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The long awaited sale of Italian injection moulding machine producer Negri Bossi is to go ahead. Since the international engineering group Kvaerner bought Trafalgar House and sold off the John Brown Plastics Machinery businesses - with the exception of Negri Bossi - at the end of last year there has been speculation that Negri Bossi would not stay long in Kvaerner on its own.
Kvaerner is believed to have hung on to Negri Bossi initially because it anticipated a higher sale price than it might have got as part of a package. Mannesmann is understood to have assessed Negri Bossi as a possible acquisition.
But now the company has been bought by an Italian consortium led by Private Equity Partners of Milan in a deal reportedly valuing Negri Bossi at $51 million.
Targor PP compounds expansion underway March 25, 1999
Work has started on the expansion of Targor's UK polypropylene compounding plant at Wilton announced earlier this year.
The new compounding facility is being built close to the existing Novolen plant, from which it will receive materials directly. Most of the remaining materials used will be delivered by tanker and conveyed pneumatically to silo storage.
Materials and additives will be metered gravimetrically to two Berstorff ZE90A Ultra Torque twin screw extruders equipped with side feeders for the addition of mineral fillers and glass.
Dyneon to buy DuPont's Dutch PTFE compounding business March 25, 1999
Dyneon is planning to buy DuPont's filled PTFE business which operates from Kerkrade in the Netherlands. The two companies have signed first stage agreements and the sale is expected to be completed by the middle of the year.
Dyneon, formed in 1996 from the fluoropolymer businesses of Hoechst and 3M, already has PTFE compounding facilities at Gendorf in Germany, and in the USA at Aston, Pennsylvania and Houston, Texas. It expects to continue operations at the Kerkrade site with the existing staff.
Turnabout at Borealis March 24, 1999
Borealis is switching managers at two of its sites. Olav Aas is to move from Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) where he is CEO to become site manager at Sines in Portugal. Joost Schrevens, currently site manager at Sines, will go to Abu Dhabi as CEO of Borouge. The changes will take place in the summer.
Sales up, profits down at Uponor March 23, 1999
Finnish-based pipe specialist Uponor saw a fall back in profits last year as a result of investments and cost increases. There were also operational factors such as the contraction of the municipal engineering sector in Eastern Germany, reduction in the value of material stocks because of falling material prices, and delays in launching new products.
During the year the group bought a number of businesses and these, together with increased sales in its other divisions, increased turnover.
Overall sales were Eur 771 million (1997: Eur 701·3 million), and operating profit Eur 47 million (1997: Eur 48·8 million).
Top changes at Demag Ergotech March 23, 1999
The managing director of Demag Ergotech, Wolfgang von Schroeter, is retiring on April 1. He is to be succeeded by Helmar Franz, currently managing director of Demag's factory in Wiehe.
Financial director Gerhard Becker has been appointed financial director to the board of Mannesmann Plastics Machinery, and his position has been taken over by Hermann Balzer, who moves from Mannesmann's Oil, Gas and Industrial Plant Engineering division where he was commercial director.
Mr Franz and Mr Becker join engineering director Hans Blüml as the triumvirate heading Demag Ergotech.
Rosti buys Dutch moulder March 19, 1999
Expanding Danish plastics moulder the Rosti Group has bought Incase of Holland. Rosti now has more than 20 companies in 11 countries.
Among Incase's specialities are presentation cases for luxury goods and components for medical and electronic devices, produced with highly automated manufacturing methods. Incase also has a product design and development department.
Struktol distributor March 18, 1999
Adhesives International has been appointed UK and Ireland distributor for Schill + Seilacher's Struktol Polydis products which include halogen-free flame retardants, tackifiers for adhesives, plastics processing aids and elastomer-modified epoxy pre-polymers.
Ashland Inc has split its Ashland Chemical Company subsidiary into two - Ashland Speciality Chemicals Company, which broadly incorporates the chemicals manufacturing businesses, and Ashland Distribution Company, which consists of Ashland's chemicals sales businesses, including Ashland Chemicals Europe.
Restructuring makes Wellington leaner for the future March 18, 1999
The restructured Wellington Holdings Group saw turnover and operating profit fall in 1998, although pre-tax profit was up slightly and the group's new lower cost base gives a hopeful outlook.
During last year Wellington sold its L & H Polymers conversion business, bought CDI Seals in the USA, and integrated its compounding businesses on two main operating sites. Turnover fell to £47·8 million from £52·4 million, operating profit (before exceptional items) fell from £6·6 million to £5·6 million and pre-tax profit rose from £2·8 million to £3·1 million.
Directory of Czech and Slovak plastics industries March 18, 1999
A report detailing the plastics industries in the Czech and Slovak Republics has been published by Applied Market Information.
AMI says there are now approximately 500 plastics processors in the Czech Republic and 100 in the Slovak Republic, with more than half having been founded since 1990.
Polymer production in the Czech Republic was 491,000 tonnes in 1997, and consumption 425,000 tonnes. Polymer demand has increased by nearly 35 per cent over the past two years. The main conversion process is injection moulding - 57 per cent of firms - with 7·3 per cent of processors extruding pipe, 6 per cent profiles and 6 per cent film. The automotive and packaging industries are the largest end users accounting for 52 per cent of the total market.
The Slovak Republic is less industrialised, but the plastics industry has been showing 9 per cent year on year growth, says AMI. Polymer production is mainly the output of Slovnaft, which in 1997 produced 170,000 tonnes of LDPE and 70,000 tonnes of PP. The Republic's 1997 polymer consumption is estimated at 185,000 tonnes.
The fibre industry is particularly strong in the Slovak Republic, accounting for 20 per cent of polymer demand, although involving only 7 per cent of processing companies.
The AMI Directory of Plastics Processing in the Czech and Slovak Republics costs Eur 245.
A high speed bottle trimming system is now available in the UK through Blow Moulding Controls. The Maer system from Spain can trim bottles at up to 30,000 an hour, which BMC says is becoming necessary as blow moulding machines work with more heads and there is a wider use of wheel machines.
Attempts to keep up using old style trimmers can lead to bottle instability, says BMC. The Maer system differs from conventional trimmers by having multiple cutters on a rotary bottle handling system, and the bottle is held throughout the cutting process.
MDI/TDI joint ventures for China March 18, 1999
ICI Polyurethanes, BASF and Nippon Polyurethane are to join with a group of Chinese companies to build a 160,000 tonnes crude MDI plant in China. The output from the plant will be sold to two separate joint ventures for finishing - one group involves ICI, NPU and the Shanghai Tianyuan (Group) Corporation, while the other is a joint venture between BASF and the remaining four Chinese companies in the consortium. The two new finishing companies will have equal rights to the crude MDI and will invest in additional facilities to produce a range of MDI specialty products.
The BASF consortium is also planning to build a 130,000 tonnes TDI plant.
After settling the formalities it is expected that the whole complex, in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Caojing, near Shanghai, will take three years to build.
Dow declares force majeure on TDI March 11, 1999
Dow Polyurethanes has had a major problem with equipment at its Freeport, Texas, USA plant which has interrupted production of toluene diisocyanate to the extend that Dow has declared force majeure, excusing it from meeting contractual commitments. Dow says the plant should be running again by June 1.
Borealis/Huntsman co-operate in soft PP as Huntsman buys ethylene/propylene carbonates March 10, 1999
Borealis has extended its polypropylene portfolio with a marketing agreement to sell Huntsman Corporation's Rexflex-FPO product in Europe. Rexflex-FPO is a soft propylene based polymer made in the USA which is comparable in property terms with plasticised PVC, polyethylene and EVA/EBA polymers, but with the heat resistance and strength of polypropylene. It has applications in medical and hygienic products, flexible packaging, textiles and non-wovens alongside automotive, electrical and industrial uses.
The agreement spans two years, during which Borealis and Huntsman will investigate European manufacture. Huntsman has also signed a deal with Creanova Spezialchemie to take over Creanova's ethylene and propylene carbonates business at Marl in Germany. The plant will be retained by Creanova and operated for Huntsman.
Huntsman says it is the world's largest combined producer of ethylene-, propylene- and butylene carbonate. Its Jeffsol product has applications, among others, as a viscosity reducer for polyurethanes and epoxies, as an acetone replacer for polyester clean up, and as a polymer modifier.
New sales director for Krupp Corpoplast March 10, 1999
Dr Ing Olaf Weiland has been appointed a member of the management board of Krupp Corpoplast Maschinenbau responsible for sales, aftersales service and financial control in succession to Dipl Ing Hans-Peter Saul who has retired. He was formerly head of technology at Krupp Kautex Maschinenbau.
Gresham confirmed in Elf Atochem top slot March 10, 1999
David Gresham has been confirmed as chairman of Elf Atochem UK in addition to his role as managing director, following the retirement on December 31 of James Puckridge.
Polypipe continues to break financial records March 10, 1999
Polypipe has continued its trail of record breaking financial results with the half year to December 1998, which was the 14th successive record half year. Sales increased 2·2 per cent to £122·2 million (1997: £119·6 million) and operating profits rose 5·6 per cent to £13·2 million (1997: £12·5 million).
The company's traditional business of plastics pipes and fittings continued to grow despite downward pricing pressure in the market and reached £77·9 million (1997: £73·2 million), yielding a profit of £8·4 million (1997: £7·8 million).
Polypipe is broadening its scope into other building product areas and during the period bought ventilation company Domus Ducting, conservatory roof company Rickmans, the Pagette toilet seat and plastic cisterns business in Germany, and the Anchor-Fast Products business which has been added to the Oasis Leisure Products operation. Finance is available for further purchases within the plastics building materials sector.
New deputy chairman for BASF March 10, 1999
Max Dietrich Kley has been appointed deputy chairman of BASF in succession to Dr Hanns-Helge Stechel, who retires at the end of April. Mr Kley has been on the BASF board since 1990 and is currently responsible for the corporate finance division, the oil & gas, coatings and raw materials purchasing operating divisions, the Eastern Europe, Africa and West Africa regional division, and the group audit department.
Record level for PET bottle collection March 6, 1999
The collection of PET bottles shot up 57 per cent across Europe last year to a record 170,000 tonnes, equating to approximately 3·4 billion bottles. Recycling capacity rose to match, reaching 190,000 tonnes through expansion, the upgrading of existing plants, and improved efficiencies. New investments in recycling during 1998 contribute to estimates that recycling will exceed 200,000 tonnes this year.
In the UK the figures from Petcore show that bottle collection increased from 2,800 tonnes in 1997 to 4,500 tonnes in 1998, with bottle collection schemes run by 40 per cent of local authorities covering more than 2·5 million households.
However, working against the growth in recycling is the low financial reward. British recyclers are working within a regime of falling Packaging Recovery Note prices which are threatening investment, and worldwide the depressed price of virgin PET is holding down the value of recyclate.
New PVC sheet company sets up in Wales March 4, 1999
A new British company is pitching for the PVC thermoforming sheet business which it says is currently supplied 70 per cent by imports.
G-Plas has been set up in Pen-y-Fan in South Wales by three former Tenneco managers Graham Johnson, David Gray and Giles Peacock. Their intention is to supply a wide range of PVC and PVC/PE sheet products with short lead times. The gauge range extends from 150 microns to 1·2 mm in clear, colours and tints for deep draw, high impact and standard thermoforming applications in both virgin and rework qualities.
Initial capacity is 2,500 tonnes a year from two Esde lines, with a three-year target of 4 - 5,000 tonnes/year output.
Montell in Indian polypropylene joint venture March 4, 1999
Montell is to join with another Asian company to share polypropylene production. It is to form a 50:50 joint venture with Machino Plastics of India called Machino-Montell-India to make polypropylene compounds and advanced materials based on Montell's Catalloy and high melt strength polypropylene processes.
The two companies have been in co-operation since 1997 when Machino set up a 5,000 tonnes compounding plant under a licence from Montell. This plant is to be expanded during this year.
Last September Montell and Shell joined with two Indian companies to modernise a petrochemicals plant and in November it joined a joint venture with Japan Polyolefins Co to make polypropylene. Earlier in the year the company announced it was investigating a polypropylene joint venture in China.
Italians foresee slowing machinery market March 4, 1999
Production, export, import and home sales of plastics and rubber machinery all increased last year in Italy according to preliminary figures from Assocomoplast. This year, however, the situation should slow down and the association is predicting that exports will continue to rise, by about 3 per cent, but that Italy will import 8 - 9 per cent less machinery.
The provisional figures for 1998 are:
Italian market for plastics and rubber machinery and moulds (million Euros)
1997
1998 estimated
Production
3,073
3,254
Export
2,054
2,221
Import
448
568
Domestic market
1,467
1,601
Italian market for plastics and rubber machinery and moulds (million Euros)
Import
Export
1997
1998 estimated
1997
1998 estimated
Calender and laminators
2
1
22
13
Flexographic printing machines
14
11
103
107
Mono and multifilament plants
8
23
58
43
Injection moulding machines
47
89
210
223
Extruders
30
33
195
161
Blow moulding machines
22
30
97
115
Thermoforming machines
4
4
30
26
Tyre and tube presses
3
2
13
16
Other presses
13
26
69
85
Moulding or forming machines
11
15
147
131
Machines for foamed products
3
5
49
43
Other machines
68
48
337
387
Parts and components
80
94
313
309
Moulds
145
187
414
562
Total
448
568
2,054
2,221
Mixed results at DSM March 3, 1999
Engineering materials held on to sales and profits at DSM last year, but commodity materials were hit by lower selling prices resulting from the Asian crisis, recording falls in both sales and profits.
The Performance Materials business group - elastomers, engineering plastics, resins and engineering plastic products - saw sales increase from NLG 4,068 million in 1997 to NLG 4,116 million, which was a result of increased volume at largely unchanged prices. Profit was slightly up at NLG 170 million from NLG 166 million.
The Polymers and Industrial Chemicals business, which includes polyethylene, polypropylene, melamine and fibre intermediates, had higher sales volume, due mainly to the takeover of Vestolen's polymer activities in November, but turnover dropped from NLG 6,065 million to NLG 5,904 million. The fall in operating profit from NLG 732 million to NLG 660 million was due mainly to lower results from polyethylenes, hydrocarbons and fibre intermediates, while the polypropylene business increased volume and posted a higher profit, and melamine achieved higher prices to take its profit up from 1997.
Schmalbach continues its growth in PET containers March 3, 1999
Addition of the former Johnson Controls PET bottles business helped Schmalbach-Lubeca to push its sales of PET bottles and containers up from DM 1,460 million to DM 1,772 million in 1998. Also helping sales growth was expansion into new products such as heatset PET packaging for fruit juices and isotonic drinks which were already on sale in North America but increased significantly in volume, and the introduction to the USA of wide-mouth heatset PET jars for hot filling of jams, soups, sauces etc.
Sales in Latin America increased through the acquisition of Braspet in Brazil and the setting up of joint ventures in Peru and Venezuela.
Sales increases were against a background of falling PET prices, but in Europe passing back the lower material cost to customers helped bring sales down from the previous year. The poor summer weather also depressed demand. New market segments are being explored, and beer and mineral water bottles are undergoing market testing.
Aside from the acquisitions and joint ventures which added capacity in Latin America, Schmalbach-Lubeca also opened a plant in Turkey, and is building a new plant in the USA focussed on growth segments in the food market. There were also modernisation and expansion investments in Europe and Asia.
The PET packaging business was 43 per cent of the company's turnover last year which fell 5 per cent from the previous year to DM 4,128 million, but after adjustments for divestments and acquisitions represented a slight increase. The other two operating divisions are Beverage Cans (38 per cent) and White Cap Closures (19 per cent).
Closures sales fell in 1998 to DM 779 million from DM 802 million. Sales increased in Europe but fell in the USA. The European increase was mainly due to volume growth in south west Europe and Poland. The company opened a plant in the USA and expanded another, and is building a plant in Poland due to open in the middle of this year.
DSM to emphasise polypropylene as it sells ABS to BASF March 3, 1999
The sale of DSM's ABS business to BASF, announced last year, has been ratified by the two companies and now awaits anti-trust approval.
Under the deal DSM Performance Polymers will sell the business - knowhow, brand names and customer base - to BASF, but will retain ownership of the 60,000 tonnes of polymerisation and compounding capacity at Geleen in the Netherlands. This will be operated by DSM for BASF for a period of four or five years and will be phased out as capacity from BASF's new ABS plant is phased in.
DSM Performance Polymers' main business is in polypropylene, and on April 1 is to be renamed DSM Polypropylenes. Capacity will reach 800,000 tonnes this year, and will be expanded to 1·1 million tonnes next year.
BASF to expand butanediol capacity March 3, 1999
BASF is to build a butanediol plant in Malaysia through BASF Petronas Chemicals, its 60:40 joint venture with Petroliam Nasional (Petronas). The plant will have a capacity of 100,000 tonnes and use butane as feedstock. It will be build in Gebeng (Pahang) and will start up in 2002.
BASF says it is the world's largest producer of butanediol, which among its applications is used to make polyurethanes and PBT, with a capacity of 310,000 tonnes. This is due to rise to 400,000 tonnes next year with the completion of a plant in Korea and expansion of plants in Germany and the USA.
Iddon bought by US extruder company March 1, 1999
Another of Britain's long-established rubber machinery manufacturers has been bought by an American company. Iddon Brothers has been taken over by NFM Welding Engineers and has been renamed NFM Iddon Ltd.
NFM plans to make 'a substantial capital investment' in plant technology and equipment upgrades at Iddon's Leyland site and to expand the company's manufacturing capacity and capabilities.
Iddon builds rubber extruders, calenders and mills, while NFM makes co- and counter-rotating twin screw compounding extruders, single screw plastics and rubber extruders and other related equipment. In 1998 NFM bought Welding Engineers, a long-established American manufacturer of counter-rotating extruders. NFM also has the US license to build and sell Toshiba co-rotating extruders.
Some of Iddon's equipment is to be sold in the USA, and Iddon will sell NFM products in the UK.
Iddon's managing director Michael Iddon remains with the company as director of marketing and sales.
PU pumps from Germany March 1, 1999
Intercontrol of Oxford has been appointed UK distributor for Beinlich Pumps of Germany. Beinlich positive displacement gear and piston pumps are suitable for a wide range of fluids including polyols, isocyanates and resins.
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Huntsman has also signed a deal with Creanova Spezialchemie to take over Creanova's ethylene and propylene carbonates business at Marl in Germany. The plant will be retained by Creanova and operated for Huntsman.