By Erin La Row, editor, Plastics Decorating
After a six-year hiatus, one of the plastics industry’s largest trade shows is preparing for a big return. NPE: The Plastics Show will take place May 6-10, 2024, in Orlando, Florida – three years after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the triennial show’s 2021 event. With the theme “Made for You,” the 2024 show will offer attendees demonstrations of the latest machinery and equipment, opportunities to network with industry experts, collaboration around some of the biggest challenges facing the industry and a redesigned educational program. Organizers expect more than 2,000 exhibitors and 55,000 attendees to fill the halls at the Orange County Convention Center over the five-day event.
NPE2024 will feature six Technology Zones, including the bottle zone, recycling and sustainability zone, materials science zone, advanced manufacturing zone, moldmaking zone and packaging zone. The zones consolidate their individual sector’s most cutting-edge advancements, tools, materials and processes in one central location. In addition, organizers have unveiled what they say is “a new immersive learning journey” for attendees with over 100 sessions, 60 industry speakers and access to the three Spark Stages on the show floor that will highlight topics such as advanced artificial intelligence applications, the future of plastics, business productivity and profitability, and sustainability. Over the five-day show, NPE2024 opens its doors to a unique experience with opportunities at every turn to network and build relationships with industry professionals from across the globe.
“As we look forward and prepare for NPE2024, we want our members, exhibitors, attendees and stakeholders to know that we’re committed to planning for the future of this show and an exceptional quality experience,” said Maureen Cudahy Cameron, PLASTICS’ senior director of trade show operations in a news release. “The industry’s future is bright, and we’re looking forward to hosting more bold leaders, creative thinkers and visionaries from every industry in the world at future NPE shows for years to come.”
Get the latest NPE2024 information as well as access the event schedule at www.npe.org. While you’re attending NPE2024, be sure to visit the booths of these Plastics Decorating magazine partners:
3DT LLC Booth W1167
Discover the latest in corona and plasma surface treatment technology. Meet the 3DT team and experience product demos, including 3DT’s new, patented HeliDyne corona system engineered to treat wide, thick and porous materials; PlasmaDyne produces powerful bonding on numerous substrates. It’s highly customizable and integrates into production lines; and the FlexiDyne corona system equipped with a conveyor for improved adhesion on polymer parts and labware.
Apex Machine Company/Desco Machine Company Booth W2151
Apex and Desco will display the latest version of the DCP-3 linear cap print system. The DCP-3 can print closures in up to 3-colors at rates exceeding 3,000 cpm and can be sold as an individual machine or as part of a turnkey system.
ARBURG, Inc. Booth W3743
ARBURG stands the forefront of precision injection molding machines and additive manufacturing. In the United States, Arburg is headquartered in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and is strategically positioned to serve the diverse needs of customers across North America.
Autotran Booth S13106
AutoTran, Inc. manufactures and distributes digital printing, pad printing, screen printing, hot stamping, laser engraving equipment and supplies throughout the United States and the rest of the world with major exports to Canada and South America.
CCL Label Booth W389
After its recent acquisition by CCL, Spain-based Creaprint will join in for the first joint exhibition of the latest innovations in IML labeling – a rapidly growing decoration technology – for different container types and sizes. With IML, the label becomes an integral part of injection or blow molded plastic containers without the need for adhesives, typically using the same resin material as the container for easy recycling.
Cool Clean Technologies Booth S39043
See Cool Clean Technologies’ portable CO2 spray cleaning in person at NPE2024. CO2 cleaning provides cost-effective, no-touch residue removal that can be dropped into existing production lines with a fraction of the footprint of traditional cleaning methods.
CPS Resources, Inc. Booth S17096
CPS Resources produces pigment and metalized foils specializing in woodgrain, brushed and abstract pattern films – catalog or custom at low cylinder costs and minimums. The company now offers thicker MDF films that cover surface imperfections in one pass and low minimum foiled PET films that profile wrap like paper for less.
Diversified PrintingTechniques Booth W1161
Diversified Printing Techniques will bring a mixture of experience with modern advancements in industrial decorating experience to NPE 2024. Its equipment will showcase advancements such as versatility, speed and simplicity in use. In addition, Diversified Printing Techniques will demonstrate how to add automation to existing operations through collaborative robotics.
Enercon Industries Booth W6643
See the latest innovations in plasma and flame technology as Enercon unveils new products at NPE. Find out how its pretreatment technologies increase surface energy to improve bonding with adhesives, inks, and coatings for decorating and assembly applications. Discover technologies to improve quality and throughput and eliminate hazardous primers.
Flexart Booth S18183
Flexart is a manufacturer of Dyne pens and inks for testing the surface of substrates to determine correct treatment for printing.
General Press Corp. Booth S19215
General Press is a full-service labeling company that specializes in IML (injection-molded labels), blow mold and paper labels. The company produces a wide variety of labels for the food, beverage and automotive industries, and its capabilities allow printing on a variety of plastic and paper substrates.
GPE Ardenghi srl Booth S10202
GPE A. Ardenghi srl, a manufacturer of semi-automatic and automatic screen printing machines, has been offering its service since 1945. The company is active in all areas where marking and personalization are needed, including promotional, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, automotive and industrial.
IML Labels Booth S15119
IML Labels specializes in the manufacturing of IML packaging. IML collaborates with plastic injection and blow molders, and their clients, to develop labels fit to different needs, while ensuring operational compatibility from beginning to end of the operational sequence (printing, moulding, filling, transport and final use).
Inkcups Booth S22123
Visit the Inkcups booth where the company will present the Revolution® – a high-speed cylindrical inkjet printer with 12 stations, automatic load/unload, integrated pre-treatment system and an impressive throughput of up to 600 parts per hour. Get a firsthand look at the forefront of full-color 360° graphics printing on cylindrical vessels like stadium cups.
In-Mold Decorating Association Booth W148
The In-Mold Decorating Association is an organization that includes molders, printers, material suppliers and equipment manufacturers who are committed to the development and growth of in-mold decorated products, technologies and markets. IMDA enhances and supports your business by raising the level of awareness and acceptance of in-mold decorated durable products and in-mold labeled packaging by OEMs, brand owners and marketers.
Innovative Digital Systems Booth S18201
The IDS line of rotary and flatbed UV printers include the one-up Revolution 360°T, the dual-rotary TwinRev Pro and the continuous dual 2-station printing capabilities of the QuadRev Pro. Looking to print bigger on a flatbed printer? The IDS PRISMA Z-max printer features an amazing 19.7″ of z-height. Need to fix adhesion issues? The IDS line of Pyrosil®/flame adhesion treaters can help.
Koenig & Bauer Kammann Booth S21083
Koenig & Bauer Kammann (US) provides innovative digital inkjet and traditional screen-printing decorating equipment for high-quality direct printing on three-dimensional containers. Hybrid printing or combining screen printing, digital printing, hot stamping and labeling in one machine offers a high degree of freedom for packaging designers and enables special effects and customized designs for individual packaging solutions.
KURZ Booth W2343
KURZ and partners will showcase at NPE2024 groundbreaking innovations: FFB – Functional Foil Bonding, IMD VARIOFORM® injection molding, DECOPUR®, and cutting-edge backlighting and capacitive touch technologies fused with exquisite decoration.
MCC Verstraete Booth S14004
Get to know MCC Verstraete’s IML upgrades and look and feel options that boost packaging’s aesthetics and performance. Discover the company’s innovations driving the circular economy for PP packaging. Get to know the US team and production plant – labels 100% made in the US.
MOSS srl Booth W7071
MOSS srl specializes in the manufacturing of high-end decorating systems using silk-screen and dry-offset printing techniques, as well as finishing equipment for three-dimensional rigid plastic and aluminum items. Its range includes servo-powered screen-printing machines with CNC capabilities to process any shape items and dry-offset printers up to eight colors. Moss’ machines serve global packaging industries such as food and beverage, pharma, luxury makeup and industrial products.
Muller Technology Booth S12171 and W727
Explore Muller Technology’s extensive range of manufacturing automation systems, honed over five decades of experience. Specialties include intricate injection molds, cutting-edge takeout robots, advanced IML systems, precise vision inspection solutions, streamlined assembly processes and efficient case packing solutions. See live demonstrations of how Mobile Manipulator and ARM Technology can elevate operational efficiency, throughput and safety standards.
Netstal Booth W223
Netstal wants to increase companies’ production efficiency and maximize value creation. With Netstal, you get not only leading injection molding technology of the highest Swiss quality, but also a reliable partnership at eye level.
North Pacific International, Inc. Booth S18174
NPI will introduce many designs and capabilities at NPE2024. With the use of special inks and custom designs, NPI’s labels and foils can deliver outstanding results and finishes. NPI will display labels and foils with special finishes for home appliances, medical, sports, cosmetic, automotive and other industries.
OMSO Booth S13115
OMSO will display the OMSO ServoBottle SB8 fully servo-driven screen printing machine for bottles. The features of this machine include three screen heads, one host-stamp head and an automatic inspection station. High-speed changeovers in less than 30 minutes, extremely close registration tolerances, low tooling costs, minimal maintenance expenses, high efficiencies and low scrap rates all make OMSO ServoBottle a revolution to the screen printing industry.
Plasmatreat USA Booth W7479
Plastics Decorating magazine Booth W144
Plastics Decorating magazine includes the latest stories and news on decorating plastics including hot stamping, pad printing, screen and offset printing, heat transfer, in-mold decorating and plastics assembly processes. Stop by the Plastics Decorating booth to pick up the latest edition of the magazine and sign up for a FREE subscription.
Polyfuze Graphics Booth S37197
Schober USA Booth S31123
Serigraph, Inc. Booth S29143
Serigraph has over 70 years of experience in printing, advanced decorating technologies and graphic solutions for the Automotive, Appliance, Consumer, Medical, Powersports and Point-of-Purchase markets. Its core business is decorating plastics. Serigraph prints, forms, molds and finishes in-house to maximize cost-savings and speed-to-market.
Simco-Ion Booth S17036
Simco-Ion offers solutions for plastics and highlights industry-leading technology with IQ Easy LP Static Neutralizing bar, IQ Easy Modular Sensor bar, Control Station and IQ Power Fantom blower. The company also offers application-specific static control, Industry 4.0 data management, contamination control and web cleaning solutions.
StackTeck Systems Limited Booth W3773
StackTeck is a global provider of injection molding solutions with innovative technologies for engineering, prototyping and other plastic part development services; injection molds, frames and quick product change technologies; automation and intralogistics, including AGVs and inventory systems for the smart factory. Its innovative technologies have advanced many industry standards for high productivity, cost-effectiveness and sustainability for caps and closures, cosmetics, medical and more.
Tampoprint International Booth W5546
Trekk Equipment Booth W5381
Trekk designs and builds a full line of hot-stamp/heat-transfer decorating equipment, as well as engineers automated production cells for consumer and industrial applications. Trekk’s customers include worldwide, leading manufacturers of automotive parts, appliances, cosmetics, electronics, food packaging, pharmaceuticals and sporting goods.
TWN Industries, Inc Booth S15161
A leading supplier of water transfer printing hydrographic film, training and equipment, TWN Industries offers the hydrodip training course and has over 1,500 certified processors. Water transfer printing/hydro dipping is a permanent coating process that allows producers to apply carbon fiber, wood grain and thousands of patterns to any 3-dimensional object.
Wipfli Booth S26197
Helping manufacturers achieve their goals takes imagination, discipline and a process that delivers results today while anticipating tomorrow’s demands. That’s Wipfli. From operational improvements and performance enhancements to large-scale digital transformation, we help clients achieve lasting results. Visit Wipfli at NPE2024 to learn more about analytics dashboards and machine monitoring software.
