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Degradables not the answer to the bag problem - or are they? January 31, 2008
The plastics films sector of the European Plastics Converters trade body has added its voice against the relentless pressure to ban disposable plastics shopping bags. A statement from EuPF - European Plastic Films - makes the argument for re-use and recycling, particularly in the context of enthusiasm for biodegradable bags.
EuPF president Bjørn Hoem points out that abandoning plastic bags may not be as environmentally friendly as people think. In terms of the perceived problem, they make up only a small percentage of all litter, and a popular alternative, paper bags, are 10 times heavier than plastic and so the cost of transporting them, added to greater energy use in their production, produces more of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming than the lighter alternative.
But another perceived alternative, degradable plastics, are not the answer, said Mr Hoem. They do not decompose in a predictable way in properly managed landfills and their use supports a "throwaway" mindset and a reliance on the use of landfills as a disposal method. They do nothing to discourage over-use in the first place.
EuPF believes that re-use of bags and recycling of plastics are better alternatives to banning plastic bags to reduce plastic packaging in the waste stream. "We want to promote sustainability by moving away from the single-use and disposability mentality towards that of maximising the utility of everything we use. Continuous education is the key," said Mr Hoem. A company in the USA takes the opposite view to EuPF on the use of degradable bags. Hilex Poly Company of South Carolina, which reckons to be "the world's largest producer of plastic grocery bags" has introduced a bag that it says "degrades into harmless material in as little as eight weeks when littered and can be recycled into new bags".
Hilex says the degradation process of its HED bag is triggered by a combination of oxygen, heat, sunlight and stress - such as when a bag is caught in a tree or on a fence and is buffeted by the wind. It also works in landfill: in an aerobic landfill Hilex says the bags degrade in around 400 days. If there is no oxygen in the landfill they act like any other organic material and don't degrade at all.
Despite containing a degradation agent Hilex says the bags can be recycled through its Bag-2-Bag recycling programme - again "the largest in the world".
The HED bags are supplied to retailers in sealed packaging which will keep them usable for two years. Once hung out by a checkout they will start to degrade, but Hilex says the process takes place well outside the expected in-store life of a bag.
UK lags behind as recovery of Europe's plastics waste reaches 50 per cent January 31, 2008
Britain has a long way to go in meeting the potential of energy recovery from plastics according to a new European report. The Compelling Facts about Plastics is the 17th annual report on trends in production, demand and recovery of plastics published by four organisations, PlasticsEurope, European Plastics Converters, European Plastics Recyclers and the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations.
Its key findings are that in 2006 demand for plastics in Europe rose 4 per cent to 49·5 million tonnes - half as fast again as growth in gross domestic product - and that the recovery of plastics rose 3 per cent to reach 50 per cent for the first time. Within the report's findings are that some European countries are considerably better at realising the assets of waste plastics than others.
Seven countries, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands and Belgium (representing 29 per cent of the population in the 25 EU members plus Norway and Switzerland) with Luxembourg a close eighth recovered more than 80 per cent of their used plastics "and are close to realising their vision for diversion from landfill", says the report. Switzerland achieved nearly total recovery, getting back around 80 per cent of its waste plastics potential as energy in addition to mechanical recycling. Britain was ahead of Ireland, Finland and Greece, and some newer EU members recovering a little more than 20 per cent. And only a third of that was energy recovery. The report notes that half of the EU Member States recover less than 30 per cent, which it says partly reflects the slow political process and partly the long lead times for energy recovery options.
Overall the growth in energy recovery was slower than that in mechanical recycling, although already at a higher rate. The mechanical recycling rate increasing by 18 per cent over the 2005 level to just under 20 per cent of post-consumer plastics waste while energy recovery grew 9 per cent to pass 30 per cent. Against the 4 per cent increase in post-consumer plastics waste, the proportion going to landfill fell by 1 per cent.
Patent win and financial injection for Cinpres January 31, 2008
Gas injection pioneer Cinpres has come out on top after 16 years in the courts fighting a patent battle - the longest in the history of the English patent courts. At least, it is on top providing the loser, Melea of Gibraltar, doesn't appeal to the House of Lords.
The dispute has been over the ownership of the overspill process used in gas injection to aid the filling of large parts. Melea was awarded ownership in 2006 but with the caveat by Mr Justice Mann that "the entitlement to the patent is governed by a decision reached after receiving and accepting perjured evidence". Now the Appeal Court has overturned that decision in a ruling which included some colourful references to the owner of Melea, Michael Ladney, and the inventor of the process, Jim Hendry (neither of whom "deserves the courtesy of a 'Mister'" according to the ruling) who were branded "liars and perjurers".
Cinpres Chairman Merrick Taylor said of the action: "This has been a futile waste of time and money and innovative companies should not have to fight this hard to protect their rights against people like Mr Ladney." Cinpres has just received an injection of $11·8 million from its ultimate parent company NI Group of Kuwait (Cinpres is owned by NI Group subsidiary BI Group of Sutton Coldfield). The cash will be used to "help the company to retain its global technical supremacy." Cinpres managing director Jon Butler said: "The financial stability of the company is important for customers - they want to know that you are going to be around to honour warranty claims, provide technical support over a sustained period, and protect them from low-order competitors using cheap 'me-too' technology. Only Cinpres has the global patent defence to provide protection to the end user customers, with full supply chain protection. The investment will further reinforce our leading position."
New head at Hasco January 31, 2008
The new chief executive at the German tooling standards and hot runner specialist Hasco is Christoph Ehrlich, former chief financial officer of Berndorf Band, the Austrian steel company which took over Hasco last autumn. A statement from Hasco says the company "will be reorganised under his leadership."
Swedish injection moulders to be sold January 31, 2008
Swedish industrial group XANO Industri is selling a bunch of injection moulding companies working mainly in the automotive and medical sectors to GP Forvaltnings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nordstjernan Investment, based in Stockholm. The companies are Bladhs Plast Bredaryd, Bladhs Plast Gislaved, Bladhs Eesti, Inmedic AB and Inmedic AS, which had total net sales of around Eur 26 million in 2007.
Nordstjernan has a strategy of growth in injection moulding and its subsidiary GP Plastindustri makes food packaging closures and medical/pharmaceutical components at plants in Gislaved, Sweden and Dresden in Germany.
Hexcel opens another Airbus-focused composites plant January 31, 2008
Another satellite plant to supply Airbus Industries with composites has been opened by Hexcel Corporation. The new plant, at Nantes in France, will make HexPly M21 unidirectional prepreg which it will supply mainly to the neighbouring Airbus plant and its subcontractors. It is part of a $20 million investment programme in Britain, Spain, Germany and France which included the opening of a similar satellite prepreg plant in Stade, Germany, last year. Typical applications for HexPly prepregs made in Nantes are the A380 and A400M central wing box and A340-500-600 keel beam.
Hexcel plans to open two more plants this year, a carbon fibre plant in Spain and a wind energy prepreg plant in China.
Maillefer gets new backing January 31, 2008
Swiss extrusion systems manufacturer Maillefer has gone through another management buy out. Maillefer was set up in 2001 with a buyout of the Nextrom division making extrusion systems for copper telecommunications cables, energy cables and plastics pipes as Nextrom restructured to focus on fibre optics. Original backing came from Argos Soditic a private equity company with offices in France, Switzerland and Italy. Now the Argos share has been sold to another European equity company Alpha Group. The management stake in the company has increased, but to what is not being disclosed.
DuPont opens Chinese PTFE plant January 31, 2008
A plant to make PTFE fine powder and dispersion for worldwide sale has been opened in China by DuPont. The plant at Changshu City is the fourth using DuPont's Echelon technology which produces low-PFOA content aqueous fluoropolymer dispersions. Others are in the USA, the Netherlands, and in Japan. It is described as "a significant milestone in the company's strategic plan to establish a broader fluoroproducts manufacturing base in China."
US bottle producer sets up in Hungary January 31, 2008
American packaging company Chesapeake Corporation has opened a bottle plant in Hungary. The plant has been set up as part of a joint venture formed last year between Chesapeake and Chemark Termelo es Kereskedo, a pesticide formulating company based in Hungary, to supply packaging to chemical companies in Central and Eastern Europe.
Chesapeake's Specialty Chemical Packaging Division also makes HDPE and PET bottles at sites in France, England and China.
Chemtura sells additives feedstock business January 31, 2008
American plastics additives manufacturer Chemtura Corporation is selling its global oleochemicals business based on a plant at Memphis in Tennessee to PMC Group NA. The Memphis plant is the only producer of primary amides in North America for the plastics additives market.
'Business as usual' at Boston Matthews after Global EPP crash January 18, 2008
The failure of Nylacast Materials only three months after being relaunched as Global EPP pushed extruder manufacturer BM Plastics Machinery into administration with an unpaid bill in excess of £1 million for 100 45 mm extruders. But in a move which chairman Colin Brooks says was "supported to a man" by its suppliers, the load has been spread and business has been resumed.
BM Plastics Machinery was one of the trading divisions of Boston Matthews. Boston Matthews owns the intellectual property and all the assets and the factory at Worcester, and it was not in administration. It has bought back the business of its former subsidiary from the administrator and resumed the responsibility for orders and warranties undertaken by BM Plastics Machinery.
This has left suppliers to BM Plastics Machinery unpaid. But Colin Brooks said they were "remarkably supportive". "They know we are victims of Global EPP", he said. The debt was far too big for the company to cover and continue to trade safely. This way it continues in what was otherwise "a solid business" and continues to buy from its suppliers.
One bright spot at the Worcester plant has been an improvement in production. With such a large order going through the factory Boston Matthews needed to tighten up its production methods, which remain in place to make future manufacture more efficient.
DSM extends life sciences/materials sciences integration January 18, 2008
Another step in biopolymer technology has been taken by DSM with a joint operation with French starch and starch-derivatives company Roquette. The two companies are to develop a fermentation process for making succinic acid from renewable resources - it is currently made from crude oil and natural gas. They are planning to build a demonstration plant at Lestrem in France with a capacity of several hundred tonnes, due to be operational by the end of 2009, and to transfer the technology to large scale production within two years.
As well as its use in pharmaceuticals, food and automotive applications, succinic acid is an intermediate which can be used for the production of several high-performance polymers including unsaturated polyesters, polyamides, and can be used to make 1-4 butenediol, itself an intermediate in polyesters.
Fermentation processes with the use of renewable resources are sustainable and DSM says in this case will bring an energy saving of 30 - 40 per cent compared to a typical chemical process, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. DSM adds that this is the first bio-based production process in which CO2 is actively used in the production, so it creates an even bigger positive impact on CO2 emission levels. In December DSM took a stake in American catalyst company Novomer whose technology enables polymers and other chemicals to be made from carbon dioxide and other renewable materials.
According to a DSM spokesman the co-operation with Roquette shows the innovation opportunities of cross-synergy between DSM's strong technology platforms in life sciences (biotechnology) and materials sciences. "This synergy opens a new window for green performance materials."
Roquette is a private family business making more than 650 products annually from 6,000,000 tonnes of maize, wheat, peas and potatoes. Its annual sales are more than Eur 2 billion and it employs some 6,000 people worldwide.
Milk bottles to lose handles and save weight January 18, 2008
Savings of around 5,000 tonnes a year of HDPE are being targeted by the WRAP Waste & Resources Action Programme with a new design of milk bottle which will have no handle and will be 10 per cent lighter. WRAP is liaising with Dairy Crest to design and introduce the bottle, and Nampak will develop the prototype.
The project will focus on one- and two-pint bottles - Richard Pryor of Dairy Crest said: "We know consumers need a handle on the large four pint milk bottles but this project is to understand just how much of a necessity handles are on the smaller one and two pint bottles.
"We don't have handles on bottles of squash, juice or carbonates however the handle provides significant structural support for the bottles, so the project will focus on determining the considerable barriers of moving to a lighter bottle, and explore consumer acceptance, ergonomic grips, ease of opening, as well as production, filling and transport trials."
The British milk industry is estimated to produce between 130,000 and 150,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste annually, through the sale of six billion litres of milk.
Mixed plastics recycling for concrete replacement January 18, 2008
Plans to build a string of recycling plants to reclaim mixed plastics household waste in concrete-replacement products have been proposed by Revalue Technologies of Birmingham. The company has been testing its E-Kerb replacement for concrete kerbstones with Taylor Wimpey for the past couple of years and says it is now ready to be introduced nationally as soon as the product is commercially available.
Revalue Technologies has a process which it says enables throughputs from 1 - 4 tonnes/hour of finished product - 6,000 - 24,000 tonnes per annum - using the mixed plastics packaging fraction of household waste without sorting. This would include carrier bags, cling film, margarine tubs, yoghurt pots, meat trays, egg cartons and similar waste with up to 10 per cent contamination in the form of aluminium foil, paper labels and general dirt.
The company says plans are in hand to build recycling plants in or near major towns and cities throughout Britain, and that it will work with local authorities, waste management companies and the government to ensure that sufficient satellite plants are built to deal with significant amounts of plastics waste on a long term basis.
As well as the mixed plastics Revalue Technologies can incorporate reclaimed rubber crumb to improve the physical properties of the products.
The first plant could be built in London or Birmingham - the company has been in discussion with London Remade and Birmingham City Council - and construction should start in March or April. It will cost around £1 million which will come from private investors.
Ellwood to replace Börjesson at Rexam January 18, 2008
Former ICI chairman Peter Ellwood is to join Rexam as a non executive director and chairman designate on February 1, and will take over as chairman when Rolf Börjesson retires on May 1.
Spherizone plant for China January 18, 2008
A 300,000 tonnes polypropylene plant to be built by PetroChina Daqing Refining & Chemical Company in China will use the Spherizone process under the first process licence to be granted since Basell became LyondellBasell. Start up is planned for 2010. This is PetroChina's ninth polyolefin license from Basell in this decade.
Top changes at Arkema January 18, 2008
Changes to Arkema's executive committee wil see Pierre Chanoine appointed to succeed Philippe Goebel on February 1. He will remain in charge of the Fluorochemicals Business Unit and will also oversee the Technical Polymers and Specialty Chemicals Business Units.
The Functional Additives Business Unit will be supervised by Marc Schuller and the Corporate R & D Division will report directly to Thierry Le Henaff.
Lanxess invests in Indian rubber chemicals January 18, 2008
Lanxess is to invest around Eur 50 million in a new site at Jhagadia in the state of Gujarat in India. It is to move its production of rubber chemicals there from Thane in Maharastra, and will start supplying the Indian tyre industry with chemicals from the site in 2010. Jhagadia will become Lanxess's biggest site in India - the company also has a plant at Madurai in the south of the country.
Materials characterisation specialists combine January 18, 2008
Materials characterisation company Malvern Instruments has acquired Viscotek Corporation of Houston, Texas, USA, which makes chromatography equipment for the characterisation of natural and synthetic polymers and proteins. The acquisition adds gel permeation chromatography, flow injection polymer analysis and dilute solution viscosity to the technologies available from Malvern.
DSM buys speciality urethanes producer January 17, 2008
DSM has bought American high performance urethanes producer Soluol and will add it to its DSM NeoResins+ business unit.
Soluol makes water-based and solvent-based polyurethane resins for juse in paints and coatings and also produces a range of polyurethanes for use in adhesives and other specialty products used in the conversion of foils, and in paper, plastics, and blister packaging.
Soluol has recently built a plant in East Providence, Rhode Island where all of its products are now manufactured and which also houses its research and support activities. The acquisition of Soluol enhances DSM's specialty-resins presence in North America and brings new technology as well as the new production facility.
Soluol's annual sales are around $20 million. DSM NeoResins+ is also to invest Eur 15 million in a new line for the production of wet polyesters and other specialty resins at its plant in Meppen, Germany.
Trelleborg expands rubber moulding in Estonia January 17, 2008
Trelleborg Industrial Products has opened a rubber products plant in Estonia. The plant, in Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa will produce moulded rubber and rubber/metal bonded products for sealing and damping applications in the agricultural and vehicle industries.
Trelleborg Industrial Products has been moulding rubber in Estonia since 1992 through a joint venture with Oü Saare Martex, which it took over last year.
Output from the new plant will be focused on Eastern Europe.
Battenfeld starts to plan for the future January 16, 2008
Battenfeld Kunststoffmaschinen has started a reorganisation plan in line with seeking a new owner. The Austrian injection machine manufacturer which filed for insolvency at the beginning of January in a bizarre flip flop of ownership secured Eur 15 million of funding from Landes-Hypothekenbank Niederösterreich backed by the State of Lower Austria to remain in business while its future was decided.
In a statement issued today by Battenfeld itelf - the first since it declared it was starting insolvency proceedings - the company says "Parallel to negotiations with several potential industrial investors, the realisation of a reorganisation plan is in progress. The aim is to find a new ownership structure that will provide a stable, future-oriented basis in the coming weeks."
Managing director Georg Tinschert, stressing that while the financiers thrash out the future Battenfeld continues to sell machines, said: "My forecast for the future of the renowned company Battenfeld is definitely positive. Despite the difficult position we are currently in, we were recently able to gain two major orders from international customers. This shows our customers backing Battenfeld with trust and loyalty all the way. Naturally we will honour all orders that are in process in accordance with the agreements."
The liquidator, Dr Michael Lentsch, is also cautiously optimistic in his assessment of Battenfeld's future: "The support of the banks, owner Adcuram and the creditors' approval of the survival strategy means that an important first step has already been successfully taken."
Ticona to invest again in China January 16, 2008
More investment is planned by Ticona at the Celanese chemical complex in Nanjing China. The company is currently building a 20,000 tonnes GUR ultra high molecular weight polyethylene plant and a 2,000 tonnes Celstran long fibre-reinforced thermoplastics compounding facility there, and now has announced plans for a 15,000 tonnes engineering plastics compounding plant.
The new plant will go into operation in the first quarter of 2009, producing compounds of Vectra liquid crystal polymer, Hostaform acetal copolymer, Celanex PBT, Riteflex thermoplastic polyester elastomers, Vandar PBT and Fortron PPS. Production will be for the Asian market.
Corpoplast joins KHS at Klöckner-Werke January 16, 2008
German steel conglomerate Salzgitter has bought SIG-Beverages, which includes the Corpoplast PET stretch blow moulding machinery business, from SIG Group of Switzerland. Salzgitter moved into the beverage packaging business last year when it bought Klöckner-werke, whose subsidiary KHS makes filling and packaging machinery. The takeover of SIG is the first step in a process of "actively shaping and designing the strategic and operational further development of Klöckner-Werke" and will enable KHS to operate as a single-source provider for producing, filling and packaging bottles. Last year SIG was bought by Rank Group Holdings of New Zealand after a tussle with Ferd, which owns Elopak and wanted to add SIG to give it strength to compete with TetraPack. Rank Group is currently buying Alcoa's packaging division which includes Closure Systems International, which makes plastic and aluminium packaging closures; Alcoa's consumer products and flexible packaging divisions; and Reynolds Food Packaging.
Nampak secures extra supply of rHDPE for milk bottles January 15, 2008
Nampak is augmenting its plan to produce milk bottles containing recycled HDPE in the North East with an agreement to buy an annual 6,000 tonnes of food grade recycled HDPE from Greenstar (WES) of Redcar.
Nampak's intention is to reprocess HDPE supplied by waste management companies from domestic waste to produce up to 13,000 tonnes of food grade recycled HDPE annually. It will also be buying up to 6,000 tonnes a year of rHDPE from Closed Loop London.
With 25,000 tonnes of rHDPE available, at Nampak's target of 30 per cent inclusion, it should be in a position to use rHDPE in considerably more than the 2 billion bottles it currently moulds in Britain, so buying flexibility in bringing its own plant on stream.
Nampak currently operates from seven sites across the UK including five in-plant operations on customer sites. The siting of its own reprocessing plant has yet to be confirmed - beyond that it will be in "the North East" - but the company is understood to have narrowed down to two options.
Greenstar WES is part of Greenstar UK which has its head office in Aylesbury and in turn is part of the Irish NTR group which operates in renewable energy and sustainable waste management. It is already producing optically sorted washed flake at its facility in Redcar and delivery of the Erema Vacurema equipment (which brings the material up to food grade standards) is expected in early February.
Greenstar is currently using milk bottles generated by its own collection and sorting facilities at Darwen and Skegness. The group is also commissioning the largest materials recovery facility in the country, at Aldridge in the West Midlands, and along with bottles from recently acquired Verdant Group, expects to be fully self-sufficient by the end of the summer.
Automotive trim suppliers stake a claim for higher prices January 15, 2008
European Automotive Trim Suppliers, a division of the European Plastic Converters trade organisation representing producers of automotive trim, is warning of price increases in plastics components because of high energy and oil prices affecting both the cost of plastics and the cost of plasticisers, which are widely used in PVC trim.
The organisation says that raw materials can account for up to 70 per cent of the selling price of automotive trim. As well price increases from rising oil prices, there is also pressure on prices from demand for oil and plastics in China and India, and EATS says it is anticipating material supply shortages during this year.
EATS' parent organisation EuPC warned of the need for plastics converters to raise their prices four months ago.
Lancashire injection moulders combine January 12, 2008
Family-owned injection moulder Mg Plastics of Darwen in Lancashire has bought Stuma Plastics of Bolton from OSL Group (Sheffield) for more than £1 million. Both companies will retain their existing names.
Mg and Stuma operate in similar industries - defence, packaging, electrical, electronics, white goods, construction, medical, safety and hygiene. Mg has more than 20 machines from 10 to 350 tonnes while Stuma lists more than 30 machines from 25 to 800 tonnes.
Mg managing director Neil Redmayne said the aim was to continue expansion "by both organic growth and further acquisitions."
Husky and Conair co-operate in PET January 12, 2008
Husky and Conair have started collaborating to provide complete systems for PET preform production. The deal marries Conair's new EnergySmart PET dryer with Husky's HyPET injection moulding equipment and tooling to produce a system whose components have been optimised to work together.
Demag in takeover talks January 11, 2008
Demag Plastics Group is in takeover talks with Sumitomo Heavy Industries of Japan. Rumours about the talks were circulating a week ago, but today Demag issued an official confirmation that "talks regarding the acquisition of Demag by Sumitomo have occurred."
Additionally, anti-trust documents have been filed at the appropriate agencies, says the company.
The statement continues: "Although the transaction is not final, both parties strongly believe that the intended combination would greatly benefit customers with an excellent product portfolio, broad application experience and a global service organization."
The sale of Demag shot to the top of the rumour list when Mannesmann Plastics Machinery restructured itself early last year as a reborn Krauss Maffei with Netstal and Berstorff as integral parts and Demag left conspicuously outside, to be "managed independently". Demag chief executive Klaus Erkes left no doubt that he welcomed greater independence and the company set about a major rationalisation, with all the appearance of a company tidying itself up for sale.
But the talks with Sumitomo may have come even faster than Dr Erkes was expecting. Only a couple of months ago at K2007 he confirmed that Demag would eventually have a new owner "because private equity does that". But a sale was "not imminent".
Eur 15 million raised to keep Battenfeld open January 11, 2008
Battenfeld has been given a stay of execution. The "constructive talks" of earlier this week have led to short-term support by the State of Lower Austria and a consortium of banks. The have raised the Eur 15 million deemed necessary to keep the doors open at Kottingbrunn. The cash should keep the company operating for the next three months, during which time the Governor of Lower Austria, Erwin Pröll, says a buyer is expected to be found.
Gulf plastics futures trading aims to improve on LME January 11, 2008
Plastics futures trading is to begin in the Arabian Gulf. The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange is to introduce four contracts next month, for low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, and polypropylene. For each grade there will be three regional contracts: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The anticipation is that they will attract smaller companies, more exposed to volatility, rather than large plastics producers who are integrated into the oil and gas industry.
Supporters of the new futures contracts believe the Dubai bourse will succeed where they say the London Metal Exchange has failed. Trading in polypropylene and linear low-density polyethylene futures on the LME started in May, 2005, but according to an Arabian web site reporting the new Dubai futures, volume has been low so far. One difficulty those contracts are said to have faced is "basis risk": differences between LME prices and prices in the underlying market at futures monthly settlement.
According to Khaleej Times Online quoting Reuters, the model adopted by the LME relies on the assumption that - whatever the differences between prices on forward futures contracts and the physical markets - prices will converge when the contract expires, allowing traders the possibility of delivering physical lots to cover futures positions. But regional differences between the prices of plastics has sometimes eroded the correlation between the LME price and underlying market, preventing full convergence and hampering delivery of physical material when the futures contracts expire.
The Dubai contracts are said to avoid this problem by developing different regional contracts so that futures prices can reflect the regional price differences in the physical market.
New top man at Sidel January 11, 2008
Mart Tiisman has taken over from Gérard Stricher as president and chief executive of French packaging equipment manufacturer Sidel. Mr Tiismann joined Sidel in 2005 as executive vice president. Mr Stricher will retire in April.
More PE production planned by Nova January 10, 2008
A series of modernisation and expansion projects planned by Nova Chemicals for its Sarnia plant in Ontario, Canada, will add more than 100,000 tonnes of polyethylene capacity in stages over the next two years.
The projects include upgrading products, improving reliability and expanding the low density polyethylene unit at Mooretown, Ontario; optimising the high density polyethylene unit at Mooretown to increase throughput rates and improve product quality; and streamlining HDPE and LLDPE production at the St Clair River site at Corunna, Ontario. They follow the modernisation of the Corunna flexi-cracker which has increased ethylene capacity and energy efficiency, and improved plant reliability and cost competitiveness.
The total cost of the new projects will be around $80 million for which the company expects a two-year pay back.
New home for Husky UK January 10, 2008
Husky has now left its substantial technical centre in Coventry and opened in more modest style at Enderby near Leicester. The closure of Coventry has enabled it to invest in more service personnel. The new office has direct motorway access to the M1 and M69 and is located in the Grove Park office village in Enderby. The telephone number there is 0116 281 6240.
ColorMatrix opens in China January 10, 2008
Liquid colour and additive specialist ColorMatrix has opened a manufacturing facility in China.
ColorMatrix Plastic Colorant (Suzhou) Co is situated in the Jiangsu province, in the Suzhou Industrial Park, about 100 km from Shanghai. The plant is more than 2,000 m² and includes a colour-matching laboratory. It is largely based on ColorMatrix's auto base dispense system which allows the production of any number of colours using a combination of concentrated single pigment dispersions. Colour matching is done on-line by the customer and only the required quantity has to be ordered. Delivery is rapid and according to ColorMatrix the system can shorten product development cycles from months or weeks to days or even hours.
'Constructive' talks over Battenfeld bankruptcy January 9, 2008
The accusations and counter-accusations over the short-lived sale of Battenfeld Injection Moulding Machinery and its move into bankruptcy have taken on a more conciliatory tone after a meeting today between Battenfeld's owner Adcuram and representatives of the State of Lower Austria. After the talks, described as "constructive", a statement from Adcuram said that Lower Austria industry minister Ernest Gabmann saw "no reason to take further steps".
Adcuram has offered the bankruptcy trustee Dr Michael Lentsch a "decisive contribution for a positive solution", although both sides have agreed not to give any details. The Adcuram statement does say, however, that as owner and largest creditor of the company, it will support its continued operation during the bankruptcy proceedings.
But the cash to continue still has to be found. Dr Lentsch said he had a practical proposal to put to the creditors, but that continued operation of the company with a view to finding a new owner depends primarily on the question of finance, "which has to be resolved by Friday".
New CEO at Solvay Advanced Polymers January 9, 2008
There is a new president and chief executive at Solvay Advanced Polymers in the USA. George Corbin, vice president of technology, has been promoted to succeed Roger Kearns, who is moving to another management position in the Solvay group.
The biggest bag ban yet January 9, 2008
Ever since Uttar Pradesh banned plastic bags in 2000 because of the litter problem and the death by choking of thousands of sacred cows, and then the higher profile ban a couple of years later by the Irish government, the ban-the-bag bandwagon has gathered momentum. Small towns, major cities and whole countries have taken the easy option of banning bags rather than deal with the people who turn them to litter. Now it's the Big One. China is banning free plastic bags from June 1.
The ban on shops giving away bags, and on the production of bags less than 25 microns thick, has been announced by the State Council as a means to curb pollution. Shoppers are to be encouraged to use baskets or cloth bags, and shops that continue to hand out bags could be fined or have goods confiscated.
According to the government's offical web site "Meanwhile, ultra-thin plastic bags are banned in passenger trains, vessels, buses, planes, stations, airports and scenic spots. Relevant supervisors must make sure their underlings would not offer such bags."
Alongside the ban the government is requiring its environment protection departments to establish pollution control standards and technical criteria for collecting, delivering and storing plastic bags, its science and technology departments to step up the development of technologies for adding value to used plastic products, and its finance and tax authorities to use tax as a means to control production, sales and use of plastic bags and to support recycling.
As many as three billion bags a day are used in China.
BASF to raise Asian plasticiser output January 9, 2008
BASF is to expand plasticiser production in the Far East to meet demand in Asia, and especially in China, which is expected to grow by 4 - 5 per cent per anum until 2015. It is to streamline its oxo-C4 plant at Nanjing in China to increase capacity by 55,000 tonnes to 305,000 tonnes by the end of this year.
The company has also opened a plasticiser applications laboratory in Shanghai which will focus on flexible PVC applications for products such as its Hexamoll DINCH, a non-phthalate plasticiser for use in food contact and medical devices, and the recently introduced Palatinol 10-P, a new C10 plasticiser with improved performance for automotive and wire and cable applications.
New board in place at Borealis January 9, 2008
New chief executive of Borealis, Mark Garrett, has taken office in succession to John Taylor, and with him have come two new board positions. A new business group has been created with responsibility for base chemicals such as feedstock and olefins, phenol and aromatics as well as melamine and plant nutrients manufactured by Agrolinz Melamine International. In charge is Martin Kuzaj. Also new is the appointment of a board member, Henry Sperle - previously in charge of the hydrocarbons business - to focus on Middle East and Asian developments. Mr Sperle will move to Abu Dhabi to oversee expansion plans there.
Herbert Willerth continues as executive vice president of operations and Daniel J Shook joins the board as chief financial officer. The executive vice president position for the polyolefins business group remains vacant and under control of Mr Garrett until a new executive is appointed.
Now WRAP wants to define scrap tyre quality January 8, 2008
Following its proposal to introduce a quality protocol to define standards for reclaimed plastics, the Waste & Resources Action Programme WRAP has turned to scrap tyres. It has introduced for consultation a quality protocol for the production and use of tyre-derived rubber materials, which it says could make it easier and cheaper for industry to reprocess used tyres into valuable products like flooring, road surfacing, aggregates and footwear.
More than 100,000 used tyres are removed from vehicles in Britain every day, with an annual potential of more than 40,000 tonnes of recycled rubber. Under a quality protocol processed used tyres would no longer be classified as waste, which WRAP says would make the recycled rubber more marketable and guarantee to customers that the material they buy will meet agreed quality standards. A quality protocol could therefore stimulate growth in the reprocessing sector.
Azelis buys into Turkey January 8, 2008
Plastics and chemicals distributor Azelis is buying its first foothold in the Turkish market. It has signed an agreement to acquire Istanbul-based Tara Kimya and says it has plans to diversify and grow in Turkey through a number of further strategic acquisitions which are in the pipeline.
Tara works mainly in the paints, varnishes, inks, adhesives and construction sectors. It had sales of more than Eur 10 million in 2007 from two warehouses in Istanbul supplying both the Asian and European parts of the country.
Teknor Apex drops lead stabilisers January 8, 2008
US PVC compounder and TPE producer Teknor Apex, which also owns Chem Polymer in Britain, is dropping lead stabilisation from its PVC wire and cable compounds from July 31. And where it already has non-lead stabilised alternatives to lead-stabilised grades, the change will be immediate.
Also included in the change-over are pre-coloured compounds, for which the Vinyl Division's sister business Teknor Color Company has developed colour concentrates that comply with the European Union's Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations, including restrictions against use of lead.
Cast film extrusion and coating laboratories to rent January 8, 2008
US flat die manufacturer Extrusion Dies Industries is adding laboratories for die development which it will rent to processors and converters to use in product development and process testing. It has bought a factory about half a mile from its headquarters in Chippewa Falls, wisconsin, and expects all of the laboratories to be fully operational within three months.
The rental facilities will be fully equipped process laboratories that companies can use without tieing up their own equipment or using large quantities of raw materials. Companies need not be EDI customers to rent them. They can carry out product development and test runs in confidence, affirmed in a nondisclosure agreement signed by EDI.
There will be three such trial labs: Cast film extrusion, for testing options in polymers, multi-layer structures, feedblock settings, and other variables. It will house a coextrusion line with three extruders, feed blocks, and roll face. Also available will be EDI's "layer-multiplier" tooling that yields dozens of layers in film of standard overall thickness. Extrusion coating and laminating with a small converting line enabling experiments with various polymers, substrates and web structures. Included will be an extruder, coating die, brake unwind, corona pre-treater, nip roll, chill rolls, air knife, post-conditioning rolls, edge slitters, winder, and water recirculation system. Slot die coating, which can be used to test alternative fluid formulations, coating/substrate combinations and other parameters, and will have adjustable- and fixed-lip coating heads, four types of fluid pump, a polished chrome-plated steel backing roll, and three hot air dryers.
Arburg has opened a subsidiary company in Mexico, its 22nd worldwide wholly-owned subsidiary. Arburg SA de CV has taken on the staff of the company's previous representative, IPLYH.
Nova promotes Pappas January 8, 2008
New president and chief operating officer of Nova Chemicals is Chris Pappas, who moves from being senior vice president and chief operating officer. Jeffrey M Lipton continues as chief executive officer.
Battenfeld sale called off as Adcuram denies wrongdoing January 7, 2008
The former owner of the Battenfeld injection moulding machine business, German private equity company Adcuram, has reversed the sale of the business and rebutted claims from Battenfeld's management that the transfer of ownership was the reason for the company starting insolvency proceedings.
Adcuram sold the business just before Christmas to OOD Private Equity, a British company that had been in existence for only a month and about which little was known other than its registered address and the name of its director - a German domiciled in Munich, where Adcuram has its headquarters. No mention was made of the sale price, and according to the Battenfeld management there had been no contact between the new owner and the company.
In a statement issued on Friday Adcuram said that reporting of the sale had created impressions of "dubious activities" - that Adcuram had acted unlawfully. This, it said, was "simply wrong". But because of the concerns expressed, Adcuram had agreed with OOD for the return of the company.
Adcuram also denied that it had hived off the spares and service division of the company in August last year - the side of the company that it had retained in its pre-Christmas disposal. Instead, it says, only a small part of the service and spares business was separated. The greater part had already become independent under the former owner, SMS.
When Battenfeld's management put the company into bankruptcy it said that "An injection of equity capital, which has been needed for some time, has not been provided by either the former or the present owner." According to Adcuram's response millions of Euros of financial support had been made available, but the company was trading against "ruinous price competition". The cost of materials and bought-in parts was rising while the market for Battenfeld's machines was falling, and price pressure in the market for "commodity" moulding machines meant that costs could not be passed on to customers.
The closure of the Meinerzhagen plant in Germany by SMS and the move to Kottingbrunn in Austria disdvantaged the company further, says Adcuram, saddling it with production facilities with inadequate equipment. Overall Adcuram says that it had to inject more than Eur 15 million of cash into Battenfeld in the past year.
Battenfeld's move into bankruptcy has triggered a number of public and private moves to save the company. The Governor of Lower Austria, Erwin Pröll, has called for Eur 15 million of emergency aid to be raised by the local authority and the banks to keep the company open and the 472 staff employed. And several Austrian companies have expressed interest. Chief among these appears to be HTI, an acquisitive industrial group which has just moved into the plastics machinery business with the takeover in December of the Theysohn extrusion machinery company. Board spokesman Nickolaus Kretz confirmed that HTI has registered its interest with the trustees now responsible for Battenfeld. Other Austrian-based industrialists who have expressed cautious interest include Hannes Androsch, who owns five per cent of HTI, Josef Taus and Kurt Stiassny.
American interest in cash-strapped Everwhite January 7, 2008
Welsh PVC extruder Everwhite Plastics has gone into administration and representatives of an American company are expected to examine the business today with a view to buying it. An Irish company and "several large UK businesses in the same industry" are also said to be interested.
Everwhite was set up in 1994 and extrudes roofline products and window trim. 140 people are employed at its Aberaman Park, Aberdare site. The administrator said the company ran into cash flow problems after sales dipped in the USA while the company was investing in equipment for the US product.
US recycler to build British plant - its biggest yet January 7, 2008
American plastics recycling specialist MBA Polymers is linking with European Metal Recycling to build its biggest plant so far, which will be sited in Britain. The company already has plants in the USA, Austria and China. The British plant will have a capacity of 60,000 tonnes and will start operating early in 2009.
The focus on the MBA Polymers UK plant will be shredder residue sourced from EMR's metal recycling operations. As well as reclaiming plastics, the additional processing will enable EMR to recover more of the metal fraction.
New chief executive at Vita January 7, 2008
The Vita Group has appointed Joe Menendez as group chief executive, taking over from John Oliver who remains on the board as non-executive chairman. Mr Menendez joins Vita from the Saint-Gobain group.
Battenfeld is sold and files for insolvency
January 3, 2008
The management of the Battenfeld injection moulding business has applied to start insolvency proceedings following the surprise sale of the company just before Christmas. Battenfeld Kunststoffmaschinen Gesellschaft was sold by Adcuram to OOD Private Equity, which itself was only set up on November 20 at an address in Hatton Garden, London by a director based in Munich - coincidentally the city where Adcuram is based. Staff were told about the sale and impending insolvency proceeding in an e-mail from managing director Georg Tinschert on December 28. According to Vienna-based news web site Gabi Stockmann, Mr Tinschert had not known about the changes in the company, despite having just been appointed by Adcuram to start a three-year contract at the end of January.
In a statement issued today Battenfeld says the application to start insolvency proceedings "had become necessary because a surprising and unexpected change in ownership had endangered the existence of the company". It added that the new owner "has so far issued no statement regarding the future of the company. An injection of equity capital, which has been needed for some time, has not been provided by either the former or the present owner. The management therefore considers itself obliged to take the aforementioned action."
The company's libilities are reported to be "Eur 20 - 30 million". The 472 staff in Austria were not paid in December.
It is not clear whether the application for insolvency proceedings was made with the knowledge or approval of OOD Private Equity, or whether the Battenfeld management acted independently. In its statement today Battenfeld looks forward to the company being "re-launched on a solid basis, possibly with new investors."
What had not been widely known prior to the sale was that in August Adcuram had split Battenfeld into two subsidiaries - the machine building business, and the spares and service business. Adcuram is retaining the spares and service business, in which it has been investing and for which it plans "add-on acquisitions to enlarge its product offering". The machine building business, however, says "regaining control over the service and spare parts service" is a decisive factor in "re-floating the company". Battenfeld Service operates from the former home of Battenfeld, Meinerzhagen in Germany, and from Kottingbrunn in Austria where machine building is now concentrated. It has recently expanded the Meinerzhagen warehouse to 4,000 m² and is planning to move the Kottingbrunn spares/service operation to neighbouring Hirtenberg in February. Turnover of the spares and service business is reckoned at around Eur 30 million in 2007.
In Britain Battenfeld UK was still "open for business" despite the upheaval in Austria. Managing director Mike Everett stressed that the factory in Austria was still producing machines and has a full order book. "They're building them and we're selling them". According to Battenfeld in Austria the order book is filled for the next three months and all orders will be fulfilled as agreed.
Adcuram, a German capital investment company, bought Battenfeld towards the end of 2006 from steel conglomerate SMS.
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A company in the USA takes the opposite view to EuPF on the use of degradable bags. Hilex Poly Company of South Carolina, which reckons to be "the world's largest producer of plastic grocery bags" has introduced a bag that it says "degrades into harmless material in as little as eight weeks when littered and can be recycled into new bags".