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You could say 2010 was a pretty pivotal year for Gloucester Engineering Co. (GEC).

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy that year, only to emerge from it after an investment by New York private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners, which is currently a majority stakeholder in the company. 

Now in its 52nd year, GEC recently expanded its blown film machinery die rebuilding offerings due to an increased demand for the service.

C&J Industries (Meadville, PA), responding to growth in medical and other markets, is now operating four new all-electric Toshiba as well as a new AGIE Charmilles FO550 Die-Sinking EDM machine. C&J Industries says that it has invested over $10 million over the past four years in new capital equipment and expansion projects.

Leading Chinese machine builder Guangdong Yizumi Precision Machinery (Foshan) has developed its first two-platen injection molding machine. The machine debuted at the recent Chinaplas show in Guangzhou.

Back in April, after passing a nationwide plastic bag ban, the Italian government published a plastic bag decree in the Official Journal, with enforcement planned to begin on May 27, 2013.

According to the decree, merchants must discontinue the use of traditional single-use plastic bags in favor of bioplastic bags or other alternatives. The law prohibits the use of Oxo biodegradable additives and requires Italian merchants to only use compostable applications as defined by EN 13432.

American medical device manufacturers are facing significant challenges but the medical device tax instituted as part of the Affordable Care Act is not one of them, says the head of a Massachusetts-based consulting firm.

"The people who are saying that this (the device tax) is forcing all of our jobs offshore are full of horse hockey because it doesn't matter where you make the product," said Mark Bonifacio in an interview with PlasticsToday.

StackTeck Ltd., a manufacturer of high-volume production tooling solutions for the packaging (caps and closures and thin-wall containers), medical, and consumer products, announced its commitment to the company’s existing In-Mold Labeling (IML) pilot cell. As with previous generations of IML pilot cells, the third generation cell at StackTeck used automation equipment from ABB or CBW Automation.
   

The battle to replace flexible PVC film in medical applications with other materials will ratchet up a notch with new technologies that will be shown at MD&M East in Philadelphia June 18-20.

Lead-time reduction remains a critical factor in the development of new injection molded products. While there are many areas that can be addressed to reduce the time it takes to validate the mold and parts, the time from initial mold sampling until the parts are production-approved is one of the biggest windows of opportunity for improvement. Based on experience, about one-third of the total amount of time used for designing, building and qualifying a new injection mold is consumed in the qualification/validation cycle.

According to two new reports recently released on Additive Manufacturing (AM), the technology, also known as 3D printing, has a bright future. A new report from Lux Research (www.luxresearchinc.com) titled, “Building the Future: Assessing 3D Printing’s Opportunities and Challenges” projects that 3D printing will grow to an $8.4 billion market in 2025 – up from $777 million in 2012. However most of this will be in industrial and medical applications with consumer applications having a “limited upside.”

Consolidation continues in the building and construction market with the acquisition of Mitten Inc. by Ply Gem Industries Inc. Mitten, a Canadian manufacturer and distributor of vinyl siding and accessories, and other exterior building products, was a portfolio company of Graham Partners which acquired the company in 2011. Mitten increased EBTDA over 65% during Graham’s hold period, according to information from Graham Partners.