Brand owners rely on contract services
The outlook is bright for contract services providers and their customers, according to Contract Packaging & Manufacturing: Drivers of Machinery Investments, a report published by the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI) and produced in conjunction with DDR/REACH.
The heat is on for refrigerants
The ability to cool products and people is an overlooked foundation to modern civilisation. The transport and storage of heat-sensitive products such as food and drugs would not be possible without the use of refrigeration systems which use a chemical fluid. Air conditioning is also a critical part of modern life in many countries.
Chemicals from CO2
The chemicals industry depends heavily on finite fossil fuel feedstocks and is responsible for 2% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. A new report, Carbon Dioxide Utilization 2025-2045: Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players, explores how captured CO2 could be utilised as a feedstock for hundreds of different chemicals instead, providing an economic and environmental incentive to capture carbon dioxide and create a circular economy.
Biopesticides bridging the crop protection gaps
As the UK horticultural sector continues to evolve post-Brexit, the need for sustainable crop protection has never been more critical. Rising concerns over synthetic agrochemicals’ environmental and health impacts drive the industry to transition to greener alternatives.
Tackling skills and training
There’s an exodus of talent from the manufacturing sector, and organisations are struggling to replace people quickly enough to fill the gaps. Only a third (34%) of UK companies are regularly bringing in talented new hires, and a similar number have yet to establish relationships with educational institutions to build a needed pipeline of new staff.
Food traceability
An estimated 48m people are affected by foodborne illnesses in the US alone every year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalisations and 3000 deaths [1]. These shocking figures pose a significant public health burden – but they could be prevented with appropriate traceability measures.
Lean R&D benefits
Manufacturing processes focused on maximising value while minimising waste are the key to maintaining business competitiveness. Modern Lean Manufacturing focuses on streamlining production processes, reducing waste, time, and labour, and ensuring consistent quality in a repeatable environment. It emphasises standardised workflows, just-in-time production and minimising variability in output.
Booming market for sulfone polymers
Mega trends that will continue to drive sulfone polymer consumption include, but are not limited to, a sustained and increased penetration of sulfone polymers in aircraft and automobiles, supported by ongoing efforts in reducing weight to improve fuel efficiency and meet CO2 emission standards.
Are mushrooms plants?
Sometimes. At least, that is the answer to the question posed in this feature headline, according to a new court ruling. The ruling recently emerged from the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened in June 2023. It concerns a provisional injunction by US headquartered mushroom producer Amycel against an individual in Poland alleged to have infringed Amycel’s patent EP 1993350 concerning mushroom strain BR06 marketed by Amycel under the name Heirloom [1]. According to the UPC’s decision, Heirloom is currently the number one selling brown mushroom strain in the world.
A safer workplace?
British Safety Council recently commissioned a YouGov survey, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act, considering what lies ahead for health, safety and wellbeing, and the impact new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) might have on their workplace.