<h1><strong>The Hungarian electrical switch factory switched to energy saving</strong></h1>
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<p>VA Elektronika Zrt., a supplier to Electrolux and Husquarna, replaced its machinery with the help of Thege-Plastic Kft. From the Chinese injection molding machines, the company expects a drastic reduction in electricity bills in addition to an increase in quality, which is in line with its efforts to protect the environment.</p>
<p>The main profile of VA Elektronika Zrt., founded in 1953, is the production of electrical switches, push buttons, and signal lights. Their products can be found in the offer of major Hungarian electrical retailers, such as Mentavill Kft., Sonepar Kft. or Daniella Kft., and they also deliver to world-class companies such as HAJDU Hajd&uacute;s&aacute;gi Iparművek Zrt., Electrolux and Husquarna.</p>
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<h1><strong>Quality and environmental protection with Chinese injection molding machines</strong></h1>
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<p>In the injection molding workshop of VA Elektronika Zrt., machines manufactured in the 1980s still provided service, the reliability of which has worn out over the years. During the assessment of the needs of the partners, the company came to the conclusion that it would be worthwhile to replace the machine park with a more modern and, last but not least, more environmentally friendly one. At the same time as the company's decision, tender notice No. GINOP-1.2.1-16-2017 was published, with the help of which the company received a 50 percent subsidy for the purchase of the machines.</p>
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<h1><strong>The electricity bill can be reduced by up to 80 percent with ChenHsong machines</strong></h1>
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<p>VA Elektronika Zrt. put into service five pieces of ChenHsong injection molding machines distributed by Thege-Plastic Kft. Today, Chinese machines have beaten American and European competitors in many areas, and their prices are very popular in the less capital-intensive Hungarian market, said M&aacute;t&eacute; Konkoly-Thege. The head of the company emphasized that Chinese injection molding machines can reduce electricity bills by up to 80 percent during such an exchange, which in addition to competitiveness also reduces the environmental burden.</p>

The ORIGO article is about us, as VA Elektronika Zrt., a supplier to Electrolux and Husquarna, replaced its machinery with the help of Thege-Plastic Kft. In the injection molding workshop of the Hungarian company, the machines manufactured in the 1980s still provided service, the reliability of which has worn out over the years, so they came to the decision that it would be worthwhile to replace the machine park with a more modern and, last but not least, more environmentally friendly one.

ORIGO has wrote about uss!

<h3><strong>The world's plastics industry has already taken the green path, but in our country the transition is even further away</strong></h3>
<p><br>At home, used German injection moldings are bought, even though the new ones are much more environmentally friendly.</p>
<p>At the 2019 D&uuml;sseldorf K-show, the world's largest plastics industry trade fair, manufacturers bid against each other to curb environmental damage. The theme of the exhibition is the former, which the European Union regards as the key to competitiveness. Unsurprisingly, most of the plastic industry manufacturers presented machines that, in addition to narrow recycling, show serious progress in the area of carbon dioxide emissions and energy saving, as well as in connection with material consumption.</p>
<h3><strong>Smart grinders for 80 percent less electricity use</strong></h3>
<p><br>These efforts can be well illustrated by the presentation of some exhibiting companies and their products, such as the Swedish manufacturer Rapid, which can be considered the first step in recycling processes. It can also be said about the Scandinavians that they always treat nature conservation as a priority, nevertheless it is a big leap that the machine consumes up to 80 percent less electricity compared to the previous series thanks to the so-called EnergySMART system, which simply means that the machine he works only when and as he is tasked.</p>
<h3><strong>Injection molding companies can use more and more recycled materials</strong></h3>
<p><br>The fruit of the work of the Scandinavian company, the plastic granulate obtained from waste, also played a central role at the exhibition. There was practically no manufacturer that did not highlight that their devices handle recycled materials better without quality degradation, so less new plastic has to be produced. Chinese companies working with capacities that are almost unfathomable by European standards, including 10,000-15,000 Hong Kong-based ChenHsong on an annual basis, have also raised this issue. The Chinese ChenHsong promoted its injection moldings with recyclable materials and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.</p>
<h3><br>ChenHsong's new technology curbs plastic production</h3>
<p><br>The company presented its image unit, the IU200-MK6, during which the core layer is filled with grinding material, which means that the inside of the product is made of recycled material, while only the outer, visible layer is made of new plastic. Another major commitment of the manufacturer was carbon dioxide neutrality, which was represented by their JM328-MK6 injection molding machine, for which a unit capable of the so-called sandwich technique was already installed. The Chinese manufacturer also presented the first fully electric SM100-SPARK, which was made with Japanese technology, since the island country is the undisputed pioneer of the fully electric machine market.</p>
<h3>Electric injection molding machines represent a change similar to what can be observed in cars</h3>
<p><br>JSW (Japan Steel Works) has been the market leader in its market for decades, and, by the way, they are at the forefront in the field of working and biodegradable plastics, emphasized M&aacute;t&eacute; Konkoly-Thege. The managing director of Thege-Plastic emphasized that the injection molding of "green plastic" was also presented at the K-show with their fancy-named J350ADS-890H-EHD machine. In the case of electric injection molding machines, it is difficult not to draw an analogy with the automotive industry, with the difference that the former industry started the transition much earlier, so the price difference is not that big. Otherwise, they are completely similar in everything else: they are more reliable, their production is simpler, they require less material and energy and they emit much less harmful substances - he concluded. The Japanese JSW only manufactures fully electric injection molding machines.</p>
<h3>In addition to nature, the transition also helps the return</h3>
<p><br>Staying with the car analogy, it is true for the majority of the Hungarian injection molding industry that they prefer used German machines over similarly priced, new and guaranteed injection molding machines from the Far East. The problem with this is that machines that are often driven to death are much more polluting. However, utility savings of 30-40 percent can be achieved with a new Chinese injection molding machine compared to a 5-8-year-old German machine, while the electricity bill can be reduced by up to 80 percent when replacing an older machine park, not to mention that the payback period can be reduced to up to 4 years.</p>
<p>The above phenomenon is partially explained by the decreasing intensity and difficult conditions of tenders, even though the subsidies can only be applied to new machines. At the same time, there are several good examples, recently at VA Elektronika Zrt., but also at Pem&uuml; Műanyagipari Zrt. and its health care machines and environmentally friendly machines are also running.</p>

In practice, the K-show cannot be missed in the plastics industry, for which our company has specially prepared, among others, we drew attention to the event on the front page of Polimerek Magazin. After the event, we published a press release in which we presented how the industry players acted against environmental pollution. We highlighted Rapid's new grinder, the oneCUT PRO, which uses up to 80 percent less energy than its predecessors. ChenHsong is also taking action on several fronts against damage, such as carbon emissions and the use of recycled materials. The Japanese JSW fully electric injection molding machines were also highlighted in our article, which, in addition to the Index, was also published by Origó, Növekedes.hu and Márkamonitor, just to name a few.

We appeared on Index with our Partners

<h3>How did the ban affect the plastics industry?</h3>
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<p>It is also worth examining the issue from the perspective of the regulatory environment and the market. From the manufacturer and regulatory side, I can say that although the government ordered a ban on the marketing of a number of single-use and certain other plastic products, and the transition was announced in advance, the negotiations with the organizations did not yield an acceptable result for the profession. The background to the ban is that in May 2019, the European Union's General Affairs Council officially accepted the ban on single-use plastics. According to the new regulations, the use of disposable plastic products that can be replaced with alternative products is prohibited. The Hungarian legislature adopted this very strict EU directive one by one. The transition in the neighboring countries was longer and more scheduled, moreover, it was possible to better take into account the interests of the profession and provide them with the necessary transition. The Hungarian market players have received so much relief that they can still use up their stock.</p>
<p>The question is, for example, how will the manufacturer, which supplied plastic products to healthcare facilities before the regulation, be able to sell them at the same price, since part of the buyer's market has been eliminated, and the utilization of its production capacity has become much lower.</p>
<p><strong>According to the news published on the kormany.hu website, "...the environmental protection product price for traditional plastic bags will be increased from the current HUF 57 per kilogram to HUF 1,900 per kilogram. Thus, the environmental protection fee will increase to an average of five forints per bag, with which I would like to encourage economical use. We encouraged the manufacturers involved in the technological transition in 2020 with tender assistance of 10 billion." What are the solutions for tender grants?</strong></p>
<p>Pursuant to the government decree, it is forbidden to put on the market plastic ear cleaning sticks, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers, sticks to be attached to and hold balloons, food containers made of expanded polystyrene, drink containers, glasses. And indeed, the decree also covers the placing on the market of light plastic carrier bags, commonly known as "bags", with a wall thickness of 15 microns and above. The exceptions to this are products made of biodegradable plastic and very light plastic carrier bags. The latter include pouches with a wall thickness of less than 15 microns and whose use is mainly for hygiene purposes, but they are also used for the primary packaging of bulk food in cases where it helps prevent food waste.</p>
<p>It should be known that the film sector, such as manufacturers of agricultural and other packaging, vacuum filmers or companies dealing with the packaging of intermediate pieces, use an extremely large amount of plastic, yet less is said about it. In some respects, these areas of use are put under the same umbrella as the plastic bags displayed in the public sense, which is not practical. I think that sooner or later, manufacturers will be forced to pass on their additional costs to consumers. Even a grant of 10 billion won't be able to remedy this, since the problem is much more complex than that.</p>
<p>But there is also the "Green National Champions - Support for technological development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the green economy" application, which was also invented specifically to help the manufacturer side, but in this case we are also talking about an opportunity from last year, while the prohibitive law from this year.</p>
<p>Therefore, on the regulatory side, additional funds are generated, which are used for good things, for placing selective bins, improving the system or for tender funds, but this makes even more of us lack forward thinking. I hope we can change this over time.</p>
<h3>What do you experience on the consumer side?</h3>
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<p>Companies must not only make their own operations more environmentally conscious, but also encourage their customers to think responsibly. All this while, in my opinion, it is not the plastic that is to blame, but the person who uses it badly.<br>The area that affects us all the most in this regard is food packaging materials, which are usually made of plastic, precisely because there was not enough of certain materials, such as aluminum, to address a previously existing problem of environmental impact, so plastic became the right alternative. The food industry is facing a big challenge. The European Union has been advocating for a long time the new regulation of product packaging regulations, and as they come into being, they will certainly be introduced in the Hungarian market as well.</p>
<p>For consumers who are reluctant to use plastic, there have been alternatives. Just think of the textile bag! However, we must know that more water is needed to produce them, as for plastic bags, not to mention cellulose. Just as the biodegradable plastic bags sold in more and more places also have raw materials, so it is always necessary to buy them from somewhere. In addition, these cannot be composted either, at least under home conditions. Many people are calling for manufacturers to return to glass bottles instead of PET. However, they do not know that the same capacity could not be met for sure, nor that the environmental impact of a bottle is greater than that of plastic if they are collected and recycled. I think plastic has been called a scapegoat, while there is currently no suitable alternative.</p>
<p><strong>In a previous interview, he said that although there are promising developments, the breakthrough must happen sooner or later, but they will not be able to replace the endlessly wide palette that plastics offer in the packaging industry, the automotive industry, or the construction industry. .</strong></p>
<p>I absolutely stand by my statement. Plastic is a great material and has many good uses. In certain areas, such as the health sector, we would not be able to replace it with anything. Rather, something should be done with plastics that satisfy comfort needs. To do this, we all need to take action together. As long as we wish for a spectacular change, but drink our morning coffee from a plastic cup, there will be no progress, only loud words.</p>
<h3>What machine-related developments can help domestic companies to manufacture products that comply with the new regulations?</h3>
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<p>The partners of Thege-Plastic Kft. pay special attention to energy saving during the entire production process. Technological development is also a big help in this. Of course, in order for everyone to be able to replace their fleet with an environmentally friendly alternative, the prices had to be favorable, but today this is not an obstacle either. In addition to European machine manufacturers, we also offer cheaper Chinese or more expensive Japanese machines. The Far East is ahead of the European market in many respects, this is especially true for grinding machines, which are extremely important in terms of scrap processing and extrusion. In Hungary, we are talking about a relatively large market, more and more people are putting machine lines into operation to regranulate. But almost all manufacturers, such as Shanghai's Jwell represented by Thege-Plastic Kft., as well as Japan's JSW, have dedicated machines for the production of degradable plastics.</p>
<h3>Currently, the components of recycled plastics are not regulated or standardized. Why would it be important to change the current practice?</h3>
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<p>When a manufacturer buys recycled material from abroad, he does not necessarily know whether he will receive exactly the raw material he requested, but it is also possible that he will be delivered contaminated goods. These may seem like small things, but they can also determine whether someone uses regranulate or not. Regulation exists for virgin raw materials, a similar one would be needed for regranulated plastics as well. I trust that this pan-European demand will be able to create a system for categorizing recycled plastics that spans national borders.</p>
<p>The article was originally published on the ProfitLine website, thank you for the interview!</p>

As of the second half of this year, the sale of certain single-use plastic products and products made from oxidatively degradable plastic is prohibited in Hungary. How did the ban affect the players in the plastics industry? How do consumers respond to the question? What machine-related developments can help domestic companies to manufacture products that comply with the new regulations? We went over the topic with Máté Konkoly-Thege, the managing director of Thege-Plastic Kft., which deals in the trade of plastic machinery and industrial robots.

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