From ed0260d476dd7e6c619e923f641306850a29efb8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: grabowski Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2026 19:24:58 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Add Making Vinyl Europe 2026 exhibitor briefing and booth questions --- .../making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md | 448 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 448 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/suppliers/making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md diff --git a/docs/suppliers/making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md b/docs/suppliers/making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e092f32 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/suppliers/making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md @@ -0,0 +1,448 @@ +# 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.