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Paper, Plastics, Packaging, Printing News

Focus on niche applications, aftersales key for air motor market

By: Nadine James 14th July 2017 The air motor market has a directly proportional relationship to the economy, subsequently making aftersales support and services key focus areas for industrial product supplier Actum Group, says Actum’s Deprag product leader Herman Parsons. This focus, combined with Actum’s approach of providing... →

New pumps suited to packaging, food and beverage industries

14th July 2017 In May, sustainable productivity solutions provider Atlas Copco announced that it had extended its range of variable speed drive (VSD) vacuum pumps with the addition of three models offering flow rates up to 5 004 m3/h. The new GHS 3800-5400 VSD+ rotary screw pumps are particularly suited for... →

GHS VSD ROTARY SCREW PUMP The range provides significantly higher performance levels and reduced maintenance, noise and heat emissions compared to conventional oil-sealed and dry vane vacuum pumps

VescoPlastics’ strong training heritage recognised

By: David Oliveira 23rd June 2017 For its commitment to training, local polymer bearing manufacturer VescoPlastics received the Artisan Award at the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa’s (Seifsa’s) Awards for Excellence, which were held last month at the Industrial Development Corporation Conference... →

Competition Commission prohibits two separate mergers

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 21st June 2017 The Competition Commission has prohibited a proposed merger between Dutch packaging manufacturer Greif International and local steel drum manufacturer Rheem South Africa, as it would garner anticompetitive activities. The commission felt that, as Greif and Rheem were the only manufacturers of... →

Low sales, drought and mill downtime affect Mpact interim earnings

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 19th June 2017 JSE-listed packaging company Mpact’s results for the six months ending June 30 will be negatively impacted on by lower sales volumes in the paper- and plastics-converting businesses, lower domestic containerboard and cartonboard sales volumes and higher recovered paper costs. In addition, the... →

IRP draft hinders cogeneration opportunities

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 9th June 2017 An unintended consequence of the recently published draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for energy is that because it excludes cogeneration as a viable technology, cogenerators will be unable to participate in the energy market without Ministerial consent, says Paper Manufacturers Association of... →

Photo by Bloomberg
OVERLOOKED ENTITY The impact of the DoE IRP draft excludeing cogeneration as a viable, green technology raises concerns forpulp and paper industry

Numsa to demand 15% increase in engineering sector wage talks

By: African News Agency 7th June 2017 The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has said it would demand a 15% wage increase across the board as wage talks in the metal and engineering sector begin on Wednesday. The metal sector wage talks are brought about as the current wage agreement lapses at the end of this month. →

Continuous improvement concept to increase productivity

By: Simone Liedtke 2nd June 2017 As part of the company’s commitment to stay relevant through innovation, local stainless steel and aluminium cookware manufacturer Hendler and Hart is implementing a substantial two-year re-engineering process, based on the concept of continuous improvement, at its Boksburg manufacturing plant. →

Hendler and Hart gives a tour of their aluminium and stainless-steel factory facility, in Boksburg. Video Cameraperson: Nicholas Boyd. Editing: Lionel da Silva.

Industry teams up to craft road map for ‘a million new manufacturing jobs’

By: Terence Creamer 29th May 2017 Manufacturing associations across a range of subsectors, including plastics and packaging, chemicals, agroprocessing and steel have endorsed a Manufacturing Circle-led initiative, designed to find ways of creating an additional one-million manufacturing jobs in South Africa. Manufacturing Circle... →

Manufacturing Circle chairperson André de Ruyter explains the ‘Map-to-a-Million’ initiative. Camera Work & Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Master Plastics lists on AltX

By: Creamer Media Reporter 24th May 2017 Master Plastics, which was unbundled from JSE-listed Astrapak, has listed on the JSE’s AltX board in the Containers and Packaging sector. Master Plastics represents a group of manufacturing operations that produce flexible packaging and knitted synthetic fabrics for the agricultural, retail and... →

Mondi feels inflationary cost impact on operating profit

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 11th May 2017 Dual-listed Mondi on Thursday posted a 6% year-on-year decrease in its underlying operating profit for the first quarter of the year, ended March 31, to €252-million, as inflationary cost pressures mount and as a result of significantly lower forestry fair value gain. However, underlying... →

Company expands in key African markets

By: Robyn Wilkinson 5th May 2017 Despite challenging macroeconomic headwinds causing a slowdown in consumer spending in many African markets in 2016, packaging company Nampak remains confident of the demographic fundamentals underpinning long-term packaging growth on the continent. →

ANDRE DE RUYTER Nampak aims to uphold good relationships with all relevant authorities and contribute meaningfully to the manufacturing sector in the African countries in which it operates

New laser source expands possibilities

14th April 2017 International laser systems provider Trotec Laser has expanded the product portfolio of the Galvo marking lasers with a new laser source MOPA. The new laser source allows expanded possibilities for users when marking metals and plastics. With the MOPA laser, users are able to also mark plastics... →

MAKING A MARK Trotec’s MOPA laser source is especially suitable for dark plastics, as its shorter pulses often produce “vivid”, lighter markings, which results in a higher contrast

Laser-coding guide dispels misconceptions, enhances technology

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th April 2017 Global coding and marking specialist solutions provider Markem-Imaje, represented in Southern Africa by product identification solutions provider Pyrotec, has produced a guide focusing on laser-coding technology that aims to help manufacturers meet the technical challenges commonly encountered on... →

CODING SOLUTION SmartLase is a laser-coding technology engineered by Markem-Imaje, designed to specifically meet the challenge faced on the fastest production lines

R&D capitalises on global growth

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th April 2017 The National Laser Centre (NLC), part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is undertaking a Photonics Prototyping Facility (PPF) programme and is exploring advance manufacturing technologies, leveraging on the strong global growth of the laser technology sector. NLC PPF... →

Photo by Bloomberg
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Laser-based three-dimensional technology is mostly focused on industrial application, and presents a specific area for significant growth in the future

Mondi, Constantia Afripack reach one-billion sack-kraft-paper-made cement bag milestone

By: Natasha Odendaal 11th April 2017 In a partnership spanning decades, more than one-billion cement bags have been made from packaging and paper group Mondi’s sack kraft paper by South African packaging and bags producer Constantia Afripack. Mondi Sack Kraft Paper, Constantia Afripack’s principal supplier, supplies strong, quality... →

Sappi launches second trial demonstration plant to advance biomaterials, bio-energy strategy

By: Anine Kilian 5th April 2017 Pulp and paper producer Sappi has launched its second trial generation renewable sugar extraction demonstration plant at its Ngodwana mill, in Mpumulanga. The demonstration plant, launched on Wednesday, in partnership with Finnish pulp and paper technology supplier Valmet, will explore and... →

Success abounds in paper recycling and recovery

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st March 2017 Despite South Africa having less easily accessible recycling initiatives in place than in developed countries, such as recycling bins in every park or street, or systematic waste recovery at household level, the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (Prasa) says the country’s paper... →

Sustainable industry dispels misconceptions

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st March 2017 Contrary to the misconceptions about the paper industry being detrimental to the environment, Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (Pamsa) executive director Jane Molony posits that the sector is “incredibly sustainable” and shows a circular economy in action. Whether made from virgin... →

York H1 profit dips as revenue rises

By: Natasha Odendaal 16th March 2017 JSE-listed York Timbers on Thursday posted lower earnings for the six-month period to December 31. Headline earnings a share and earnings a share declined from 11c in the comparable prior period to 10c in the six months under review, while profit for the period was down from the R35.4-million... →

Mondi says European Commission inspecting its Vienna office

By: Creamer Media Reporter 7th March 2017 Dual-listed Mondi on Tuesday confirmed that the European Commission is conducting an inspection at its Vienna office. In an update to shareholders, the company said it was fully cooperating with the investigation, which it understood was focused on kraft paper and industrial bags. →

Industrial effluent recovery a sustainable water solution

By: Robyn Wilkinson 3rd March 2017 With the Department of Water Affairs’ National Water Week Awareness campaign – taking place from March 17 to 23 – celebrating twenty years of water delivery for social and economic development, water treatment specialist Proxa is looking to the future of water in South Africa by developing... →

Pockets of resilience, but SA’s manufacturing outlook remains fragile

By: David Oliveira 17th February 2017 South Africa’s manufacturing sector is expected to grow by 0.5% this year and by 1.2% in 2018, according to data from economic analysis and forecast provider FocusEconomics. Financial institution Barclays’ latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released earlier this month indicates that the... →

Mondi appoints new CEO as Hathorn announces retirement

By: Creamer Media Reporter 1st February 2017 David Hathorn will step down as CEO of packaging and paper group Mondi on May 11. He will be succeeded by Peter Oswald, who is currently CEO of Mondi’s Europe & International division. →

Outgoing Mondi CEO David Hathorn

Engineering partnership helping to develop cheaper prosthetics

By: Schalk Burger 27th January 2017 A partnership between engineering and technology firms is being leveraged to test the design, suitability and production of affordable prosthetics for Africa using three-dimensional (3D) printing, says 3D design technology firm Solid Edge Technology business development manager Jared de Waal. The... →

MEAGAN VAN DER MERWE Van der Merwe with her 3D printed left hand, which used an open source design

Mondi to invest €470m to cut costs, expand production at Czech mill

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 26th January 2017 Dual-listed Mondi will invest €470-million on the modernisation and expansion of the Steti mill, in the Czech Republic. The project will entail the installation of a new recovery boiler, rebuilding the fibre lines, debottlenecking the paper machines and an investment in a new 90 000 t/y machine... →

Innovation, outward-looking approach will bolster industry growth

By: Nadine James 20th January 2017 The plastics converter industry needs to alter its mindset and look for innovative solutions while becoming more outward-looking to experience real economic growth, says industry body Plastics SA. Plastics SA chairperson Bernhard Mahl describes real growth as “thousands of tons of plastics,... →

OFF LINE Over the past five to ten years, the local plastics industry has stagnated, hovering between producing 1.3-million tons and 1.4-million tons of virgin material a year

Moody’s upgrades Sappi from positive to stable

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 24th November 2016 Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the corporate family rating of JSE-listed pulp and paper company Sappi to Ba2 (stable) from Ba3 (positive), owing to the company’s intention to repay its $400-million bond, due in 2017, from generated cash. The ratings agency further noted... →

Sappi declares first dividend in 8 years

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 10th November 2016 Paper and pulp manufacturer Sappi on Thursday declared a dividend of $0.11 for the year ended September 30, its first since 2008, when it stopped paying dividends as it grappled with losses caused by the economic crisis in Europe and falling demand for paper, as well as crippling debt. However,... →

Austrian FM highlights need for predictable regulation during South Africa mission

By: Terence Creamer 25th October 2016 Austrian Foreign Affairs and Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz used a business forum in Johannesburg this week to highlight regulatory stability and predictability as a “necessary condition” for future investment into South Africa and the rest of the continent. Kurz, 30, is Austria’s... →

Austrian Foreign Affairs and Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz

South Africa recycles more plastic bottles than it throws away

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 24th October 2016 New statistics from recycling company Petco have revealed that more polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are being recycled than are sent to landfill, with about 4.7-million bottles recycled every day. This resulted in 112 000 t of carbon emissions, as well as 461 000 m3 of landfill space,... →

Industries should collaborate in submitting industry waste-management plans – law firm

By: Mia Breytenbach 14th October 2016 It appears industry will soon have to collaborate and share their current research and other resources to develop industry waste management plans (IWMPs), states legal services firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. It is likely that IWMPs will not only have to comply with challenging timeframes but also... →

Photo by Bloomberg
ONEROUS MATTER? Contentious content for industry waste management plans include the way in which affected industries will prioritise reduction, reuse, recycling, and waste recovery

Astrapak strategy bears fruit as interim profit rises

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 29th September 2016 Packaging company Astrapak on Thursday reported a 25.4% year-on-year increase in its profit of R27.6-million for the six months ended August 31, while its revenue rose 15.2% year-on-year to R734-million. The increases came on the back of the company having exited all noncore businesses and... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Astrapak CEO Robin Moore

Mondi reports solid H1 earnings, despite difficult trading environment

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 4th August 2016 International packaging and paper group Mondi’s underlying earnings a share improved to 75c apiece for the six months ended June 30, up from 67.8c in the six months to June 2015. Its profit after tax increased from €313-million in the six months to June 2015, to €390-million in the period under... →

France, South Africa to foster pulp, paper industry relationships

By: Mia Breytenbach 29th July 2016 With South Africa and France being “well recognised” as key players in the international paper industry, it is essential to engage in “fruitful exchanges”, including knowledge sharing and stakeholder solutions for the industry. This is according to Ambassador of France Elisabeth Barbier, who... →

Photo by Duane Daws
IMPARTING EXPERIENCE Key industry players shared expertise, case studies and solutions at the French South African Technical Symposium for the pulp and paper industry

Computer-based training tool developed for process operators

By: Sascha Solomons 22nd July 2016 Electrical engineering services provider Matra has developed a computer-based training (CBT) tool to demonstrate how multiple variables affecting one another can be applied to any process in the chemicals and pulp and paper industries. Matra sole proprietor David Leigh highlights that the... →

COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING Is beneficial because expert knowledge of process engineers can be encapsulated in graphic format

Good-quality waste necessary for increased mechanical recycling

By: Simon Sonnekus 8th July 2016 The South African plastic industry requires a constant stream of clean, high-quality plastic waste to maintain and increase the level of mechanical recycling in South Africa. While there has been concern over the past few years that the amount of waste exported is increasing, findings from the... →

EXPORTS While exporting recyclable plastic material does bring in foreign exchange, the export of good-quality waste impacts South African recycling operations

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