Short Shots: From the industry floor 20704

Plastics are the unsung heroes at Q1 auto shows

Plastics may be one of the best-kept secrets at the spate of 2007 automotive shows, from Detroit and Chicago to Washington DC and Cleveland. At lavish introductory events, OEMs are more than happy to tell you about horsepower, fuel efficiency, and mood lighting, but ask them how their vehicles utilize plastics and silence generally prevails. (One exception: GM did credit plastics usage on its Chevy Volt, which we featured last month in Application Spotlight, immnet.com/articles?article=3127).

To be fair, the shows are aimed squarely at the buying public, for whom information about plastic materials may not be a big draw. However, to shed a bit of light on emerging use of plastics in automobiles, IMM presents the following five standouts from the crop of concept and production vehicles rolling out at this year’s U.S. auto shows.

MICRO SHOTS

Mira founder dies at 94
On Feb. 27, Anthony Miragliotta Sr. was laid to rest at the age of 94. Miragliotta was the founder and president of Mira Plastics Co. Inc., a family-owned custom molder in Fredon, NJ (immnet.com/articles/2005/May/2600). His final words to IMM when we visited in 2005 were, “Nothing has changed in 50 years. The customer is still king.” Rest in peace.—CK

Röchling acquires number five in NA
Adding to its four other North American plastics-based businesses, plastics processor Röchling Engineering Plastics KG recently announced the acquisition of Symplastics Ltd. (Orangeville, ON), a molder for the transportation industry and extrusion manufacturer. Symplastics specializes in processing abrasive-resistant UHMWPE. It has 138 employees and in 2006 its turnover was CAN$26 million (US$22.3 million).—AC

New Mexico rep for Atlas
Atlas Material Testing Solutions (Chicago, IL), a supplier of material testing instruments and services, has appointed Equipos & Servicios Westek SA de CV as its exclusive representative in Mexico for Atlas products and services. Previously Westek was agent to SDL Atlas, a division of Atlas.—AC

Novatec, Advantage form infrastructure system supplier

You could combine Advantage Engineering’s heat transfer and temperature control systems with Novatec’s resin handling equipment and systems to get a full molding shop infrastructure system. But now, Auxiliary Systems Group (ASG) will do it for you. Advantage and Novatec have formed ASG to single-source complete, integrated shop infrastructure systems, and supply single-point responsibility.

Be clear that the two supplier companies have not merged and still operate independently. ASG (www.auxsystemsgroup.com) is a separate organization that already has 20 people and looks to add more, primarily project management pros who know water and material systems. Physically ASG is at Novatec’s Baltimore location.

Talking with IMM about ASG, Novatec CEO Conrad Bessemer repeatedly stressed the concept of a single-source supplier focused on doing all it takes to get material and cooling water to molding machines correctly. He left the door a bit ajar, saying other suppliers “may” join ASG in the future, but reaffirmed that the alliance as it stands today can create fully capable utility systems competitively.

Advantage Engineering CEO Harry Short emphasizes the alliance’s ability to focus on the specific products and technologies needed to move material and water to the machines. He says the majority of product innovations and productivity improvements over the past 30 years have come from focused manufacturers, as opposed to generalists.

ASG will incorporate a common communication platform into the two founding companies’ products via embedded controls from an associated company, Advantage Electronics. A new Controls Technology Center devoted to PLC systems for infrastructure systems was on track to open near the end of March at Novatec’s HQ.—RN

Juno spins into medical multimolding

In a brand-new certified ISO Class 7 (Class 10,000) “mini-environment,” 27-year multishot molding veteran Juno Inc. (Minneapolis, MN; www.junoinc.com) now offers its multimolding expertise to its medical customers. Juno is a licensee of multishot molding technology trademarked “SpinStack” by its inventor and developer, Gram Technology (Scottsdale, AZ; www.gramtechnology.com).

According to Juno’s plant manager, John Jenkins, “Multishot molding and SpinStack tooling can reduce part numbers and assembly steps by producing and, in effect, assembling two or more components in one mold. This multishot molding capability gives designers the flexibility to add features such as soft-touch finishes and molded-in gaskets and seals.”

Hepa-filtered air is drawn down through the ceiling of Juno’s enclosed mini-environment, and positive-pressure air flows out under the enclosure’s sides. Such mini-environment solutions can be put up around its injection machines suited to particular medical applications, like Juno’s 110-ton, all-electric Milacron Fanuc Si-B Series presses.

Its new ISO Class 7 mini-environment and its existing ISO Class 8 cleanroom (Class 100,000) are part of this contract manufacturer’s “White Room” complex, recently built to expand the company’s medical molding and product assembly services in distinct environments. Both are certified to ISO 14698 for biocontamination control and to ISO 14644 for airborne particulate control.—CK

Milacron’s multimolding

Interested in a multimolding cell? Need it fast? Don’t want the hassle of having to deal with all the different suppliers involved in putting the cell together and getting it running on your floor? Call (847) 839-3242. That number will put you in touch with Lewis Nuzzie, Milacron Inc.’s new applications development manager. He has access to all the systems integrators and strategic allies in the Ferromatik Milacron and Cincinnati Milacron camps. Before joining Milacron in ’98, Nuzzie designed and supervised big cells for producing big parts at a very big company—Textron Automotive—where he reportedly earned the rep as a creative problem solver.

Multimolding will be a hot topic in several workshops and technical seminars Milacron’s got in the works for 2007. Schedules of these events are expected soon.—CK

Medical manufacturer adds machines

The microParts segment of Boehringer Ingelheim, a global pharmaceutical company that develops human pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, self-medication, and animal health care, is adding 10 new Battenfeld molding machines complete with automation, handling systems, and peripheral equipment to its Dortmund, Germany facility. MicroParts is an autonomous entity within the BI group of companies, which employs 37,400 worldwide.

At the Dortmund facility, 320 workers produce microstructured mechanical, optical, and fluidic parts made of plastic, metals, and silicon. Thanks to growing demand, the microParts facility needed to expand its capacity and so is adding the 10 all-electric Battenfeld EM 110/120 Unilog B4 injection molding machine systems.

Among other products, the presses are intended to extend capacity for microParts’ asthma inhalers. These consist of a micropump and microstructured nozzle; core components are molded in-house and then assembled and inspected for quality.—AC

Canadian molders will see red

The Canadian operation of Italian-based molding machine maker Negri Bossi is looking to make Canadian molders see red, and be glad about it. The company is launching a new business plan and the marketing part of it includes a new red color for the machines, as the photo shows. Looking to stake a clearer position in a very competitive Canadian market, the color is actually only the surface of a program that runs deep.

It’s a corporate program, originating with Negri Bossi’s Italian parent company, Sacmi. Negri Bossi writes it as RED, for reliable, efficient, and digital, and in fact the company was among the earliest to take advantage of digital tech—for example, with its Canbus machine control network and its Amico Internet-based support system.

Will the lower 48 also see red? Negri Bossi’s U.S. general manager, Liam Burns, says the program will roll out fairly soon also on his turf, but it will likely have a somewhat different flavor. The color, though, will be the same.—RN

SPI’s Alliance adds medical group

Any molder worth his salt knows that medical is the field to enter if the goal is growth and stability—and you don’t mind a lot of hard, bureaucratic work. It’s no surprise then, that the Society of the Plastics Industry also knows the growth projections for this market (8-12% next year by some analysts) and has accordingly launched the APP Medical Products Section, a component of SPI’s Alliance of Plastics Processors business unit. Members will include material suppliers, molders, machinery manufacturers, moldmakers, and OEMs in the plastics industry that are involved in the medical products field.The goals of the new section, according to SPI’s CEO William R. Carteaux, are as follows:

• Promote the beneficial use of plastics in medical products.
• Monitor new technologies used in medical products.
• Watch international trade issues related to this sector.
• Help companies find grant opportunities for medical products.
• Provide a vehicle for members and associated groups to connect.

APP executive director Allen Weidman is heading the Medical Products section. For membership info, contact Karen Miles at [email protected].—AC

Husky’s sale is possible

Early last month Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. (Bolton, ON; www.husky.ca) announced that it had initiated a review that will include either the possibility of a sale of part or all of the company’s shares, or a strategic combination with another business. Husky has engaged Citigroup Global Markets as its financial advisor.

“Over the past decade, we have made substantial investments to develop our leading technology platform, expand our markets and distribution network, improve our operations, and build a strong management team,” says Robert Schad, chairman of the board and Husky’s largest shareholder. “While Husky’s competitive position has become stronger as a result, we do not believe that this position is reflected in our current market valuation.”

“Husky has reached an important point in its evolution,” adds John Galt, president and CEO. “I am therefore in full support of this initiative, as is Husky’s Board.”—CK

Netstal’s numbers down for FY2006

Despite improvement in the overall global economy last year, molding machine makers suffered losses. Netstal Group (Näfels, Switzerland) attributes its reduced orders and sales (see table below) to a common enemy, rising energy and raw material costs, which it says affected the buying practices of the company’s customer base.

Hardest hit were Netstal’s e-Jet and Discjet lines, which make optical disks. Sharp drops in global demand for CDs and DVDs have continued since autumn 2004, the company reports, and the result was a 30% decrease in shipments of these machines.

On the plus side, Netstal’s standard presses and PET production systems held their market share. The company is “cautiously optimistic” about 2007, in which it is celebrating its 150th anniversary.—AC