Best Interplas in years

If trade exhibitions are bellwethers of the health of an industry, then the UK plastics industry is in good shape, judging by Interplas 2023. Attendance at the 75th anniversary event, while still unconfirmed, was visibly up on 2021 and it was the biggest show for +20 years for floorspace booked, exhibitors and seminars (48). ARBURG Ltd., whose showpiece was a two-component ALLROUNDER More 1600 injection moulding machine, handled by a Yaskawa six-axis robot, was delighted with the footfall and enquiries, including many new enquiries from non-customers.

Colin Tirel, Managing Director at ARBURG Ltd said, “For ARBURG Ltd. the 2023 Interplas show was absolutely fantastic. I thought the last show in 2021 was good, but this delivered even more contacts and discussions that we can now work on. Well done the Rapid News team, we will certainly be back in 2026!” 

Known well for technological solutions to moulding challenges, ARBURG Ltd. had enquiries covering all areas: as well as moulding machines across the complete size range, noticeable interest in low-carbon packaging and moulding solutions as well as energy consumption, also automation, novel materials, ancillaries, arburgXworld data management, stock machines and delivery times and more. “Visitors were properly engaged in all these areas, and we felt there was a lot of genuine commitment to invest,” said Colin. “There has been a small hiatus this summer, perhaps to reflect political and wider uncertainty, but we sense pent up demand will convert to investment from now on.”

ARBURG is a name for innovation in moulding. The centrepiece of ARBURG’s prominent stand was a two-component ALLROUNDER More 1600 moulding machine, with 1,600 kN clamping force and two size 100 electric injection units, handled by a Yaskawa six-axis robot. The exhibit produced four ready-to-use Luer connectors at a time within a cycle time of about 10 seconds. Closures are capped and threads unscrewed directly in the mould. This innovative solution eliminates the need for a second mould and additional assembly line, significantly reducing manufacturing costs.

For controlling the process, the arburgXworld (aXw) Control CycleAssist function produced a graphic comparison of the current times, and previously defined reference values, for each cycle stage. Unproductive time segments are displayed with a click. This enables the user to reduce the cycle time and allows the user to plan higher productivity.

For automation, the six-axis Yaskawa robot removed finished parts from the mould with a four-cavity gripper and fed them individually to an inline camera inspection.

Many customers visited ARBURG’s stand. Anthony Tutty, managing director of C&A Mouldings in Eastbourne, said “It was good to see Interplas busy again. I was really impressed with the show and ARBURG’s stand. The technology they had there is impressive, and the ARBURG people are very knowledgeable, for example in all aspects of the small connector part they were producing.” C&A Mouldings has just taken delivery of a new ALLROUNDER 520 S machine. “We prefer ARBURG, it is a high-quality brand that you can have confidence in.” Reinforcing Interplas as a great opportunity to meet and catch-up, David Wilkins, director at PRP Polymer Engineering in Hereford, said “It was great to see so many of the Arburg UK team on a busy and impressive stand.”

Gavin John, Automation and Digital Engineer at ARBURG Ltd, noticed the interest in robotics. “There are more enquiries about automation at Interplas this year. People are generally less fearful of robots now and just want to know the facts and a payback business case,” he said.

The show hosted 48 seminars and talks, with presentations from Jaguar Land Rover, British Plastics Federation, RECOUP, GoRolloe, and Innovate UK, among others. 

Duncan Wood, CEO of organisers Rapid News Group, said “We look forward to 2026 on our new dateline of June, enabling us to co-locate with our other events TCT 3Sixty and Med-Tech Innovation Expo, and alongside several additional industrial events from partner organisers Nineteen Group and Mark Allen Group which will deliver even greater return on investment for our exhibitors and create a real focal point for UK manufacturing."