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April 26, 2007

22 Min Read
e-Weekly News Briefs April 23-27


SOCMA addresses climate change

The board of governors of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Assn. (SOCMA; Washington, DC) has adopted a policy on climate change that supports voluntary and what it calls “market-based measures” to combat climate change. “SOCMA advocates for flexibility in regulations and policies so members can achieve compliance and improved performance while maintaining efficiency and productivity,” says the statement.

The organization says it recognizes that global climate change is a broad concern and could have far-reaching effects. It says that it is willing to entertain policies to control emissions, conserve resources, and minimize waste among its members, although 90% of whom are small to medium size businesses and not major contributors of greenhouse gases. It says it supports an increase in R&D credits from the government to investigate ways to better improve energy use and reduce emissions.


Matrixx opens Virginia plant

The Matrixx Group, a supplier of compounded products to the plastics industry, will invest $9.85 million to open its first Virginia facility in the Bedford Center for Business: an industrial park jointly developed by Bedford County and the City of Bedford. The Matrixx Group will compound thermoplastics and create 40 new jobs for the area, according to a news release from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina and West Virginia for the project.

Headquartered in Evansville, IN, The Matrixx Group is a privately held company, supplying compounds to the plastics industry for more than 25 years. Today, the company has five manufacturing sites and offers nylon, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, and polyethylene compounds.

Russell Cote, general manager for The Matrixx Group, said the Virginia site was selected because of “workforce and community factors, logistics, development and operating costs.” The company will receive $175,000 from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Bedford with the project. In addition, the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission approved $130,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds. The company is also eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program.


Russia remains a ’next big market’ for plastics

Demand for thermoplastics in Russia reached nearly 3.3 million tonnes in 2006, growing by more than 15% compared with 2005 and more than doubling since 2000. Despite these impressive growth figures, the market is still hugely underdeveloped compared with the rest of Europe. Per capita plastics consumption is just 23 kg compared with more than 80 kg for the EU 25, and processing of rubber and plastic products is still only about two-thirds of 1991 production levels. Since the financial crisis of 1998, however, greater political and economic stability has led to increased investment in plastics processing, which has resulted in some spectacular growth for certain sectors especially building and infrastructure and food packaging. This and more on Russia and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) markets is part of the recently published 2007 Russian and CIS plastics industry report from market research firm AMI (Bristol, England).

According to the report, more than 97% of demand is accounted for by commodity plastics, of which polyvinyl chloride and expandable polystyrene have shown the largest volume increases since 2000, driven mainly by growth in building products. Russia is not only experiencing tremendous growth in housing, office space, warehousing, and factory construction, but also in renovations of existing housing stock. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the housing stock is more than 30 years old and roughly 60% requires renovation. Demand for new housing is likely to be spurred on further by the ’Affordable Housing’ project implemented in 2006, a mortgage boom as interest rates go down, and an emerging Russian middle class.

The other major segment driving polymer demand is packaging where investments in food processing and growth in supermarket shopping are leading to ever higher standards for packaging performance and appearance . This has led to massive investments in capacity for the production of BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) film, polyethylene stretch films, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) preforms and bottles.

Current capacity within the CIS for commodity thermoplastics is put at just over 4 million tonnes of which nearly three-quarters is located in Russia. The region lacks local production of high-end thermoplastics, and this dearth is reflected in low plastics consumption by the electrical/electronic, automotive, and medical markets.

To date Russia has attracted little foreign investment, and a large proportion of polymer production remains in state ownership through the operations of Gazprom/Sibur. Foreign investment is also limited within Russia’s plastics processing industry, confined mainly to building products (particularly window profiles) and packaging (particularly PET preforms and packaging sheet). Opportunities are likely to arise in sectors such as telecommunications equipment, where Russia is upgrading its outdated equipment and infrastructure; automotive components, where assembly of foreign models is growing very strongly; packaging, to meet the growing demand of the food and beverage industries; medical devices, serving Russia’s aging population and subsidized by the government’s stabilization fund that’s fuelled by oil revenues; and construction to update Russia’s infrastructure.


Milacron machine used in nanocomposite research

A Cincinnati Milacron Powerline NT 440-ton all-electric injection molding machine with dual-injection capabilities will be used for co-injection molding trials of nanocomposite materials at the newly formed Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND) at the University of Dayton Research Institute’s (UDRI; Dayton, OH) manufacturing center. The CMPND lab, which was formed in collaboration with the National Composite Center in Dayton, OH, chose the machine on the basis of shot precision, given the high cost of carbon nanomaterials, which can exceed $100/lb. The lab is working to lower nanocomposite component costs by utilizing a co-injection structure where 20-50% of a part’s interior will use an unfilled resin, with current tests molding parts with a core of virgin, white resin and a black skin with 8% nanotechnology carbon fiber.

The Powerline machine features ServTek all-electric injection units, including a standard 40-ounce horizontal unit and a vertical injection unit with 11-ounce barrels for coinjection or multi-component molding. The co-injection manifold was supplied by OSCO Inc. (Rochester Hills, MI), which also worked with co-injection specialist, Bemis Mfg. (Sheboygan, WI). The test parts on the machine were completed in time for the 2007 Ohio Nanotechnology Summit (April 24-25; Akron, OH).

In a statement, Bob Strickley, Milacron director of marketing, said, “At a time of rapid change in the plastic industry, it is exciting for Milacron to be part of this major effort with new nanotechnology processes.”


Dawn nears for commercial plastic-based solar cells

As interest in solar energy heats up and research for flexible plastics-based solar cells increases, scientists at Wake Forest University’s (WFU; Winston-Salem, NC) nanotechnology center have doubled the efficiency of their conformal cells in two years time, with an Ohio researcher pursuing closely behind. Traditional, rigid panels, which use expensive materials like silicone, are able to convert roughly 12% of the sunlight they absorb into electricity. The highest level for plastic cells was 3%, but the WFU researches have increased that figure past the 6% mark. To be functionally and economically viable, the cells would have to achieve at least 8%, but WFU is shooting for 10% in the next year. The U.S. Air Force and others are funding the WFU work.

Sharell Mikesell, codirector for the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND; Dayton, OH; see related story above), revealed details of his group’s research into flexible solar panels at the Society of the Plastics Industry’s Alliance of Plastics Processors conference in Memphis, TN.

The CMPND is also working towards 10% energy conversion for cells flexible enough to wrap around a person’s arm, with the technology having a theoretical energy conversion of 50%. Early applications could come in defense (army tents with flexible panels stitched in) or homeland security (solar-panel dirigibles to monitor the border unmanned). Mikesell also felt there would be commercial applications, including “self-contained power devices that will be nice gifts for Christmas 2008,” adding shoppers would no longer have to scramble on Christmas morning to find double AA batteries. The Ohio Department of Development provided $23 million to create the six-university nanomaterials consortium in Ohio, which has 50 industry collaborators and total assets of $100 million.


Lear garners Ford, GM praise

In spite of business challenges, Tier One automotive supplier Lear Corp.’s (Southfield, MI) business was recently honored by two automotive OEMs, receiving three supplier awards from Ford Motor Co., and a supplier-of-the-year award from General Motors. In total, Ford recognized 14 suppliers with gold awards, 33 with silver, and six with a Recognition of Achievement award. Lear won gold for quality, cost, and delivery for its Genk, Belgium seating plant, and a silver for its St. Thomas, ON operation. That facility was also granted a Recognition of Achievement award for its six-sigma efforts. The three awards were the most by any Ford supplier.

At its 15th annual supplier award ceremony, GM named Lear 2006 Supplier of the Year for overall business performance, including the supply of parts and service, in the category of global seating. Lear helped GM launch 21 programs globally last year. Commenting on the honors, Lear’s president and COO, Doug Delgrosso said, “Amid all the industry challenges we face today, I am very pleased the Lear team is maintaining its focus on exceeding the expectations of our customers.”


Shift from piece part to total assembly costs in auto

Cost is still king in automotive supply, but automotive OEM purchasing managers are increasingly looking at total cost reduction as compared to simply reduced prices, according to a DuPont Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) survey. The 13th edition of the survey conducted in conjunction with the Society of Automotive Engineer’s 2007 World Congress and undertaken by W.K. Green and Associates found that there is a growing distinction between price cutting and total systems and assembled cost reductions, with the latter spurring customer/supplier collaboration on part design and manufacture.

In other results, 14% of attendees listed fuel economy and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) as the number one challenge facing the industry, while 25% cited lower emissions and clean-air regulations as the chief environmental and sustainability concern in 2007. Along the same eco-friendly lines, interest in renewably sourced materials and alternative fuels jumped 60% in the 2007 survey.

Advanced composites, plastics, fibers, and renewably sourced products are the top four materials expected to gain the most in the next decade, according to the survey, and 42% of attendees said that alternative-power vehicles will have the greatest impact on the industry in the next five to 10 years. The greatest growth came in diesel-engine optimization, which leaped from 1% in 2004 to 24% in 2007.


Laser marking granted European patent

DataLase (Widnes, England and Atlanta, GA) has been awarded a European patent for the pigment it developed and uses with its technologies for laser marking primary and secondary packaging. In the DataLase process the patented pigment undergoes a color change reaction from white to black to form a positive image once exposed to a computer controlled low power CO2 laser; the process requires no inks, ribbons or other consumables. DataLase claims the laser-based print engine offers almost 100% production uptime, with a laser’s lifetime more than 30,000 hours.

Packmark is the firm’s name for its process for applying high speed, on-demand variable information to primary packaging. It is mainly suitable for laser marking date and bar codes as well as ensuring efficient tracking and tracing of products for brand protection. The pigment is applied to the substrate by the process or converter and then supplied to the packer/manufacturer. On the final production line, the low-powered laser is used to produce the required image in the DataLase pigment.


Gala event in the Star City

Pelletizing machinery manufacturer Gala Industries Inc. says its weeklong (April 16-20) 2007 Technology Exchange at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, VA drew attendees from 17 countries representing companies from all over the world to share and learn more about plastics and pelletizing. “We were delighted with the turnout at this year’s event,” says David Bryan, president and CEO of Gala Industries. “We believe this conference provides invaluable opportunities for learning and networking within the increasingly competitive plastics industry.”

Specialists from both the Eagle Rock and German offices of Gala gave lectures on various topics with subjects ranging from new technology and market strategies, to competition and customer service. Specific issues covered included pelletizing systems, micropellet technology, and engineered resins, with on-site demonstrations at the company’s Botetourt County facilities. More at www.gala-industries.com


Briefs

Nylon supplier Honeywell (Morris Township, NJ) says it has increased its polyamide output by about 10% at its Chesterfield, VA facility, which is its main production facility for nylon. The company also said its nylon swap agreement with BASF will terminate May 1. As a result of the termination, Honeywell will have a greater supply of high-viscosity resins, such as those suitable for packaging applications. Those resins had previously been subject to the swap agreement established with BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) in 2003 after Honeywell sold its engineering plastics business to BASF in exchange for BASF’s nylon fibers business.

According to injection molding machine manufacturer Battenfeld Kunststoffmaschinen GmbH (Kottingbrun, Austria), its strategic and organizational realignment since being acquired last autumn by Munich-based private equity investor Adcuram has led to a significant orders increase. “The first three months of this year have produced an extraordinarily high order level for Battenfeld Injection Molding,” said Michael Judis, the firm’s president and CEO. “We have achieved a significant increase in sales compared to last year.”

Austrian plastics machinery manufacturing group Starlinger (Weissenbach) says its fiscal 2006-2007 saw a 14% increase in turnover. With 480 employees, Starlinger has continued to expand its portfolio, for instance in machinery for extrusion of technical yarns (e.g. artificial grass yarn) and plastics recycling machinery, especially for recycling polyethylene terephthalate.

Starlinger Group (Vienna) has grown steadily over a period of years, to become the parent company of an international group that includes subsidiaries SML Maschinen (extrusion technology), SAHM (precision winding machinery), and Maplan (rubber injection molding machinery). The group employs nearly 1000 persons worldwide and soon will open a branch office in South America, joining the current ones in North America, Russia, China, Europe, India, and Malaysia.

MachineTools.com (West Bloomfield, MI), a business-to-business online marketplace for the machine tool industry, has opened offices in Yancheng, China; Chennai, India; and Monterrey, Mexico. The offices will serve these emerging markets and expand MachineTools.com presence in the international marketplace.

The 2007 World Machine Tool Output & Consumption Survey reported one out of five machine tools produced in 2004 went to a Chinese factory while the U.S. Department of Commerce reported in 2006 that export of U.S. metal-cutting machine tools to China increased by 20.6% and metal forming machine tools increased by 40.26%. The 2007 World Machine Tool Output & Consumption Survey also reported Mexico imports more than 90% of its consumption of machine tools. The Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers Assn. reported in 2004 that more than 12,000 machine tools were imported, the most ever there. MachineTools.com has 100,000 registered users and more than 35,000 machine listings provided by more than 1,000 sellers.

Germany’s Forum PET, the polyester packaging sector of the plastics packaging association (IK, Bad Homburg), has set up a working group to study the possibility of standardizing the short thread on the neck screw of PET beverage bottles. A number of different varieties are presently in development or in testing, and Forum PET wants to prevent a splintering of the market through a number of different solutions and new market barriers. The Technical Work Group has agreed to concentrate its efforts on the 28-mm short thread PCO1881 for carbonated beverages and consider it as a possible European standard.

Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen, Germany) was presented with the Global Innovation Leader citation at the Optical Media Global Industry Awards 2007 (Mumbai, India) for its development of high technology polycarbonate.

Flexible packaging processor Nordenia International (Greven, Germany), which reported earlier plans to shutter its Dutch plant at Putten, Netherlands and move products produced there to other locations outside the country (MPW e-Weekly, Feb. 1, 2007), has found an investor in Jos van der Vorst, owner of Converter Betriebes Burgers (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) who has agreed to take over the complete Putten operations in the second half of this year. With the exception of pet food industry packaging, the existing product portfolio now processed will continue at the Dutch site but under a different name.

A polyurethane (PUR) binder is being used to soften the platform of a playground used by children visiting the Dow Diamond Stadium (Midland, MI). The platform consists of layers of recycled rubber tires and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) bound together with a new PUR product, Voramer MR1165, donated by plastics supplier Dow Chemical.

Given the size of Chinese imports of vinyl, moves toward Chinese self-sufficiency in PVC is predicted to have a massive impact on global PVC trade patterns in coming years, reports a new study, PVC in China 2006-2010, by Harriman Chemsult Ltd. (London; www.harriman.co.uk).

Microtrace (Minneapolis, MN), producers of traceable, anti-counterfeit technologies, says it has developed a new method to make product pirates’ lives more difficult with the introduction of heat transfers or fusible graphics for such items as polyurethane shoes. The transfers can be encoded specifically to a company or application.

Plastics, chemicals, and additives producer BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) has developed a method to spray coat molded parts made of the company’s thermoset melamine foam Basotect. The CapaTrend interior paint, in about 50,000 shades, does not impair Basotect’s sound absorption, fire resistance, or flexibility properties.

Aerogen, manufacturer of industrial gas burner systems, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2007. The award was made in recognition of increased export sales over a 3-year period. Aerogen’s equipment is used for flame treatment of plastics, paper, and film, among other uses.

Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen, Germany) reports that 52% of its sales last year were generated from its polyurethane (PUR) division, followed by polycarbonates (27%). Largest use of its PUR material went into flexible applications (32%) followed by rigid foam (25%). The industry used more than 10.5 million tonnes of PUR from the company in 2005, says Peter Vanacker, head of the company’s PUR business unit.

Industrial robot supplier Kuka Robotics Corp. (Clinton Township, MI) has been chose by the Lawrence Technological University (Southfield, MI) as the official robot supplier for its masters of science in mechatronic systems engineering. The school will utilize KUKA KR3 robots and KUKA Sim Pro simulation software as the focal point of a new laboratory where students study robotics programming and application simulation. Kuka supplied its KR3 3-kg robots to be used in graduate-level courses including Analytical and Adaptive Dynamics, Mechanical Design of Mechatronics Systems/Robots, Mechatronic Systems Implementation, and Adaptive Control.

Thermoplastic paint-film supplier Soliant, which recently doubled the film-lamination capabilities of its North Carolina facility, announced that German luxury automaker, Audi, will apply its Fluorex paint film on roofing strips of select A8 models. In addition to matching a wide variety of colors, Soliant reports that according to gravelometer laboratory and field tests, the film is more chip and weather resistant than paint.

India’s National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd. (NCDEX) launched futures trading of polypropylene (PP), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) on April 16. Delivery and trading units are 3 tonnes, with accredited NCDEX warehouses in Bhiwandi and Delhi, India. The maximum movement for prices has been set at 6%, and member’s position limit is 20,000 tonnes, with individuals pegged at 5000 tonnes.

Resin Technology Inc. (RTi; Fort Worth, TX), which provides polymer pricing data and strategies to processors, has hired Hill & Co. Advertising and Public Relations as its public-relations firm. RTi said Hill, which has 20 years of experience as a full-service advertising and PR firm, was hired to help RTi “tell our story and create an industry awareness of who we are and what we do,” according to a press release.


Names in the News

Ron Will is the new sales engineer for industrial markets and OEM sales at auxiliary equipment maker AEC (Schaumburg, IL). He brings with him more than 25 years of industry sales experience. Prior to joining the company he was Midwest regional sales manager for Bry-Air, a manufacturer of desiccant dehumidification equipment.

Ed Ford has joined extruder manufacturer Leistritz as North American twin-screw extruder and systems product manager. Ford will focus on development of the company’s machines for North American concentrates and compounds production. In his more than 25 years of experience, Ford worked as engineering manager for additives supplier Clariant Masterbatches.

DuPont Titanium Technologies, the world’s largest supplier of titanium dioxide, has named Peter O’Sullivan as global marketing leader. He has 23 years of varied functional experience in DuPont Titanium Technologies, most recently as North American sales manager for coatings.


Plastics Bulletin Board

As part of a Chemical Week webcast series, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) is planning a 40-minute webinar on May 9 to discuss the June 1, 2007 implementation of REACh (registration, evaluation, assessment, and characterization) chemical registering in the European Union. Entitled “REACh-How to be prepared,” the webinar will feature practical guidance on how to comply. Speakers include Thomas Jostman, Cefic executive director program product stewardship, and Cristina Arregui, of the REACh cluster. For more information go to: http://www.aimediaserver3.com/chemweek/cefic/reach_cefic.html.

Two scholarships for polymer composites graduate work aimed at ground transportation will be awarded during the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE; Brookfield, CT) Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) to be held Sept. 11-13 at the Michigan State University Management Education Center in Troy, MI. The $2000 scholarships will be given in honor of the late Steve Loud, a well-known contributor to the industry who spent his entire 43-year professional career within composites.

Born in Detroit, Loud began his career at Owens Corning in sales and marketing, where he stayed for the next 18 years. In 1981, Steve moved his family to California to become vice-president of Teledyne Ryan before starting his own company, Composites Worldwide. With his wife, Susan, he published award-winning print and online newsletters on high-performance composite materials and processes, and maintained the Composites News website. He died July 21, 2006.

Applications, which are available at www.speautomotive.com/comp.htm, should be submitted to [email protected] by June 30th for awards to be announced in early August. A share of the proceeds from last year’s SPE ACCE is funding this year’s scholarships.

Delegates at the Global Pultrusion Conference in Baltimore on June 6-8, 2007 will have the opportunity to nominate the Pultruder of the Year 2007. Delegates may each submit the names of three people. The six most frequently cited individuals will receive a formal request to agree to their nomination and will be asked to join the conference. For more information on the event, go to www.briskevents.nl or contact [email protected].

Petrochemical and plastics industry consultant, Chemical Market Associates Inc. (CMAI; Houston, TX) is planning three events on three continents in coming months. On May 7, CMAI and energy consultant Purvin & Gertz will sponsor two workshops in advance of its Middle East Conference in Bahrain from May 8-9; from May 16-18, CMAI will host the inaugural Petrochemical Industry Workshop and the Asian Petrochemical Industry Conference at the Grand Hyatt Taipei; and CMAI Europe Ltd. will hold a Petrochemical Industry Fundamentals Workshop at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on June 8, 2007.

The American Society for Plasticulture has announced its 34th National Agricultural Plastics Congress to be held March 7-10, 2008 at the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel in Tampa, FL. For more information on Plasticulture ’08, go to www.plasticulture.org.

Electro Optical Systems (EOS) GmbH (Krailling, Germany), announced that its new plastic laser-sintering system, the Formiga P-100, will make its North American debut on May 1 at the Rapid 2007 expo in Detroit, MI. The Formiga P-100 is designed to be a fast, efficient, compact, and affordable entry into the world of laser-sintering and rapid manufacturing, according to the company. EOS will hold an official product announcement at the Rapid show on May 1st, and will offer an evening company tour of its offices in Novi/Detroit, also on May 1, for interested persons.

More than a million visitors are expected at the Sky Scraper Festival 2007 on May 12-13 in Frankfurt, Germany and the country’s association of window profile and façade manufacturers (VFF, Frankfurt) will participate as a partner of the event. Besides musical entertainers such as Kim Wilde, the German singer Sasha, and a number of street bands, the venue will feature a film about the use of PVC window lineals and siding projected on a 40-sq-m LED screen attached to Frankfurt’s second tallest building, the Messeturm.


Weekly futures activity from the LME

Futures trading of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polypropylene (PP) on the London Metal Exchange (LME) for the shortened trading week of April 16-20 saw a low price for LLDPE of $1150/tonne set on Monday, April 16, through Thursday, April 17, for May buyers. LLDPE’s high of $1210/tonne was reached on Monday, April 16, and Tuesday, April 17, for June-July sellers.

For PP, a low price of $1260/tonne was reached on Monday, April 16, and Tuesday, April 17, for May-July buyers. The hi

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