VR Training for Plastics Manufacturers: Solving the Skills Gap with Immersive Tech
Last week we headed to Birmingham for Interplas 2026, the UK’s largest plastics industry exhibition, to showcase VR training for plastics manufacturers. Rather than exhibiting, we walked the floor, brochures in hand, and spent the day meeting plastics manufacturers, machine OEMs, training providers, and industry bodies. It was a long day on our feet but a productive one.
Getting Avatar Academy in Front of the Right People
One of our goals for the day was simple. Get people to try it. There is a big difference between explaining what VR training does and actually putting a headset on someone and letting them step inside a virtual injection moulding machine.
We were delighted that a number of people took us up on that, including teams from some of the biggest names in injection moulding machinery. We had great conversations with FANUC, ENGEL, and Sumitomo Demag, three of the world’s leading injection moulding machine manufacturers — as well as a number of plastics manufacturers and industry bodies, including the British Plastics Federation.
What was particularly exciting about those conversations was the recognition that Avatar Academy goes well beyond operator training. The potential to use immersive VR to showcase machines virtually, onboard customers on new equipment, and inspire the next generation into the industry opened up discussions we hadn’t anticipated going into the day.
Seeing someone interact with a virtual control panel, run a moulding cycle, and immediately start asking questions about how the platform works is always a good sign. The conversations that followed were genuine and encouraging.
What Was on Everyone’s Mind
Across every conversation we had on the day, one theme kept coming up — people. Finding skilled operators is harder than ever. The plastics industry, like so many manufacturing sectors, is facing a growing skills gap that isn’t going away. Experienced setters and process engineers are retiring, and the pipeline of trained replacements isn’t keeping pace.
Getting new starters productive quickly is a real pressure. Putting an inexperienced operator in front of a live injection moulding machine is costly, carries risk, and ties up equipment and experienced staff at the same time. And when training is inconsistent, the consequences show up in part quality, scrap rates, and customer complaints.
There was also a recurring conversation around competency — not just training people, but being able to prove that training has worked. As quality expectations from customers rise and audit requirements become more demanding, being able to demonstrate that every operator has been trained to a consistent standard is something more and more manufacturers are thinking about.
None of this was a surprise to us. It is exactly the problem Avatar Academy was built to address. But hearing it reflected back so consistently across such a wide range of organisations — from small trade moulders to large OEMs — was a good reminder that the need is real, it is widespread, and it is not going away.
A Proud Moment
The day also marked the release of our Denroy case study video, showing Avatar Academy in action on the shop floor of one of the UK’s leading aerospace and medical injection moulders based in Northern Ireland. Hearing their operators talk openly about what VR training meant for them was something we were really proud to share.
We came away from Interplas with a lot of follow up conversations to have and a clearer picture of where Avatar Academy fits within the UK plastics industry. We’re looking forward to seeing where those conversations lead.
If we didn’t get the chance to connect on the day, or if you’d like to find out more about Avatar Academy, get in touch via our form below.