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# Making Vinyl Europe 2026: Exhibitor Briefing and Questions
Event: Making Vinyl Europe 2026, PHIL Haarlem (Lange Begijnestraat 11),
30 September to 2 October 2026. Theme "Building Value Beyond Volume".
Attendee list (17 Sep 2026): https://makingvinyl.com/europe-2026-attendee-list
Program (Whova app): https://makingvinyl.com/europe-2026-schedule/
The eleven names below are the booths on the event app's floor map.
Company facts are from vendor sites and the Making Vinyl channels, checked
19 September 2026; anything not on a datasheet is a vendor claim. Questions
are written against this repo's open items (roadmap Phase 1 quotes, the
traceability spec, the steam decision, the Thai PVC lead, the 50/50 fleet).
## Priority order for the three days
1. **Newbilt** and **Pheenix Alpha**: the pressing-line decision. Both must
leave Haarlem with a re-quote in motion.
2. **M-Tech Engineering**: the only Asian press vendor on the floor, and
the only one advertising a non-steam option. Cheap to check, could
reshape the steam question.
3. **PlastChem, CAF, Granulat2000**: three compounders in one room. Same
question sheet to all three, compare answers.
4. **Matrix 4.0, Sibert**: stamper bridge and stamper prep.
5. **Tullis Russell, IBA Hartmann**: consumables and packaging benchmarks.
6. **High End Society**: demand side, not a supplier.
## Questions for everyone (ask at every booth, note the answers side by side)
1. Do you have customers in Thailand or Southeast Asia? Who, and can we
contact them?
2. How do you handle service for a plant 10,000 km from your workshop:
remote diagnostics, regional partner, spare-parts stocking list,
guaranteed response time?
3. Current lead time from order to delivery, and payment terms. (The BOI
duty-free import window runs roughly 30 months from the certificate;
machinery must arrive inside it.)
4. Incoterms and packing for sea freight to Laem Chabang; any experience
with Thai import formalities.
5. Which of your products or processes are sensitive to a tropical climate
(30 °C, 60 to 90 % RH ambient, burning-season PM2.5)? What do your
customers in hot, humid regions do differently?
6. "Value beyond volume": if you were building a new 1 to 1.5 million
record/year plant in 2026 with a clean sheet, what would you do
differently from the plants built in 2016 to 2022?
---
## 1. CAF srl (Truccazzano, Milan, Italy)
**What they are.** Plastics processor since 1976, in Truccazzano since
1979. Product lines: PVC compound for phonographic records, silicone
sealant cartridges, thread spools, ABL tubes. Exports to the US via CAF NA
Corp (customs records show ~12 t shipments from Genoa). Already on this
repo's 2021 PVC supplier list; never quoted.
Site: https://cafsrl.com/ (Italian only).
**Why they matter.** One of the few dedicated record-compound producers in
Europe; the record line is a side business next to industrial products,
which usually means good pricing and thin technical support.
**Questions.**
- Record compound share of your output, and how many pressing plants you
supply today (references we can call).
- Stabiliser system (Ca/Zn vs. other), lead-free confirmation, REACH and
RoHS documentation we can hand to Thai customs and to customers.
- Black and colour portfolio: how many stock colours, transparent/opaque,
and how do you handle splatter and effect work (pre-coloured compound vs.
masterbatch we dose ourselves).
- Tolerance for in-house regrind: we plan ~20 % recycled from our own
grinder. Any limit before noise floor or flow changes?
- Price per kg FOB Genoa and CIF Bangkok for black 12" compound at 20 t
and 40 t per year; MOQ; packaging (25 kg sacks vs. big bags); shelf life
and storage guidance in a hot, humid warehouse.
- Sea-freight lead time and whether you already ship to Asia.
- Have you ever worked with a Thai or Southeast Asian compounder, or
licensed a formulation for local production?
## 2. Granulat2000 (Granulat GmbH, Troisdorf-Spich, Germany)
**What they are.** PVC compounder and masterbatch maker. Brand "Troilit"
covers hard PVC compounds; their product list explicitly includes "record
mass" (Schallplattenmasse). Also colour concentrates and additive
masterbatches (Troibatch), fibre compounds (Troispun). ISO 9001. Exhibited
at K 2025. Contact: info@granulat2000.com, +49 2241 9636-0.
Site: https://www.granulat.de/en/
**Why they matter.** Compound *and* masterbatch under one roof. The
ResurRec photographs showed "MADE IN THAILAND ... Pigment" sacks; the
masterbatch question (dose colour ourselves into a local base compound) is
exactly Granulat2000's specialty.
**Questions.**
- Same compound questions as CAF (stabiliser, regrind tolerance, price at
20/40 t, MOQ, shelf life, Asia shipping).
- Do you sell colour masterbatch for records separately from base
compound? Dosing ratios, which carrier resin, and can it be used with a
third-party (Thai) base compound?
- Batch-to-batch colour consistency: do you supply colour-metric data with
each lot (their site says yes for panels; ask for records)?
- Do you know of any Thai or Southeast Asian PVC compounder producing
record grade, or would you consider tolling / licensing a recipe to one?
- Melt-flow and thermal stability data sheet for the record grade, and
recommended extruder zone temperatures for a Newbilt VEX 50 or a Pheenix
AD12 extruder.
## 3. High End Society (Wuppertal, Germany)
**What they are.** Organiser of the HIGH END show, the largest hi-fi
exhibition (500 exhibitors, 1,000 brands, ~23,000 visitors), which moved
from Munich to Vienna in 2026 (HIGH END Vienna 2027: 6 to 9 May). Gold
sponsor of Making Vinyl Europe 2026. Not a supplier; they are the
audiophile demand side.
Site: https://www.highendsociety.de/
**Why they matter.** The plant's positioning is quality and traceability,
not volume. The audiophile channel is the one that pays for that.
**Questions.**
- What do audiophile buyers and hi-fi press actually judge a pressing on
today: weight, flatness, noise floor, plating quality, packaging? Which
of these do they measure, and which are perception?
- Is there measurable growth in the Asian audiophile market (Japan, Korea,
China, Thailand, Singapore)? Do you run or partner on shows in Asia?
- Would an Asian pressing plant with a full quality/traceability story be
of interest to HIGH END exhibitors (audiophile labels, turntable brands
bundling records)? Who should we talk to?
- What does "value beyond volume" look like from the listener side: are
audiophile reissues, half-speed masters, and one-step pressings still
growing, or plateauing?
- Cost and format of a small exhibitor presence at HIGH END Vienna 2027.
## 4. IBA Hartmann (Augsburg, Germany)
**What they are.** Print and packaging manufacturer, 60+ years. For vinyl:
the "Smartsleeve" tip-on cover (thick board core, laminated printed
sheets), Mediabook vinyl-size hardcover, LP box sets, gatefolds with
glued-in booklets, hot-foil numbered limited editions, an "iba green"
sustainable line. Fully automated production. Contact:
hallo.logo@iba-hartmann.de, +49 821 79409-0.
Site: https://logo.iba-hartmann.de/en/package/vinyl-covers/
**Why they matter.** The plan is to source jackets and sleeves from
Chiang Mai carton makers, none identified yet. IBA is the benchmark for
what a premium jacket spec looks like; take samples home and hand them to
the local candidates.
**Questions.**
- Ask for physical samples: standard single jacket, tip-on Smartsleeve,
gatefold with booklet, box set. Ask for the technical spec behind each
(board grammage, paper, lamination, varnish/foil).
- Which spec do the big European plants order as the default, and which
as the premium option? Rough price ladder at 500 / 2,000 / 5,000 units.
- Do you export to Asia, and at what run size does it make sense vs. a
local carton maker?
- What do local packaging suppliers most often get wrong when a plant
tries to replicate a tip-on jacket (glue, board memory, print
registration, warping in humidity)?
- Sustainable line: FSC, recycled board, plastic-free lamination. What do
labels actually order?
- Do you supply inner sleeves and printed labels too, or only outer
packaging?
## 5. M-Tech Engineering (Hong Kong; factory in Guangzhou; partner MCS Sironi, Italy)
**What they are.** Machine builder from the optical-disc industry now
selling vinyl equipment: **Allegro II** production line ("steam and
compatible with non-steam system", automatic and manual modes, 7"/10"/12",
ten Mitsubishi servo axes, Mitsubishi Q motion control, DLC-coated moulds,
fast stamper exchange, remote support via TeamViewer), **Adagio** manual
line (extruder, press, trimmer), **Vivace** cutting lathe (Mitsubishi PLC,
0.001 mm table flatness claim), and a sputtering service (titanium, gold,
platinum coating on pressed records). Reference install: Press On Vinyl
(UK) runs Allegro II lines. Contacts: Man Lui
(man.lui@m-tech-engineering.com), Peter Tsang
(info@m-tech-engineering.com); Guangzhou: Ken Deng, Mark Chen.
Site: https://m-tech-engineering.com/
**Why they matter.** Three reasons: they are 3 hours' flight from Chiang
Mai (service, spares, training in the same time zone); the non-steam
option speaks directly to the open steam decision (electric vs. biomass vs.
solar-thermal); and the lathe is the only alternative to Agnew Analog on
the floor. The trade-off is the unknown: reputation, build quality and
longevity are unproven compared with Newbilt/Pheenix.
**Questions.**
- Non-steam heating: what is it exactly (electric oil/water, induction),
cycle time and energy per record vs. steam, and how many non-steam lines
are in production today? Can we visit one?
- Cycle time and yield in daily production at Press On Vinyl or another
reference, not the brochure figure. Uptime measured over what period?
- Semi-automatic mode: is one Allegro II a credible replacement for a
Newbilt-type manual press on splatter and effect work, or is it an
automatic press with the guards open?
- Utilities: steam pressure and kg/cycle (if steam), cooling water flow
and temperature, compressed air, electrical load, footprint, floor load.
- Controls and data: Mitsubishi PLC, is there OPC UA or MQTT access to
cycle parameters for our traceability system? Who owns the PLC program?
- Adagio manual line: full spec and price of extruder + press + trimmer;
mould compatibility with third-party stampers (Newbilt/Toolex geometry?).
- Vivace lathe: cutter head and electronics supplied with it or sourced
separately, references who cut on it daily, lead time and price.
- Service model for Thailand: engineer travel from Guangzhou, spare-parts
stock, warranty terms, training in English.
- Price and lead time for one Allegro II, and for a two-press cell.
## 6. Matrix 4.0 (Peschiera Borromeo, Milan, Italy)
**What they are.** Independent stamper maker since 2001, originally
optical-disc glass masters and stampers, now also vinyl stampers (7"/10"/
12") and lacquer cutting. Exports to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and
the Far East. Claims to be the only independent company in Europe making
both vinyl and digital stampers.
Site: https://vinylstamper.com/
**Why they matter.** Second candidate for the stamper bridge (buy stampers
while the in-house galvanics line is built), next to Stamper Discs (also
attending, no booth). Optical-disc background means they work with
nickel-thickness and flatness metrology, which is what the quality
automation spec asks for.
**Questions.**
- Turnaround from lacquer received to stamper shipped; DDP delivery to
Chiang Mai; price for a 12" 3-step set and for extra stampers per side.
- Which Far East customers do you supply today? Any in Southeast Asia?
- Which press moulds do you form stampers for (Newbilt, Toolex/Pheenix,
Viryl, M-Tech)? Do you supply them punched and coined, or flat?
- Quality data with each stamper: nickel thickness, TIR, surface
inspection; can we get a certificate per part with a serial we can log?
- Do you offer DMM cutting as well as lacquer? Cost difference.
- Would you consider consulting or training for a plant setting up its
own silvering/electroforming room (process know-how is the hardest hire
for this project)? Terms.
- Can you cut for us and keep the lacquer/father in Milan, shipping only
mothers/stampers, to reduce freight risk?
## 7. Newbilt Machinery (Alsdorf, Germany)
**What they are.** Our primary semi-automatic candidate (Single 2.1: VEX 50
extruder + HRP 12 press, Duplex upgrade path; June 2024 quote EUR
200,549.50 incl. freight, expired) and builder of the Classic 12" fully
automatic press (3-column hydraulic frame, built-in 15 kW extruder,
automatic patty/label/cooling-plate handling, Siemens Safety PLC with
10" touchscreen, 28 s cycle even at 180 g, claimed ≥95 % yield and ≥95 %
uptime). Duplex: two presses on one extruder, ~30 s average cycle.
ResurRec Bangkok runs one Classic 12" plus one semi-automatic Newbilt.
Contact in this repo: Hans-Juergen Helm.
Site: https://newbilt-machinery.com/machines-equipment/
**Why they matter.** The Newbilt-only path covers both fleet halves from
one vendor. The re-quote is roadmap item 4.
**Questions.**
- Re-quote of the June 2024 Single 2.1 / Duplex offer at 2026 prices;
current build time and order-book position; validity period.
- Budget price and delivery time for the Classic 12" automatic, and for a
mixed fleet of 2 semi-auto + 2 Classic 12".
- Basis of the ≥95 % yield and uptime figures: measured where, over what
period, at what run lengths, which stoppages are excluded (stamper
changes, colour changes, label reels)?
- PLC data access as a purchase requirement: OPC UA / SCADA tags for
temperatures, pressures, cycle time, counts per stamper; who owns the
PLC program; remote access model. (Traceability spec: log at the source.)
- Thai install base: who serviced ResurRec, response time on the last
call-out, spare parts stocked in Asia or shipped from Alsdorf.
- Steam: confirm 10 bar saturated, kg per cycle for HRP 12 and Classic
12"; any customer running on electric or biomass boilers (Deepgrooves
style)? Any non-steam development?
- 7"/10" changeover: insert sets, time to change, and whether the Classic
12" is 12"-only (the name suggests it).
- Mould geometry: are stampers from Stamper Discs / Matrix 4.0 / a
Pheenix-style coiner interchangeable, or do we need Newbilt-formed
stampers?
- Floor loading and vibration data sheets per machine for the structural
engineer (press: 1,350 kg on under 1 m²).
- Hot-climate installations: any changes to cooling circuits, hydraulic
oil grade (ISO VG 32 vs 46), or electrical cabinet cooling for 35 °C
ambient?
- Training beyond the included 5 days; 2026 service rate card (2024: EUR
84/h plus travel); recommended two-year spare-parts kit and its price.
- Financing or staged delivery options (extruder + first press, second
press later).
## 8. Pheenix Alpha (Solna, Sweden)
**What they are.** Successor of Toolex Alpha (founded 2006 by former Toolex
staff; owned by Arbona). **AD12** fully automatic press: 24 to 26 s cycle
(~140 records/h), one operator per four presses, 7"/10"/12" up to 200 g,
25 kW installed, ~1.2 kg steam and 12.5 L chilled water per cycle in a
closed platen circuit. **AD12 Manual** (twin) launched September 2025 for
splatter and short runs. Also a compact 7" centre-hole punch unit. New CEO
Robert Gunnarsson from September 2026 with an explicit commercial focus;
founder Niklas Poblenz stays on innovation and customer support. Sibert
installed equipment at Pheenix in January 2025. Deepgrooves (NL, attending)
runs AD12 presses on biomass steam. Contact in this repo:
andreas.runsten@pheenixalpha.com.
Site: https://www.pheenixalpha.com/
**Why they matter.** The alternative single-vendor path (AD12 + AD12
Manual), and the only vendor with a documented biomass-steam customer.
Roadmap item 5.
**Questions.**
- Current metric datasheet and budget quote for AD12 and AD12 Manual; lead
time; validity.
- AD12 Manual: is it a de-automated AD12 (same frame, extruder, moulds)?
Cycle time with an operator, and can it be upgraded to automatic later?
- Basis of the 140/h figure and typical daily OEE at a reference plant;
which reference plant can we visit (Deepgrooves is here; ask for an
introduction).
- Data: remote monitoring is advertised; what protocol (OPC UA, REST,
vendor cloud), which tags, and can we log locally without a cloud
subscription?
- Asia install base and service: any presses in Southeast Asia, who
services them, spare-parts hub.
- Steam and cooling numbers confirmed for 35 °C ambient; experience with
electric boilers; what Deepgrooves needed to change for biomass steam.
- Stamper compatibility: Toolex-geometry stampers from Stamper Discs /
Matrix 4.0; do we need the Pheenix punch and coiner or does Sibert's
VSC cover it?
- Extruder: compound sensitivity (Ca/Zn, regrind share), zone
temperatures for PlastChem Bio-Vinyl vs. standard black.
- What did the new CEO change commercially: financing, leasing, staged
delivery, regional agents?
- What are the "latest releases" mentioned in the Haarlem announcement?
## 9. PlastChem (Hardenberg, Netherlands)
**What they are.** PVC compounder since 1994 (Parcom portfolio company).
Record compounds: standard, **Bio-Vinyl** (bio-ethylene from used cooking
oil and plant residues; ISCC certified; ClimatePartner-certified as lowest
carbon-footprint record compound, their claim), and **PlastChem Circular**
(post-consumer PVC waste into hybrid compounds, announced at Making Vinyl
Europe 2025). 100 % recyclable, ISO 14001, EcoVadis. Contact:
info@plastchem.nl, +31 85 086 5800.
Site: https://plastchem.nl/en/our-products/vinyl-record-compounds
**Why they matter.** The sustainability story (renewable energy, zero
discharge, biomass steam) needs a matching material story; Bio-Vinyl is
the best-documented one on the market. Not on the 2021 supplier list.
**Questions.**
- Same base questions as CAF and Granulat2000 (stabiliser, regrind
tolerance, price at 20/40 t, MOQ, shelf life, Asia shipping).
- Bio-Vinyl vs. standard: price premium per kg, any processing difference
(temperatures, cycle), any audible or durability difference in
independent tests.
- ISCC and ClimatePartner: what documents can we pass through to a label
so the claim survives on the customer's product sheet?
- PlastChem Circular: what share of post-consumer content, sourcing of the
waste stream, and could a plant in Thailand feed its own waste/regrind
into a similar compound locally?
- Thermal stability of Ca/Zn compound in tropical storage; moisture
pickup and pre-drying needs.
- Do you supply any Asian plants today? Would you toll-compound or license
to a Thai producer at volume?
- Colour and effect range; masterbatch or pre-coloured; MOQ per colour.
## 10. Sibert Instruments (Hampshire, UK)
**What they are.** Precision OEM (optical-disc heritage) making stamper
preparation equipment: **VSP** stamper punch, **VSF** back finisher, **VSC**
coiner (trim and form in one pass). Contact in this repo: sales@sibert.co.uk,
Ian Locke. Installed equipment at Pheenix Alpha in January 2025.
Site: https://www.sibert.co.uk/
**Why they matter.** Exactly the gap between the plating line and the
presses. Small one-off capital items; the open question is which of the
three we need for the mould set we end up with.
**Questions.**
- Spec sheets and prices for VSP, VSF, VSC; lead time; 400 V / 50 Hz
three-phase for Thailand.
- Which press moulds does the VSC form for (Newbilt, Toolex/Pheenix,
Viryl, M-Tech)? Tooling per mould type and its cost.
- If we buy Newbilt presses, is the VSC redundant with anything Newbilt
supplies? Same question for Pheenix's punch unit.
- Tolerances: centring accuracy of the punch, back-finish flatness; can
the machines log a measurement per stamper (serial in, result out) for
our genealogy database?
- What did you install at Pheenix in January 2025?
- Customers in Asia; service model (these are simple enough to maintain
locally if drawings and spares are available: ask for the spares list).
## 11. Tullis Russell (Bollington, Macclesfield, UK)
**What they are.** Coated-paper maker; "Premier Record Label" paper is the
industry-standard centre-label stock: 120 gsm, supplied blue/white (blue
side to the vinyl), heat resistant, lay-flat, stock sheets 450 mm. Used by
Deepgrooves and Takt (Takt: 15 million records on TR paper). Sponsor of
Making Vinyl Europe 2026. Contact: info@tullisrussell.com.
Site: https://www.tullisrussell.com/trlabel/products/record-label-material/
**Why they matter.** Label paper is a small cost with a large failure
mode: blistering, curling and misregistration are humidity problems, and
the plant will sit at 60 to 90 % RH ambient. The label dry oven in the
Newbilt quote exists for this reason.
**Questions.**
- Storage and conditioning guidance for a tropical plant: target RH for
the paper store, pre-drying time and temperature before pressing, shelf
life once opened.
- Do you sell direct to plants or only through label printers? Which
printers in Asia already print on your stock (we need a Thai or regional
printer we can qualify)?
- MOQ in sheets or reels; lead time to Thailand; price per 1,000 sheets.
- Print process compatibility: offset, digital, UV; inks that survive the
press; foil and metallic options.
- Recycled or FSC grades; any difference in pressing behaviour.
- Common label defects you get asked to diagnose, and the root cause in
each case (moisture, ink, oven temperature, stamper heat profile).
- Sample pack for tests on a Newbilt and on a Pheenix press.
---
## Also at the conference, no booth (find them in the Whova app)
- **Stamper Discs** (Sheffield): the other stamper-bridge candidate; get a
written turnaround SLA and Asia freight experience.
- **Matrisfabrik AB** (Sweden) and **Elsaesser GmbH** (Germany, galvanics
and electroforming equipment, DMM cutting): both relevant to the
in-house galvanics plan; Elsaesser is a European alternative to Digital
Matrix for plating equipment.
- **INEOS Compounds Aycliffe** (UK): fourth compounder, on the 2021 list.
- **Deepgrooves** (NL): the biomass-steam precedent; ask for a visit.
- **Record Industry** (Haarlem host plant), **GZ Media**, **Pozzoli**,
**Takt**, **optimal media**: large-plant operators; one question each on
what they would build differently today.
- **Schallplatten Schneid Technik** (SST, Germany): DMM cutting
technology, the alternative to lacquer.
- **POYSOUND Co., Ltd.** and **TOYO RECORDING**: Asian attendees worth
identifying (POYSOUND may be Thai; unverified).
## Bring home
- Newbilt re-quote request confirmed in writing, with PLC/OPC UA access
and Thai service terms listed as requirements.
- Pheenix AD12 / AD12 Manual datasheets and budget quote; Deepgrooves
introduction.
- M-Tech Allegro II and Adagio specs, non-steam details, Press On Vinyl
reference contact.
- Compound price/MOQ/spec sheets from PlastChem, CAF, Granulat2000
(and INEOS if found), plus any lead on Thai compounders.
- Stamper price and turnaround from Matrix 4.0 and Stamper Discs.
- Sibert spec PDFs and prices; mould compatibility matrix.
- Tullis Russell sample pack and Asian printer list.
- IBA Hartmann samples and specs for the Chiang Mai carton makers.
- Every business card photographed and filed under
`docs/suppliers/contacts/` after the show.