E-Update Industry News 21212

Trend shifts operations away from San Jose facility

In the face of high operating costs and flat sales, Trend Technologies LLC announced the closure of it San Jose, CA injection molding facility effective at the end of April. The 230,000-sq-ft plant offered toolmaking and metal stamping in addition to 30 injection molding machines. Dale Behm, Trend''s VP of plastics technology, cited numerous reasons why the northern California operation quoted higher than the company''s operations in Colorado, Mexico, and Asia.

"It''s certainly the energy costs," Behm said. "It''s the workmen''s compensation costs; it''s the salaries you have to pay people here in the local area. It just made it difficult for us to bring in enough business to support this size of facility."

The facility''s remaining business will be split between Trend''s Longmont, CO and Guadalajara, Mexico facilities, although a sales and support staff will remain in San Jose. Six molding machines will automatically be sent to Colorado, boosting that operation''s press total to 35. Machining centers left over from San Jose''s Tool Tech program, which was down to a "handful" of employees after having 50 on salary, will be shifted to Trend''s new Suzhou, China facility, which will open in early 2005.

San Jose''s metal stamping customers will be shifted to the Chino, CA facility, now the company''s only remaining operation in that state.

Mitsui Chemicals opens China PP compounding operation

Tokyo-based Mitsui Chemicals has established a wholly owned subsidiary in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province to compound polypropylene for automotive applications. A 15,000-tonnes/yr facility will come on stream in the spring of 2005.

Automobile production in China is expected to continue growing rapidly, having already expanded sharply from 3.25 million units in 2002 to 4.39 million units in 2003, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Beijing). Production already ranks fourth in the world after the U.S., Japan, and Germany; in sales, the Mainland ranks third.

Mitsui Chemicals also has a 16.7% stake in compounder Shanghai Mitsui Plastic Compounds Ltd. with 24,000 tonnes/yr of capacity. The other partners are Mitsui & Co., Dainichi Seika Color & Chemical, Denki Kagaku Kogyo, and Toray, all based in Tokyo.

Global PP compounding capacity at Mitsui Chemicals in 2005 will total 436,000 tonnes/yr. The firm also operates in Japan, Mexico, the U.S., Germany (toll production), and Thailand.

Report: Toyota aims to become biodegradable leader

A Reuters report out of Japan says Toyota Motor Corp. (Aichi) plans to develop biodegradable plastics into a ¥4-trillion ($38-billion) business by 2020, when the company hopes to control two-thirds of the world''s supply. This would equate to 20 million tonnes of biodegradable resin, according to Toyota.

Toyota began using polylactic acid (PLA) resin in some new cars last year, including the Raum and Prius models, but also supplies the material to Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido Co. (Tokyo). Toyota is also working with some 60 companies, including business-machine giants Fujitsu and NEC, to supply biodegradable plastics, according to the report.

Toyota produces a small amount of polylactic acid-based resin at a pilot plant acquired from scientific instrument firm Shimadzu Corp. (Kyoto), and is planning a larger 1000-tonnes/yr plant in Toyota City, with startup slated for August 2004. Based on the performance of the new pilot facility, Toyota may construct a commercial plant of 50,000-tonnes/yr capacity by 2007.

Eastman shutting COPE plant

Eastman Chemical (Kingsport, TN) will close its co-polyester plant in Hartlepool, England as the firm says it has "ample capacity from multiple production lines at other sites to meet current customer needs." The supplier has no back-end integration at Hartlepool; other sites are closely integrated with supply of the precursor materials used to make co-polyester.

The Hartlepool site manufactures a variety of co-polyesters, including Eastman''s Embrace, Eastar co-polyester 6763, and Eastar Bio biodegradable co-polyester.

Delstar buys two competitors

Extrusion processor Delstar Technologies (Middletown, DE) has acquired two similar processors, Industrial Research Machine Products LLC (IR) and Coretec Plastics Inc. DelStar will keep the acquired manufacturing and sales operations of both companies at their current locations in El Cajon, CA and Richland, PA, respectively. DelStar has other manufacturing facilities in Middletown, DE and Austin, TX, as well as sales offices and technical support in Bristol, England and Shanghai, China.

DelStar Technologies processes net structures and fine-fiber meltblown nonwovens for use in the filtration, medical, textile, and industrial markets.

PMT axes Connecticut plant, moves to Texas

Injection moldbuilder Plastic Molding Technology Inc. (PMT; Seymour, CT, www.pmtinc.com) has decided to close its Connecticut headquarters and move operations to a facility in El Paso, TX to be closer to many of its customers, which are locating across the border in Mexico and in parts of Central America. The company will maintain sales and engineering at the old facility until the end of the year, when those operations, too, will be moved to Texas.

PMT opened the El Paso plant in 2001 to serve automotive and electronics suppliers needing small, complex parts processed from engineering resins. The company says full operations at the 40,000-sq-ft (3720-sq-m) shop should start up next month.

PMT CEO Charles A. Sholtis admits the move was not easy. "This … is very difficult for PMT, since its roots were in Connecticut and have been [there] for more than 30 years. Unfortunately, we felt the impact of global competition and the manufacturing recession," Sholtis says. "But the savings we anticipate achieving will provide PMT the opportunity to grow in the NAFTA market and provide significant benefits."

The company has already established a moldmaking and joint venture injection molding plant in Slovakia, and is considering moving to Ukraine, where the wage scale is equivalent of $.50/hr (February 2004 MP; MPI).

Rexam buying Plastic Omnium Medical

Rexam, one of the world''s top consumer packaging firms, is spending €32.5 million to acquire Plastic Omnium Medical, part of Compagnie Plastic Omnium, better known as a leading automotive parts molder.

Plastic Omnium Medical has one processing facility in La Verpilliere, France, and employs approximately 170 people, who mold parts such as drug delivery devices and inhalers.

E-biz: Two merge, consider another stock exchange listing

Internet-based marketplaces Hubwoo Inc. (France) and cc-chemplorer (Germany) have agreed to merge assets to form the largest European e-marketplace for nonproduction-related procurement. Hubwoo builds and operates electronic procurement platforms for large firms-including Michelin, Saint Gobain, and others-to connect with and purchase from their suppliers. Hubwoo had 2003 sales of ¤11 million and says it broke even in Q4 2003.

cc-chemplorer was formed and is owned by large German firms including BASF, Bayer, Degussa, Deutsche Telekom, Henkel, and SAP, and its clients include these plus VW, Heinken, and others. It recorded a profit last year on sales of ¤11.4 million. Combined, the two had about 640,000 orders pass through them last year for goods valued at ¤1 billion. The deal is to be approved next month at a Hubwoo shareholders meeting. The new group is also considering listing its shares on Germany''s Frankfurt stock exchange.

Hubwoo is currently listed on the French stock exchange.

Fulcrum business now on its own

Dow Chemical has divested its Fulcrum thermoplastic composites business into a new company called Fulcrum Composites Inc. Fulcrum technology allows for continuous pultrusion of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic parts.

The new business includes manufacturing facilities at the National Composites Center (Dayton, OH) and intellectual property. It is also taking with it long-time Fulcrum business manager Chris Edwards, now CEO of the new firm.

Austrian Petrochemical Holding (Vienna, Austria) is building a 154,000-tonnes/yr capacity bottle-grade polyester plant in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The ¤65-million investment is scheduled to go on stream in late 2005. Together with a previously announced plant being built at the site (also to start up production next year), the total facility will have an annual capacity of 310,000 tonnes.

Alliance aimed at blown film market

Software supplier Plastisoft Corp. (Toronto, ON) and cooling ring manufacturer Future Design Inc. (Mississauga, ON) have formed a strategic alliance to co-market their software and air rings to blown film processors. The latter firm''s Saturn Genie air rings can provide feedback, which, when coupled with the software, can give these processors better online control of film thickness.

Ticona adds to POM capacity

Engineering thermoplastics supplier Ticona (Summit, NJ; Kelsterbach, Germany) plans to raise its North American acetal copolymer capacity from 86,000 tonnes/yr to 102,000 tonnes/yr by year''s end. The material, marketed by Ticona in North America under its Celcon brand and elsewhere as Hostaform, is made at a plant in Bishop, TX for use in markets including auto, industrial, appliances, and medical sectors. The firm is also building a 60,000-tonnes/yr acetal plant in China with Polyplastics Co., Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., and Korea Engineering Plastics Co. This grassroots facility near Shanghai should be operational in mid-2005.

Novamont wins innovation award

Biodegradable plastics supplier Novamont has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan award for innovation for 2003. Novamont is one of the leading suppliers of these materials, and, according to the award, "the primary catalyst in the rising volume demand for biodegradable polymers." Frost & Sullivan is an international consulting firm.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the supplier dominates the market for biodegradable plastics with a 55% to 60% market share in Europe, to date the leading market by volume for these materials. A Mater-Bi spokesperson confirms those figures and says the firm sells most of its material into the European market but sees increasing demand growth from North America and Asia. The firm markets grades suitable for extrusion, injection molding, and Mater-Foam, a material in cost and properties similar to expanded polystyrene. She adds that sheets and blocks are available in different sizes with densities from 30 to 400 kg/cu m.

Library opens its doors

Rapra Technology (Shrewsbury, England), one of Europe''s top polymer research organizations, is offering free 30-day trial use of its web-based polymer library-www.polymerlibrary.com-a service that usually costs £99. The library includes more than 850,000 records relating to plastics, rubbers, and adhesives, says Rapra. Rapra hopes processors using the reference for free for 30 days will return as paid subscribers. Interested persons should go to www.polymerlibrary.com and click "search for free."

P&G pushing for biodegradables

Procter&Gamble Co. (Cincinnati, OH) and Kaneka Corp. (Osaka, Japan) have inked a one-year joint development contract aimed at commercialization of PHBH biodegradable resin (a copolymer polyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid). The partners will bring together their production and processing technologies to develop markets for film, foamed, and injection-molded products with the target of commercial production by the end of 2005.

Owens-Illinois names new CEO

As it continues efforts to reorganize its global glass and plastics packaging operations, Owens-Illinois (Toledo, OH) named Steven McCracken as its new president and CEO, replacing interim co-CEOs Terry Wilkison and Thomas Young, who led the company after former president and CEO Joseph Lemieux stepped down for a planned retirement in January. McCracken spent the last 30 years with DuPont, most recently as president of its Invista integrated fibers and intermediates business.

Coperion: IPO still in the wings

When the Coperion Group was formed in 2000 by then majority owner Georg Fischer-a Swiss manufacturing conglomerate-Fischer officials said an initial public offering was planned in 3 to 5 years. Asked about that recently, Wolfgang-Dietrich Hein said, "The possibility is still there, but there''s no hurry. But certainly, a firm of our size, it makes sense to go public...we''ve the critical mass necessary. I think an IPO for this company makes sense when the markets improve." He says the firm expects better than 10% demand growth this year. Last year, West Private Equity, which had owned 49.9% of Coperion, acquired more of the firm from Georg Fischer, which still has a minority stake.

Chinese supplier wants Hostalen technology

PetroChina (Beijing) has signed a license agreement to use Basell''s Hostalen technology for a new 300,000-tonnes/yr high-density polyethylene plant in Jilin, China. "This is the first license in China for the bimodal Hostalen HDPE process," said Just Jansz, president of Basell Technology Co., who participated in a signing ceremony in Beijing in March. The Hostalen process is a low-pressure slurry cascade process for the production of monomodal and bimodal HDPE, including PE 100 pipe and high tenacity film grades.

Hishiya starts manufacture on the mainland

Hishiya (Osaka, Japan) has started manufacturing 500- and 1,000-kN hydraulic injection molding machines at a plant in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Better known for its vertical presses, the firm joins fellow Japanese firms Toshiba and Mitsubishi in establishing a Mainland production base.

PFM team wins 2004 Innovation Award

An interdisciplinary team of six German and two Austrian companies that developed Paintless Film Molding (PFM) technology took the 2004 Innovation Award of the VDI Society for Plastics Technologies (VDI-K, Dusseldorf). The companies were honored for their "groundbreaking work in integrating plastics processing." PFM produces exterior automotive panels by back-injecting thermoplastics or polyurethane onto a high-gloss, weather-resistant, integral-color thermoformed sheet (September 2002 MP, p. 70; MPI, p. 68). It is already used to make some roofs for the DaimlerChrysler smart car. The award was presented to: Achim Grefenstein from materials supplier BASF AG (Ludwigshafen); Rupert Gschwendtner (thermoforming machine maker Kiefel GmbH; Freilassing); Jochen Mitzler (injection molding and PUR processing machine maker Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH; Munich); Johann Kappacher (sheet producer Senoplast Klepsch GmbH & Co. KG; Piesendorf, Austria); Georg Kaufmann (moldmaker Georg Kaufmann AG; Busslingen, Austria); Max Petek (cleanroom supplier Max Petek Reinraumtechnik; Radolfzell); Rudiger Sonntag (automation company DAT Automatisierungstechnik GmbH; Pappenheim); and Werner Wollmann (laser cutting technology company Jenoptik Automatisierungstechnik GmbH; Jena).

SPI cozy with OSHA, headed to China

The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI; Washington) signed an agreement renewing its alliance with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Washington). The agreement aims to develop outreach and communications tools for thermoforming and extruding operations in plastics manufacturing facilities. In a separate announcement, SPI announced plans to host a trade mission to plastics processing districts in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, China.

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Washington), the June 21 to July 1 tour will provide participants with a look at business opportunities and competitive threats in China.

BASF enters second phase of restructuring

With a stated goal of reducing fixed costs by $250 million/yr by 2006, BASF (Mt. Olive, NJ) has entered the second phase of its restructuring program.

As part of the reorganization, BASF will close its South Brunswick, NJ expandable polystyrene site at the end of 2004 and shift its production to Altamira, Mexico. Also, the company will move its North American headquarters from Mt. Olive, NJ to smaller offices in Florham Park, NJ by the end of Q3 2004.

These closures join several recent acquisitions, including Honeywell''s engineering plastics, Ticona''s nylon 6/6 business, Sunoco''s plasticizers, and Foam Enterprise''s polyurethane system house. Internally, the company announced an investment in its Styrolux styrene-butadiene copolymers unit in Altamira, and the start of production at a new C4 olefins complex in Port Arthur, TX, which is a joint venture of BASF, Shell Chemical LP, and Atofina Petrochemicals.

Monolayer barrier PET now also in EU countries

The ActiTUF monolayer PET supplied by the M&G Group now is seeing use in PET beer bottles for three brands-Stella Artois, Jupiler, and Dommelsch-marketed in Western Europe by Interbrew. The brewery already is using the material for beers throughout Eastern Europe and Asia.

ActiTUF includes an active oxygen scavenger and a passive gas barrier in monolayer blowmolded packaging. The material is drawing interest as it offers the necessary gas barrier properties, ensuring beer or other beverages'' shelf life, while also doing away with the recycling concerns often associated with multilayer PET barrier packaging. The material processes on standard injection molding (for preforms) and stretch blowmolding machinery.

Engel expanding production, extending management team

Injection technology group Engel (Schwertberg, Austria) says that around the middle of this year it will move its subsidiary Engel Werkstofftechnik (EWT), which till now has made screws and non-return valves in Steyr, to a new and considerably larger production site at St. Valentin, where it already makes large machines as well as (since last autumn) final assembly of injection units for small machines. This will put all manufacture of injection units under one roof. The company started building an 8800-sq-m extension to the St. Valentin facility in December 2003. This will also afford more assembly space for the Engel MacPET production systems for PET preforms. EWT will supply the plasticizing units to the injection unit assembly lines on a just-in-time and ready-to-install basis.

Engel has also announced that, as of the beginning of April, former Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik technical director Hans Wobbe is technology, development, and production director for the company''s facilities worldwide. He will sit on the Engel Holding management board alongside chairman and marketing director Peter Neumann, and finance director Gotthard Mayringer. Wobbe left K-M in 2002 to found his own company, hw.tech (Herrsching, Germany), which makes specialist equipment, and also recently took over Bucher Service, which services old Fahr Bucher machines, from K-M. He has kept a shareholding in that company but is no longer active in it.

Zotefoams and Victrex collaborate on new foamable ETPs

A collaborative program between polyetheretherketone (PEEK) producer Victrex plc (Thornton Cleveleys, England) and foam producer Zotefoams plc (Croydon, England) has produced foamed versions of Victrex PEEK with densities as low as 650 kg/cu m. Initial indications suggest that far greater reductions in density are feasible.

The process uses Zotefoams'' nitrogen saturation technology to impregnate granules, which can then be used in conventional injection molding equipment to produce foamed parts, or in extrusion to produce continuous foam profiles.

The foams are said to maintain many of the properties of the initial polymer, such as outstanding chemical resistance, low flammability, high temperature performance, good dielectric performance, and excellent radiation resistance. Target applications range from floats and level sensors in chemically harsh environments, to reduced-weight thermoformed panels for aerospace and mass transit.

The companies are seeking potential partners with expertise in injection molding and extrusion.

Solvay consolidating

Brussels-based Solvay group will unite its plastics producing and processing sectors into a single entity, which will be called Plastics Sector. The change will be effective June 1. The strategic business units concerned cover high-performance thermoplastics, fuel systems, vinyls, and derivates.

Iranians sign deal with Basell

Tehran, Iran -Arak Petrochemical of Iran (APC, Tehran) has committed itself to expanding output of its facilities in its goal to become a polymer powerhouse in the Middle East. Arak is an affiliate of the country''s National Petrochemical Co. (NPC) of Iran which was the first licensee of technology from Basell (Hoofddorp, the Netherlands).

APC says it will increase capacity of its 50,000 tonnes/yr polypropylene plant by 50% and output of its 60,000 tonnes/yr capacity high density polyethylene facility will jump by 40%. Both plants use technology licensed from Basell, says Kaspar Evertz, the company''s senior vp. for licensing. The facilities are located in Arak, about 300 km south of Tehran. The country wants to expand polymer production from 14 million tonnes/yr in 2002 to 50 million tonnes/yr by 2015.

In Brief

Great Lakes Chemical (Indianapolis, IN) and Laurel Industries, part of OxyChem (Dallas, TX), will combine their antimony-based flame retardant businesses and operate them as GLCC Laurel LLC.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Basel, Switzerland) is expanding its antioxidants production site in Shanghai, China by adding another 10,000-tonnes/yr capacity. At the same time, Ciba is transferring antioxidants manufacturing from its Kaohsiung, Taiwan site to Shanghai "for economic reasons."

European Flame Retardants Assn. has published a collection of "frequently asked questions" regarding flame retardant use in plastics applications. These can be accessed electronically in English, French, and German at: www.cefic-efra.com/faq.

Robert Genin, president of Basell Polyolefins Europe (Zaventem, Belgium) is retiring after 25 years of service with Basell and its many predecessor companies. He is replaced by Werner Breuers, former president of the company''s technology business. Breuers'' replacement is Just Jansz who was formerly senior VP of Basell''s advanced polyolefins division.

Sasol Polymers (Johannesburg, South Africa) is building a 300,000-tonnes/yr capacity polypropylene (PP) plant at Secunda, which is scheduled for startup in 2006. The facility, licensing BP''s gas-phase technology, will be able to produce a range of PP grades.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Tarrytown, NY) is expanding its production facility for antioxidants in Shanghai, China by 10,000 tons/yr. At the same time, Ciba is transferring existing antioxidants production from Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Shanghai, providing the company with a greater economy of scale and backwards integration into key raw materials. The antioxidant form-giving capacities for granular and liquid forms and blends in Kaohsiung and Shanghai will be expanded to ensure continuous service to customers in the China, Taiwan, and Asia-Pacific polymer industries.

Accel Corp. (Naperville, IL) completed the move and expansion of its 61,600-sq-ft manufacturing site in Naperville, nearly doubling the facility''s size. The plant produces color concentrates, dry color blends, and precolored compounds.

Stretch blowmolding machine maker Sidel (Octeville sur Mer, France) has opened a 70-employee technical center in Shanghai to serve all of Asia, including bottle design services, repair capability for blowmolds, and space for customer employee training,

Sidel predicts 40% to 50% of demand growth for the next five years in the beverage industry will come from Asia. Sidel reckons its machines are used already for processing more than 70% of PET bottles in China.

Matt Defosse [email protected]
Robert Colvin [email protected]
Peter Mapleston [email protected]