Trade Talk Today K - Day 4

00:00:00:

00:00:03: Welcome to Trade Talk Today,

00:00:06: your daily

00:00:06: insight.

00:00:09: This show is brought to you by Adeca Polymers Additives Euro.

00:00:20: So what happens when you bring over three thousand two hundred exhibitors from almost seventy countries together to talk about plastics and rubber?

00:00:28: The whole world comes to visit just as often.

00:00:30: That's what's happening here at K on day four of the fair.

00:00:35: It is amazing.

00:00:36: All these wonderful people from all over the world talking about innovations, about solutions, about sustainability, about AI, and so many topics that have to be discussed.

00:00:45: And with that, welcome to Trade Talk today on day four of the fair.

00:00:49: I'm very excited to be here today with wonderful guests.

00:00:51: We are going to be talking to Olivier Kaiser later on, president of Edeka Polymer Additives Europe.

00:00:57: And now... I'm happy to have you here today.

00:01:00: Thorsten Kümmann, board member of VDMA, plastic and rubber machinery.

00:01:04: It's great to have you here.

00:01:05: How are you doing?

00:01:06: Great.

00:01:06: Thank you very much.

00:01:07: Yeah.

00:01:07: Are you a little tired on the fourth day?

00:01:09: Are things still going?

00:01:10: No,

00:01:10: no, it's still not half time, so batteries are still full.

00:01:13: That's good.

00:01:14: We're going to start with some warming up questions with some quick fire questions.

00:01:19: Casual co-working or corporate office?

00:01:22: Casual co-working.

00:01:24: Focus on recycling tech or reduced plastic use?

00:01:27: No,

00:01:28: recycling tech, of course.

00:01:31: Read on Kindle or listen on Audible.

00:01:35: Both.

00:01:36: Okay.

00:01:37: Plan heavy travel or spontaneous detours?

00:01:42: Spontaneous detours.

00:01:44: Data dashboards or gut decisions?

00:01:49: It's a combination.

00:01:51: I like gut decisions, but you need to have a little bit of base.

00:01:55: Scaling big ideas or refining what works?

00:01:59: Big ideas.

00:02:01: Work break.

00:02:01: Podcast or walk?

00:02:05: Walk.

00:02:06: Cocktail or mocktail?

00:02:08: Cocktail.

00:02:10: Partner with startups or build in-house?

00:02:14: Depends.

00:02:17: In-house is good.

00:02:18: Yeah.

00:02:19: Boss or team player?

00:02:20: Team player.

00:02:21: Thank you so much for that.

00:02:23: And yeah, we can get into all these answers about the cocktails and mocktails.

00:02:27: That's really important for tonight for the exhibitors party.

00:02:29: But I won't get into that so much because we want to talk about hard topics right now.

00:02:33: You have the forum, the power of plastics.

00:02:36: What exactly is that?

00:02:37: And what are you trying to convey to the visitors of the K?

00:02:41: The power of plastics, that's the model of K and we want to.

00:02:44: it's like a magnifying glass the form And we're trying to really show what the power of plastics makes so unique.

00:02:52: You know if you look at it on the global scale plastics has a success story has been growing over decades now.

00:02:59: So there's a strong push behind plastics and the reason why it's.

00:03:05: It's very shapeable multifunctional, you need for mobility, you need it for for housing, for packaging, for electronics and so on.

00:03:16: And we want to show that this all is possible plus recycling and circular economy.

00:03:23: And this is what's happening on the power of plastics forum.

00:03:27: How did you put the program together, though?

00:03:29: I mean, there are so many things going on.

00:03:31: How did you choose who could You know, be there and what you're going to be talking about?

00:03:35: because it is quite, there's a lot of things that you could choose from, right?

00:03:40: That's the problem.

00:03:41: Exactly.

00:03:41: We've got so many good ideas, so many great companies and to focus.

00:03:47: That was the problem, not to get good ideas, but to really to get it down.

00:03:52: And that's why we have pitches.

00:03:54: It's only five minutes.

00:03:55: So we get a lot of people and a lot of good ideas.

00:03:59: Are the good ideas coming from the... younger generation or the older generation?

00:04:04: or let me put it a different way.

00:04:06: What type of people are bringing the ideas?

00:04:09: That's a very good point.

00:04:10: We need the combination.

00:04:12: We really need the combination.

00:04:14: We need the young fresh ideas, but we also need the experience of the older generation.

00:04:19: So I'm really, I think it's a combination and we shouldn't start saying this is good or this is bad.

00:04:27: No, this is a great combination and that is our opportunity.

00:04:30: And that's why we have young talents time also in the Power of Plastics Forum.

00:04:37: So we invited the young talents of all the companies come together as well as the experienced guys.

00:04:43: So that's a good combination.

00:04:44: And then later on also women in plastics.

00:04:49: We try to reach out to all groups.

00:04:51: So tell me a little bit about behind the scenes.

00:04:54: What happens or what has been happening when people have been presenting?

00:04:57: What kind of conversations are happening after the presentations?

00:05:00: Have there been discussions?

00:05:01: Are people all the same opinion about where things are going, about designs, about productivity and all the topics you are discussing?

00:05:10: Tell me about what's happening.

00:05:11: Loads of discussions.

00:05:13: And that's the really special thing about K, as you mentioned.

00:05:16: Seventy countries being here, so many people coming from around the world.

00:05:21: We are having really intensive discussions about how we shape our future.

00:05:28: The good thing is everyone is hundred percent committed to this future.

00:05:33: There's no doubt that this will be a bright future for the plastics industry.

00:05:37: It's only the question, how do we do that?

00:05:40: How do we embrace digitalization and also AI solutions?

00:05:46: very important right now.

00:05:47: We've got so complex machines.

00:05:49: For example, if you want to make those machines really easy to operate, you need AI solutions.

00:05:56: And if you walk around the exhibition, you will find so many great solutions.

00:06:00: And those are the discussions going on.

00:06:02: Very good discussions.

00:06:04: Some people may argue that AI has taken over so much that the topic of circular economy and sustainability is not that important anymore, or at least it's not in people's mind as much as it was maybe a couple of years ago.

00:06:15: I would argue differently.

00:06:16: I think he would too, but maybe give me some insight on that topic that people are saying.

00:06:21: Let's not talk about sustainability right now.

00:06:23: Let's talk more about AI and how we can work, or do they fit together, both of them?

00:06:26: Yeah, that's the point.

00:06:28: It's not either or.

00:06:30: If you want to make sustainability and circular economy really work in a good way, then you need AI solutions.

00:06:37: You need digitalization, because then you have precision, then you have traceability and all those things matching together.

00:06:45: That is important.

00:06:46: So we have to think both things together.

00:06:48: It's not either or.

00:06:50: We need sustainability, we need AI solutions, and that's the way we want to go.

00:06:55: We're

00:06:56: talking about internationality here.

00:06:57: Let's talk about Germany as a market.

00:06:59: How is the German engineering, driving innovation and sustainability as an enabler?

00:07:06: Germany.

00:07:07: for us, Germany is the core.

00:07:10: Germany and Europe is the core.

00:07:12: That's our home market.

00:07:14: And that's where we create massive and good ideas.

00:07:18: And that's where we want to create good ideas.

00:07:21: But the good thing is as our companies also spread out on an international base.

00:07:26: They have production in China, they have productions in India, in the US and so on.

00:07:31: They bring in those ideas too.

00:07:34: But our hub is Europe plus getting in the ideas, great ideas also from every country around the world.

00:07:41: The plastics industry is a global industry.

00:07:44: We need to act globally because all the issues are interconnected and that's the way we have to go.

00:07:50: Have the policymakers received that memo yet?

00:07:52: That it's a global industry and that we have to work together and find agreements that everybody can work with?

00:07:57: No.

00:07:58: Yeah.

00:07:58: No, definitely

00:07:59: not.

00:08:02: If that would be the case, we would have open markets everywhere.

00:08:06: Fair and open markets.

00:08:07: We are not having fair and open markets everywhere.

00:08:11: That is something we really have to work on.

00:08:13: And that is really important plus.

00:08:16: I'm really not only I, many of us are very sad that the Global Plastics Treaty was not successful in round number one.

00:08:26: It will be successful eventually, but we need global regulations and that is so important because we have to work together.

00:08:33: There's no way around.

00:08:34: The good start is at K, two thousand and twenty five to talk about it.

00:08:37: also to talk to policymakers who are here some of them anyway and as you as an industry getting together and saying this is the way it has to go and having good solutions to all the challenges you are facing.

00:08:47: and you're doing a wonderful job.

00:08:48: Thank you so much for being here today.

00:08:49: It was lovely having you and make sure you all go visit him or not only him your whole team and the forum.

00:08:56: I mean I keep saying there's so many things to see at the fair there are.

00:09:00: I'm glad it's eight days so you can at least have a little time to look at things.

00:09:03: Thank you so much for your time today.

00:09:05: Thank you.

00:09:05: We're going to take a look at something else right now.

00:09:06: We're going to look at the the rubber street.

00:09:08: Take a look at some impressions from the rubber street and that is happening right now.

00:09:40: The rubber street at K. two thousand and twenty five.

00:10:14: It is a hot spot for rubber and just one of the highlights we are presenting at the fair.

00:10:20: One of the hot spots is also.

00:10:22: trade talk today, though.

00:10:24: And I'm very happy that we have another wonderful guest on the show right now, Olivier Kaiser, president of Attica Polymore out of Europe.

00:10:32: It's great to have you here.

00:10:33: I hope you're also doing well on day four of the fair.

00:10:36: I'm doing well on day four now, warmed up and ready to maintain the pace until the end.

00:10:40: Perfect.

00:10:41: So let's get warmed up a little bit more.

00:10:42: And I'm going to ask you some rapid questions.

00:10:45: Hardcover nostalgia or e-reader ease?

00:10:50: Yeah, both.

00:10:51: Both.

00:10:52: Okay.

00:10:53: Traveling.

00:10:54: E-reader, but at home quietly in front of books.

00:10:58: Sounds good.

00:11:00: Reusable plastics or biodegradable alternatives?

00:11:03: Reusable where possible.

00:11:05: Biodegradable, it's too early in their development.

00:11:08: Morning yoga or evening boxing?

00:11:11: Morning boxing.

00:11:12: Morning boxing.

00:11:13: Okay.

00:11:14: You got to get the energy up.

00:11:15: Yes.

00:11:15: Did you do that this morning?

00:11:17: No.

00:11:17: I didn't.

00:11:18: So

00:11:18: we'll do it later on.

00:11:20: I do it tomorrow.

00:11:22: Invest in digital tools or raw materials.

00:11:27: We are a raw material company, so that's an easy question, but the digital tools, there's no way around them.

00:11:31: So they both go together as well.

00:11:33: More and more, yeah.

00:11:34: Structured agenda or loose inspiration?

00:11:38: I'm working for a Japanese company in a French environment.

00:11:40: Absolutely both.

00:11:42: Very good.

00:11:43: In eternal brainstorming or external collab?

00:11:48: internal brainstorming and then discuss the results outside.

00:11:52: Beach or

00:11:53: mountains?

00:11:54: Oh, mountains.

00:11:55: Really?

00:11:56: Okay.

00:11:56: Live panel or live stream?

00:12:01: Live panel is fine, yeah.

00:12:03: And cocktail or mocktail?

00:12:04: Cocktail.

00:12:04: Cocktail.

00:12:05: Okay, we've got to get ready for the exhibitor party tonight.

00:12:07: So yeah, that's a good thing.

00:12:09: And I mean, as someone from France, you know, you have a lot to do with good.

00:12:15: wines but that's a different topic.

00:12:17: we're talking about the plastics and rubber here at the fair.

00:12:20: um so let's talk about your company.

00:12:22: tell me a little bit about the history so we can get into and explain it to review.

00:12:25: okay.

00:12:25: so adecal corporation is a japanese company we were founded about in nineteen seventeen in japan.

00:12:32: grew largely in the chemical area.

00:12:34: We started with caustic soda and then grew slowly.

00:12:37: And then in the six fifties, we started to get into plastics.

00:12:41: We came to Europe.

00:12:42: in this process, around two thousand, we came to Europe.

00:12:46: We started in France.

00:12:47: That's why we're still in France.

00:12:48: We grew our activities first through trading.

00:12:51: And then we added a factory.

00:12:53: So right now in France, well, Attica has about five thousand people, three billion.

00:12:58: But in France, we're about a hundred and twenty people.

00:13:00: So it's slowly growing.

00:13:01: but consistently growing.

00:13:03: So why is it important for you to be here at K?

00:13:07: This is an important platform and I still think it's the platform for the plastic industry where we meet.

00:13:13: We meet our suppliers, we meet our customers, we meet people which are down the value chain and people we never thought of.

00:13:20: So it's really a nice platform to meet the industry.

00:13:24: And so far, it's also been very interesting, the topics that are being discussed.

00:13:28: Would you say we're going to get into what you're presenting at the fair, but would you say one topic has been very present right now in the last couple of days?

00:13:35: Well, the present, the topic for our industry, which is very dominant right now, is that the industry isn't a type of change.

00:13:42: So the old ways work well, but they seem no longer to work in the future.

00:13:48: The crisis we had after COVID started a lot of thinking and the industry is looking for a new way.

00:13:54: So it's really I think a pivotal moment and it's I think it's exciting because we have to reposition the industry.

00:14:01: But it's a lot of difficulties, but a lot of fun depending on how you look at

00:14:06: what exactly challenges can be also very very fun.

00:14:09: You are presenting many things at the fair.

00:14:11: What is one of the things that you'd like to present to us here and tell us our viewers about?

00:14:15: Okay, so so our view about the industry is that in the last three four years there was a lot of cost-cutting.

00:14:21: This is the first way.

00:14:23: If you go into a crisis, you're trying to shed some pounds, that's fine, but this only gets you so far.

00:14:28: So what next?

00:14:29: And other guides, with our history, we are really good at innovation.

00:14:34: Japanese companies in general, and we in particular, are very good at innovation, taking up the challenge and driving technological growth.

00:14:41: So in our view, or what we are doing, trying to do now is... we brought for the first time since about twenty years, a really fundamentally new product to the market.

00:14:51: It's called Transparex.

00:14:53: Now, Transparex is a chemical additive that is added to polypropylene to push the boundaries of clarity.

00:14:59: So it's a clarifying agent, nucleating agent, and it's pushing the boundaries of clarity.

00:15:05: Why is that important?

00:15:06: Well, first of all, polypropylene, this is the material of choice for it.

00:15:11: It's the lowest CO₂ containing.

00:15:13: polymer.

00:15:14: So the industry is converging towards low carbon footprint.

00:15:18: If you push this product and you get nice clarity, you can go after the market of PET.

00:15:24: So you can start to replace PET with a lower cost and a lower CO two footprint product.

00:15:32: And if you dare to dream and push it further, you can even go off the glass.

00:15:35: So it allows you with a good commodity product to push the performance limits to go into applications where plastic has not been too present or you replace it with a lower sew.

00:15:47: two footpray.

00:15:48: Is the global market ready for this or are there certain regions that are more ready for this than other regions?

00:15:54: Well, it's like always.

00:15:56: the world is not a uniform box.

00:15:57: There are regions which are more advanced than others.

00:16:00: So clearly this product is largely focusing at the western industries for now, but the problem is the same everywhere.

00:16:07: So it doesn't mean that they will adapt it everywhere at the same time, but certain pockets will be starting.

00:16:12: Europe right now is the one which is most under pressure to come up with innovation and it's also the The area where innovation it's in our nature.

00:16:20: I mean we are used to be to to get our way out of crisis through innovation.

00:16:25: So Europe is a good place to start with.

00:16:27: other regions are having other priorities right now, but for us in Europe suffering from the imports from other regions Facing all these competitive pressure.

00:16:36: It's it's I think it's like a like a cooker pressure cooker.

00:16:41: It's ready to go.

00:16:43: take a new start.

00:16:44: Does being originally a Japanese company who weren't in Europe as well, is that helpful?

00:16:52: or sometimes does it stand in the way because there are just different ways of thinking?

00:16:57: Yes and yes.

00:16:58: So I mean, any global company has to deal with the fact that the world is not uniform.

00:17:03: Thanks God.

00:17:04: So you have to deal with the differences.

00:17:06: That's just there.

00:17:07: Now, we come from the eastern part of the world.

00:17:10: So you have.

00:17:12: Other are other elements that are important.

00:17:14: if you would come from the Western part like America in our case It's a fantastic plan because the way other guys developing over the years We are driving towards or driving towards become a global company with an with a Japanese soul.

00:17:28: now Japanese soul means what the Japanese are really good at is innovation is technological change.

00:17:35: What is a little bit more difficult in Japan is decision-making which means that decision making, it's a lot of thinking, it's a lot of discussion, it's a lot of considering of potential risk, so there's a lot of discussion.

00:17:47: Japanese companies tend to be slow, but once they decide to go, they go.

00:17:51: So it's not like they take a decision to go for three months and then they change, no.

00:17:55: They think for six months and then they go for the next ten years, which is good and bad.

00:18:00: Once you are in an area where persistency helps you, It's fantastic.

00:18:05: If you're in an area that is changing very fast, it can be a burden.

00:18:10: I was thinking, for me, Europe is not really that fast in making decisions either.

00:18:15: Or we would say that the Japanese market is even slower than the European market.

00:18:21: Slow is

00:18:23: a bad word.

00:18:23: Slow

00:18:23: is already in something, but it's more thoughtful.

00:18:28: And Europe is a lot about discussions.

00:18:30: We have more nations which contribute and Every nation Europe has its own priority.

00:18:35: so it's complicated, but I think it's it's a good thing because it really forces you to think through before you go into action, but.

00:18:42: The way ADECA is structured is also like we have a headquarter which is forcing us to be thoughtful, but the authority we have in Europe as ADECA, Primarily Europe, is quite large.

00:18:55: So we can act faster and the company wants local organizations to execute local priorities faster without always going back to headquarters.

00:19:03: So we have a lot of authority to do what we think is right in our geographical environment.

00:19:09: Asking you for a short answer to this last question in ten years, where will you and the industry be?

00:19:15: I know it's a hard one to answer and a couple of questions.

00:19:17: Well,

00:19:17: no, it's not a hard one because we believe in innovation, we believe in taking up challenges together with our customers and we believe in growth through technological innovation.

00:19:28: So for us, we continue to invest into technology, into innovation, pushing the boundaries of plastic and just making sure that we continue to grow.

00:19:37: In the future, unsolved, of course, the problems that are there today to be solved.

00:19:41: CO₂ emissions, circularity and so on.

00:19:44: Only because I thank you so much for your insights today.

00:19:46: It's been very interesting.

00:19:47: It's been an honor to have you on the show.

00:19:48: I wish you a wonderful OK and lots of good conversations.

00:19:53: Tomorrow at the show, you will also be able to have lots of conversations, especially if you are a young talent because we have the young or career Sunday where you're welcome to come to the fair and you don't even have to pay.

00:20:03: That's a wonderful thing.

00:20:05: Then we have women in plastics.

00:20:06: We have the young talents tour.

00:20:08: We have so much more.

00:20:09: Check out our website and make sure you tune into trade talk today.

00:20:13: Tomorrow, we have Adam Maltby and we have other guests on the show.

00:20:19: You know what?

00:20:20: I'm not going to give you so much information.

00:20:21: You just have to tune in and find it for yourself.

00:20:23: So see you tomorrow.

00:20:24: Can't wait to see you.

00:20:25: And I look forward to or I wish you a wonderful day.

00:20:30: This show was brought to you by

00:20:32: Adeca Polymers Additives Europe.