Industry Watch 20428

CASCADE OFFERS MOLDFLOW CONSULTING
A new business consulting service to help companies benefit from its expertise in applying Moldflow analysis solutions to the molding process has been launched by Cascade Engineering (Grand Rapids, MI). Cascade was recently designated as a Silver Certified Moldflow Analysis solutions provider by Moldflow (Framingham, MA), its highest award degree.

Cascade first presented its flow analysis expertise at the International Moldflow Users Group in August 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. And it has successfully completed a beta program focused on linking flow and structural analyses to provide better imaging. See for yourself, on Cascade’s website, www.cascadeng.com.

“Cascade Engineering has been committed to providing innovative plastics solutions to its customers for more than 30 years,” says Fred Keller, chairman and CEO.

“Now we’re offering our expertise to help other injection molders maximize their capabilities and shape their own ideas in plastics.”—CK

AUTOMOTIVE MULTIMOLDING LIVES LARGE
Husky and Lear Corp. (Southfield, MI) confirmed that Lear has purchased the machine supplier’s first QTI (Quadloc Tandem Index) multimaterial system, a 3500-ton machine. In a joint press conference held at the Husky Detroit Technical Center (Novi, MI) in late June, the automotive Tier One supplier said it plans to use the equipment to mold instrument panels with a soft-touch TPE skin. Other potential applications mentioned include body panels, fascia, and window and sunroof glazing, where molding integral seals is a cost-reducing option.

Husky first revealed that development work was under way on the QTI multimaterial line at K 2004, billing it as an answer for large automotive parts molded with two or more materials. The system combines the QuadLoc large-machine platform with Husky’s Tandem stack mold technology and its rotating center-platen Index system, originally designed for PET preforms.The QTI concept was developed in partnership with Lear at the DTC. Ken Shaner, vice president of manufacturing engineering for Lear, explains, “We told Husky what we needed in terms of game-changing technology, in line with our OSMP program, and they responded with automotive-focused engineering and equipment.”

The OSMP (one-step manufacturing program) centers on eliminating outside-the-press assembly and replacing it with inmold processing for better quality at lower cost. For example, Shaner cited the fact that an overmolded instrument panel produced in the traditional way requires seven to 10 steps, two molding machines, and a good deal of labor.

Robert Adams, director of advanced engineering for IP/cockpit at Lear, explains that Lear had experimented with transfer molding as a means of overmolding TPEs onto large parts. “Processing had to be timed carefully with a robot for equal dimensional shrinkage,” he adds. “With QTI, we’re getting two machines for the price of about one and a half, using half the floor space, and we’re able to use conventional tooling.”

Lear expects the interior parts produced on the QTI system to find their way into midrange vehicles. The TPE material used in the instrument panel was developed with several suppliers, and Lear has exclusive applications rights to it for at least two years. Substrate materials range from TPOs and talc-filled PPs to PC/ABS.—MM

MINIATURE PRECISION EXPANDS
A $167 million auto molder, Miniature Precision Components Inc. (Walworth, WI), has invested about $2 million since late 2004 to build up its press capacity. It has purchased nine Cincinnati Milacron molding machines from 80 to 1100 tons, including Maxima twin-platens, Magna-V verticals, and Roboshot all-electrics for its plants in Walworth and in Prairie du Chien, WI.

Rich Simonson, MPC Walworth’s plant manager, says service was a key factor in justifying the capital investment. MPC runs a lean, 24/7 production schedule with less than five days of lead time from molding to vehicle build—including transportation and cross docking. Yet it had standardized on molding machines from another OEM.

“We simply cannot have machines down,” Simonson says. “We were reluctant to bring another brand of machinery into our facilities. Additional parts, maintenance, different controllers, and required training were all factors that weighed into this decision. All of these concerns have turned out to be nonissues, given Milacron’s support.”—CK

BAYER TO OPEN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK IN CHINA
Bayer MaterialScience is building its own local distribution network in China around a new trading company that it expects will reach annual sales volume of about $1 billion within five years. Bayer says it is one of the first multinationals approved to create such a company following a change in Chinese law at the end of 2004 to permit such wholly foreign owned enterprise trading companies.

The new company becomes the third pillar of Bayer’s China strategy, along with local production and technical support that are already in place and continuing to expand. Prior to this type of company being legal, local buyers had to go through dealers. Bayer says the new company consolidates customer service, logistics, and IT activity and gives it greater direct access to its local customers.—RN

POLAND? PRECISELY!
In Q1 2006, contract and proprietary parts molder Precise Technology Inc. (North Versailles, PA) will open a 3500-sq-ft facility in Lodz, Poland. The plant will house 14 molding machines equipped with high-speed robots and assembly systems. Precise Poland will cater to the expanding personal care and consumer packing customer base, according to Milt Francis, PT’s GM of European operations.

The Lodz site is in Diamond Business Park, said to be at the center of an expanding infrastructure in an area where other companies are locating. Francis says PT intends to hire as many Polish nationals as possible to fill 130 available positions.

PT’s existing European facility in Zevenhuizen, Holland will help pave the way for a smooth expansion into Poland, says Francis. The Zevenhuizen plant is well equipped, housing 42 injection machines and IML systems. In addition to another plant in the Netherlands, PT also operates 12 injection molding plants in the U.S. and plans to eventually open a facility in China.

“Poland is fast becoming one of the countries of choice for contract injection molding,” says Mike Farrell, PT’s president and COO. “We intend to expand our sales force in Europe, as well as our engineering and manufacturing resources in support of the expansion.”—CK

METAL LOSING GROUND IN EUROPEAN CLOSURES
AMI Consulting is forecasting that plastic will increase its share of the European closure market by 5.6% in the next five years, mostly at the expense of metal, though cork is also said to be declining. For 2004, metal had 57.8% of the sector and plastics 39.8%, so this is a major shift.

AMI’s new study of the closures business in Europe also indicates that the number of companies involved in the sector, which has already seen substantial consolidation, will decline. There were 465 companies on 530 sites making closures in Western Europe in 2004. The 10 biggest have about 60% of the market and the top 25 have nearly 75%. Of the remaining small to very small companies, AMI thinks as many as 200 might move out of the closure business over the next five years, owing to lack of capital for developing specialized niche products or being unable to reach the economies of scale in standard products that enables price competitiveness.

Of the nearly 158 billion closures made in 2004, AMI says 66% were for beverages. In that sector, two-piece closures are giving way to one-piece designs, driven by the replacement of glass bottles with PET. The beverage closures market should grow by about 6.2% annually through 2009.

The full study is available from AMI by calling +44 (117) 924 9442 or e-mailing [email protected].—RN

SHORT SHOTS
The Society of Plastics Engineers (Brookfield, CT) is accepting technical paper abstract submissions for SPE Antec 2006 (May 7-11; Charlotte, NC). For more information, contact Lesley Kyle, SPE’s senior event manager, at [email protected].

Milacron celebrated the opening of its new 7535-sq-ft injection molding sales and engineering center in Shanghai, China with an open house on July 19. Milacron China is already producing Maxima twin-platens from 500 to 4000 metric tons.

Ivid Smid has been appointed as interim director of the Center for Innovative Sintered Products (CISP) at at Penn State University (University Park, PA), replacing Randall German, director, who has accepted a position at another university. While at CISP, German was instrumental in advancing the state of the art in powder injection molding technologies.

Industrial robot manufacturerKuka Robotics Corp. (Clinton Township, MI) has joined the Society of the Plastics Industry.

Tectron Metal Detection Inc. (Laguna Hills, CA) is a new venture formed by Tectron Engineering and S+S Metal Separation (Schönberg, Germany), a supplier of metal detection and various sorting technologies, to bring S+S’s technologies to North America and to allow Tectron to market its own metal detection technologies to the plastics industry.

In July, the Lanxess Technical Rubber Products Business Unit opened a Shanghai Technical Center that will be the focal point for applications, development, and training for the Asia-Pacific region. A spokesman says the center, with a $6 million investment, underscores the company’s commitment to Asia, which Lanxess sees as the backbone for future growth of this business unit. He adds that the company is evaluating cost reduction options, specifically at its operation in France.