Short Shots: From the industry floor

Q+A: New bio-based propylene to hit the market

We noticed in June that Hawthorne, CA-based Cereplast (www.cereplast.com), a producer of starch-based, compostable resin, had raised $14.5 million in new capital from a group of “green” stock funds, including UBS Global Innovator. Then we saw that it was involved in the Live Earth concert in Brazil (last month’s Parting Shots). When we called founder/president/CEO Frederic Scheer to find out what Cereplast plans to do with the cash infusion, we found out that the company will soon introduce a PP material with high bio-based content, which it has trademarked as “biopropylene.” Here is an excerpt of our conversation with the clearly enthusiastic Scheer.

IMM: What are the properties you expect to achieve in this new material?

Scheer: We are currently making final lab controls and do not have all the answers yet, but the concept is to have heat resistance, impact resistance, and tensile strength similar to general-purpose polypropylene.

IMM: Which materials would be used to create this blend?

Scheer: We will use our proprietary basket of starches and standard PP.

IMM: What are the target applications, and/or which materials does it seek to replace?

Scheer: We do not intend to replace any specific material but extend the offering of PP with a material having a high bio-based content, something we have trademarked as a “biopropylene,” which converters and brand owners sensitive to alternative plastic will be able to use for applications normally reserved for PP.

IMM: When will it be commercially available? How much will it cost?

Scheer: We are expecting to have it available commercially by Q4 2007 at a price competitive with general-purpose PP. Plus, we can guarantee a price on a long-term basis—normally a one-year contract with a fixed price. This is one of the main drivers for the bio-based industry, especially since commodity plastics have been so volatile. The second driver is attractive pricing. Our current material [Cereplast] offers prices that are an average of $0.70/lb. Today, the four injection molding grades are good replacements for PET.

IMM: What are the property profiles for the current injection molding grades of Cereplast, and what is your capacity to produce it?

Scheer: It is a combination of our proprietary starches—PLA from Natureworks [Minnetonka, MN; www.natureworksllc.com] and nanoclays used as processing agents and film surface modifiers. The nanoclays are not used in food-grade resin, even though they are safe, because of public perception. We currently have a 55 million-lb capacity at our plant in California. We will have about 100 million lb of capacity before the end of the year and are projecting 250 million lb within 18 months.

Cereplast has a robust property profile. While starch-based plastics have a 95°F heat resistance and PLA or PHA-based materials reach 105°F, our compounds have a 140°F heat resistance now, with 160°F possible in the near future. In terms of strength, using a typical ASTM test, Cereplast is seven times stronger than PLA, with impact resistance built into the compound.

There are four injection grades—we divide them by melt flow, as low as 6 and up to 35—because they are used in a large variety of applications ranging from cutlery to consumer products. The most commercialized application is clearly the cutlery. We will supply material for DVD player cases before the end of the year, and plan to have auto part applications inside the door by 2008. Products we are making today are bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable. The auto industry wants to have a more sustainable resource, just bio-based, while cutlery and other food applications want to be degradable and compostable. To claim compostability, a product has to have low toxicity. Mix it with electrical parts that have heavy metals, and you can’t compost.

IMM: Is Cereplast technically a compounder?

Scheer: We compound proprietary products only, and do not do any toll compounding. Of the 15 resins we make, eight are PLA-based, so we are working with Natureworks. We have had no quantity restrictions as of today, and also our products are not 100% PLA. They range from 5-62% PLA, so a million pounds of PLA lets us produce 3 million lb of our products. Our second building block is starch, and we have a proprietary basket of starches sourced in the U.S. and globally to protect ourselves from the price situation with corn. In addition, the price of starch is going down. It was $0.18 five years ago, rose to $0.30, and is now $0.23 in the U.S., and lower outside the U.S.—MM

MICRO SHOTS

Makuta adds portable cleanroom
Micromolder Makuta Technics has completed the addition of a second mobile Class 10,000 cleanroom at its new facility in Shelbyville, IN. It houses a 30-ton Sumitomo multimaterial molding machine that produces a two-shot component for a medical supplier and is equipped with a Yushin RA 30 robot that removes the runner and packages the parts.—AC

Lati departs U.S.
As part of a company reorganization, Lati SpA (Vedano Olona, Italy) has discontinued production of thermoplastics in the United States and has turned its focus to Southeast Asia, the source of its highest growth.—AC

New 610-tonner for Steinwall
Steinwall Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) has added a Toshiba 610-ton hydraulic press with optical linear scales and an oil-free slide system. The company says this technology will increase consistency, provide accurate position sensing, and make for a cleaner molding environment. Other technologies on the press include a dynamic barrier screw, which reportedly allows for stable melt temperatures compared to a full-flight screw, and a Moldylyzer control system that notifies the operator if hydraulic pressure falls outside the preset tolerance.—AC

Basell buys Lyondell for $19 billion

Just when you thought the deals among resin suppliers couldn’t get any bigger, polyolefins giant Basell leaps to the top with its $48 per share ($19 billion with assumed debt), all-cash purchase of Lyondell Chemical (Houston, TX), the third-largest chemical concern in North America. Privately held Access Industries, which owns Basell (Hoofddorp, the Netherlands) along with Warner Music Group and a stake in Russian oil company TNK-BP, reports that the deal is not subject to financing.

Lyondell refines high-sulfur crude oil into gasoline, and its other products include ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, and propylene oxide. According to Basell, the per-share price is a 20% premium to Lyondell’s closing share price on July 16, 2007. Together, Basell and Lyondell’s combined 2006 revenues were $34 billion and the two companies have 15,000 employees.

Access Industries, founded by Russian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik, who became a U.S. citizen in 1981 and now works from London, believes the acquisition of Lyondell positions Basell as one of the top chemical companies in the world. Said Blavatnik, whose personal net worth is listed by Forbes magazine as $7 billion, “This combination further strengthens Access’s long-term strategic position in the global petrochemical industry.” Volker Trautz, Basell’s CEO, added, “Lyondell’s competitively positioned assets, access to raw material, and refining capacity are excellent complements to Basell’s diversified portfolio.” Within the next few months, principals of both companies expect regulatory approvals and the approval of Lyondell shareholders needed to close the deal.

Basell planned to buy Huntsman for $9.6 billion in late June, but was trumped by a higher offer from Hexion Specialty Chemicals (Columbus, OH), a company owned by Apollo Management, which agreed to purchase Huntsman for $10.6 billion. Basell also lost out to Sabic in a bid to buy GE–Plastics earlier this year.—MM

Sabic Innovative Plastics is the name, but we’ve already met

An article on Aug. 2, 2007 in the Berkshire Eagle, the hometown newspaper of GE–Plastics in Pittsfield, MA, revealed that the company’s postacquisition name will be Sabic Innovative Plastics. The purchase of GE–Plastics for $11.6 billion by Saudi Basic Industries is expected to conclude by the end of September. The new name is said to have been chosen in early July, and will appear on letterhead and business cards within 30 days of the sale closing. The paper reported that the company had already purchased an Internet domain, www.sabic-ip.com.

John Carrington, GE–Plastics chief marketing officer, told the Eagle’s Scott Stafford that, in conjunction with the renaming, a variety of interviews were conducted with employees and customers globally to learn how they saw the company going forward. It was recognized early, Carrington noted, that Sabic should be in the name for its brand recognition in Europe and Asia.

Pronounced “sah-bik,” the company is indeed well known around the globe for its chemicals, fertilizers, metals, and plastics—largely commodity polymers. Brand awareness has been lower in North America, but it’s safe to assume that will change as the company goes forward with such established GE–Plastics engineering resins as Lexan, Noryl, Ultem, Cycolac, and so forth, not to neglect the wide array of LNP compounded grades.

Second place goes to All-Pak

An updated bottle and closure won the silver award at the National Assn. of Container Distributors’ 44th annual awards competition. All-Pak (Bridgeville, PA; www.all-pak.com) created a new look for Haviland Consumer Products’ line of Spa Pure spa products by changing the PET bottle to a cobalt blue and making fluorescent closures that matched the bottle labels. In addition, the neck size was increased for easier filling and pouring. The new design premiered in late 2006.—AC

Tri-Mack votes for integrated CAM

If you are a custom molder and moldmaker, you may be using separate CAD and CAM packages. Ever wonder if an integrated system might be better? CAD vendor SolidWorks (Concord, MA; www.solidworks.com) has a multitude of partners that design certified software for its users. One of these partners, TekSoft (Scottsdale, AZ; www.teksoft.com), produces a SolidWorks Gold Certified and integrated product called CAMWorks. SolidWorks asked one of its customers, Chris Bjerregaard, project engineer at Tri-Mack Plastics (Bristol, RI; www.trimack.com), what he thought about using this software within the SolidWorks CAD environment. Here’s what Bjerregaard said:

“Automatic feature recognition is probably the most important feature for Tri-Mack, because we use CAMWorks primarily to machine 2- to 21?2-axis parts, electrodes, and injection mold components. AFR saves time, promotes standardization, and minimizes mistakes in the programming of these parts. The advantage of CAMWorks being integrated with SolidWorks is that it allows us to tie together the CAD and CAM portions of a project. This saves time in data transfer and when a design is modified. Training costs are minimized as well.”

Tri-Mack not only offers custom molding and moldmaking services, but also sells lines of proprietary bearings (Maxton), thermally conductive parts (Maxtherm), and textile machinery parts. Its custom molding operation focuses on tight-tolerance, high-performance thermoplastic parts for the aircraft, aerospace, chemical process, semiconductor, electrical, medical, and industrial machinery industries. Capabilities include part design, material selection, rapid prototyping, soft tooling, Moldflow analysis, production tooling, assembly, lost core molding, compression molding, and ultrasonic welding.

CAMWorks is the first fully integrated CAM solution to operate in the SolidWorks environment, and offers knowledge-based feature recognition and associative machining. It has been available since 2001.—MM

Longer glass for MuCell

Engel (www.engelglobal.com) and Trexel (www.trexel.com) are performing mold trials using long-glass-fiber-filled material and a 120-mm screw based on a new Trexel design that minimizes damage to maintain fiber length. The screw is used with Trexel’s MuCell microcellular foam process. Testing reveals a five- to six-fold decrease in part warpage, thanks to retention of fiber lengths of 12 mm and longer (Figure 1). The new screw uses a lower compression ratio, 2.0:1 as compared to 2.5:1, and incorporates significant changes to the center restriction element and the wiping and mixing sections to reduce shear, which can shorten fibers (Figure 2). It was installed on an Engel Duo (two-platen) 1000-ton machine (Figure 3) in early July at Engel’s new technical center and training facility in York, PA. Engel says the machine will also be available for general mold trials involving large parts.—MM

BMC throttle body production on the rise

Helvoet’s Dennis Que called IMM recently with a question about a throttle body image that appeared in the magazine. Apparently the component, which appeared in the March issue (immnet.com/articles/2007/March/3131), is now being molded by Helvoet (Plymouth, MI; www.helvoet.com) rather than the initial molder listed in the article. Que, a business development engineer, also told us he will be presenting a paper on this project at the ITB Group Automotive Air Induction & Cooling Systems conference on Sept. 27, 2007 in Novi, MI. Here are some of the highlights from his presentation:

• Helvoet will produce 2.2 million units over the next four quarters, or approximately 200,000 per month. With an electronic throttle body market expected to be 20 million-30 million units over the coming years, Helvoet has already taken a lead as a key supplier in the industry.

• These throttle bodies, molded from BMC, currently appear on Peugeot, BMW, and Mercedes engines in Europe. In North America, you will see them on Chrysler DCX 2008 models as they appear this fall.

• Helvoet has more than 80 years experience in phenolic (PF), BMC, PPS, PEEK, PEI, and other engineering-grade resins. Facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America all have experience with thermosets and high-temp engineering thermoplastics. In the past, they have made their own BMC and phenolic compounds.

• Extensive development efforts for throttle body housings began approximately five to six years ago, with the first production tooling orders two years ago, and orders in 2006 for several programs. Helvoet’s years of experience have been captured in internal design rules that now dramatically shorten development time for the customer.

• Interest in BMC and composite electronic throttle bodies is very high from Tier Ones at the moment. Advantages are weight savings, net shape, longer tool life than aluminum, and other long-term objectives. Many design and integration opportunities exist when using a composite throttle body that appeals to both Tier Ones and the OEM.

• The main cost advantages of BMC and other composite materials is the elimination of machining aluminum in order to meet tolerances that are not possible in diecasting.—MM

A guide for easier tool transfer

Breaking up is hard to do, and when it’s making the break from one molder to another, or from in-house production to a contractor, there can be some sticky issues in the tool transfer. Straight from a mold and mold component supplier comes advice on how to navigate the process: UFE Inc.’s (Stillwater, MN) three-page document entitled “Taming the Troubled Transfer” can be downloaded for free at www.ufeinc.com/transpr. It presents a four-part plan for a successful transfer:

1. Select strong project teams.
2. What does the new molder need to know?
3. Develop a detailed transfer plan with contingencies.
4. An extensive checklist is mandatory.
For IMM’s previous coverage of this potentially awkward and costly situation, see “The Survival Guide to Mold Transfer,” immnet.com/articles/2005/June/2625.—AC

Top ten tips for project management

1. Be clear about the business result that you want to produce.

2. Plan the best way to get the work done, and then put the steps on a schedule to meet the required date.

3. As you complete an iteration of planning, be sure to test it (simulate on a computer, if possible) to verify you are still on the right track.

4. Build completion criteria for each task. Completion criteria will keep clear what “completed” looks like for both the project manager and the person working the task.

5. Agreeing on standards for contributions from each team member will help members work together effectively.

6. The effect of taking on a change request is not always equal to the number of days provided in the estimate. Be aware of the incremental effect.

7. Build cost estimates for every task regardless of whether or not you are held accountable for a budget.

8. Calculate the cost of quality at the end of the planning phase and several times during the execution of the project. Doing this will help hone your skills to deliver a better-quality project.

9. Build an effective plan to work with your executives the same way you work with your team.

10. Have an attitude of success. It’s contagious.

Source: Project Management for Mere Mortals by Claudia Bacca, an independent project management consultant, trainer, and lecturer with more than 20 years of experience.

NPE welcomes the West

When the SPI (Society of the Plastics Industry) omitted the lower level of McCormick Place’s (Chicago, IL) East Hall from last year’s NPE, it was a forerunner of things to come. Out with East, in with West is the news from SPI, which announced it has reached an agreement with the exposition center to include the newly constructed McCormick West hall in NPE 2009 (June 22-26, 2009).

In addition to its 470,000 ft² of exhibition space, the new five-level building contains 250,000 ft² of meeting space in 61 rooms (ideal for SPI’s expanding education program) and an 8000-ft² rooftop garden for dining and retail (rendering, bottom right).

By adding West and, for the first time since 1971, removing East (Lakeside Center) from the exhibition, NPE 2009 nets 68,000 ft² more exhibit space. This area will be in play for the first time when exhibitors, including IMM, draw for their own booth space Feb. 19-20, 2008 in the West Building’s new 100,000-ft² ballroom (the largest in Chicago, according to McCormick’s operator, the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority). For more, visit www.npe.org or www.mccormickplace.com.—AC

Dow partners with Solvay and BASF

The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, MI; www.dow.com) has taken steps toward forming two partnerships to build two new plants in Thailand. In the first, Dow and Solvay SA (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) have agreed to create a joint venture for the construction of a hydrogen peroxide (HP) plant, scheduled to be operational in 2010. This facility, which Dow says will be the largest HP plant in the world with a 330-kiloton/year capacity, will generate the raw material for manufacturing propylene oxide (PO)—used to produce TPU, propylene glycol, and glycol ethers.

The second arrangement in process is with BASF Aktiengesellschaft (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) for the construction of a 390-kiloton/year PO facility in Map Ta Phut. This plant will employ Dow and BASF’s HP to PO (HPPO) technology.

“Thailand is an attractive location for an HPPO investment due to its fertile business climate and easy access to the entire Asia-Pacific region,” says Pat Dawson, president of Dow Polyurethanes. “In addition, the fact that HPPO technology offers environmental benefits such as reduced wastewater and increased energy efficiency underscores Dow’s commitment to sustainability, as outlined in our 2015 Sustainability Goals.”—AC

Plastics education in Greensboro

The PlastiVan rolled through North Carolina on July 26, showing teachers how to educate their students about plastics. The North Carolina Career & Technology Educators Conference in Greensboro, sponsored by the Society of the Plastics Industry, the National Plastics Center & Museum, the Mountain Area Workforce Board, the JobLink Career Center, and several North Carolina plastics manufacturers, provided information on how to conduct hands-on activities that teach students about the chemical properties and processes of plastics, and also focused on plastics industry careers and training opportunities. Participating in the workshop were representatives from local companies: Becton-Dickinson, Bemis Mfg., ITech, and United Southern Industries. For more on PlastiVan conferences, visit www.plasticsmuseum.org.—AC

Starrett acquires Kinemetric

Precision measuring equipment manufacturer The L.S. Starrett Co. (Athol, MA; www.starrett.com) has acquired the assets of long-time technical partner Kinemetric Engineering LLC (Laguna Hills, CA; www.kinemetric.com) for $2.3 million. Kinemetric specializes in precision video-based metrology, specialty motion devices, and customer-engineered systems for measurement and inspection, complementing Starrett’s existing metrology products.—AC

Noveon expands TPU

Noveon Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of The Lubrizol Corp. (www.lubrizol.com), has announced a planned expansion of its two-year-old Estane TPU facility in the Song Jiang Industrial Zone near Shanghai.—AC

Mold-Masters gets capital infusion

Private equity and venture capital firm 3i (London, England; www.3i.com) recently invested an undisclosed amount—but between $20 million and $200 million, according to 3i—in Mold-Masters Ltd. (Georgetown, ON; www.moldmasters.com) to enable the hot runner system manufacturer to expand its services in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. As part of the investment, Hamdi Conger, an industrialist with experience as chairman of several of 3i’s portfolio companies, will serve as Mold-Masters’ chairman.—AC

Berlin Packaging acquired by Investcorp

Investment firm Investcorp has agreed to acquire a majority ownership interest in Berlin Packaging LLC (HQ in Chicago, IL; www.berlinpackaging.com). The $300 million rigid packaging supplier makes plastic, glass, and metal containers, closures and dispensing systems, and also provides design and mold development services.

“It was important to partner with a firm that shares the same Berlin Packaging culture and belief system and is committed to further building a company that returns increased wealth to our customers, suppliers, and employees . . . and Investcorp fit the bill,” says president, CEO, and now chairman of Berlin Packaging Andrew Berlin. Melvin Berlin, 78, a co-owner and former chairman of the company since 1988, will no longer be with the company.—AC

Kramski gets new, bigger digs, full book of business

Expanding its precision metal stamping, insert molding, and subassembly business, Kramski North America Inc. (Largo, FL; www.kramski.com) has begun moving equipment into its new 35,000-ft² facility, a significant upgrade from its five-year-old 15,000-ft² plant. It acquired new work in insert-molded components for the automotive electronics industry and is developing two fully automated workcells that contain stamping, overmolding, optical inspection, and packaging functions. The first insert-molding line is expected to be in production by mid-September.

And there’s more equipment to come: Arburg and Engel presses, Motoman robots, and a range of auxiliary equipment. Plus, molds are coming from Kramski’s sister company in Sri Lanka. Finally, the company intends to increase its workforce over the next few months as it runs 24-hour manufacturing to meet the demand of its newly booked business.—AC

GW’s growing in China

Precision molder, moldmaker, and contract manufacturer GW Plastics Inc. (Bethel, VT; www.gwplastics.com) reports that it has tripled the size of its facility in Dongguan City, Guangdong to 40,000 ft² as part of a $1.7 million investment to establish operations in China, begun less than a year ago. Among other investments in the facility are:

• Unigraphics CAD workstations to enable round-the-clock communication with the company’s U.S. facilities.
• High-speed CNC machining centers, EDMs, and CMM equipment.
• A Class 100,000 (Class 8) cleanroom molding and assembly area.
• Product design and development services.
• Engel and Fanuc Roboshot tiebarless all-electric presses.
• ISO 9001:2000 and TS 16949:2002 certification.

“We have removed the risk of manufacturing in China by offering the same high level of standardization in equipment, operating practices, and quality systems as in our North American operations,” says Ben Bouchard, VP of international business development.—AC