Plast in Milan has a more compact format, which made it particularly well suited to the kind of conversations we value most: more technical, more direct, without the fifteen-minute rush from one booth to the next that often comes with larger trade shows.
From June 9 to 12, Octagon exhibited at Hall 13, Booth P08, showcasing a key part of its portfolio: the full integration of its own equipment, including automatic air rings, width control, gravimetric dosing and IBC control, with proprietary software and an intuitive interface. This was not the first time Octagon had presented this level of integration at a trade show, but in Milan, the topic once again took center stage, driven by conversations with manufacturers visiting the booth.
One of the topics that attracted the most interest was the possibility of upgrading existing extrusion lines. Instead of replacing an entire machine, manufacturers can install an integrated width control system alongside IBC control and an automatic air ring on the extruder they already have. For those looking to modernize a production line without replacing their equipment or facing months of disruption, this opened up some valuable discussions.
The electronics also helped move conversations forward with machine manufacturers. Because Octagon uses Siemens technology in its own equipment, integration with the extruder’s CPU is straightforward. It is the same ecosystem most manufacturers already work with, without the need to adapt different protocols. In practical terms, this means sourcing the gravimetric dosing system, automatic air ring, width control and IBC control from a single supplier, with all systems already designed to communicate with one another.
The software itself also drew plenty of attention, particularly the overview screen. Visitors were impressed by the interface design as much as by its functionality, and some even returned to take another look at the screens before moving on to the next booth. This topic deserves a closer look of its own, and we will be exploring the software interface in more detail in a dedicated post soon.
Plast reinforced a point worth emphasizing: at Octagon, gravimetric dosing, automatic air rings, width control and IBC control are not separate modules that have to be made to work together. They come from the same supplier, run on the same software platform and use the same electrical ecosystem already found in most extrusion lines.
If you couldn’t visit us at Plast 2026 and would like to explore how this level of integration could work with your own production line, get in touch directly with the Octagon team.
