Building/construction

Plastic replaces metal in a device that applies dental fillings, making it lighter and easier to handle.

The working parts of the DinoPress applicator, which are subject to heavy mechanical stress, are now made from polyetheretherketone (PEEK) from Evonik Industries. The device can be steam sterilized up to 134°C.

The new DinoPress has been developed jointly by Gossau, Switzerland-based Alfred Schmid AG, producers of plastic parts for the dental industry for more than 40 years, and Basel, Switzerland-based Dolder AG.

Polymera Inc. (Hebron, OH) is commercially producing wood and natural fiber polymer composite compounds after initiating installation of equipment in February of last year, meeting its estimated timeframe to fully outfit its 160,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in central Ohio with 60 million pounds of WPC compound capacity.

Switzerland-based Georg Fischer announced the acquisition of Harvel Plastics Inc., an Easton, PA based pipe extruder. Georg Fischer said the acquisition represents another step in the implementation of its plant to expand its piping systems business worldwide. The company is acquiring 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Harvel Plastics for approximately $50 million in cash.

In November 2011, battenfeld-cincinnati (Bad Oeynhausen, Germany; Vienna, Austria) presented the techBEX complete line concept for producing small technical profiles at an open house event staged by Italian partner company Fainplast s.r.l. (Ascoli Piceno). For its part, compound supplier Fainplast informed the 70 participants about its range of custom-made materials as well as optimal processing methods with an extrusion line from battenfeld-cincinnati.

Another entity listed in the original complaint filed in 2006 against JM Eagle for allegedly selling defective pipe to various states and municipalities, has been dropped from the suit at its request. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Shell Chemicals (London) is moving forward in its efforts to commercialize a new process for the polycarbonate feedstock. The company has decided to invest in a 500-tonnes/year demonstration unit to manufacture the chemical intermediate diphenyl carbonate (DPC).

The unit will be located at Shell's chemical plant in Singapore's petrochemical hub on Jurong Island. It will manufacture sufficient volumes of DPC via a proprietary process to supply selected customers in the polycarbonate industry for their evaluation and acceptance.

It's no stretch to say energy harvesting (EH) technologies, which convert small amounts of energy from their nearby surroundings or environment into electricity, are "renewable." Piezoelectric, thermoelectric, photovoltaic (PV), and electromagnetic technologies are examples that can be used to help devices gain energy from vibrations in moving objects, regions with temperature differences, or areas with light or magnetic fields.

A Brazilian company called Andaluz Acessibilidade has developed an interesting system using special flooring to allow visually handicapped people to find their way around and avoid accidents.  

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been a major target of the environmental activist group Greenpeace for at least 20 years, dating to activism by chemist Michael Braungart. The focal point of Greenpeace was dioxins. The Vinyl Institute was formed in 1982 because of health-related attacks on PVC pipe by the steel industry.

Tough as they are, plastic products still are highly susceptible and vulnerable to nature's army of silent assassins: rodents, termites and subterranean insects. Plastic-jacketed wire and cable, pipelines, tubes, automotive parts and many other mission-critical applications can be destroyed by concentrated gnawing.