PECM Issue 14 2015 | Page 98

PDM Preview PDM celebrates 10 year anniversary T he Plastics Design and Moulding Exhibition and Conference (PDM15) celebrates its 10th anniversary as the UK’s premier annual event for the plastics industry. Returning to the Telford International Centre on 16 and 17 June, the event will be co-located with the new Plastics Packaging Show and the second Plastics Recycling Expo, and has already attracted over 100 exhibiting companies. The two-day PDM Conference focuses on a range of the industry’s most topical issues including skills shortages, EU membership, sustainable design, automotive lightweighting and 3D printing. Highlights include: • An overview of the UK Auto industry by Luke Hampton, supply chain director at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) • Skills shortage in the plastics industry are apprenticeships the answer? • Richard Brown, Managing Director, G&A Moulding Technology Ltd • Plastics, lightweighting saviour; welding of automotive plastics components. Best practice and assessment of joint integrity by Farshad Salamat-Zadeh, Chartered Polymer and Adhesive Engineer and Senior Project Leader at TWI 98 PECM Issue 14 • • Failure in Polymer Products - it doesn’t just happen! by Justin Taylor, Principal Consultant, ipolytech, Telford Material innovations in injection moulding by Dr Mark Barnett, Head o f Warwick Scientific Services There will also be a number of ‘shop floor’ sessions for engineers, providing practical expertise in areas such as moulding techniques and machine care. A popular feature of previous shows that returns for 2015 is the Plastics Consultancy Network’s Plastics Surgery. Visitors are invited to bring along questions they may have relating to plastics design and moulding and PCN’s consultants will be on hand to offer effective, creative and cost-effective advice and solutions. and Kongskilde UK. Other exhibitors include product design companies, rotational and blow moulding machinery suppliers, toolmakers, rapid prototyping specialists, moulders and mouldmakers, masterbatch specialists, software suppliers and materials testing specialists. Major names from every part of the UK plastics community have confirmed their presence at PDM15 including Distrupol, Plastribution, Negri Bossi, Premier Moulding Machinery, Billion UK, BMB Plastics Machinery, Kuka Robotics, Luxus, Mouldshop, Rutland Plastics and Chess Plastics. Organisers have also reported a new level of interest from overseas businesses keen to showcase their capabilities to the UK market, now regarded as the growth area in Europe. Such exhibitors include Italian-based M.P Srl, Austrian-based Meusburger Georg GmbH & Co Kg, Swiss company U-NICA Gruppe, 3D Design Technologies Ltd (Cad2parts Ltd) from Turkey and Luxembourg-based CODPRO. Companies exhibiting at PDM for the first time in 2015 include: Igus UK, Cad2parts, South West Polymer Supplies, Hotset UK To register to attend PDM15 visit: www.pdmevent.com