On this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast, in which PMM Editor Ron Shinn discusses three top stories of the past week:

• LS Mtron is continuing its aggressive expansion plans by enlarging its Chicago-area technical center.

• Wittmann USA President Sonny Morneault discusses leadership, changes he has seen in the plastics industry and what’s ahead.

• Your business insurance can help maintain uptime, control costs and keep you competitive. It is a good time to review your coverage.

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, our weekly podcast roundup of three important stories on the plastics industry:

• The number of people working in plastics and rubber manufacturing fell by 3.500 from August to September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Cobots from Universal Robots will be manufactured in the Detroit area starting next year.

• Haitian, the world’s biggest manufacturer of injection molding machines, unveiled two new presses for packaging applications at K 2025.

On this podcast episode, Editor Ron Shinn and Senior Reporter Karen Hanna talk about sustainability issues with flexible packaging, including:

• An explanation of the green premium and why it matters.

• Is flexible plastic packaging in danger of being replaced by paper or fiber?

• Are plastic packaging converters caught in a tough spot?

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, our weekly roundup of top stories with Editor Ron Shinn:

• A good sign for U.S. manufacturing: Industrial robot orders were up in the third quarter. A bad sign for plastics and rubber manufacturing: Robot orders dropped.

• There is a new player in the North American thermoforming processing machinery market, and its name is Asano Laboratories.

• A small tool maker and injection molder in Florida brought those skills together to develop a new product — a dog grooming tool with steel teeth and an ABS handle.

On today’s Machinery Minutes podcast with PMM editor Ron Shinn, we round up these three essential stories in five minutes:

• John Erkert, CEO of PiovanGroup North America, has assumed the additional role of president of Conair Group.

• Japanese injection molding machinery makers Nissei and Toyo are merging, citing lessening demand and rising costs, tightening global competition, environmental concerns and a shortage of skilled labor.

• An interesting case study about implementing automation in a blow molding cell that manufactures large industrial drums.

This episode of the PMM Insight podcast focuses on advanced recycling, which uses heat, chemicals or a combination of both to turn waste plastic into reusable monomers. PMM editor Ron Shinn and senior staff reporter Karen Hanna discuss the technologies. You'll learn:

• Why is advanced recycling important to the circular economy?

• Who are some of the biggest players players in the industry?

• What is ahead for advanced recycling in North America, and what's holding it back?

This is what you will learn on today’s Machinery Minutes podcast with Ron Shinn, in which we round up three impactful stories from the past week:

• Can companies continue to make packaging profitably while heading off regulations that could put plastics on the chopping block?

• Russ LaBelle, the well-known founder of Wilmington Machinery, died at the age of 86. He developed specialized plastic machinery solutions that have since been adopted by companies around the world.

• Good news for injection molding machinery builders in third-quarter sales totals. Not so much for extrusion machinery manufacturers.

Here's what you'll learn on today’s Machinery Minutes podcast, in which PMM editor Ron Shinn rounds up three top stories from the past week:

• Are you familiar with PWDS, SFDR or WDLS? If you are in the blow molding business, you know they are acronyms for equipment to optimize thin bottle walls. But you might be surprised where this equipment came from.

• Tobias Baur is Arburg’s managing director of sales and after-sales, plus he is president of Euromap. Hear what he has to say about leadership, innovation and the future of plastics.

• Recyclers may be the biggest losers in the collapse of talks on an international plastics treaty.