The private equity firm has acquired James L. Villa Inc. (Oldsmar, FL), a third-generation family owned and operated business that specializes in custom thermoformed and injection molded packaging for fresh food products.

Plastics processors represented more than half of the manufacturers surveyed, and their priorities differed from the general manufacturing population. For instance, 38% of all manufacturers use real-time monitoring to improve quality control. For plastics manufacturers, that figure jumps to 61%.

Eastman Chemical (Kingsport, TN) has twice sponsored a capstone course, in which a small group of seniors is challenged to apply all they have learned to the design and development of rigid packaging for a hip implant. A third iteration is being developed for the fall semester.

Renolit Tecnogor, a 100% recyclable, glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene-based composite material, has reportedly gained a leading position in the automotive interiors market with major OEM customers.