The concept of consultancy implies on the part of the suppliers the concepts of KNOWLEDGE (K) and IMMEDIACY (I) in the service of their speciality. It is only when these elements are combined that CONFIDENCE AND ASSURANCE (C&S) can be given to the client company.

Technological consultancy (what was traditionally called Technological Advice) is not still among the most demanded service by companies, possibly because the offer is not wide enough, or it does not cover the key elements (k, I, C&S).

The Technological Advice supplier must have the appropriate capabliities and experience to put forward viable solutions for the day to day problems that  affect the company. As with any other aspect that affects the company, suppliers of “general solutions” do not end up satisfying the company's expectations. Companies in all sectors, need to have specialised suppliers available who can deal with the spuriousness of advice working side by side with the industry, sharing a common language and culture.

Industries related to plastics count on AIMPLAS as a  partner, not only to carry out specific services or to collaborate as an R&D supplier, but also for the resolution of their short term problems: the Technological Advice that plastics industry requires on a on-going basis in their productive process.

The different types of Technological Advice that AIMPLAS has been able to provide companies in the plastics industry with recent years, due to the knowledge and experience gained from its participation in R&D projects and in testing and analysis services provided to thousands of client companies, are:

Type of advice:

• Analysis of failure causes in pipes and accessories for the canalization of water, gas, chemical products, wiring, etc.
• Analysis of failure causes in storage tanks of water, chemical products, food, etc., including sealing and coating materials for the tanks.
• Analysis of failure causes in injected or blow-formed pieces (fissures, cracks, breaks, deformations, stains, bleaching, contamination).
• Analysis of failure causes in films and flexible package (fish eyes, gels, opacity, crystallinity differences, black dots, sealing, impression, delamination, orange peel, pollution).
• Problems of adhesion of coatings (chroming, paints, etc.)
• Problems of surface finishing in injected pieces (engravings, colour evenness, sheen, roughness, etc.)
• Problems related to the appearance of smells
• Determination of strategies of product diversification.
• Determination of technical instruction sheet. Establishing strategies of products diversification.
• Development of a product (design, materials and supplier selection, prototyping, processing).
• Reduction of product cost (formulation with low-cost mineral loads, optimization of the design of the piece, additive substitution, use of recycled materials).
• Improvement of product’ properties (mechanical, and aesthetic properties, raise of functionalities).
• Weight reduction of the product (redesign, foaming, change of material, thickness reduction).
• Improvement of the product’s recyclability, and of the recycled material (fluidity, transparency, brightness, impact, smell.
• Audit of the use of recycled materials.
• Reduction and use of cut-outs and rejected products.
• Adaptation of the product to the legislation/regulations.
• Determination of control and approval of the product plans.
• Determination of processing control plans.
• Design of moulds for composites.
• Audit of suppliers.
• Adjustment and optimization of production lines.
• Fulfilment of the food contact plastics legislation, including carrying out audits.
• Advice on HACCP protocols.
• Analysis of compatibility of products with packages, conductions, and storage systems (food, cosmetics, cleaning, chemical products, combustibles).
• Ecodesign.
• Expertise report of the product and process.
• Advice on REACH legislation.
• Advice on packaging guideline.
• Use of recycled food contact materials.
• Advice on fulfilment of environmental legislations and procedures.