Report: Demand growing for plastics machinery

Demand for plastics machinery is expected to increase by 4 percent per year over the next few years, through 2019, with the biggest growth expected in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, says the Freedonia Group Inc., Cleveland, a company that performs analysis of trends across a wide number of industries. Pent-up demand resulting from recent tough economic conditions will drive some of the growth, as will the increasing use of plastics in some fields, such as the automotive and construction industries. The Freedonia Group says while injection molding equipment will remain the most widely used type of machinery, 3-D printers represent the fastest-growing segment of the market. It projects sales of that technology to top $2 billion in 2019.