What you will hear on today’s PMM Machinery Minutes podcast:

• A comprehensive story about the state of advanced recycling revealed some interesting developments.

• Creating a stand-up pouch that can be recycled seemed like an impossible task when a team from Effytec, LD Pack USA, Dukane Corp. and Hoffer Plastics first looked at the problem.
• Conair’s new PowerFill Pro is a compact, portable vacuum conveying system for processors who want the benefits of a central system without the infrastructure of long tubing runs or in-depth wiring and terminations.

Today’s PMM Insight Commentary by Editor Ron Shinn looks ahead to NPE2027:

• Despite industry headwinds, early booth reservations are on track.

• Companies that traditionally buy big booths do not seem to be reducing their space.

• A top NPE official said it is too early to tell if new visa restrictions and tariffs from the Trump administration will impact NPE exhibitors or attendees. There were more than 15,000 registrations from 133 foreign companies at the last NPE.

What you'll learn on today’s Machinery Minutes podcast from Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing:

• The recycling industry has been stuck in a perpetual cycle of volatility for years. Its future depends on overcoming technical, economic and legislative challenges, alongside investment in infrastructure and recovery efforts, according to an ICIS analysis.

• Hillenbrand, which owns Mold-Masters, DME, Tirad, Herbold Meckesheim and Coperion, has been acquired by Lone Star Funds in a $3.8 billion deal.

• The U.S. plastics industry accounted for $154.3 billion in trade volume in 2024 but turned from a trade surplus in 2023 to a deficit in 2024, according to the annual Global Trends Report from PLASTICS.