Europe

Ahead of labor, materials, and energy costs, a new report states that access to talented workers capable of supporting innovation are the key factor driving global competitiveness at manufacturing companies. The 2010 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, a research report from Deloitte's Global Manufacturing Industry group and the U.S.

Plastics supplier LyondellBasell, just a few months out of Chapter 11 protection, is moving ahead with strategic growth, adding another 320,000 tonnes of HDPE capacity in Europe. Output from the plant is even better than current bi-modal materials, claims the company.

Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, TN) will expand production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins at its Middelburg, Netherlands and Longview, TX facilities. The Middelburg expansion, which is the third expansion of Eastman's Regalite production in the Netherlands since 2006, will increase capacity by more than 20%, with work forecast to be completed in the second half of 2011. In Texas, the company will increase capacity by more than 10% for its Eastotac hydrogenated aliphatic hydrocarbon resins.

According to the quarterly SupplierBusiness Confidence Index released on Aug. 23, suppliers to the automotive industry continue to be concerned about the long-term strength of the recovery and its stability, in spite of industry growth. Overall though, positive trends remain in place among suppliers, with all four elements of the index—New Orders, Production Volumes, Inventory levels and Employment—scoring over 50, suggesting they are in an upward trend.

Frimo Inc. is opening a new $5 million technology center within its North American headquarters in Wixom, MI, with that site joining four such facilities in Europe. Fully operational in September, the tech center will feature tooling and production facilities for a range of polyurethane-based processes used for automotive interior products like instrument panels, door trim, consoles, headliners, seats, headrests and more.

What do airbag covers, engine-valve covers, and a one-piece sun roof frame have in common? All have recently applied Trexel's MuCell microcellular foaming process to improve aesthetics and strength, utilize less material, and allow injection molding on smaller machines.

With €300 million of capital injected into it, Europe's largest PET supplier, La Seda de Barcelona Group, says it is financially stable and ready to invest, including in its own package processing business unit, Artenius PET Packaging Europe (APPE), the former Amcor Europe PET business.

Inmold operations such as labeling, decorating, painting, clear-coating, and even assembly are becoming more common as the technology catches on and catches the attention of OEMs eager to save time and cost-to-manufacture. Zahoransky Formenbau GmbH (Freiburg, Germany) is becoming known for its creative and unique developments with respect to rotationally performing assembly operations. Its newest development is a new option for molding and assembling two different parts in a single cycle within the framework of the mold system.

Calling the move, "the final stage of an international legal dispute which was fought through the courts on both sides of the Atlantic for two decades," Cinpres Gas Injection (Middlewich, England) has reached agreement to buy the "assisted molding" patents from the liquidator of Gibraltar-based Melea Ltd. The deal will also include the Melea trading name. Melea's patents were marketed by Gain Technologies out of the U.S.

For the fifth straight quarter, automotive Tier One supplier Lear Corp. (Southfield, MI) increased its earnings, with sales improving by 33% over the year-ago quarter to $3 billion and a profit realized. In the August 3 release of second-quarter financial results, Lear said core operating earnings had increased by $242 million to $190 million, with the three-year sales backlog up half a billion dollars to $1.9 billion and an improved full-year outlook for core operating earnings and free cash flow.