Most everyone who supplies the extrusion industry had a presence at this show, but there was little really new machinery. This highlights the changed purpose of such shows - to do business, make contacts, get answers to technical problems, compare offerings, and buy/sell products. To be sure, there were new things on almost every stand, but few basic changes.
There were more synchronous motors to be seen: Reifenhauser featured them, and Macchi uses them for all their new film lines. They still cost slightly more than the competitive AC flux vector motors, even considering that they need no gears. They are preferred for coextrusion lines, as they allow removal of screws from the rear, and their smaller space allows easier movement from one extruder to another. Superspeed extruders were around, too, as expected - single-screw lines that run at 800 rpm and even faster. I am a rare skeptic regarding this development -- it is true that they produce more for the same diameter, but the risk of greater thickness variation, the dangers of overheating, and the unknown fallout from anything new makes me cautious.