Sales & Marketing

NatureWorks is targeting ABS replacement in PC/ABS in major durable applications including automotive interiors and business machines.

"The standard grade of ABS is a straight drop in for ABS in existing tooling," said Frank Diodato, business director, durables, at NatureWorks, in an interview. The cost is about $1/lb, comparable to ABS in most areas of the world.

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.”

After a few challenging years including a trip through—into and out of—bankruptcy, a reinvigorated Milacron looks toward a bright future. The company showcased its product lines, including new products, at its Open House April 24 and 25, where the excitement and enthusiasm were palpable. The company’s investors, CCMP Capital Advisors LLC, are truly interested in the company’s growth and success, noted Dave Lawrence, president of Milacron’s Global Plastics Machinery and DME, in an interview at the Open House with PlasticsToday.
   

Outsourcing partners--such as injection molders of medical plastics--will play an increasingly important role as device manufacturers continue to restructure and downsize their own manufacturing capabilities, says Venkat Rajan, industry manager-medical devices for Frost & Sullivan.

The critical factors for supply chain partners will be:

1.  Reliability,

2.  Experience in medical design,

3.  Organizational stability,

4.  Functional performance,

5.  Price,

6.  Strategic design expertise, and

When Plante & Moran LLC, a certified accounting, tax and business consulting firm, held a seminar in March regarding manufacturing in Mexico, they were hoping to get 40-50 people. Scott Sneckenberger, partner Global Services for Plante & Moran who led the seminar, told PlasticsToday that they were totally surprised when 87 people showed up for the Detroit-area event.
   

The New York Times Editorial Board has weighed in strongly in favor of the 2.3% excise tax included in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, often referred to as "Obamacare". The New York Times also criticized the medical device industry for its multi-million-dollar attacks on the tax as well as many U.S. Senators for not bucking industry lobbying.

The biggest and splashiest exhibit at BIOMEDevice in Boston this week was staged by a company that didn't even exist a year ago.

Rethink Robotics attracted crowds anxious to see activities of the new humanoid robot Baxter, which has been a big hit in the plastics processing industry since its launch late last year.

While all the talk of late centers around reshoring manufacturing, Intertech Plastics Inc. created its marketing plan around the value of being a regional supplier. The plan has paid off in customers making the choice to shorten their supply chain and manufacture locally. Last year, as a result of a big increase in business, Intertech Plastics (www.intertechplastics.com) recently invested $2 million in new molding equipment and automation.

Diversification of capabilities is a big key to success for custom injection molder Blue Ridge Industries Inc. (BRI), a Winchester, VA-based company that serves the automotive, construction, and consumer markets. The company recently expanded into Additive Manufacturing (AM) with the purchase of an Objet Connex 500 3D printer.
   

The annual technical conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers (Antec) has always been a great investment of two or three days of time, but thanks to the hard work of a few volunteers, it has become a particularly great place to meet real movers and shakers in medical plastics.