Blowmolding

When Adam Reiser and a partner founded a magazine nine years ago titled “Made In USA,” they wrote articles about companies making products in the USA. However, Reiser, who today is CEO and co-founder of Made In USA Certified (www.usa-c.com), found out that “people speak with forked tongue.” While they were telling Reiser that their products were being made in this country, in actuality they were shipping products in from China and relabeling them “Made in USA.”

Bill Petrino, president of blowmolding machinery supplier Jomar Corp., passed away on April 20 while awaiting a bone marrow donor match. Petrino took over as president of Jomar in 1983 and over the next 30 years, helped grow the manufacturer of injection blowmolding machinery (IBM) into a global supplier, adding an office in the U.K. and sales representatives in more than 40 countries to support the more than 1000 Jomar machines installed around the world.

2012 was a capital year for North American plastics capital equipment, with orders for injection molding machines, blown-film lines, auxiliary equipment, thermoforming equipment, and hot runners all up compared to 2011. Even for single-screw extruders, where annual orders were down, albeit less than 2% (13 units), the full-year dollar value was up a gaudy 38% compared to 2011. The only market truly off in 2012 was the blowmolding segment. There, the total number of new of blowmolding machines ordered in 2012 was 67 units, down 18 from 2011, with the full-year dollar value off 34%.

Universities, colleges and technical trade schools have long struggled with how to keep up with equipment and software technology in their plastics engineering departments. While the administrators and instructors know that training students on the latest state-of-the-art machinery and software is critical to producing ready-to-work employees for the industry, getting that machinery and software is not easy.
   

Plastics processors and mold makers had a nice showing in Frost & Sullivan’s 2013 Manufacturing Leadership (ML) 100 Awards, and share the spotlight with some of the biggest and best global companies.

Currier Plastics, a custom injection molder in Auburn, NY specializing in innovative solutions for the packaging, medical, electronics and instrumentation markets, is expanding its facility. To help fund the 55,000-sq-ft expansion, Currier applied for assistance through the Excelsior Jobs Program and Economic Transformation Fund. Currier sought additional funding through NYSDOL’s Existing Employee Training program in order to upgrade the skills of incumbent workers and to create a culture of lean manufacturing throughout the entire organization.
   

Injection and blowmolding combine in the production of a resonator molded from polyamide materials. The internal (ID) section injection molded in the first step is then overmolded to form the external (OD) section via blowmolding. The resonator is used in 2012 model Ford Fusion and Escape models using the OEM's 2.0-L Ecoboost engine.

Companies spend a lot of money in hard assets such as buildings, machinery and equipment and software. But when it comes to financing non-capital assets such as marketing, sales, and people, they aren’t as willing to make those other investments needed to optimize the so-called soft assets.

A heat-stabilized blowmolding grade of Stanyl polyamide (PA) 4.6 from DSM Engineering Plastics (Singapore) has been developed specifically for vehicle hot charge air ducts. Components molded from Stanyl Diablo OCD 2305 BM are lighter than current solutions in metal or polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and can handle continuous temperature up to 230°C.

Calling the deal "a clear acknowledgment of the significance of the American market," extrusion technology supplier Reifenhäuser Group has purchased screw and barrel manufacturer Westland Corp. (Wichita, KS). Westland will be part of  Reifenhäuser's screw and barrel unit, Reiloy Metall, and be called Reiloy Westland.