A tribute to leading innovators

The results of the 2019 Ringier Technology Innovation Awards-Plastics Industry reveal an interesting lineup of breakthrough technologies and products with positive impact on the plastics industry. The winners were announced during a ceremony held on March 13 at the Songjiang New Century Grand Hotel Shanghai. The event gathered hundreds of enterprise representatives from ENGEL, YIZUMI, BORCH, Liansu, Coperion, Bell Machinery, Dow, DSM, Sunny, KUMHO-SUNNY, Elkem etc., as well as association leaders and media professionals where they witnessed the development of today’s rapidly changing trends in plastics manufacturing through innovative products. 

 

This year, participating products are covered 11 categories including Plastics Raw Materials & Additives, Rubber/Elastomer Materials and Additives, Injection Moulding, Extrusion & Blow Moulding, Moulds & Components, Key Component, Auxiliary Equipment, Measurement & Inspection, Automation, Recycling Machinery & Components and other Innovative Products & Technologies. The selection, as always, upholds the principles of "fairness, justice and transparency". After the independent evaluation and decision of senior judges from industry associations and scientific research institutions, and referring to the online voting results of the registered products, 31 innovative products stood out as this year’s awardees.

 

The ceremony was opened with a welcome remark from Vivian Shang, General Manager of East China, Shanghai Ringier Conference & Exhibition Co., Ltd. In her speech, Ms. Shang mentioned that in recent years, China's plastic products industry has been developing and sustaining its rapid development made possible through a series of industrial restructuring, transformation and upgrading. Faced with the problems of shrinking profitability of traditional manufacturing industry and increasing pressure to protect the environment, plastic enterprises must take a more intelligent, efficient and environmentally-friendly development path to stand out in the fierce competition in China and even in the global market. Ms. Shang stressed that technological innovation is the only choice to achieve this goal. Many new materials and technologies have emerged, contributing to the rapid development of aerospace, medical, electrical, automotive, new energy, construction, infrastructure and other industries. These are the innovations that Ringier Technology Innovation Awards wants to promote. For 14 years, Ringier has been dedicated to the advancement and development of the plastics industry through the promotion and support of technological innovations geared at production efficiency and end-product enhancement to meet the demands of the market.  

 

The insights of the panel of judges through Peimin Hou, Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Society of Plastics Industry, provided an understanding of the selection process for this year’s list of awardees.

 

Mr. Peimin Hou pointed out that the innovation awards took several months from the initial registration to the final award evaluation. Many enterprises actively applied for inclusion in the innovation awards. A lot of enterprises and their products figured prominently and these included breakthrough processing technologies as well as advanced high-performance materials, an indication of the significant efforts and investments poured into research and development (R&D) that have greatly expanded the application field of plastics in various industries. 

 

 

Recognising the innovators

The awards to winning enterprises were handed by special guests from various industry associations and academic institutions. The “Plastics Raw Materials & Additives” Awards were handed out by Mr. Peimin Hou, Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Society of Plastics Industry. The “Rubber/Elastomer Materials and Additives” & “Injection Moulding” awards were given by Mr. Aimin Zhang, Director, Polymer Synthesis Theory and Technology Research Institute, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University. The “Extrusion & Blow Molding”, “Auxiliary Equipment” and “Measurement & Inspection” awards were handed by Mr. Xingxiang Xu, Deputy Secretary-General, Shanghai Society of Plastic Engineering Technology; and the “Key Component”, “Molds & Components”, “Automation”, “Recycling Machinery & Components” and “Other Innovative Products/Technologies” Awards were presented by Mr. Gengxin Chen, Expert of Committee, China Plastics Processing Industry Association

 

A special award aims to recognise and encourage the experts who worked quietly behind every innovative product/technology is referred to as the “The Innovator of The Year". This recognition is given to to the research and development team with the most votes. This year, the Borch Machinery Co., Ltd was honoured as the "The Innovator of The Year.” 

 

Mr. Kangjian Zhu, President of Borch Machinery Co., Ltd made the acceptance speech. He mentioned that Borch has been established for more than 16 years and is focusing on the field of injection moulding equipment at present. In recent years, Borch has begun a major push into intelligent manufacturing. In addition, in the second plate injection moulding machine market, Borch machines are very popular and nearly 50 large two-platen machines can be sold every month, so the company’s new factory is now in full swing. Also, the R&D team of Borch has developed interconnectivity in its machines that today the machines have been complying with Internet of Things (IoT) requirements. As Mr. Zhu asserted, the Internet will change the whole world. It would be a shame for plastic equipment manufacturers if the plastics industry will not follow this trend. Hence, in 2015, Borch invested in a team of professionals to help create a better plastics industry. He also stated that he believes that the equipment industry in China and even the rest of the world will spur ahead with mutual support and encouragement from the other sectors.