Top 10 most-read stories for February

    March 3, 2021
    Interview with retiring PLASTICS executive Steve Petrakis tops the list; stories on rotomolder Simplay3 and new equipment items also were popular.
    Simplay3
    The Rushing River Falls water play table is a new product from rotomolder Simplay3.
    The Rushing River Falls water play table is a new product from rotomolder Simplay3.

    Our interview with a well-respected plastics industry veteran and mentor was the most popular story on PlasticsMachineryManufacturing.com in February. Other must-reads included a feature on rotomolder Simplay3, tips for winterizing your plastics plant and features on new equipment. Did you miss any? 

    Petrakis
    Petrakis
    1. As he looks forward to retirement, PLASTICS executive and industry veteran Steve Petrakis takes pride in the people he's mentored in the industry.https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21210024/

    2. Simplay3, the third company founded by rotomolding legend Tom Murdough, adapted and thrived despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21207473/  

    3. KraussMaffei added larger models to its GX series, with clamping forces topping out at 1,460 tons. They are designed to meet the needs of the packaging and automotive industries, as well as the production of technical components. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21206927/ 

    4. Autonomous mobile robots are improving worker safety at plastics plants by replacing manually operated forklifts in high-traffic areas. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21207830/ 

    Davis-Standard
    From March 2020 to February of 2021, Teel Plastics produced more than 500 million swab sticks for COVID-19 testing.
    From March 2020 to February of 2021, Teel Plastics produced more than 500 million swab sticks for COVID-19 testing.
    5. Teel Plastics invested in three new Davis-Standard extruders, with two dedicated to producing testing swabs and the third creating profiles used in respirators to help combat COVID-19. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21209356/

    6. Rapid Robotics is offering $25,000-a-year leases of its new Rapid Machine Operator cobot, which is ready to use out of the box for a fast ROI. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21207219/ 

    7. Angle Systems’ Multi Lumen Vision System, which measures various characteristics of multi-lumen tubing offline, has been upgraded with autofocus technology. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21204534/ 

    8. Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company suggests taking a series of steps to avoid the potential damage and downtime that can come from winter's wrath. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21209941/ 

    9. Altair purchased Xaloy and named a new board and CEO. The deal divests the Xaloy screw and barrel product line from Nordson’s polymer processing systems division. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21208403/ 

    10. After the cancellation of NPE2021, PLASTICS said it was working to resolve exhibitors’ concerns about refund policies, but much of the deposit money was spent on expenses leading up to the show and couldn’t be refunded. https://plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com/21208128/  

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    Hoffer Plastics
    An employee at Hoffer Plastics works on an all-electric Engel e-mac 195 injection molding machine appropriate for making medical devices, electronics and packaging. When it comes to her employees, co-CEO Gretchen Hoffer Farb calls herself a 'mama bear'.
    Boy Machines
    Marko Koorneef is president of Boy Machines Inc.
    113088054 © Andrei Rahalski | Dreamstime.com
    dreamstime_m_113088054
    Linak
    The Elevate-LC3 IC lifting column from Linak acts as a seventh axis to extend a cobot's reach.