Industry Watch 20375

EXHIBIT SPACE DRAWN FOR 25TH NPE
It can’t be . . . but it is. Although a few of us are still recovering from the big June 2003 event, it’s already time to start thinking about the next NPE (June 19-23, 2006, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL). The official exhibitor kickoff to the season, whose length and complexity call to mind a presidential campaign season, hit the plastics world on Feb. 22 in Chicago.

In the Chicago Hilton & Towers, exhibiting companies waited in NFL-draft style for their names to be announced. Space selection is based on seniority, with SPI-member companies with the most NPEs attended drawing first. Nonmember companies pick last.

Coveted booth space was snatched up quickly. With GE Advanced Materials bowing out of next year’s exposition, the South Hall space it had reserved for years was up for grabs—and Battenfeld stepped in to fill the gap. In all, 82.3% of the targeted available space (1 million sq ft) was reserved.

In his opening remarks, outgoing SPI president Donald Duncan said this would be “quite possibly the largest NPE ever,” and emphasized the international contingency expected at the show.

SPI-audited figures show that 22% of the booth space assigned at the drawing went to companies with addresses outside the United States, and to pavilions for specific countries. This foreign square footage is reportedly already larger than the onsite total at any previous NPE.

“By June of 2006, NPE attendees will have the exhibits of 2000 companies to choose from,” says Tim Stojka, chairman of the NPE 2006 executive committee. One of those will be IMM, in the South Hall, booth 2626.—AC

HPM ACQUIRES SANDRETTO, WINDSOR
Taylor’s HPM launched a major expansion of its injection molding machinery business by acquiring the Italian Sandretto Group and German-based Windsor, both from the Italian-based Cannon Group.

Christopher Filos, CEO of Taylor’s HPM, says the company was glad to integrate its range of large machines with the medium-sized series and special presses of Sandretto and Windsor. Noting the geographic effects of the expansion, he says, “HPM is strong in North America, while Sandretto has a good reputation and market share in Europe and South America.”

Parent company Taylor’s Industrial Services has now acquired some of the most experienced machinery makers. HPM, which was started in 1877, made its first molding machine in the U.S. in 1934. Sandretto set up shop as a molding machine maker in 1946 and now has three production facilities in the area around Turin, Italy. The Cannon Group acquired Sandretto in 1997 and Windsor in 1998.

Cannon CEO Marco Volpato says that the synergies envisioned between urethane processing, Cannon’s main business, and injection molding were not enough to create additional revenues. Cannon will refocus on its strengths in other plastics processing segments.—RN

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HERRMANN
Inheriting a virus can be a problem for some, but not for Thomas Herrmann. He says he inherited an “ultrasonics virus” from his dad, Walter Herrmann, who in 1961 founded Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik in Germany. Thomas Herrmann founded the company’s Nafta HQ, Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc. (Schaumburg, IL), in 1990. It’s celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.Among the technological milestones that the company has produced are its Dialog touch-screen controller and its patented twin-converter weld horn technology, which enables the welding of large parts with a single horn.

Herrmann has recently introduced the Ultrarobot, a flexible ultrasonic welding workcell equipped with an articulating arm robot smart enough to automatically change up to four weld horns to accommodate different welding operations with minimal waste.—CK

MOLDER HITS MILESTONEEstablished in New Jersey in 1955, a growing, family-owned and family-run custom molder is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. A 50-year-old, privately held custom molder in New Jersey? Wow! Guess it can happen here.

Tony Miragliotta Sr. started Mira Plastics Co. Inc. Today, both his children and their children work with him at Mira’s modern, 62,000-sq-ft facility in Fredon Township, NJ.

Mira’s a full-service custom molder—art-to-part and then some. It provides assembly, packaging, and even shipping and receiving services for warehousing and distribution. And it’s growing. It just bought a new 1250-ton Engel two-platen press, equipped with an Engel servo robot.—CK

SHORT SHOTS
RJG Inc. (Traverse City, MI) has met the CE certification requirements for its eDart System, a requirement mandated for products sold in the EU, which now include RJG-instrumented molds and products. The company also has announced the formation of a joint venture with Singapore’s Plastechnic Marketing Ltd. to sell and support RJG’s products in the Asia-Pacific marketplace.

Bulk Molding Compounds Inc. (West Chicago, IL) reports that injection molded BMC has beaten out compression-molded SMC in complete cam cover modules for Ford’s 5.4-liter Triton 2V engine, used in full-size Ford and Lincoln trucks, vans, and SUVs. BMCI partnered with Dana Automotive Systems on this application. They’ve done the same for cam cover systems for Mazda, Jaguar, DaimlerChrysler, and other Ford vehicles.

Graco Inc. (Rogers, MN) is rapidly becoming a global giant in liquid handling systems. In the past couple of months it has purchased Gusmer Corp. (Lakewood, NJ), a manufacturer of two-component mixing and dispensing systems, and Liquid Control Corp. (North Canton, OH), a supplier of mixing and metering equipment for LSR molding.

Gas-assist systems supplier Gain Technologies has relocated into a new 34,000-sq-ft facility in Shelby Township, MI. The new facility will serve as the company’s global HQ and as a product development center, housing everything from Catia CAD for product design to machine capacity from 83 to 800 tons for mold tryouts and product runoff.