Technological watch

To grasp the infinite market opportunities in 2021, CHINAPLAS will be held during April 13-16 in Shenzhen, PR China, together with a series of exciting concurrent events, to explore hot topics like 5G, digital manufacturing, circular economy, antibacterial & sterilization etc. with the shareholders in the industries.
Plastics Recycling & Circular Economy Conference and Showcase
The 2nd edition of CHINAPLAS X CPRJ Plastics Recycling & Circular Economy Conference and Showcase will be held on April 12, one day before the commencement of CHINAPLAS 2021. The event aims at gathering visitors with common beliefs and goals to explore the implications of the circular economy from different perspectives, such as the , the experience of waste separation for recycling in leading regions, innovative ideas and achievements of plastics recycling, etc.
The guest speakers are the key players in the value chain, such as Alliance to End Plastic Waste, Blonde, SABIC and IKEA, as well as the representatives from renowned enterprises, such as Covestro, VEOLIA, Meituan, P&G, Borouge, Southern Packaging, Pepsi and Tetra Pak.
Following to the success of its debut in Guangzhou, the event is expected to present more than 40 speeches/interviews and receive over 400 industry elites to exchange ideas.
Industry 4.0 Factory of the Future Event
Digitalization went full steam ahead in 2020. "Industry 4.0 Factory of the Future" demonstrates the benefits brought by , including improved customer and supplier engagements, optimizing production efficiency and cost-effectiveness, driving continuous production, and automated process monitoring and quality control.
The event aims to illustrate the pain point during the advancement of smart manufacturing such as frequent production stoppage, time-consuming processes to trace the reason of malfunction, high cost as well as the urgent need for production plan adjustments, remote maintenance and monitoring.
Event offers practical solutions from three aspects for users, including, Smart Factory to present the actual operation of the factory of the future. The technology suppliers such as Arburg, Boshiyuan, Engel, Blacklake, KraussMaffei, L.K., Matsui, Monitor, Motan, Wittmann Battenfeld, Yizumi and Zhugeyun, together with the dominant telecoms operator China Unicom, will display smart production lines for injection molding.
Manufacturing Intelligence Control Room connects the equipment at different exhibition booths with factories away from exhibition venue. Scenarios associated with Smart Mold, Smart Production, Smart Quality Control, Smart Automation will be demonstrated, while workshops will introduce the application of Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) to the industry.
“Industry 4.0 Factory of the Future” is organized by Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. & iPlast 4.0 Pte Ltd. and jointly organized by Europe's Association for Plastics and Rubber Machinery Manufacturers (EUROMAP), VDMA and OPC Foundation.
Design x Innovation – Asian Creativity in New Era
The 6th edition of "Design x Innovation" will present Asian creativity in the New Era. It allows participants to experience how plastics technology inspires brand owners' innovations in product details to add brand value under the three themes - Design for
Sustainability, CMF Design & Technology and Smart & Healthy Living x Plastics. Despite the uncertainties in the global economy, the strong growth momentum is still being seen in Asia. Industrial development, technical skills and R&D of new products are continuously progressing. This year's event is hence themed as "Asian Creativity in the New Era", and more designers from Asia are invited to join.
In the Design x Innovation Gallery, Covestro, SLB, Qisu and several famous designers will display their products made from innovative materials and techniques, adding inspiration and ideas for design creativity. The participants may enter the world of creativity by observing closely and touching the exhibits. The outstanding award-winning products of the Governor Cup Industrial Design Competition of Guangdong Province and Chunmi Technology's smart kitchen appliances will also be displayed to demonstrate the exquisite craftsmanship.
In the Design Forum, design masters and eminent brands will share successful cases and talk about future trends. Participants will get to know how innovative materials and technology can provide inspiration and solutions to product design, the experience in new product development, and how designers take the lead in practicing environmental protection, etc.
Smart & Healthy Living x Plastics
In line with the innovation and E&E industries in the Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen, the theme of Smart & Healthy Living x Plastics, will be introduced in the forum. Covestro and Evonik will be representing the chemical raw materials industry while Mr. Yuhei Imai, founder and designer of KENMA, Mr. Satoshi Yoshiizumi, co-founder and principal of TAKE PROJECT, and Mr. Kent Wong, founder of GRANDLAND MX, will be speaking for the design industry of Japan and Hong Kong, to share the creative applications of new materials and their collaboration experiences with the audience.
Meanwhile, the Design Forum also set up an online communication platform for overseas design masters to present their speeches. The previous event received over 600 participants, including leading brands, such as Apple, TCL, Vivo, Fitbit, Midea, Skyworth, Panasonic, Hisense, Gree, Changan Ford, Dongfeng Nissan and GAC Component as well as famous overseas designers. “Design x Innovation” is the perfect platform to connect the plastics and design industries, establishing business collaboration and communication.
“Tech Talk” – Influential Platform for Releasing Technology
Technology will change everything! "Tech Talk", the "flagship” concurrent event of CHINAPLAS, has been held for four years, and has become an influential platform for releasing innovative technology. More than 40 experts will present the latest, hottest and most advanced products and technologies under 6 different themes.
Plastics & Rubber + 5G
5G will be leading the business trend of various industries in the next 10 years. "Plastics & Rubber + 5G" could be a brilliant topic. This topic will focus on the 5G-related raw materials and their forming processes, especially the application of plastics in 5G infrastructure and end products: low dielectric, high-temperature resistance and easy heat dissipation. Environmental-friendly Automotive Technology shares the composite materials, environmental protection materials, low VOC materials and lightweight solutions for automotive applications. Intelligent Packaging Solutions introduces various packaging solutions for instruction, display, preservation, antibacterial and interaction.
Innovative Materials cover high-performance resins, functional film materials, photoresists, and special chemicals for lithium ion batteries to be used in new energy, aerospace, packaging, automobiles, electronics, medical and other industries. Molding Technology of Bioplastics and Composite Materials will show you the details of forming processes of bioplastics, degradable plastics and resin-based fiber reinforced composites. In the evolution of industrial upgrading and transformation, manufacturers need to embrace more automated and precise manufacturing technologies to meet product requirements. Automated Precision Manufacturing focuses on precise extrusion and injection moulding and moulds for manufacturing high-precision parts.
This year, "Tech Talk" continues to highlight the practicability and innovation, providing an effective platform for professional buyers to grasp the industry trends. "Tech Talk" received nearly 500 professional participants in the previous edition.
Medical Plastics Connect – Fulfilling Market Demands for Healthcare Products
The pandemic has significantly amplified the market demand for medical and health products. The attentiveness to this industry is expected to increase continuously. Riding on the previous success, the "Medical Plastics Connect" has become a key event of CHINAPLAS, helps promoting high-tech medical technologies and products particularly after the pandemic.
Three thematic seminars will be organized under "Medical Plastics Connect", focusing on the discussion and release of plastics technologies related to antibiosis and sterilization, medical 3D printing, biocompatible & biodegradable materials and intelligent health products. Medical devices, consumables and medical packaging will be promoted via online and offline marketing channels. Meanwhile, the Medical Plastics Guidebook will be launched for the effective dissemination of innovative medical plastics solutions.
Highlights in this concurrent event have quickly responded to the new market demands and the hot issues in the medical industry.
For example:

• High-performance modified materials
• Lightweight, waterproof and breathable materials
• Wearable sensors made of silicon-based films for intelligent healthcare products
• 3D printing technology for medical devices, such as protective mask, respirator, nasopharyngeal swab, dental cast and orthopedics;
• 3D printed intervention consumables, such as photosensitive resins, polypropylene materials and LCD dental cast resin.

Under the pandemic, antibiosis and sterilization will also come under the spotlight, for instances, transparent materials that can withstand repeated high-temperature steam sterilization, environment-friendly antibacterial and antiviral coating additives, implantable built-in bacteria-repellent plastics and other technologies. In view of this, it is the first time for "Medical Plastics Connect" to cooperate with the Medical Device Packaging Committee of the CAMDI and the Shanghai Additive Manufacturing Association to look over these hot topics of medical packaging, sterilization and medical 3D printing.
This year's event is expected to take over the market's attention to medical and health products after the pandemic and attract more professional buyers from the medical plastics industry to attend.