Reifenhäuser and Appleton collaborate on coextrusion

Extrusion system supplier Reifenhäuser (Troisdorf, Germany) has partnered with Appleton’s (Appleton, WI) Performance Packaging Division on a new wide-web blown-film coextrusion line. The line can produce coextruded sheet up to 106 inches wide with roll diameters to 47 inches. Ready for commercial production by February 2007, the line features REIcotherm thickness control from Reifenhäuser, which is designed to reduce process-related thickness deviations to a minimum in the transverse direction.

Appleton’s films are sold into the retail food and institutional food markets, as well as medical and industrial goods. Products include COF (controlled coefficient of friction), Inflex films for standup pouches, and X-Site metallocene films. The company supplies high-barrier films suitable for packaging meat and cheese products.

Russian supplier opts for PET melt-to-pellet line

Russian plastics and chemicals supplier Alco-Naphtha LLC has tasked Austria’s Uhde Inventa-Fischer to construct a 240,000tonnes/yr PET plant, the biggest single-line polyethylene terephthalate plant in Europe, at Alco-Naphtha’s site in Kaliningrad.

The new plant will use Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s proprietary 2-Reactor (2R) technology and Melt-To-Resin (MTR) process to produce PET suitable for application as PET bottles and containers for carbonated soft drinks (CSD), beer, water, juice, and other beverages. The 2R technology simplifies the polycondensation process and the plant layout compared to conventional multiple-reactor technologies and is said to offer lower energy and maintenance costs, higher raw material yield, and superior PET quality.

The Kaliningrad plant will be the first plant in Eastern Europe based on the MTR process, a cost-effective alternative to conventional production processes because it eliminates expensive solid state post-condensation (SSP). (Initial report on MTR: August 2004 MPW, pg. 47)

MTR produces PET from terephthalic acid (PTA) and ethylene glycol (MEG) using a two-reactor system in melt phase up to the ready-to-use intrinsic viscosity (iV) for bottle or film sheet applications. PET up to an intrinsic viscosity of 0.85 dl/g is obtained. Uhde-Fischer says the 2R-MTR combination cuts a supplier’s cost of converting purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and ethylene glycol (EG) into PET by 28% compared to conventional polycondensation technologies. Uhde-Fischer also is building a similar plant for DAK Americas (USA), and a 400-tonnes/day MTR plant for an unidentified customer in the Middle East.

Husky holding hot runner symposium

Injection molders are invited to attend a hot runner seminar hosted by Husky (Bolton, ON) on March 16 at the Marriott Hotel Center at Forrestal, near Princeton, NJ.

The symposium, from 09:00-16:00, focuses on helping processors realize “Faster Cycles. Better Parts” and includes presentations by experts from Husky as well as from polyolefins supplier Basell and cavity pressure sensor supplier RJG Inc. More information is available through Husky’s website, www.husky.ca.

SPI creates medical section

Eight to 12% growth rates have prompted the Society of the Plastics Industry’s (SPI; Washington, DC) alliance of Plastics Processors (APP) business unit to launch an APP Medical Products Section comprised of material suppliers, molders, machinery companies, moldmakers, and OEMs within plastics that are involved in the medical products field. The section will be led by Allen Weidman, APP executive director; Karen Miles, APP assistant director; and Melissa Hockstad, senior technical director.

SPI also maintains an epoxy resin systems task group; film and bag federation; fluoropolymers division; food, drug, and cosmetic packaging materials committee; thermoformers institute; and machinery; molders, moldmakers; organic peroxide producers safety; sheet producers; and vinyl products divisions.

Ticona expands UHMW-PE production into China

Engineering plastics supplier Ticona (Florence, KY) will expand its global leadership position in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) with a 20,000-tonne/yr plant at its integrated chemical complex in Nanjing, China. Ticona says the expansion, which will be operational by the second half of 2008, will give it 90,000 tonnes of annual global capacity for its GUR brand UHMW-PE.

Ticona currently has a fully integrated acetyls complex at its Nanjing Industrial Park, including a 600,000-tonne acetic acid facility, 300,000-tonne vinyl-acetate monomer plant, and 100,000-tonne acetic anhydride unit. In addition, Ticona is building specialty acetyl derivatives units to manufacture vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions and conventional emulsion polymers.

Ticona also produces GUR in Oberhausen, Germany and Bishop, TX. It declared force majeure at its German plant, which has annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes, last fall because of a lack of ethylene (e-Weekly, Sept. 27, 2006). In a presentation to investors, Celanese, Ticona’s parent firm, anticipated incremental sales of $600-$700 million from the integrated Nanjing facility, which in addition to GUR UHMW-PE, will sell AO+ acetic acid, Vantage Plus vinyl acetate, and emulsions.

Chesapeake finds Hungarian partner

Blowmolded plastics packaging processor Chesapeake Corp. (Richmond, VA) has entered into a joint venture with pesticide formulator Chemark Termelo es Kereskedo Kft. (Budapest, Hungary) to supply plastic containers to agrochemical customers in Eastern Europe. The joint company—Chesapeake Plastics Kft.—has already reached an agreement to supply Syngenta Crop Protection, which is an existing client for both firms.

The operation will supply polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers and is expected to begin operations in Q4 2007. Chesapeake supplies paperboard and plastic packaging from 47 locations in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia, with 5550 employees worldwide; most of its blowmolding operations are in Europe. Chemark, which was founded in 1991, is privately owned.

Last spring Chesapeake sold its PET bottle and HDPE closure business in Lurgan, Northern Ireland to that company’s management for an undisclosed price. Formerly known as Boxmore Plastics Ltd., the new business is called Beverage Plastics Ltd. and focuses on the carbonated soft drink and water markets.

Trade, currency actions garner association support

A trade subsidy action and proposed currency manipulation legislation focusing on China drew praise from supporters of U.S. industry, including the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI; Washington DC) and the U.S. Business and Industry Council (USBIC; Washington DC). The Fair Currency Act of 2007 was re-introduced by U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan of Ohio and Duncan Hunter of California, gaining the weight of 31 cosponsors. In addition, the U.S. Trade Representative launched a dispute-settlement proceeding with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against what it calls prohibited subsidies the Chinese government provides to domestic manufacturers and exporters. Since its admittance into the WTO in 2001, U.S. plastics trade with China has grown significantly, according to the SPI, reaching $2.4 billion in exports and $7.5 billion in imports in 2005.

The USBIC says the currency act, which was initially introduced in 2005, could address monetary manipulation that has put U.S. manufacturers at an unfair disadvantage, enforcing laws already on the books. USBIC reports that the U.S. Treasury Dept. found China to be in violation of the currency-manipulation provision in 1988’s Trade Act five times from 1988 to 1994, while Taiwan was found manipulating four times, and Korea manipulated three times. Since 1994, however, the USBIC says the Trade Act hasn’t been enforced, while in 2006 the trade deficit with China alone grew 15.38% to $233 billion. In a statement, SPI President Bill Carteaux said, “SPI members have for years competed on an uneven playing field, where countries like China are providing an unfair advantage to their exporters by maintaining an artificially low level of their currencies.”

Hilex Poly continues Vanguard integration, closes CA plant

After absorbing fellow bagmaker Vanguard Plastics in 2005, creating the world’s largest bag company and launching a new facility in Idaho, Hilex Poly Co. LLC (Hartsville, SC) announced it would close its Rancho Cucamonga, CA plant, affecting 120 employees. The Vanguard acquisition gave Hilex Poly a combined 12 manufacturing plants and in excess of $650 million in annual sales. The 145,000-sq-ft Idaho facility was scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2004, joining Hilex operations in North Vernon, IN; Milesburg, OH; Mt. Olive, NC; Victoria, TX; and Hartsville, SC. The company spent 2006 integrating businesses, creating centralized customer service, a single ERP business system, and a restructured sales force.

Some GE shareholders bristle at Ecomagination push

A mutual fund that holds shares of General Electric will force the company to justify its global-warming regulation lobbying to shareholders in a proxy meeting. The Free Enterprise Action Fund has been granted its request that GE report on the scientific and economic analyses relevant to the company’s climate-change policy. The Free Action Fund maintains the greenhouse-gas regulation that GE supports could raise energy prices and reduce energy supplies, negatively impacting the U.S. economy, GE’s earnings, and shareholder value.

“There is ample reason for us to be concerned that global warming regulation may harm GE’s earnings,” Tom Borelli of Action Fund Management LLC said in a statement. “In 2006, GE’s plastics unit reported disappointing earnings because the company said it could not pass along to customers the increased costs of petroleum-based raw materials. So last year’s high energy prices gave us a preview of what increased energy costs can do to earnings.”

The fund pointed out that in California legislation has been proposed to ban incandescent light bulbs, a GE product, and that while the company’s annual revenues are $160 billion, its Ecomagination product line generated just $10 billion.

Romi boosts Brazilian injection molding sales 46%

Modernizing its facilities and launching new products paid dividends for Brazilian machinery supplier Industrias Romi SA, with sales volume for injection molding machines up 46% and machine tool sales up 10% in 2006. Net revenue was up 7.5% compared to 2005 to a record Real 549 million.

Romi has been serving the Brazilian plastics processing market for more than 30 years and has an annual capacity of 400 machines. According to its web site, it has more than 4000 units installed. The company offers five machine lines ranging from 220 to 3300 tons. In June 2006, the company began an expansion of its facility in Sao Paulo, adding 260,000 sq ft at a cost of $14 million. The company anticipated that expanded production would start in February 2007.

Coating difficult surfaces made easier

The Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants (CAS) business unit of Bayer MaterialScience AG (Leverkusen, Germany) has extended its range with the addition of two Bayhydrol polyurethane dispersions specially developed for the coating of plastics. The new grades, Bayhydrol XP 2606 and the more flexible variant Bayhydrol XP 2648, can be used to formulate flexible coatings having a good property level when used as a filler, basecoat or topcoat. The very rapid drying of both products enables fast processes in industrial applications.

According to the supplier, Bayhydrol XP 2606 exhibits good cold flex resistance and is particularly well suited for coating PVC substrates. Bayhydrol XP 2648 is even more flexible and offers good adhesion to other difficult substrates such as polyamide. With the addition of crosslinking components (such as the supplier’s low-viscosity Desmodur-brand polyisocyanates), good adhesion to polystyrene surfaces also can be achieved.

CMAI adds polyolefin workshop to World Petrochemical Conference

Industry consultant Chemical Market Associates Inc. (CMAI; Houston, TX) expects to outdraw its record 2006 attendance of 940 at its Annual World Petrochemical Conference and Workshops, scheduled for March 20-22, 2007 in Houston. The 22nd version of the event will feature a keynote speech from Sherman Glass Jr., senior VP basic chemicals, intermediates, and synthetics at Exxon Mobil Chemical.

In addition, the first day will have a general session focusing on macrolevel issues facing chemicals, plastics, and fibers, with the second day featuring concurrent sessions on aromatics and fiber intermediates; olefins and derivatives; chlor-alkali and related products; and polyolefins. Immediately prior to the conference, on March 20, CMAI will host two one-day workshops, including a new advanced course: in-depth polyolefins.

Eastman parts with Spanish PET plant

La Seda de Barcelona S.A. (Barcelona) will acquire Eastman Chemical Iberia S.A. (San Roque, Spain) from parent company Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, TN). La Seda is a supplier of artificial and synthetic fabrics and yarn such as polyester, polythene and viscose, as well as of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) granulate. Terms were not yet revealed.

La Seda’s acquisition includes Eastman’s PET manufacturing assets in Spain. Last November, Eastman announced that it wanted to divest the San Roque plant as the result of a labor dispute there, coupled with a general malaise in the PET supply industry exacerbated by increasing supply outstripping demand. More recently it said it would shutter the plant. Eastman continues to look at its other non-integrated PET production assets outside North America for divestment.

Names in the News

Employees of flat-die manufacturer Extrusion Dies Industries LLC (EDI; Chippewa Falls, WI) mourn the death of their colleague, Andreas Sannert, the general manager of EDI’s subsidiary in Reichshof-Wehnrath, Germany. The 40-yr-old married father of three died Feb. 3 in an accident at his home when a tractor he was driving overturned. “Andreas was widely known by users of flat-die systems in Germany and throughout Europe, and he was respected for his technical expertise and understanding of customer needs,” said Timothy C. Callahan, EDI president and CEO. “For all of us at EDI, his untimely death means the loss of a skilled manager, gifted colleague, and valued friend.” Andreas Sannert entered the toolmaking industry in 1983 and began his association with EDI in 1992, when he joined Extrusion Dies Service, the company that at the time represented EDI in German-speaking countries. EDI GmbH grew substantially under his leadership, and today the company oversees most of EDI’s business in Central and Eastern Europe.

Moll Industries Inc. (Dallas) has appointed Gerald Duggan as VP of sales and marketing, taking over for Joe Pack who was recently named to CEO and president of the company, by Highland Capital Management. Highland is guiding Moll’s reorganization. Duggan has held sales and marketing management positions at GE Plastics, Nypro, and the former Precise Technologies (now Rexam).

Liquid color and additives masterbatch supplier ColorMatrix Group Inc. (Cleveland, OH) named V. Gerry Corrigan as president and chief executive officer. He’s been with ColorMatrix as COO since 2003; prior to that he spent 20 years with PPG Industries. ColorMatrix co-founders Michael Shaughnessy and John Haugh will remain with the group as co-chairmen of its board of directors.

Dynamic Conveyor Corp. (Muskegon, MI) has hired Tracy Powers as a business development representative. Dynamic Conveyor supplies conveying products to manufacturers globally. Powers comes to the business with several years of customer service, sales, and business development experience.

The Assn. or Rotational Molders (ARM; Oak Brook, IL) International has named Daven Claerbout of Dutchland Plastics (Oostburg, WI) to fill the rotomolder trade association’s VP position, recently vacated by Jeff Dunne of N.E.O. Plastics Co. (Austinburg, OH).

John Carrington, general manager of global marketing and chief marketing officer of GE Plastics, has been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Frost & Sullivan. Carrington was named to his current position in 2005. Prior to that he was the global automotive marketing director for GE Advanced Materials in Tokyo.

ECO2 Plastics (San Francisco, CA) CFO Frederick Smith will resign from his position effective Feb. 9, with Rod Rougelot, CEO, taking over his responsibilities on an interim basis. ECO2 Plastics, which has developed systems to recycle polyethylene terephthalate, recently changed its name from ITEC Environmental Group. In additional news, the company named Bill Whittaker to its board of directors.

The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI; Arlington, VA) has named Francesco Leboffe as it VP of marketing. Leboffe’s previous experience includes work with The Hilton Hotels Corp., The American Bankers Assn., the Direct Marketing Assn., Forbes Magazine, and others.

CPH Holding Corp. (Chicago, IL), which develops specialty chemicals for polymer materials, among other markets, has named William J. Holbrook as its CFO. He replaces Tom Seum, who retired in January 2007, after 25 years with the firm.

PSG Plastics Service (Mannheim, Germany), a manufacturer of hot runners, control systems, temperature units, heaters, and chillers, has named Ursula Fuchslocher, a major shareholder from the founding family, to the company’s advisory board. Thomas Jahn, previously commercial manager, now becomes, with Werner Reitmayr, co-managing director. Stephan Berz, Andreas Kissler, and Bernhard Seelert, responsible for engineering and sales at the company, complete the executive board team.

Dan Moynahan of Platinum Tool Technologies was elected the new president of the Canadian Assn. of Moldmakers Inc. and assumes his role as president on March 1, 2007. Other officers are Mike Hicks of DMS (Canada) Inc., who serves as first VP, and Angelo Carnevale of Michael Angelo Mould & Design as second VP.

Brendan Cummins, COO since October 2005, has been appointed CEO at polymer and additives maker Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Basel, Switzerland). He takes over the position vacated by Armin Meyer who is to focus on his role as chairman of the board.

James M. Stanford has been elected by the board of directors of polymer producer Nova Chemicals (Pittsburgh, PA) to replace J.E. (Ted) Newall as chairman, who is stepping down from his position on the board at the end of April. The company’s COO, Chris Pappas, has also been appointed to the board.

The Synthetic Organic Chemicals Manufacturers Assn. (SOCMA, Washington, DC) has named Zeb Youngs as manager of performance improvement at the association. Another new appointee, James Hinebaugh, assistant manager, will report to Youngs.

Briefs

BASF has opened its first Indian polyurethanes (PUR) system house in Navi Mumbai. The facility will serve the automotive, footwear, appliance, and construction industries, with backward-integrated polyester polyol for the footwear segment and blending facilities for the appliance and automotive segments. BASF has 30 systems houses for PUR around the world, including nine in the Asia Pacific region. According to IAL Consultants, PUR production has grown in India from 16,600 tonnes in 1990 to 108,730 tonnes in 2003. It’s projected to grow to 168,910 tonnes by 2008, with flexible foams and elastomers expanding at 13.3% and 8.5%, respectively.

Nylon compounds supplier Nycoa (Manchester, NH) announced that its Nycoa 512 grade of unfilled, lubricated, and nucleated polyamide for quick-cycling injection molding applications has been granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) gives the grade a UL 94 V-2 rating to thicknesses as low as 0.7 mm. Typical applications for the material include plumbing fittings and housings, kitchen utensils, toys, beverage dispenser parts, and thin-wall moldings.

Working to finalize a deal first proposed several weeks ago, Tier One automotive supplier Lear Corp. (Southfield, MI) has entered into an agreement with Carl Icahn’s American Real Estate Partners LP to be purchased for $36/share, or approximately $5.3 billion. Lear can solicit alternative offers for a 45-day period, but Lear Chairman and CEO Bob Rossiter said the deal offers “significant value”, adding the transaction price is about nine times Lear’s forecasted 2007 core operating earnings.

Hot runner systems producer HRSflow (Treviso, Italy) has recently expanded its product range to include the Fail Safe Screwed-in Nozzle, which consists of double heaters and double thermocouples to guarantee continuous production in the event of some production failure. The nozzle is screwed directly into the hot runner, and its heaters can be replaced by single- or double-coil heaters. This allows ease of assembly in the mold, hermetic closure between the hot runner and nozzle, and simpler maintenance.

Korean chemicals producer Songwon (Ulsan) says the construction of its second dedicated site for production of phenolic and phosphite antioxidants is already ahead of schedule, so that startup is now planned for April. In the first phase, this new plant increases the company’s capacity by 60% to 55,000 tonnes/yr. A second-phase expansion is already planned to bring total output to 80,000 tonnes/yr.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Basel, Switzerland) reports sales were up by 5% in 2006, with plastics additives and coating effects providing a major push in profitability. Sales were driven by higher demand than in 2006 in Asia and Europe. North American sales were generally flat while Latin America showed strong growth.

Plant consolidated contractors Linde Group, CCC, and polyolefins supplier Borouge (Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.) have signed a $1.3-billion contract to build an ethylene cracker to supply plastics production at the Ruwais, Abu Dhabi site. The unit is scheduled for completion in 2010 and is part of the Borouge 2 expansion to produce both polyethylene and polypropylene. Among the dignitaries present during the contract signing were German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.A.E. Minister of Economy Lubna Al Qasimi, and German Federal Minister for economics/technology Michael Clos.

The upcoming RESALE 2007 fair (Karlsruhe, Germany from April 18-20) now offers its online presentation (www.resale-germany.com) in 16 different languages for shoppers of used and reconditioned processing equipment. Show organizer, Hesse (Wingarten, Germany) has also coordinated its show for visitors who want to attend the Bauma exhibition in Munich following RESALE as well as those who may want to also attend the Hanover Industrial Fair, which ends two days prior to the Karlsruhe exhibition.

Producer of nucleating agents for polyolefins, Milliken (Spartanburg, SC) has recently received food-contact notification approval (FCN) for its Hyperform HPN20E product intended to enhance moisture barrier and improve mechanical properties of polyethylene (PE). The producer believes this will open up nucleated PE to new application areas.

Baypreg polyurethane (PUR) from Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen, Germany) is said to be the furniture packer’s dream; at least that’s according to Dutch company Tinga Research & Development (Winsum). This firm has come up with extremely lightweight, stackable PUR tables for easier handling than conventional wooden furniture due to a special sandwich composite made from the material. The sandwich composite consists of fiber mats impregnated from both sides by two-component PUR spray that lend the sandwich construction strength. The sandwich components are placed in a preheated mold and pressed into their final shape at between 6-8 bar and 19-37°C. Under these conditions the PUR cures in only a few minutes and demolding takes 6-8 min at 7°C. More information is available at: www.rimmolding.com.

The University of Michigan has been granted aeronautics research rewards relating to composites from NASA, including $116,000 for modeling of vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding and $150,000 for energy finite element analysis developments for metallic/composite rotorcraft configurations.

On the basis of rising energy and raw-material prices as well as solid demand, Dow Chemical Co. (Houston, TX) has announced a $0.12/lb price increase in North America for all virgin polycarbonate (PC), compounds, and blends, effective March 15, 2007 as contracts allow. The company specifically cited volatile benzene costs as a reason to boost resin prices for the company’s Calibre and Emerge resins.

The European Polymer Congress will be held of the first time in Slovenia, taking place from July 2-6, 2007 in Porotoroz. Biannual meetings held by the European Polymer Federation, this event will feature more than 600 participants and offer eight sessions on the physics, application, modeling, processing, recycling, and characterization of polymers. There are plans for 14 plenary speakers and 70 invited lecturers.

Wrapping up its inaugural year, the North American PET Resin Assn. (PETRA; New York) completed a series of objectives, including the formation of two standing committees—the Education Product Stewardship and the PET Sustainability Committees. PETRA is comprised of DAK Americas LLC (Charlotte, NC), Invista (Wichita, KS), M&G Polymers USA (Houston, TX), NAN Ya Plastics Corp. USA (Livingston, NJ), Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, TN), and Wellman Inc. (Fort Mill, SC).

Kuka Robotics Corp. (Clinton Township, MI) will supply robots to the new robotics technology center at Ohio Northern University. Part of the school’s Department of Technological Studies, the center will offer students hands-on design and programming experience. Fellow robotics supplier ABB Inc. (Auburn Hills, MI) announced at the Plastec West exhibition (Feb. 13-15; Anaheim Convention Center) that it would loan four robots to the McWane Science Center (Birmingham, AL) through 2007, as part of the center’s ScienceWorks exhibit.

ExxonMobil Chemical has plans for a multimillion-dollar investment at its LaGrange, GA operation to increase production of specialty oriented polypropylene (OPP) films. The investment will boost the company’s supply of multilayer, white OPP films. The films business has existing production in Virton, Belgium; Kerkrade, Netherlands; Brindisi, Italy; Shawnee, OK; Stratford, CT; and Belleville, ON.

Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical has chosen Pavilion Technologies’ (Austin, TX) model predictive control (MPC) technology for extruder and reactor control to be used on six of its polymer manufacturing lines at the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park. SECCO will use the MPC technology on two Innovene polyethylene lines, one Innovene polypropylene line, and three polystyrene lines. Pavilion’s systems are in place on more than 90 lines and 115 reactors worldwide.

Fifty years old and still innovating: Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Plastics Technical Center in Bartlesville, OK counts among its milestones the co-development of the first successful plastic detergent bottle, bleach bottle, baby bottle, automotive fuel tank, and two-liter bottle closure. According to Chevron Phillips Chemical (The Woodlands, TX), the Center was also instrumental in innovations such as moving section molds for blowmolding, die shaping for blowmolded parts, insulated runners for injection molding, and fusion technology for polyethylene pipe. Chevron Phillips Chemical supplies polyethylene, polypropylene, polyphenylene sulfid