The UK’s Polymer Machinery Manufacturer and Distributors Association (PMMDA) is to become an independent body from January 2014.
Having been acquired by the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA Group) in 2010, the 30-member strong PMMDA trade association wishes to develop “a more bespoke offering” to members that is fully aligned with the polymer sector.
The PPMA Group’s main focus is processing and packaging machinery, automation, industrial robots and industrial vision systems, and it publishes magazines specifically for these markets as well as operating a major annual trade show.
Richard Little, chairman of the PPMA Group, says: “We are fully supportive of the PMMDA’s decision to become independent and more focused on the plastics sector."
Management of the PPMA Show, which was brought back in-house from Reed Exhibitions in 2013, is gaining “tremendous industry support”, Little says, but it does not specifically address the polymer sector.
“As the PMMDA represents only 8 per cent of the membership of the Group, it is difficult to give it more focus than we have over the last three years.”
PMMDA chairman Nigel Flowers says: “The move has been on the cards for some time, we will continue to canvass industry statistics and provide the same membership services as before.
“Independence has been approved by 18 out of the 30 member companies.”