PMM Insight: A Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing Podcast

Manufacturing jobs are evolving, and your hiring practices need to change as well if you want to be prepared for the future.  Modern equipment generates rivers of data that, used and interpreted properly, can make your processes more efficient, reliable and profitable. But you need workers who know how to put that data to work. In this episode, PMM senior reporter Karen Hanna and editor Ron Shinn...

On today's episode of Machinery Minutes, learn about a spike in the unemployment rate  in plastics and rubber, its highest since the pandemic. It's a sudden reversal as not long ago, companies were complaining about a tight labor market.   Also, Absolute Haitian has introduced new, lower-cost versions of its Mars and Jupiter injection molding machines known as the SE (Special Edition) models; and...

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, you'll hear about the two large extruders KraussMaffei is building at its facility in Florence, Ky. The move is intended to reduce lead times in the growing North American market, and enhance regional customer support and access to parts. Conair's new SureLaunch program  sends a technician to your facility for a day to make sure your new auxiliary equipment is...

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, we focus on our deep dive on the future of your workforce. The need for tech skills to take advantage of increasingly complex equipment is creating new job opportunities , and companies that hope to land these data-savvy workers will need to offer the right mix of pay and perks.  The Association for Advancing Automation (known as A3) has published updated ISO...

PMM Editor Ron Shinn has visited a lot of plastics processors. In this podcast episode, he shares thoughts on what the best plants are doing to prepare for the future of manufacturing, and steps you can take to ensure you have the right equipment and the workers to run it. 

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, you'll hear about U.S. plastics processors and recyclers searching for domestic suppliers of plastic scrap as they face the prospect of significant tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.  In other news, sales of automation equipment  are in a slump, with few signs that things are going to pick up this year. The Association for Advancing Automation (...

In this episode of Machinery Minutes, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman looks at the potential ramifications of President Trump’s announcement that he planned to enact 25 percent tariffs against goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Though they are currently on hold, the prospect  elicited strong reactions from manufacturers, plastic industry leaders and consultants, both positive and negative. We...

The proposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico have the potential to affect plastics recyclers and the processors who buy their resins. The U.S. is a net importer of plastic scrap, getting about 40 percent of it from Canada and 18 percent from Mexico, said Emily Friedman, who monitors the plastics recycling market for ICIS. Recyclers would need to realign their sourcing strategies. It coul...

On this week's Machinery Minutes podcast, we give you a quick rundown on these three stories: Wittmann's SmartPower Combimould line of injection molding machines, designed for multi-component molding, now offer servo-electric injection units for improved efficiency and performance. David Stahl, a wealth management partner at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, offers three personal wealth planning st...

Taking the first step for adding collaborative robots need not be a daunting task, according to Chris Buse, Universal Robot’s Applications Engineering Manager for North America West. Buse, who has a plastics engineering college degree, outlined the process and talked about the value cobots bring to plastics processing in an interview with Editor Ron Shinn at the inaugural Collaborate conference an...

In this week's Machinery Minutes, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman updates you on a roundtable in which the PMM staff discusses  what may lie ahead for machinery makers in 2025. Are they optimistic that interest rate cuts will boost business, or do they see continued tough times ahead? Another vision of the future comes from Slant 3D president Gabe Bentz , who wants to revolutionize manufacturing i...

The year ahead looks uncertain for many plastics machinery OEMs and processors. Will lower interest rates spur investment in equipment? What effect might tariffs have? What end markets are on the rise? In this episode of the PMM Insight podcast, editors Ron Shinn, Lynne Sherwin, Bruce Geiselman and Karen Hanna discuss the results of our annual survey and comments from machinery makers about their...

This week's Machinery Minutes podcast, summarizing three important stories from the plastics machinery world, begins with our take on the story everyone's talking about: the beginning of Donald Trump's second term and what it might mean for the industry. We also report on Netstal's new subsidiary in Mexico, following a trend among injection molding OEMs, and a large-format 3D printer from Wasp tha...

The city of Akron, Ohio, implemented the Recycle Right public education program to curb costly contamination in the recycling stream. It's been so successful, it cut nearly $200,000 in costs and is now turning a profit, setting an example that other municipalities should notice. PMM editors Ron Shinn and Lynne Sherwin, who both live in Akron, have seen its success from their own front yards, and d...

In this episode of Machinery Minutes, learn about the results of our annual survey of processors' machinery investment plans, and what OEMs anticipate for the market in 2025.  You'll also hear about a new cobot-centric spinoff business of blow molding automation provider Proco Machinery, and  an upgraded control system for the Geiss T11 thermoforming machine.

The latest round of talks to establish an international treaty on the use and disposal of plastics ended in December with the sides still far apart. Another session is planned for 2025, but who's the biggest loser if no agreement is reached? The plastics industry, says Editor Ron Shinn in this PMM Insight commentary. 

On today's Machinery Minutes podcast, Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman briefs you on an expansion at Windmöller & Hölscher's North American headquarters in Rhode Island; advice on ransomware remediation from the CEO of OnSecurity, as hackers ramp up their use of artificial intelligence; and the 10th anniversary of Future Leaders in Plastics (FLiP) , a program for young professionals in the Plas...

In this episode, Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman looks at the benefits of lean  beyond  sustainability gains; an upgraded robotic programming system from Flexiv; and some of our most popular features from 2024.  

For her latest series on lean manufacturing and how it's practiced in the plastics industry, Senior Reporter Karen Hanna looked at a lesser-known benefit of the philosophy: sustainability improvements . Lean's focus on eliminating waste and boosting efficiency can lead to savings in resin, energy and scrap.  In this episode of PMM Insight, Karen discusses the series with Editor Ron Shinn.

On this week's episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll hear about PMM's visit to Engel's North American headquarters and what their leaders have to say about the secrets to the company's success. You'll also learn about a new large-part printer from Formlabs,  and the inaugural Collaborate North America , a trade show and conference centered around cobots.

In this week's episode of our Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll hear about a molding shop that implemented lean practices and discovered a side benefit: better sustainability. We also wish Jim Healy of Sepro North America well as he heads into retirement, and tell you about Diversys , which has a software program to keep track of your recycling data so you can meet EPR or company goals.

Extended Producer Responsibility policies and recycling mandates are taking root in the U.S., putting pressure on plastics recyclers and processors to track and report details of their operations.  In this PMM Insight interview, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman speaks with Roger Barlow, CEO and co-founder of Diversys, about the company's cloud-based software that optimizes and tracks recycling data...

On this week's Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll hear how the supply chain issues of the past several years continue to ripple through the market. It's part of our 10th anniversary series. Engel has unveiled its energy-saving e-mac 500 injection molding machine, featuring its new High clamping drive. And cobot pioneer Rethink Robotics has announced a new management team , which among other duties...

In this week's episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll learn about a big financial boost for Entek's new plant for manufacturing battery separator film; a new AMR from automation pioneer Rethink Robotics; and a look at lightweighting , the latest in our series on 10 trends that have shaped the past decade in plastics machinery.

Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing has covered dozens of trends, 120 industry figures, and more than 5,000 new and improved products for plastics processing since its launch in November 2014. Join Ron Shinn, PMM's founding editor, as he looks back at our first decade, the changes we've witnessed, and what we see ahead.