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South African (ARMSA) Conference 2004 Details courtesy of Petro Ward of the Plastics Federation of South Africa. Once
again, I believe we had a great Rotation 2004 Conference at the Krugersdorp Game
Reserve last month. Although we only had 58 delegates, which were 14 less than
last year, we had members and speakers from
Mark
Kearns of Queens
University, We
only had 13 entries for the Student Design compeition, which was down compared
to last year, but the standard of all the designs was very good. Nick and I went
to see WITS Technikon for a feedback session and they are very positive for next
year. Finally,
thanks to all those who help us make ARMSA a great success! Please, if anyone
has any good advise or input, do not hesitate to contact Petro or myself. WOW!
That about describes this year’s Rotation 2004 Conference, which was held on
12 & 13 May 2004 at the Ngonyama Lion Lodge and Conference Centre in
Krugersdorp, Gauteng. Even
though panic struck a week before the conference because of the low
registrations (41 at that stage), the rotomoulding industry woke up just in time
to avoid Petro from having a heart attack! In the end, 58 delegates from across Mark
Kearns of Queens University in Belfast Ireland - a familiar face to the industry
by now – was the main speaker and he presented papers on the following topics:
(1) The Reduction of Cycle Times in Direct Electrically Heated Rotational
Moulding; (2) New Material Developments; (3) Development of Nanocomposite filled
Polyethylenes for Rotational Moulding; and (4) Maximising the strength of
rotomoulded products. The other speakers included Annabé Pretorius of the
Plastics Federation (papers presented were (1) An overview of the SA Plastics
Industry, and (2) Hollow Part Manufacturing); Craig Bull of Henkel Surface
Technologies who presented a paper on PVC Plastisols; and Ewald de Wet of
Lomotek Polymers who presented a paper on Intellectual Properties and Patents.
Company Profiles were presented by Ivan Vullic of Cytec Industries in The
Netherlands; Clive Robertson of Lomotek Polymers; Spike Lemmer of Affirm
Marketing Services and Gary Lategan of Roto Solutions. Leon Joubert of Sasol
Polymers gave an update of Sasol Polymer’s Turbo Project. Unfortunately
the Product of the Year and Student Design Competitions were not well supported
this year. Ivy Blue Rotomoulders was the only company that submitted an entry
for the Product of the Year Competition. The ARMSA Committee decided that Ivy
Blue should receive a Merit of the Year Award for the Cooler Box entered into
the competition as the entry was indeed a worthy and well designed one! WITS
Technikon’s During
the conference discussions were held with regards to the future of the Rotation
Conferences, Rotomoulding Practical Workshops and the Product of the Year
competition. The majority of the
delegates agreed that the conference should be held annually, but in conjunction
with the practical workshop. The conference and practical workshop would
therefore be held annually, during the same week in the future. The structure
has not been formalised as yet, but we promise to keep you updated of all
developments! Also,
delegates decided that the Product of the Year Competition should continue to be
held each year, and at least five members committed themselves to entering
products into next year’s competition. The
organising committee really went all out this year and just proved once again
why it is definitely worth it to be involved with ARMSA. Each delegate received
a very handy conference bag and polar fleece jacket as gifts this year. A
cocktail function was held on the evening of the 12th, during which
African Drummers and Dancers gave a 2-hour long performance to guests (although
they were only paid for one hour!). The
delegates truly enjoyed this performance and every now and again the dancing
ladies dragged one or more of the delegates to the dance floor to join in the
fun (and this caused a few laughs in itself!)
Even
though most of the delegates got to bed quite late because of the socialising at
the cocktail function, 29 brave souls faced the cold early hours on the 13th
for a game drive through the game park. To many this was quite an experience as
a number of game were viewed and they even saw how a herd of lionesses and their
cubs were feeding on the remains of what once was a cow! For
some, the fun did not stop there. A few willing souls were ready to face another
early morning as a trip was organised down Kopanong Gold Mine (Vaal Reefs) for
Friday 14 May at 07:00. The
ARMSA Committee realises once again though that the conference would not have
been such a great success without the help of the sponsors, speakers and all the
delegates who attended. So here is a great big THANK YOU to our three sponsors,
Sasol Polymers; Affirm Marketing Services; and Lomotek Polymers. Another big
THANK YOU goes out to all our speakers, Mark Kearns; Craig Bull; Ewald de Wet;
Gary Lategan; Leon Joubert; Annabé Pretorius; Clive Robertson; Spike Lemmer and
Ivan Vullic! Lastly, but definitely not the least, THANK YOU to all the
delegates who attended this year! You make it worth it to be part of this
Association!! We trust that next year’s conference will be even bigger and
better than before!
This Year’s Speakers (from left to right) Ivan Vullic; Spike Lemmer; Craig Bull; Annabé
Pretorius; Gary Lategan; Mark Kearns; Clive Robertson; John Thorpe; Ewald de
Wet; Leon Joubert
The
three winning students (from left to right) Neil
de Kock (1st) Ehrard
Wiese (2nd) Theonette
Mostert (3rd) With
Nick Aggett of Sasol Polymers
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