Plastics News back issues from February 2009:
People Watch.
Feb 02, 2009 ... AMARAL AUTOMATION ASSOCIATES LLC The Cumberland, R.I., representative for auxiliary equipment makers named Brian Benoit new business development manager. ANCHOR PACKAGING INC. The thermoformer and film maker in St. Louis named three sales directors: Bill McMillan, Great Lakes ...
Life-Time acquires PU millwork maker.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Life-Time Poly-Millwork and parent RAS Industries Inc. have acquired Focal Point Architectural Products Inc. of Tarboro, N.C. The seller was Noel Group LLC of Wake Forest, N.C. The firms did not disclose terms. RAS Industries' management said that Focal Point will ...
Solplast, Polychem restructure.(Brief article)
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Michael Lauzon Pallet molder Solplast Inc. plans to file a restructuring plan while it is under protection from creditors. The Montreal firm filed a Notice of Intention to File a Proposal on Jan. 6. The notice is roughly equivalent to Chapter 7 of the U.S. ...
Recycline contributes to PP plan.(Brief article)
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Mike Verespej A limited nationwide program to collect and recycle polypropylene food containers is under way at 65 Whole Foods Market locations in 13 states, spearheaded by Recycline Inc., which makes its consumer products out of 100 percent recycled PP. The ...
Hoyt launches consulting firm.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Bill Bregar Gunther Hoyt, former executive vice president of Xaloy Inc. and an active member of the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., has started an international business consulting firm in Salem, called Gunther Hoyt Associates. Hoyt will specialize in ...
Chrysler orders more cost cuts.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Robert Sherefkin Chrysler LLC's purchasing chief is demanding a new round of price cuts from suppliers as the automaker faces a Feb. 17 deadline to justify its federal bailout money. Scott Garberding has ordered price cuts from all suppliers effective April ...
NEWSCLIPS.(Harita Seating Systems Ltd. acquired Polyflex Group)
Feb 02, 2009 ... Calif. court halts newest city bag ban LOS ANGELES A California court has granted a preliminary injunction to prevent Manhattan Beach, Calif., from implementing its ban on plastic carryout bags, which was scheduled to go into effect Feb. 14. Manhattan Beach would ...
Magna chief urging governments to act By John Revill.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Frank Stronach, chairman of auto supplier Magna International Inc., said the economic crisis will last into next year unless governments take swift action to counter the downturn. Stronach said the crisis will reach its worst by the middle of the summer if governments act in the ...
Auto parts suppliers request $10 billion in federal loans.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: David Barkholz Auto parts suppliers this week intend to request $10 billion in federal aid to try to avert a rash of bankruptcies and possible liquidations, a supplier association chief said Jan. 27. The companies will ask for the loans to be funneled through ...
Some companies finesse bad times.
Feb 02, 2009 ... People notice bad news. Stories about plant closures, layoffs and bankruptcies tend to stick in your head. Maybe that's because the headlines seem so urgent. Or perhaps people are more likely to read stories about somebody else's misfortune. Don't feel guilty: It's human nature ....
PMC expands medical work.
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Antosiewicz With an investment of $2 million over the past two years, PMC LLC is building its PMC Medical division to add more medical-device work. "Our medical business is growing significantly. The rest of the business is holding steady with the ...
Next Resins opens new facility.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito Recycler Next Resins LLC has moved its headquarters and distribution center to a 225,000-square-foot location in Toledo, Ohio. The company had been located in Addison, Mich. about 50 miles north of Toledo since being founded in 1996. The ...
HPG plant to reopen as firm seeks buyer.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Antosiewicz HPG International Inc. is reopening its plant and seeking a buyer after recently filing a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court. The company, which temporarily closed its facility during the week of Jan ....
Debate hasn't changed much in 20 years.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Mike Verespej To celebrate Plastics News' 20th anniversary in 2009, we continue with our weekly countdown of the Top 20 issues of lasting impact, as reported in our pages. The series will end with the No. 1 issue in our 20th Anniversary special edition March ...
Whitford to buy coatings unit.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Mike Verespej Fluoropolymer coatings manufacturer Whitford Corp. has reached an agreement to buy the nonstick coatings division of Amsterdam, Netherlands-based AkzoNobel BV, with an anticipated closing date of March 31. The purchase of AkzoNobel Non-Stick ...
EDI sees promise in solar panels, coatings.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Bill Bregar Flat-die maker Extrusion Dies Industries LLC has picked up work from the solar power industry, including an advanced reel-to-reel method of applying thin films to make the photovoltaic panels. EDI, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., is pushing this new ...
Soft markets drive resin prices down.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito Scarce demand and low prices for benzene feedstock sent North American selling prices for solid polystyrene, ABS and polycarbonate down even further in December and January. Average per-pound PS prices slipped 12 cents in December and another 9 ...
RTP buys Ill. film business from Omnova.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito RTP Co. is expanding its plastic products business by purchasing a film operation in Dupo, Ill., from Omnova Solutions Inc. No purchase price was disclosed in the deal, which will give Winona, Minn.-based RTP the use of a 40,000-square-foot ...
Australia urged to develop national standards.
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Kate Tilley A report to the Australian government recommends establishing a single national system for regulating the nation's plastics industry. The Productivity Commission, a federally appointed expert body charged with examining industry efficiency, has ...
Ohio pipe maker ADS is testing new PE compound from Mexico.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Stephen Downer Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. of Hilliard, Ohio, is conducting quality tests on corrugated drainage piping made from a polyethylene compound developed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Institute of Materials Research. The ...
Struggling Sundance closes plants, seeks buyer.
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Mike Verespej Industrial polypropylene recycler Sundance Products Group LLC has shut down operations at its three plants, is selling off its inventory of raw materials and finished pellets, and is looking for an investor or buyer. Sundance, which has three ...
Rehrig Pacific shuts N.H. molding plant.(New Hampshire)(Brief article)
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Roger Renstrom Rehrig Pacific Co. closed its Raymond, N.H., injection molding plant, impacting 40 workers, and is moving the equipment and work to the firm's Erie, Pa., facility. "The changing nature of our customer base led to the consolidation,'' Will ...
Corrections.(Correction notice)
Feb 02, 2009 ... A Jan. 26, Page 3 story should have said the general manager of Caplugs (Shanghai) Plastic Products Ltd. will be Jinsheng Lu. A ...
New study finds BPA may linger in body.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Mike Verespej A University of Rochester Medical Center analysis of data published online Jan. 28 suggests that the controversial chemical bisphenol A could be lingering longer in the human body than previously thought, and could be getting into the bloodstream through ...
NEWSCLIPS.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Dott downsizing, closing plant in Mich. LAPEER, MICH. Auto supplier Dott Industries Inc. will close its Deckerville, Mich., injection molding facility by the end of March, cutting 159 jobs, it told the state. The Deckerville plant has been open since 1957 and makes a ...
Dow target of bribery claim; Rohm and Haas seeks to close $15.4 billion deal.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito For Dow Chemical Co., 2009 is beginning as badly as 2008 ended. The firm's planned acquisition of Rohm and Haas Co. is heading to court and now Dow is defending itself against allegations that it bribed Kuwaiti officials in order to complete a ...
Buyers' decking preferences show low-maintenance trend.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Matt Griswold Wood-plastic composite decking does not come with a force field. Occasional maintenance is advised. So, Springdale, Ark.-based Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc. has added some language to its product literature to make sure ...
PI Inc.'s owner shot at plant By Frank Esposito.(Brief article)
Feb 02, 2009 ... Plastic Industries Inc. owner Jeff Beene was in critical condition Jan. 30 after being shot by a burglar at the injection molding firm in Athens, Tenn., police said. Beene, 58, contacted police shortly after midnight and said he was holding a burglar at gunpoint inside the ...
CPI assets to be sold.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Michael Lauzon Profile and film extruder CPI Plastics Group Ltd. is up for sale while it is protected from creditors. The Mississauga, Ontario, company was placed into receivership Jan. 8, following a petition by its main secured lender, Bank of Montreal. ...
MARKETPLACE.(Schenck/Accurate Inc. introduces loaders)(Guill Tool and Engineering Co.'s extrusion die)(D-M-E Co.'s mold making innovation)
Feb 02, 2009 ... Plastic Flow software simulates extrusion Plastic Flow LLC has released a new software package to simulate polymer extrusion, called polyXtrue. The software is useful for extrusion die designers, with a module for design of coextrusion and monoextrusion. ...
Is affordable electric car around corner? Battery infrastructure key to ongoing struggle to bring vehicle to masses.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Rhoda Miel Two years ago, General Motors Corp. introduced its vision for a new generation of electric cars in a splashy ceremony at the North American International Auto Show. Now it's facing a deadline to make that vision the Chevrolet Volt a true ...
Faux stone products are gaining ground.
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Matt Griswold NEW ORLEANS Call it the Faux Stone Age. It is not an entirely new concept, but the trend toward products that look like stone and brick clearly has legs. In a world with a shrinking number of willing and able masons, as well as ...
Dramatic declines, but a few bright spots.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Matt Griswold Housing starts are at their lowest level since home construction data has been recorded. The credit markets have tightened up, consumer confidence is low, rising unemployment is leading to about 2 million foreclosures a year, which only adds to ...
Pipe, conduit makers brace for lean times; Companies cut back inventory, implement rolling shutdowns.
Feb 02, 2009 ... Byline: Matt Griswold PVC pipe and conduit makers are going into full-fledged survival mode in 2009. Price-driven competition combined with free-falling resin pricing near the end of 2008 created a brutal environment for pipe and conduit extruders as they were forced ...
Firm Returns with fence.(FiberTech Polymers LLC's distribution agreement with Master Halco )(Brief article)
Feb 02, 2009; ... Byline: Matt Griswold Ontario, Calif.-based FiberTech Polymers LLC has rearranged its ownership structure, secured more funding and emerged from a two-month stint in Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a stronger business, company officials said. FiberTech was the first to ...
Marketplace.(MD Plastics Inc introduces MDP sliding-ring and nonreturn valve)(Conair Group Inc. introduces portable chillers )
Feb 09, 2009 ... MDP nonreturn valve offers repeatability MD Plastics Inc. of Columbiana, Ohio, has introduced the MDP sliding-ring, nonreturn valve that the company said provides very low pressure drop and consistency of part weigh from shot to shot. The nonreturn valve incorporates ...
Forum to offer tips for managing in chaos.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Tight credit, canceled orders, roller-coaster resin prices, supply-chain distress and unprecedented financial demands from suppliers and customers: Welcome to the wonderful world of plastics product manufacturing, circa 2009. There is no way to fireproof yourself or your company ...
Zhongwang planning IPO on Hong Kong exchange.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Ning Ying Sun Zhongwang Group, a leading Chinese manufacturer of aluminum and plastic profiles, plans to go public in three months and raise at least $500 million on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company has hired Citic Securities, UBS and JPMorgan to ...
State High Court favors Plenco in asbestos case.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Sally Roberts MADISON, WIS. A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that an insurer should pay damages for individual asbestos claimants as separate occurrences and should cover injuries suffered outside of a policy period is a big victory for commercial general-liability ...
PP prices rise; PE uncertain.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito Polypropylene makers were able to slam on the brakes in January, stopping a series of price declines and even raising prices an average of 3 cents per pound. Makers of polyethylene are trying to do the same, but are seeing mixed results with ...
Crash plays like a broken record.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Bill Bregar To celebrate Plastics News' 20th anniversary in March, we continue with our weekly countdown of the Top 20 issues of lasting impact, as reported in our pages. The series will end with the No. 1 issue in our 20th Anniversary special edition March ...
Firm remains open after owner killed.(owner Jeff Beene of Plastic Industries Inc murdered)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Esposito Injection molder Plastic Industries Inc. will continue to operate in the wake of the shooting death of owner Jeff Beene. Beene, 58, died Jan. 31 after being wounded the previous day while trying to apprehend a burglar at one of his firm's two ...
India, China talk of expanding trade pact; Global economic slowdown spurs discussions for a bilateral strategy.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Steve Toloken Plastics industry leaders in India and China are pushing increased bilateral trade and partnerships as a way to combat the global economic slowdown and give a lift to their economies. Meeting one day ahead of India's largest plastics industry ...
India's rotomolders confident.(Society of Asian Rotomolders Star conference)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Steve Toloken Executives in India's rotational molding sector believe they have escaped the worst of the world economic slowdown, although one prominent estimate said the financial turmoil is likely to slow growth in the domestic sector to less than its current 8 ...
Resin distributors' sights on '09; Inventory, pricing, credit issues subdued companies in 2008.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito North American resin distributors are hoping to rebound in 2009 after being battered and bruised in the second half of 2008. The amounts of nylon, polypropylene, polystyrene and linear low density polyethylene sold by distributors each fell more ...
Jones finds good fit in new Mexican plant.(Jones Plastic and Engineering Inc.)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Stephen Downer After nearly a decade of custom injection molding in Mexico, Kentucky-based Jones Plastic and Engineering Co. LLC is fine-tuning the lean manufacturing side of its business south of the U.S. border. "The corporation started [lean manufacturing] ...
PE sales in Mexico on decline.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Stephen Downer Sales of low density polyethylene in Mexico fell by 4.3 percent in 2008 in relation to 2007, according to a senior official of state oil company Petrcentsleos Mexicanos. Alejandro Ramirez Chavez, deputy sales manager of polymers at Pemex ...
Newsclips.(Axiom Group Inc.)(WIS. Dynamic Tool & Design Inc invest in new equipment)(Phoenix Industries shutdown its operations )
Feb 09, 2009 ... Axiom adds jobs to produce auto part Aurora, Ontario Auto supplier Axiom Group Inc. is adding jobs and boosting production as it begins injection molding a proprietary air-flow circulation exhauster. Axiom, based in Aurora, received a C$2.4 million (US$1.95 million) ...
Resin makers' year-end numbers in the red B; Dow CEO reassures investors in wake of fourth-quarter loss.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Esposito Dow Chemical Co. is going on the offensive, despite facing a number of challenges and just wrapping up a year in which overall company profit fell 80 percent. "We've never shied away from the truth in good times and bad, and we're not going to ...
Sidel machine molding draft beer bottles; Dutch beer boasts valve, tap unit.
Feb 09, 2009 ... LE HAVRE, FRANCE Sidel Group is making big news in brewing. The company helped the Dutch maker of Grolsch beer produce a draft beer package for home use that incorporates a 2-liter PET bottle with a tap. Grolsch blow molds the container on Sidel equipment. The package can be ...
People Watch.
Feb 09, 2009 ... BRAUNFORM GMBH The injection molder and mold maker in Bahlingen, Germany, named Ronald Baumhofer sales manager. CLARIANT (CHINA) LTD. The specialty chemicals maker in Hong Kong named Peter Lindner president for the Asia-Pacific region, succeeding Gary Fielding, who has left ...
Supplier News.(Union Tool Corp expands factory)(plastics and rubber machinery sales report)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Union Tool expands factory in Indiana WARSAW, IND. Union Tool Corp. has built a 140,000-square-foot addition to its factory in Warsaw, where the company is based. The company makes automated machinery to handle and process flat sheets, boards and panels made of ...
Industry slows job loss, but it's still bleeding.(chemicals and plastics industry plans for layoff)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Esposito The U.S. chemicals and plastics industry cut its monthly job losses in half in January, but the market still faces a multitude of challenges. "Right now, we're in a vicious cycle where everybody is holding back,'' said Martha Moore, senior ...
Gloucester forms Indian venture.(Kabra Extrusiontechnik Ltd joins Gloucester Engineering Co)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Steve Toloken Indian machinery maker Kabra Extrusiontechnik Ltd. and American equipment maker Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc. are forming a joint venture to make Gloucester's line of mono-, three- and five-layer blown film extruders in India. The venture, to ...
Buoyant business prompts Flotation to expand.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: David Reed One U.S. firm bucking the downswing in business is Flotation Technologies Inc., a supplier of urethane-based deep-water buoyancy systems. The company and its 70-plus workers plan to expand production using a 0.75-acre plot it just bought adjacent ...
Marketing is crucial for surviving slump.(importance of proper marketing strategy in printing industry)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Don Loepp Marketing is like grilling a steak: It's one of those things that a few people do really well, but almost everyone seems to think they can handle. Anyone can slap meat on a hot grill. But the result often leaves something to be desired. Let's take a ...
Freedom in receivership, seeking buyer.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Matt Griswold Freedom in receivership, seeking buyer Janesville, Wis.-based PVC pipe and fittings maker Freedom Plastics Inc. is in court-supervised receivership and is being shopped to prospective buyers. The company, which continues to operate ...
Court shoots down ban delay.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Mike Verespej Items manufactured before Feb. 10 will be included in a federal ban on phthalates in toys and child-care products that goes into effect on that date, a U.S. District Court in New York has ruled. The ruling, issued Feb. 5 by Judge Paul Gardephe, ...
Maverick gets state funding.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Roger Renstrom The Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $1.2 million over seven years for new plastics processor Maverick Industries LLC. Maverick plans to buy a plant near Jackson, Mich., along with machinery and ...
Wausaukee lays off 61.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Frank Antosiewicz Wausaukee Composites Inc. recently announced a temporary layoff of 61 workers at a Cuba City, Wis., facility that is dedicated to manufacturing wind-energy components. "It is the result of a sudden and unforeseen cancellation of an order; it ...
Clarification.(Correction notice)
Feb 09, 2009 ... A Feb. 2, Page 8 story should have noted that high ...
Courts rule against suits in PFOA case.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Two separate courts have ruled that two separate groups of plaintiffs have no basis for class-action lawsuits against DuPont Co. in connection with health claims involving perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., said Dec. 12 it ...
Amcor mulls purchase of part of Alcan.
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Michael Lauzon Amcor Ltd. has confirmed it is in talks to buy part of the Alcan Packaging business acquired by Rio Tinto plc in late 2007. Amcor said discussions are under way but "there can be no assurance that any binding proposal or transaction will result ...
Retal acquiring preform site.(Retal Industries Ltd)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Richard Higgs Russian PET products group Retal Industries Ltd. is acquiring the PET preform molding plant of plastics closures and preform company Uniplast Closed Joint Stock Co. in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. Retal Dnipro Ltd., the Ukrainian offshoot of ...
Acquisition adds to Arkema line.(News)(Oxford Performance Materials Inc.)(Brief article)
Feb 16, 2009; ... Byline: Roger Renstrom Arkema Inc. broadened its portfolio of ultrahigh-performance polymers in acquiring majority ownership of Oxford Performance Materials Inc. Terms were not disclosed. Enfield, Conn.-based Oxford employs 14 at a 7,000-square-foot site, including a ...