The industry changed while we blinked

Plastics, unlike say, electronics, is not considered sexy. If anything, plastics is thought of as a rather staid, mature industry emblematic of smokestack manufacturing and obsolete factories biding their time until one last inevitable downsizing does them in for good.

The irony of course is that plastic is indispensable to the nifty, modern industrial design found in many of today’s consumer electronic devices. Yet even outside the area of electronics, the collaboration of OEMs, designers, processors and moldmakers continues to push envelope when it comes to using plastic in innovative and striking ways. Here, at the cutting edge of product design, people thrive on challenging the perception that customers are averse to risk, the public is against change, and we have to do things the way we have always done them. And it is happening now, as I write. Here are a few examples that have come to my attention lately:

You can now buy a resin patio chair in a color other than white! While non-white patio chairs, primarily green, aren’t exactly new, it is only recently that I have observed them in stores and on patios in greater numbers. Institutions like hotels and apartments seem to especially prefer green over white chairs. I’m conjecturing that these institutions prefer green because it is lower maintenance (i.e. hides dirt better), although I’m sure you’ll never hear the CEO of Holiday Inn admit it. As an owner of white patio chairs I understand the rationale perfectly. Just wondering who the lucky colorant suppliers are that are cashing in on this new trend.

PET bottles and jars are suddenly the engineering marvels of our day. Designers have learned how to compensate for cooling and volume shrinkage. As a result, PET is moving deeper into hot-fill applications, a growth trend that appears to have no near-term limit. On the water side, bottle design is breaking new ground for practical and aesthetic appeal. Evian has introduced a 750 ml water bottle made of a soft, (not crinkly) lightly tinted, clear PET formed in a sort of hour-glass shape to fit in the palm of your hand. The bottle comes with a blue, ring-top, snap-fit closure that can be secured to your belt or backpack. People are buying the water for the bottle.

Once little more than colored plastic, automotive head and tail lamp lenses are now critical distinguishing design elements on vehicles. Today, with the use of new technology, designers are poised to take automotive lenses to the next level as branding and aesthetic features on cars and trucks. As reported in this magazine last May, one company, Stanley Electric, is using a patented CNC technology to make lamps in spiral and “compound eye” styles. You can see these stunning designs on vehicles like the Lexus SUV.

Almost overnight, rigid trays made of PET, PP and other materials have replaced EPS in supermarkets, delis and restaurants. These materials offer better oxygen barrier resistance, reheatability and storage characteristics. This is truly a packaging revolution; again, like the transition to PET bottles, one that shows no signs of peaking in the foreseeable future.

For more changes afoot, see the cover story on electric machines. So it would seem that while plastics may not be sexy, it is far from a mature, doddering industry. For processors, moldmakers and suppliers, there are many new, untapped opportunities out there.

Michael LeGault, editore-mail: mlegault@canplastics.com