Each day we talk with plastics professionals (resin suppliers, oems and design engineers, and plastics processors). It's exciting to get a pulse on the industry, and though there are nifty trends reports and high-paid analysts discussing upswing patters in the plastics industry, the proof comes from something very simple - the actual people in the trenches.

The people we talk with day-in and day-out are really getting pumped for this year. Resin buyers are taking a proactive approach to finding alternative resins as a way to save costs, and more people are turning to the web for answers to their problems.

So this article is to provide you with some tools and information to get you and your company off to a successful start for 2006!

Happy New Year!
The IDES Prospector Pro Team

1. Blog: Using Pro in '06

Mike's here to provide you with 'Pro' expertise! Every so often, Mike Dorssom who heads up our Prospector division writes short articles with useful tips so that you can get the most of our Prospector Pro.

Here's Mike's tip for this month.

2. Webinars: Auto Specs, Alternative Resins, Universal Setup Sheet

New this year, IDES is providing several complimentary webinars from top industry experts. This month we're please to bring you the expertise from John Bozzelli who will be discussing his Universal Approach to Injection Molding.

We'll also be talking about using Auto Specs Search and Alternative Resins Search in short 30-minute presentations.

Here's a list of upcoming plastics webinars.

3. Article: RoHs Explained

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) is the nickname given to the European Union's directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. RoHS is closely related to the European Union's directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). RoHS references Annex 1A of WEEE to specify its scope of coverage (Categories 1-7 and 10).

While closely related, RoHS and WEEE deal with different parts of the product life cycle. RoHS seeks to reduce the amount of hazardous materials entering electronic products while WEEE deals with reducing the amount of electronics entering landfills. RoHS is the beginning, and WEEE is the end. Now is the time to determine the impact of RoHS on one's business because the directive goes into effect on July 1, 2006.

Read the full article on RoHS.

4. New CostMate®: Injection Molding Part Cost Estimator

Back by popular demand, the new CostMate® can help you assess the true cost of a plastic part.

"Plastic part cost estimating is simple in principle, but one can get caught up in all the details, especially if you're not an expert," says Mike Kmetz, President of IDES. "We've found that there is a need for a fast and accurate way to understand the cost drivers when producing a part. CostMate® does a really nice job and we'll make it better based on all of the great feedback we've had."

• Try the NEW CostMate® - Injection Molding Part Cost Estimator

5. Plastic Processors Directory: Connecting OEMs with Molders

The Plastic Processors Directory from IDES helps to connect you with Plastics Processors to mold your product applications. Once the directory is more populated, we'll provide ways to search and sort the list by processing capabilities, markets, and geographic region.

The Plastic Processors Directory is easy to find. Simply click on 'Processors' in the heading on any page of The Plastics Web® to access the Plastic Processors Directory.

6. Resin Pricing Report

A special thanks to our members and customers who have generously submitted the price they've paid for resin. We're able to organize their information into a useful Resin Pricing Report that we update every month.

• What price are you paying for resin?
• View Resin Pricing Report

7. 4th Quarter Plastics Materials Update

During the 4th Quarter of 2005, we completely updated information for Advanced Elastomer Systems (AES), GE Plastics (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific), Noveon Inc. and PlastxWorld Inc.

• Beginning material count (10/01/2005): 59,780
• Ending material count (12/31/2005): 61,591
• Net increase in resin data sheets: 1,811
  • New / Updated Materials: 5,088
  • Removed / Discontinued Materials: 411

View complete 4th Quarter Plastics Materials Data Report.

Note: IDES updates our materials database every two weeks, however if you are unable to locate a specific datasheet or plastics property value using Pro, let us know and we'll track it down for you - often within 2 hours!

8. Thermoplastics Weekly Summary

Jim Best, a 30-year plastics industry veteran, works every day to collect all news issues related to Thermoplastics and wraps it up into a useful and succinct weekly report. Subscribers can receive the report by email or visit the Thermoplastics Weekly Summary website for the latest information.

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