Plastics executives offer 22 takes on NPE2021

Plastics industry movers, shakers and makers have been waiting almost three years to meet again in Orlando, Fla., and fill the Orange County Convention Center with the newest machines for processing a myriad of materials.

Put on by the Washington-based Plastics Industry Association, NPE, initially called the National Plastics Exhibition, dates back to 1946.

The last event — NPE2018 — set records: 2,174 exhibiting companies in more than 1.2 million net square feet of sold-out exhibit floor space. A total of 56,034 people registered to attend NPE2018, which was up 1.7 percent from the previous show in 2015 and was the largest number since the show moved to Orlando in 2012.

Will those people return along with all the exhibitors for NPE2021, which is scheduled for May 17-21?

The question is on a lot of minds as the COVID-19 outbreak rages in the United States and the world holds out hope that a vaccine will be widely available come spring.

One machinery builder, Kautex Machines Inc., has no intentions at this point to participate in an in-person show or a hybrid trade show. With Kautex an OEM in an uncertain world, President Admir Dobraca said company officials don't think the show should go on in May.

"We believe … it would be best if such a major show would be moved to a later date in order to allow everyone to organize in a more controlled fashion," Dobraca said.

Nine long months into the pandemic, however, Kautex seems to be an exception. Other machinery makers are making plans to exhibit at the triennial event as well as backup plans in case they need to go virtual or do some kind of hybrid affair.

Bill Duff, general manager of sales and marketing for Yizumi-HPM Corp., said the Iberia, Ohio-based company is designing a booth to minimize contact between people and demonstrate four machines.

Founded in 1877 as Hydraulic Press Manufacturing Co., Yizumi-HPM also is hiring a company to produce webinars from the show, which will feature machines for packaging and two-platen technology as well as a full-electric model and a standard toggle machine that is its biggest seller.

"We hope collectively by the time the show goes the pandemic will be winding down," Duff said in a phone interview. "A vaccine can only help with people getting back to business as usual. Most vendors will be there. The show is always a shot in the arm for the year."

NPE2018 resulted in "considerable sales" for Yizumi-HPM, including two 250- and 350-ton machines on exhibit.

"We shipped right from the show to their location. Some people come ready to buy. They can see the technology and shop. I'm optimistic it will be a good turnout. It's sales. You have to be optimistic."

And, it's 2020 — a year that has killed more than 280,000 Americans in wave after wave of novel coronavirus outbreaks — so you have to be prepared during planning.

"We will be taking precautions," Duff said. "We're working on our booth design to limit physical exposure. It will have sit-down areas with partitions and Plexiglas in front of staff so our customers feel it is a safe and healthy environment."

Steven Rocheleau, president of Rocheleau Tool & Die Co., said the Fitchburg, Mass.-based manufacturer of blow molding machines and automation equipment is at about the same point.

"We are talking about booth design, what types and how much equipment to bring, ideas of how to engage customers safely and generate new ways to promote our company and our industry as solution providers through these difficult times," Rocheleau said in an email. "Our roots are in manufacturing, not marketing, so these types of challenges become more interesting to deal with."

Friedrich Kanz, president of Arburg Inc., said the injection molding press builder plans to have a big booth — almost 10,000 square feet — to display Arburg solutions, molding machines, molding cells and digital solutions.

"So we are planning that this show is going to happen, and the earlier the vaccine is out, the higher the chances are," Kanz said. "If things do not develop that way, of course, we will participate in an alternative format, but as I said, right now we are going full-speed planning to have equipment on display in Orlando in May."

Uniloy Inc. is also making big NPE2021 plans, President and CEO Brian Marston said. The Tecumseh, Mich.-based blow molding equipment manufacturer will have a UR Recip, UIB Injection and displays for its industrial line, mold and aftermarket offerings at its booth as well as a UCS Shuttle machine at its partner booth FGH. In all, Uniloy will showcase four new technologies at NPE2021.

"We're very excited about NPE," Marston said. "K 2019 was our first opportunity to showcase the 'new' Uniloy, and it was a whirlwind to put the booth together in such a short manner — three months. In doing so, we were unable to ship and run a machine. NPE2021 will be a very different story; we will have three machines at the show."

Uniloy is still looking at alternatives for a hybrid or virtual event.

Michael Duff, vice president of sales and service at Graham Engineering, said company officials are monitoring the situation closely.

"The status of the virus, vaccinations and travel restrictions will play into this," Duff said.

Andrew Wheeler, president of Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp. North America, is weighing similar factors.

"It is really hard to tell right now because while a few vaccines are promising, the show is in just under six months," Wheeler said in an email. "As we all know, timing is everything and in the case of NPE, it's also tight. NPE is a valuable show, and we just need to wait and see what's going to happen."

Fred Piercy, president and general manager of R&B Plastics Machinery LLC, doesn't think the cancellation of most 2020 trade shows hurt sales, in part because demand spiked for so many pandemic-related products, machine builders had to crank out more presses, extruders and blow molders.

"Had here been no trade shows and demand was the same, possibly that could've hurt," Piercy said in a phone interview. "But everyone hunkered down with little travel and people learned to adapt. They are OK with phone conversations and video conferencing of some sort."

Piercy thinks virtual solutions have filled the void to date for the Saline, Mich.-based manufacturer of blow molding machines but added, "You can't beat the opportunity to see and meet your customer."

Tammy Straw, marketing and business development manager for extruder manufacturer Entek in Lebanon, Ore., agreed.

"There is nothing like being on the floor in the exhibit hall and making connections," she said.

R&B expects to show an electric shuttle machine and a single-screw extruder.

"We planned to make a bigger show, but it's disheartening that large parts of globe won't make it there," Piercy said.

W. Amsler Equipment Inc. CEO Bruce Coxhead said in a phone interview that he is "very optimistic" about NPE2021.

"NPE is 90 percent sold out. With the recent announcements about COVID vaccines, everyone will feel much more confident about attending a show in May in sunny Orlando," Coxhead said.

Amsler isn't planning any hybrid or virtual exhibit. At the show, Amsler will invite customers to an open house at its new technology center when it opens next August in Bolton, Ontario.

David Preusse, president of Wittmann Battenfeld Inc., also expects the show to go on in the Sunshine State: "Florida is very liberal on COVID so the governor won't cancel, so [the plastics association] has to move forward or suffer huge contractual losses. But February will tell what exhibitor fallout is imminent, and exhibitors will scale their displays and staff accordingly."

In the meantime, Wittmann Battenfeld plans to participate in a hybrid event if the trade show goes that route and it always has a virtual plan, Preusse added.

Absolute Haitian is also preparing for the show to happen both in-person and possibly become a hybrid event while it also considers virtual options.

"We are evaluating suppliers of virtual events in case it is necessary," Glenn Frohring, one of the owners of Absolute Haitian, said in an email. Absolute Haitian is coming up with plans A, B and C to make the most out of the eyes on Orlando in May.

"Traditionally, molding companies have timed machine acquisition programs around NPE. We expect that tradition to continue," Frohring said.

Georg Kiesl, export sales manager for Billion Plastics Machinery Inc., said company officials are thinking along the same lines.

"We continue to plan for 'plan A,' which would be an in-person show or hybrid in Orlando until differing announcements are made by the NPE. Otherwise, 'plan B' would be a virtual event. However, we don't expect changes to the NPE concept until earliest Q1/2021," Kiesl said.

If anything impactful resulted from the cancellation of in-person events to date, it was the transition of traditional in-person training to a virtual training curriculum for customers, Frohring said. Absolute Haitian has already found some success with this format.

"This was extremely well received, and we built a lot of new relationships with team members among our customers' ranks through these well-attended virtual training sessions," Frohring said in an email.

Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp. also has found some virtual successes. When a couple major German trade shows — Interpack and Drupa — were postponed, Wheeler said it left a gap in how to introduce new technology. To fill the void, W&H had a virtual expo with live demonstrations from its 120,000-square-foot technology center in Lengerich, Germany. The company also had live webinars covering topics from extrusion to printing to converting.

"This was a huge success with over 2,000 customers from around the world tuning in live," Wheeler said. "It was an amazing feat in a very short period of time, and our customers were happy. With this experience, we'll definitely mix virtual and in-person events, but we very clearly believe that in-person trade shows and the ability to be face to face and meet with existing and potential customers has an important place in our market."

Japan Steel Works America Inc. will be introducing several new technologies at NPE2021 and will have digital backup plans, Dale Bartholomew, national technical manager, said in an email.

"We are planning for any situation which may arise," he said. "We are preparing for any eventuality."

Ken Heyse, president and managing director at Plastics One and CH America, is optimistic NPE2021 will happen in person but said plans are underway to join any hybrid event if needed. The Torrington, Conn.-based company is holding off on a virtual plan for now.

"We will react to developments as they occur here before moving resources to a virtual event," Heyse said in an email.

John F. Martich III, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery, said the company isn't bothering with a virtual plan, which he describes in an email as "inefficient and impersonal with limited results."

"Virtual solutions never 'fill' the void for OEMs," Martich added.

Marko Koorneef of Boy Machines also didn't mince words or elaborate about why the Exton, Penn.-based company will attend NPE2021 without a digital platform: "Virtual is terrible," Koorneef said in an email.

Yasunori Kato, president of Nissei America Inc., said the company has yet to decide if it will be part of a hybrid NPE2021. As for a virtual plan, he said in an email, "If there is a need for it, we will consider, but [have] no specific plan at this point."

NPE is a major expense for companies that invest in big booths and display machines showing new technology, said Brian Bishop, vice president of go-to-market new machines at Krauss-Maffei Corp. in Florence, Ky.

"If COVID fears have not slowed down, our customers may not want to take the risk of exposure of the virus to their employees, which could really hurt attendance," Bishop said in an email.

Mark Sankovitch, CEO of Engel North America, said his team started talking about NPE in fall 2019 and has had a lot of meetings since then to be prepared with alternative plans.

"We're happy we're having NPE, but we're not 100 percent sure and confident how it'll look," Sankovitch said in a phone interview. "We have a booth, and we're at a point where we have to say this is the plan and then spend the money and deal with it."

He expects the booth layout to allow social distancing and the design to incorporate acrylic sheet to shield visitors. Still, questions abound, Sankovitch said.

"How many hotels will still be operational by the time of NPE, which is one of the bigger shows," he asked. "What about going out to restaurants and entertaining afterward? How is that going to be?"

But even more importantly, Sankovitch wonders, "What if someone gets COVID at the booth? Do we shut the booth down? Do we send everyone home that was involved with the person and now we can't run the machines? With COVID, could the whole show be shut down?"

Sankovitch is heartened about a couple promising vaccines and hopes they will be widely available. So does Rocheleau, but he said other factors can come into play when tens of thousands of people from around the world plan to gather in one convention center.

"NPE2021 remains a wild card," Rocheleau said. "While we are still committed to participating, it is getting harder and harder to envision an in-person event with that magnitude of people. With so many travel restrictions in place, predicting turnout to the show is impossible."

Paul Godwin, president and CEO of extrusion machinery maker Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA in McPherson, Kan., said the company is still developing its plan for NPE "should there be one."

"It is too early to tell with the exponential outbreak," Godwin said in an email about an in-person event.

As for a hybrid or virtual event, he said, "We will be prepared to keep our customers and employees safe during the pandemic, while having the ability to demonstrate our latest technology and capabilities."

Dana Hanson, president of Processing Technologies International LLC, said the Aurora, Ill.-based company "will plan accordingly" should NPE not go forward as an in-person event. His two main worries about the event are related to the safety of participants and the possibility of a low turnout due to travel issues.

"With the COVID pandemic strengthening and forecast to extend to late summer before seeing any significant relief, our greatest concern remains to safeguard our employees, families and customers. Gathering en masse does not appear to be the most logical strategy to achieving that," Hanson said in an email.

There's also a chance that NPE attendance will be substantially curtailed due to COVID-19 business and state travel restrictions being enforced.

"Since a great deal of time and resource goes into planning trade shows and conferences, the ratio of dollars spent to that of leads gained needs to be justified. It becomes increasingly difficult to warrant such an investment in the midst of a pandemic for any in-person event," Hanson said.

Still, Yizumi-HPM expects to give those who attend NPE2021 a lot to look at with plans to exhibit four machines.

"When you go to trade shows, opportunity walks into your booth," Yizumi-HPM's Duff said. "You have a unique opportunity to show a running machine. The customer can scroll the control screens and look at the quality. People see you, understand you. You build name recognition and branding. It's a marketing function."

Yizumi-HPM is also planning on doing webinars from the show with a production company, which Duff said is in line with providing solutions to customers. After 35 years in the industry, including stints as an engineer and machine designer, he said he is optimistic about the two pressing issues facing his business and others.

"I think the virus will be under control," Duff said, "and I think people will come to the show."