TABLE OF CONTENTS When the Hyatt brothers, John and Isaiah, built and patented the first injection moulding machine in 1872, it is doubtful if they could possibly have imagined the impact this invention would have on the world. It spawned a worldwide industry employing approximately 0.5 million workers in the US alone.
Miscellaneous plastics products which also includes other plastic manufacturing industries such as extrusion, is the 4 th largest manufacturing industry in the US. In 2001, it was estimated that there were 21,000 operating plastics industry establishments in the US, generating approximately $321 billion in shipments. If upstream, supplying industries are also included, this total annual shipment is nearly $409 billion. The smaller UK plastics sector by comparison is worth 18 billion annually.
In Western Europe the consumption of thermoplastic materials alone in 2002 was around 33 million tonnes. Of this, engineering resins reached a market size of around 2.5 million tonnes. The country to country usage of materials varies widely, for example Italy is the largest consumer of unsaturated polyester resins in Europe consuming 23% of the European market demand in 2002. 27% of all plastic consumed is used by injection moulders. The biggest injection moulding industry of all the European countries is found in Germany which not surprisingly therefore uses the most raw material.
The packaging sector accounts for about 24% of this market, with the automotive industry 18% and the electrical equipment industry 18%. Other important markets for plastics materials are the construction industry...
