An ISO machinerycommittee is born

Following a proposal from UNI (the Italian standards organisation), ISO (the International Organization for Standardisation) has set up a new technical committee, ISO/TC 270 "Plastic and rubber machines," whose aim will be to develop international technical standards in the field of plastic and rubber processing machinery, particularly as regards the safety requirements of machines. This is a very important development, especially for Italy.
"One of the consequences of market globalization," remarks Claudio Celata, Assocomaplast advisor and candidate as chair of the new technical committee, "is that an ever-increasing proportion of plastic and rubber processing machinery, which until a few years ago was largely built in Europe and marketed in Europe, is now built in other parts of the world. Obviously, the globalisation process works two ways and if it is true that European products can be sold to a vast range of users, the European market must necessarily be open to non-EU products. Hence the need to standardise the safety requirements of these machines on a greater scale, so as to ensure that machines failing to meet the appropriate safety levels do not find their way on to the European market."
The aim, though the international activity of the new committee, ISO/TC 270 "Plastic and rubber machines," is to raise and homogenise the average safety levels of plastic and rubber processing machinery. "The problem of acceptable levels of machinery safety in a global market," points out Claudio Celata, "is undoubtedly an important one, needing to be solved. In recent years Assocomaplast, thanks to an agreement with the Italian Customs Office, has been able to check the safety of machines imported from non-EU countries and has indeed often found a marked difference in safety standards."
Italy has around 200 manufacturers of plastic and rubber processing machinery and around 6000 companies that use these machines. Even though these figures do not compare with those of an emerging industrial giant like China, our country nevertheless occupies, in this sector, second place in Europe, after Germany, and ahead of France and the UK. In short, it is an important sector for our country, and the establishment of ISO/TC 270 represents international recognition of its vitality and authoritativeness. Milan will provide the venue, on 13-14 December 2012, for the kick-off meeting, which will lay the operating foundations for the activity of the newly formed committee.