colman said.