Japan

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.

A new acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) film is being promoted for use as a backing material in alternative energy solar cells or as a sheet for luxury car interiors. The products also enables multilayer printing to show uneven surfaces, mainly for building-related materials. Techno Polymer Co. Ltd.'s (Tokyo) ValueTech line has been launched as a new business.

Japan’s population is not just shrinking, it’s also aging. By October of this year, an estimated 23.1% of its population will be 65 or older vs. just 13% of the population aged less than 15 years old.

Exatec (Wixom, MI) and Japan's ULVAC will collaborate on turnkey mass-production systems for the cost-effective, high-volume production of weatherable, scratch-resistant, plasma-coated Lexan polycarbonate (PC) vehicle windows.

A modified polyphenylene oxide (PPO) has been applied in wire harness insulation to create a product that's inherently flame retardant (FR) and free of environmentally harmful heavy metals. Nissei Eco Co. Ltd. codeveloped the insulation, called ECO-01, with Sabic Innovative Plastics (Pittsfield, MA), utilizing that company's Flexible Noryl material. Sabic IP has positioned Noryl as an alternative for OEMs looking to move away from wire-jacketing stalwart polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Year-over-year earnings reports show how far the global plastics industry has come since the start of 2009, with plastics titans Dow, ExxonMobil Chemical, and BASF showing double-digit gains in sales and volumes, even in Western economies that had heretofore lagged.

Ube Industries (Ube, Japan) has in the past worked closely with Toyota Motor to develop customized die-casting machines that are as simple as possible and compact, while at the same time offering high performance. Company chairman Hiroaki Tamura predicts a similar trend will now emerge for injection molding machines.

Japanese lighting company Furukawa Electric (Tokyo) says its has reduced production costs and improved light output by introducing thermoformed versions of its OptoDesign UniBrite technology for LED applications. Based on its MCPET (microcellular polyethylene terephthalate) reflective sheet technology, Furukawa says UniBrite, when thermoformed into complex shapes, has proven beneficial in backlight LCD TV systems; fluorescent and LED signage; and progressive LED designs. The company says MCPET serves to increase illumination intensity between lamps for more balanced lighting.

Ash and smoke from the Icelandic volcano did more than interrupt passenger travel. It also shut down automotive manufacturing plants due to a shortage of parts that were stranded at various airports, along with people.

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH (Schwaig, Germany) has relocated its northern sales and distribution center from Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia to its center of excellence in Wiehe, Germany, just over 300 km to the east. In the future, all higher-level marketing and service activities will be coordinated from that location for the German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Bremen, Hamburg, and Lower Saxony.