Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Plastics News China
  • Rubber & Plastics News
logo-pn-color
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • End Markets
    • FYI Charts
    • LSR World
    • Multimedia
    • NPE2021
    • K Show
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • Special Reports
    • Top materials of injection molders
      Recycled PET use by product category
      US PET, flexible packaging desintations
      Global fluropolymers additives market: CAGR
    • Exhibitors back NPE cancellation: ‘We couldn't take that risk'
      NPE2021 canceled as in-person event
      NPE reviews its options as pandemic prompts exhibitor to exit
      Machine builders meet pressing needs for plastic in 2020
    • Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Tailored maintenance for injection molding machines and robots
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Improve maintenance efficiency with e-connect.monitor
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Maximum precision for lowest shot weights
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Even more cost effectiveness for small precision parts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • What Keeps You Up At Night
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Videos
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • CEO Issue
    • Best Places to Work
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • Heavy Metal
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Watching, and hoping, for progress in 2021
      COVID-19 stories dominate 2020 headlines
      Plastic Globes ask: Was there a lighter side in 2020?
      Compounders write a business survival story in 2020
    • Kickstart: Unilever calls for 'living wage' pay in supply base
      Kickstart: Electric cars, recycling and warm mittens
      Kickstart: Welcome to the VUCA economy
      Let's get social
    • Heavy Metal: Coronavirus edition, plus the work of working from home
      Don't put off succession planning
      What's a good gift for your cobot? Batteries?
      Here's some big ideas to mull over the holidays
    • Chase expands giving campaign in 2020
      McDivitt will showcase Ascend's COVID-19 work on CNBC's Mad Money
      Move over, Plastic Man: Here comes Plastic Woman
      Star in spotlight with West Virginia philanthropy award
    • There was no choice but canceling NPE still a big deal
      The business case for producer responsibility
      Think divided government stalls plastics legislation? Think again
      ACC, NAM eye economic priorities in Biden presidency
    • Just how big is thermoforming in North America?
      Changing names for compounders embracing corporate branding
      Diversity the key to outperforming the market
      A timeline of the industry's COVID response
    • There was no choice but canceling NPE still a big deal
      Watching, and hoping, for progress in 2021
      The business case for producer responsibility
      Compounders write a business survival story in 2020
    • Perspective: Plastics manufacturers — a surprising contribution to sustainability
      Plastics industry business owners: Listen to your future workforce
      Perspective: ‘Fake news' of a different sort?
      Perspective: Making products in the USA is good for the planet
    • Modernizing recycling infrastructure will benefit businesses as well as the environment
      Mailbag: Oil-plastics connection is overstated
      Mailbag: Plastics recycling not cost-effective
      Mailbag: Price increases hurting North American PE buyers
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
    • Maintenance can ensure efficient blender operation
      Dosing: Perfect for adding color
      Blending vs dosing: What you need to know
      Going low or high: Comparing volume
    • Colors and custom compounds
      In the laboratory: Compounding solutions
      Recycling content: Resins going ‘green’
      Compounding: Glass and other fillers
    • Dryer maintenance: Don’t err with air
      Dryers: Options for a shop’s process
      Dryer installation: Going central?
      Resins: Hygroscopic or non-hygroscopic
    • Electric injection molding presses: Efficiency is key
      Hydraulic injection molding machines
      Proper maintenance can prevent downtime
      Hybrid injection molding machines
    • Purging Hot runners: Open or closed methods
      Purging extrusion machinery
      Purging extrusion blow molding machines
      Purging: Chemical, abrasive and non-abrasive
    • Controls, special applications boost production, profitability
      Robot maintenance key for smooth operation
      High-speed robots: A rapid way to increase efficiency
      Robots: Every shape and size
    • Maintenance: Key for efficiency
      Shredders: Plastic in pieces
      Safety first for size reduction
      Granulators: The right fit
    • Structural foam molding: Flexibility for processors
      Video: Structural foam molding
    • Mold inventory: How many molds does a shop have?
      Molds: Innovation
      Mold changeover: Saving time and money
      How molds work
    • Labor: Apprenticeships may provide answer
      Internships: Solving the skills gap in-house
      College training, programs
      Lean Six Sigma: Transforming business operation
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Ask the Expert
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • 2020 Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Polymer Points Live - February 2021
      Polymer Points Live - January 2021
      Polymer Points Live - December 2020
      Polymer Points Live - October 2020
    • Plastics in Healthcare 2020
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Plastics in Healthcare
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Data Store
  • Directory
  • More+
    • Classifieds
    • Digital Edition
    • Newsletters
    • Sponsored Content
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By Mitsubishi
      Innovative new technology from Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation helps reduce emission footprints
      Canon Virginia, Inc.
      Sponsored Content By Canon Virginia, Inc.
      Canon Virginia Inc. brings collaboration to the table
      Sponsored By CDS MACHINES
      Facing medical equipment shortages during COVID-19 outbreak?
      Sponsored Content By Canon Virginia, Inc.
      Transform your molding capabilities with the Canon Shuttle Mold System
    • Sponsored By Conexiom
      Use Sales Order Automation to free up time for CSRs to focus on customers, not manual entry
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 24, 2015 02:00 AM

The most international NPE show ever

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Joe Wilssens
    Sun Lung Gear, a subsidiary of Shanghai Chuan Lung International Trade Co., Ltd., displayed large precision gears at NPE.

    This week, the plastics industry expects to experience the most international NPE show in the 69-year history of the event.

    The growth is quite dramatic, according to the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.

    A record 43 percent of all 2015 exhibitors come from outside the United States, and that does not include many companies that are based in other countries but exhibiting through their U.S. subsidiaries.

    China, taking the lead among the 37 participating foreign countries, is sending its largest-ever contingent of 413 exhibitors to Orlando.

    To put things in a better perspective, that's about a third of the number of U.S. exhibitors (1,250) or more than 20 percent of total exhibitors (projected to exceed 2,000).

    Strong participation also comes from Canada (75 exhibitors), Italy (57), Taiwan (51), Germany (35), India (33), Turkey (25), Switzerland (21), France (20) and South Korea (14).

    “The great size and international makeup of NPE 2015 reflects the importance and value of plastics and plastics manufacturing in our world,” said Gene Sanders, SPI senior vice president of trade shows and conferences, in a statement.

    “It's a tremendous turnout,” Michael Taylor, SPI's senior director of international affairs and trade, told Plastics News in a phone interview.

    He believes the strong momentum in the U.S. economy is attracting businesses from all over the world.

    “If you look around the world, you know the U.S. economy is doing very well. So from a business development standpoint, we are one of the growth markets right now,” he said. “A lot of the downstream industries that are important for plastics companies, in particular the North American automotive industry, are doing really well too.”

    The trade fair's strategic location in Orlando also offers access to Central and South America, another growth region as well, he added.

    SPI has made a big push on global participation, Taylor said. One of the most fruitful methods was to deliver trade presentations at industry meetings.

    “No matter how digital we get, how small the world becomes in terms of communication technology, the world still really revolves around relationships and face-to-face [interactions].”

    That certainly holds true for Asian countries.

    “In Asia, coming [here] is a big deal. Showing up, meeting and them getting to know you, and being there for every Chinaplas, and all that, it means something and it's a big deal,” Taylor said. “People need a personal touch.”

    Commenting on the record number of Chinese exhibitors — 21.1 percent higher than 2012 and more than double the 2009 number — he said a lot of Chinese companies want to get into the U.S. market.

    Especially at a time of domestic slowdown and overcapacity in China.

    “China's plastics industry was rapidly growing but now has slowed down, so manufacturers need to go outside to find new opportunities,” said Erica Cheng, director of Beijing-based Gedy Inc., which has been helping SPI recruit Chinese exhibitors since 2006.

    “There are obstacles for machines to export to India,” she added, referring to India's antidumping tariffs on Chinese injection molding machines.

    So it's only natural for the Chinese companies to want to penetrate the U.S. market. However, most of them have difficulties in doing so, Taylor said.

    From his experience speaking at the China Plastics Machinery Industry Association's meetings, he said the Chinese firms “are always talking about improving their own technology, getting more sophisticated in what they manufacture. And they always comment on how they mostly get into the U.S. market on the low end of the machinery market and how they'd like to move up in terms of the value of the products they are getting into the market.”

    He offers some advice and suggestions that might help. “Put more time and effort into bigger space, and designing their space, that makes a huge difference.”

    Big numbers, small space

    Even though number-wise Chinese companies represent more than 20 percent of total exhibitors, they make up for just 12 percent of the show floor exhibit space, said Brad Williams, SPI director, trade show marketing and sales.

    “Their average booth is slightly below our show average given the shipping challenges and expenses,” he told Plastics News.

    Gedy's Cheng echoed that, and said many booths are as small as 100 square feet. “Many are first-time exhibitors, a lot of them are mold makers.”

    It's not just the booth size though, it's the whole package of the presentation for any exhibitor to project an image that fits their business development goals.

    But that doesn't seem to be the forte of many Chinese exhibitors.

    As a post-event reflection of the last NPE show, the China Plastics Processing Industry Association wrote in an April 25 memo: “Overall, Chinese exhibits in the NPE 2012 did not present China's plastics industry in a positive light. Physical and aesthetic deterrents such as small booths, poor booth placement, and unimaginative booth designs reflected poorly on exhibitors and the greater Chinese plastic industry. These factors reduced the attractiveness of Chinese exhibitors to potential clients.”

    “If I'm an American company, and I'm interested in China and I go by and I see all these Chinese pavilions and they all look exactly alike. I'm probably not going to be inclined to go over to talk to them,” Taylor said.

    “But there are some Chinese companies that really get it. They have a lounge, you meet the executives, they host you, they put an effort into the presentation, and they stand out. In your mind, you say, ‘Hey, that's a potential partner. These other companies, I don't know.'

    “It's already kind of a black hole for many American companies, to be honest. If they all look alike, then that's problematic. You don't get the opportunity to have a real conversation.”

    Taylor said Washington-based SPI, the organizer of NPE, has been trying to help exhibitors understand the importance of the presentation.

    “I know this is a message many of them have been getting but probably not enough. I'm not sure they see the value of it, to be honest.” But he continues to try.

    “If you are going into a new market, you have to realize what it requires, you have to be willing to invest in all of that, and you have to think long term. You can't just come to one NPE and have a booth [that looks the] same as everybody else from China, and think you are going to penetrate the market, that you are going to have a lot of transactions. It's just not going to work that way.

    “It's not the Chinese that are this way,” Taylor said. “A lot of businesses just underestimate market entry.”

    The bottom line is, he said, “you have to understand it requires a big effort, a focused effort, and a significant amount of resources, and you have to think long term.”

    Some Chinese companies are already doing that, setting up facilities in the U.S. and bringing on board local employees and executives who have the knowledge and experience in the market.

    “Whenever a Chinese company does that, then I know they are poised to go places, they are doing all the right things,” Taylor said. “Then they become part of the industry here in the U.S., they become part of the supply chain.”

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    logo-pn-color
    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Plastics News China
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • What Keeps You Up At Night
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
        • Polymer Points Live
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • FYI Charts
        • Current FYI
      • LSR World
      • Multimedia
        • Videos
        • Galleries
        • Podcasts
      • NPE2021
      • K Show
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Best Places to Work
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • Heavy Metal
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Plastics in Healthcare
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Ask the Expert
      • Polymer Points Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • 2020 Caps & Closures Library
      • Plastics in Healthcare Library
      • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Data Store
    • Directory
    • More+
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified
      • Digital Edition
      • Newsletters
      • Sponsored Content
      • Processor of the Year submissions
      • White Papers