On this week’s Machinery Minutes podcast:

• Arburg is leaving the additive manufacturing market, 12 years after introducing the Freeformer series of 3D printers.
• Dan Weissmann played key roles during the evolution of plastic beverage containers as well as the plastic closure for hot-fill packaging.
• At the K Show next month, KraussMaffei is showing how to use its ColorForm technology to apply a thin polyurethane surface directly to thermoplastic components within an injection mold. The product is an automotive headlight with a PU protective cover.

What you'll learn on this PMM Insight podcast episode, a commentary by Editor Ron Shinn:   

• After more than two years of negotiating, talks for a worldwide treaty to end plastic pollution collapsed.

• There has been a great deal of innovation built on and because of the advances made in plastics. The industry needs to keep pushing the limits and capabilities of the material.

• What next? Countries should develop their own national action plans and not wait on a treaty.

On this episode of Machinery Minutes:

• Expanded steel and aluminum duties may slow investment and complicate equipment imports, warns PLASTICS chief economist Perc Pineda.

• If you share manufacturing data — with customers or suppliers — you share risk. Whether buying new machinery or making deals for raw materials or parts deliveries, processors should scrutinize their partners’ approach to cybersecurity in the same way they evaluate their own systems.

• Progressive Components’ new Cooled UniLifter assemblies feature a design that accommodates water line placement.

What you'll learn on this episode of Machinery Minutes:

• Retaining a cybersecurity expert in advance can help with negotiating a ransom payment, recovering lost data and getting a business up and running after an attack.

• Jason Sears, second-generation owner of Dri-Air Industries, learned the business from his Hall of Fame father, Charlie. He has pushed the company’s technology forward.

• Manufacturers surveyed by Wipfli after the second quarter were glum. Profitability is flat and capacity utilization is down. Some better news is that quoting activity is up and employment levels are steady.

On this episode of PMM Insight, Editor Ron Shinn and Senior Reporter Karen Hanna discuss cybersecurity:

• Any given company has a 50-50 chance of being hacked, and manufacturing companies are among the most commonly targeted.  

• Small companies are as much at risk as bigger companies.

• It is important to always segregate IT systems from operational technology systems.

These are the stories you will hear on this Machinery Minutes podcast episode:

• Peter Gardner, president of LS Mtron Injection Molding Machine USA, is retiring. During his tenure, the South Korean machinery manufacturer’s share of the North American market has risen from a negligible amount to an estimated 10 percent.

• Artificial intelligence has brought manufacturing to the threshold of another revolution and offers remarkable advantages for blow molding, according to Eric Simmons, chair of the SPE Blow Molding Division.

• U.S. companies have a 50-50 chance of being hacked in the next year and costs of an attack can be enormous. But there are steps to shore up defenses and companies that can help safeguard you.

What you will learn in this episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast:

• North American shipments of injection molding and extrusion equipment in the second quarter of 2025 were up 0.7 percent from both the previous quarter and the same quarter of last year.

• Currier Plastics has always excelled at adapting to changing times. It will be honored with the Recognition of Excellence Award at the Annual Blow Molding Conference Sept. 8-10 in Pittsburgh.  

• Netstal has made numerous upgrades to its PET-Line injection molding system for preforms, which is designed for high output and efficiency.

What you'll learn on this PMM Insight podcast episode, a commentary by Editor Ron Shinn:  

• The new tax and spending law reinstates 100 percent deduction of the cost of capital equipment purchases in the year the purchase is made and accelerates deductions for manufacturing buildings.

• Research and experimental or development costs can now be deducted in the year the costs were incurred.

• A tax expert said the new law creates compelling economics for domestic facility expansion and modernization.