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One-piece plastic can for oil paints April 29, 1998
The one-piece plastic can for oil paints has taken a step closer with the licensing by the RPC Group of the stretch blow moulded plastic can developed by The Plastic Can Company. The Plastic Can Company and its commercial arm Canopet were set up in August last year to exploit developments by their chairman Jonathan Britton. These broadly cover the production of a one-piece can with a rigid box-section rim which supports the use of a conventional resealable lever lid. Much of the work has been with PET for solvent-based paint storage although the technology can be used with PP, HDPE and PET/PEN blends.
Initial trials were done with small cans for Humbrol paints, and these were scaled up by stretch blow machine builder Aoki to 750 ml and 2·5 litres at the end of last year.
The focus in the can design was on producing the heavily undercut rim needed for a lever lid. Injection moulded paint cans are in production but these are two-piece, with the rim being spin-welded on to the can after moulding because of the problems otherwise of removing the core.
After some £500,000 worth of trials Jonathan Britton settled on injection stretch blow, moulding a preform as for a wide mouth jar, with the rim already in place. The company is not saying how the core is removed from the injection moulded preform, but the technique appears to be one of a controlled collapse of part of the preform itself rather than collapsing the tooling.
Adoption of the can for paint packaging is attractive because it is so much simpler to produce than its metal equivalent. This would enable on-site production, rather than having to transport cans from a cannery, and Akzo Nobel Paints has estimated this would represent £1 million saving on transport costs for its Crown Paints cans.
The process was designed for manufacture on single-stage machines, and on Aoki machines in particular. Injection moulding of the lid makes no particular technical demands. The Plastic Can Company's turnkey package of a single Aoki machine plus an injection moulder and all the tooling and ancillary equipment, would be capable of 8 million 750 ml containers a year.
RPC is to put an initial line into its Blackburn factory where it will operate alongside its injection moulded paint can production, and the stretch blowing of wide mouth containers on Nissei ASB machines.
A 250,000 tonnes/year polypropylene homopolymer plant is due to come on line at Grangemouth at the end of 1999 as part of a £100 million investment by the Elf Atochem/BP Chemicals joint venture Appryl. It will supply the UK market, which currently imports some 400,000 tonnes annually. The company is also to increase the capacity of its Gofreville-l'Orcher plant in France from 140,000 to 200,000 tonnes/year of block copolymers using a new process developed by Appryl.
By 2000 Appryl's three sites (its third site, said to be the world's biggest PP plant, is at Lavéra in France) will total more than 700,000 tonnes capacity.
BP has also announced new plant investment at Grangemouth (see story May 4).
Board changes at Wellington Holdings April 24, 1998
Peter Chaffin has retired suddenly from the board of Wellington Holdings. He is replaced as chief executive by Peter Bennett, who for the past 10 years has been responsible for the development of the Seals Division. Hallite Seals managing director Bob Kingsnorth joins the board as executive director for the Seals Division. Simon Mulhall, managing director of Ondura, joins the board as executive director for the Compounding Division.
Hose company rises out of Griflex April 24, 1998
Eight former employees of the Griflex hose operation in Wrexham, which closed in December, have set up their own hose company. AA Extrusions has started up at Unit 5, Whitegate Industrial Complex, Wrexham, LL13 8UG (telephone 01978 361335). The 1,600 sq m factory currently has three secondhand extrusion lines - two for braided hose and one for nylon - and a line for flexible hose will be installed in a couple of weeks. Within the next 12 months the company plans to install additional equipment to make suction and discharge products and vacuum hose.
MBO puts Britton back in Britain April 24, 1998
US packaging producer ACX Technologies, which bought Britton Group plc last December, has sold the UK business to its management. ACX bought Britton primarily for its US-based carton interests.
Britton Group Plastics has eight manufacturing sites and more than 750 employees in the UK, divided into three groups - Britton Film (which includes Taco and Polymon), Britton Security and Britton Print & Conversion. Last year's consolidated turnover was £85 million yielding a pre-tax profit of more than £8 million. The transaction costs for the buy-out are £90 million.
Cheaper colours from PMB April 24, 1998
Reduced manufacturing costs and cheaper pigments are leading to price cuts in colour masterbatches from Performance Masterbatches. The company says that some European pigment suppliers are under pressure from Far East suppliers and have cut their prices. PMB intends to pass these resultant cost savings on to its customers and expects its re-pricing to make it highly competitive with other masterbatch producers.
The colours concerned are mainly blues and greens and some of the more expensive reds and pinks. Logistics have prevented the company's full range being repriced overnight, but PMB undertakes to requote by phone or fax.
Microban antibacterial additive has been incorporated in a new gelcoat from Neste Polyester for applications in such products as sanitaryware, baths and wash basins and vanity tops, as well as interior parts for yachts, hospitals and so on. Microban - produced by Microban Products Company in the USA - works by neutralising the ability of organisms to function, grow or reproduce. It is not water soluble, and as it is incorporated in the Maxguard gelcoat rather than being coated on to it, will not wash or wear off. Maxguard is said to inhibit the growth of bacteria, mould, mildew and fungus on mouldings for their useful life.
Name change at Omya April 24, 1998
Omya Croxton + Garry changes its name on May 1 to Omya UK Ltd. Croxton + Garry became Omya Croxton + Garry a couple of years ago to more obviously identify itself with its parent company the Omya/Plüss-Staufer Group. Now it is seeking the convenience of a shorter name.
Portasilo adds Ellimetal silos April 21, 1998
Silos built by Ellimetal of Belgium are now available in the UK and Ireland from Portasilo. Standard and custom-built silos are available in stainless steel, coated mild steel and aluminium, factory-built up to 8 m in diameter and 35 m shell height, and bigger for on-site assembly.
Vredestein restructures and expands April 21, 1998
Dutch rubber recycling and compounding group Vredestein Rubber Recycling has been restructured as Vredestein Rubber Resources, and has bought a majority share in a Belgian rubber reclaim company. The new investment is a 60 per cent stake in Jakobs Rubber Recycling of Lommel, which has become Vredestein Jakobs. Jakobs' Dutch plant is not included in the deal.
Vredestein Rubber Resources is now made up of Vredestein Rubber Recycling with about 25,000 tonnes capacity in Maastricht, Holland; Vredestein Compounds at Renkum in Holland operating two K7 Intermixes with an annual capacity of around 25,000 tonnes split between black compounds and colours; two South African plants, Vredestein SA Recycling with 15,000 tonnes capacity near Johannesburg and Vredestein SA Chemicals in Alrode, the purchase of which brought adhesive and epoxy manufacture into the Vredestein Group; and Vredestein Jakobs which generates around 8,000 tonnes a year of crumb from truck tyres.
Perlos grows on Tyneside April 21, 1998
Injection moulder and toolmaker Perlos is concentrating toolmaking at a new site at Sunderland's new Rainton Bridge South Business Park near Houghton-le-Spring. The 15,000 sq ft plant will accommodate toolmaking from the Hartlepool plant, and half the toolmaking facilities from the company's Washington plant, where additional moulding capacity will be installed.
Perlos is investing £1·3 million in the move, timed to meet increased orders which will see turnover increase from last year's £7 million to £10 million this year. 44 jobs are being created, bringing the total workforce up to 170.
Top job at Liquid Plastics April 21, 1998
Liquid Plastics has appointed Jeremy Gorick as joint managing director. He has been with the company for 20 years, having joined at 16, working in research and development, production, marketing and sales, and was latterly commercial director.
New plant investment at Fanning Rotoform April 21, 1998
Rotational moulder Fanning Rotoform has expanded its Stone, Staffordshire plant and installed two new Rotospeed machines in a £600,000 investment.
Recycling rate rise outstrips plastics growth April 14, 1998
An extra 250,000 tonnes of plastics waste was recovered in 1996 in Western Europe compared with the year before, bringing the total up to 1·6 million tonnes. Included in the increase was a dramatic - 150 per cent - rise in feedstock recycling, up 99,000 tonnes to 251,000 tonnes.
Of end use sources, plastics packaging saw the greatest increase - and represented the bulk of the additional material recycled - with almost half as much again being recycled in 1996 (639,000 tonnes) than in 1995 (454,000 tonnes).
Consumption of plastics increased by around a million tonnes to 25,905,000 tonnesbetween 1995 and 1996, a growth of 4 per cent. The increase in material being recycled was 19 per cent.
The figures were compiled by Sofres Conseil and are published in Plastics Recovery in Perspective by the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe.
Riverside buys Creightons' bottle blowing plant April 10, 1998
Another in-house blow moulder has pulled out of the bottle business. Contract filler Creightons has sold its blow moulding facilities to Riverside Plastics in a deal which secures bottle supply from Riverside. The blow moulding machines and ancillaries have been added to Riverside's Treforest facilities, which the company plans to quit for larger premises by the end of this year.
More capacity for water-based bonding agents April 10, 1998
Compounding Ingredients is adding another 200 tonnes capacity for its water-based Cilbond rubber to metal and PU to metal bonding agents to meet growing demand. The company says that demand for water-based bonding agents has been increased in part by the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and a desire to reduce VOCs.
Demag rings the changes on the Ergotech April 10, 1998
Two new derivatives of the Demag Ergotech injection moulding machine have been introduced, one for high speed thin wall moulding and the other as a 'bumper bundle' small machine making standard a number of features previously available as options.
The Ergotech rapid for thin wall moulding uses the basic Ergotech modules to produce five models from 125 to 330 tonnes. Frequency-controlled electric screw drive has been used to increase the metering rate, driving a 25 D screw. Injection is backed up by a hydraulic accumulator. The hydraulic drive power has been increased over standard machines, and proportional control valves give ejector and core pulling movements parallel to machine movements - the electric screw drive allows parallel plasticising and mould movement.
The Ergotech edition celebrates five years production of small machines at the Wiehe factory in Germany during which the company has grown to become, as it says, 'the number two small machine specialist in the world'. The factory expects to build 1,800 injection moulding machines this year.
The Ergotech edition range comprises fully hydraulic machines with clamping forces from 25 to 110 tonnes. It includes as standard the ability to programme nozzle contact pressure, an extra hydraulic pump, hydraulic pressure-dependent change-over to holding pressure, process graphs, process statistics and monitoring, printer interface and a printer programme as well as ten-step injection and holding pressure with automatic screw recognition.
The Ergostart quick setting feature is integrated into the NC4 numeric control. This requires only a few geometrical parameters and moulded-part weight to be entered into a display page, with the material selected from a previously compiled list. It uses this data for an automatic machine set up which is used by the NC controller for further process optimisation. Optimised process data can then be stored on diskette for restarting the production at a later stage. If a different screw diameter is used for injection, the automatic screw recognition system converts mould data stored in the NC4 control unit.
The second hydraulic pump next to the main unit enables parallel ejector and core movements. Ten-step resolution of injection and holding pressure allows fine adjustment.
To support sales, Demag is combining what it calls 'a nice price' with interest-free financing and a special leasing option.
Speckled PP cuts cost of 'textile' mouldings April 10, 1998
A polypropylene which moulds to give a fabric-like appearance and so replaces textile-covered mouldings at lower processing cost has been introduced by PCD, and is in use for interior mouldings for the Vauxhall Astra. The new Daplen Multispot grade is used for the A, B, C, and D pillar mouldings, depending on model, and is being supplied to moulders in both the UK and Germany.
Commercial opportunity in star polymer research April 10, 1998
The University of Akron (UA) in the USA will be commencing a commercial development program for its portfolio of patented and patent pending star polymers during the Summer of 1998 and during the first year will be funding a development program to promote their commercialisation.
This development program, with Dr Joseph P. Kennedy as the principal investigator, will produce intermediate sample quantities (100 - 300 grams) for prospective commercial partners - it is envisioned that a series of samples may be provided. UA will underwrite the costs of producing the samples and the prospective commercial partners will provide some specification as well as test and evaluate the samples for usefulness in commercial products.
The star polymers have potential commercial value as viscosity index modifiers, TPEs, TPE compatibilising agents for polymer blends, coatings (cross linking agents with functional end groups), sealants/paints, binders/adhesives, shampoos and the like. The intention is to have several companies involved, with the potential of having several mini consortia formed in year two of the project.
Further information from Dennis J. Dannemiller, Director, Temarex Corporation,
e-mail: temarex@temarex.com, internet: Temarex.
Davis-Standard adds Swiss extruders April 9, 1998
US extrusion machinery specialist Davis-Standard has bought the extruder product line of Bernex-Müller of Switzerland. The range includes single screw extruders from 35 - 120 mm, coextruders from 25 - 40 mm, control systems and feedscrews. The complete line is being built by ER-WE-PA Davis-Standard in Germany.
BFM plastics bought April 9, 1998
BFM Plastics, the plastics moulding subsidiary of switchgear company Baldwin & Francis of Sheffield, has been bought by a buy-in team led by entrepreneur Bill Hall for £1·6 million. The company makes injection and compression mouldings for the switchgear and electrical markets, and has an annual turnover of around £2 million.
Michael Ballance now supplies SO.F.TER TPEs April 9, 1998
Thermoplastic elastomers from SO.F.TER in Italy are now available in the UK from Michael Ballance Plastics. The range includes Forprene PP/EPDM, Laprene SEBS and Sofprene SBS. SO.F.TER was set up in 1980, bought by Evode in 1988/89, became part of Laporte when Laporte bought Evode in 1993, and was bought back by its original owners in 1994.
McKechnie to invest more in Llantrisant April 9, 1998
McKechnie's Engineered Plastics division has been identified by the group as a growth area, and over the next two years McKechnie plans to invest £2 million at the Paxton site in Llantrisant which it converted from a trade moulder to a container manufacturing centre during last year. The division increased profits by 13 per cent to £13 million in the six months to January 1998, helping the group's 9 per cent organic profit growth (actual profit was depressed by the strength of Sterling) to £30·8 million on sales up 15 per cent to £328·5 million.
PP to follow PE as porous polyolefin masterbatch carrier April 9, 1998
DSM is working on a porous polypropylene carrier with better than 60 per cent porosity for non-extruded masterbatches which it expects to have available for sampling by the end of the year. The company already has a pilot plant for commercial production of a polyethylene material, Stamypor, which achieves better than 50 per cent porosity.
These materials are used as carriers for liquid or low-melting point additives such as antistatic, anticondensation or slip agents, mould release, lubricants, antioxidants, UV stabilisers, pigments and fragrances. They are also used to make masterbatches of temperature sensitive reactants such as silanes, peroxides and chain extenders.
Additives are loaded into the carriers in a simple low speed mixing operation, in which the carriers soak up the liquid additives, making masterbatch production easier and less potentially damaging to the additive than extrusion compounding. There are also said to be benefits for the processor in that the masterbatch can be more easily dispersed before melting than conventional masterbatches.
New moulding company specialises in medical and electrical April 9, 1998
A new moulding company has been set up in Lancaster specialising in the electrical and medical markets. Detail Plastics of 32 Lake Enterprise Park, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3NX operates in a class 100,000 clean room environment with a mobile laminar flow class 10,000 unit for critical mouldings. Its first medical contract is for a drug delivery device for hormone replacement therapy. The mobile class 10,000 unit draws air from and exhausts air to the mould shop, and this action maintains the class 100,000 environment. Monthly validation is carried out on the class 10,000 unit and at the same time confirmation is given of the class 100,000 cleanliness.
The company has three new Demag Ergotechs - one 50 tonnes and two at 80 tonnes - with SPC. One of Detail's contracts is with Fylde Precision Toolmakers for mould trialling, and the SPC facilities enable mould capability to be calculated. The company is offering free mould sampling for potential customers, and it is also offering buffer stocking to enable same day delivery of mouldings.
Managing director and principal shareholder is 26 years old Joe Govier, formerly production manager of Porvair Sciences and with 10 years experience in a number of injection moulding companies - and the first person to go through NVQ training in plastics technology.
Investment in machines and people at Stadium April 9, 1998
Stadium Plastics (Midlands) has invested £100,000 in three new Arburg injection moulding machines for its Hinckley plant. The vertical 50 tonnes and 50 and 30 tonnes horizontal machines will expand capacity for small size, high volume parts, with shower manufacturer Triton and automotive switchgear supplier TRW among the first customers.
Also new to the company is production manager Mike Bull who joins from Transport and Motor Training in Birmingham. Over the past few months Stadium has added 20 operators, bringing the workforce up to 118.
New Toyo electric injection machine makes its UK debut April 9, 1998
The first of Toyo's new all-electric injection moulding machines to come into the UK is scheduled for installation on May 1 - although just where is not being revealed. The machine is a 50 tonne Si model, from a series which spans 30 to 100 tonnes.
Toyo has been building electric machines for some time and with the Si has introduced a number of improvements through reducing the size of the servomotors it uses. Overall dimensional savings have been made together with greater freedom to place components within the reduced size frame, and alongside these there is a lowering of noise output, due mainly to improved motor cooling and so elimination of the cooling fan. Downsizing the motors has been achieved by using high density windings, which in turn has increased the motor power. As a result an injection speed of 300 mm/second can be achieved, which is twice that of Toyo's standard hydraulic machine, and faster than the hydraulic machine with accumulator support. Because the motors are smaller - and so lighter - moving mass has been reduced and accelerations increased. The time to reach 300 mm/sec is 70 msec.
For the Si series Toyo has developed a new screw design with a stroke:diameter ratio of 6, which is much higher than that on its hydraulic machines (around 3·5). Toyo says that this SSD design gives more precise metering by virtue of the extended stroke, and because there is an effective reduction in screw diameter, a smaller screw drive motor can be used with consequent energy savings. (Like all electric machine manufacturers, Toyo quotes substantial energy saving for the Si compared with a hydraulic machine - 62 per cent on electricity and 75 per cent on cooling water.)
Further improvement in part filling is claimed for the SNF (super natural flow) injection system with which injection is programmed in pressure steps rather than by speed.
The Si series uses a 32-bit RISC computer communicating directly with the servo motors with a 1 msec scanning interval. This is fast enough, says Toyo, for change over to holding pressure to be made precisely, without pressure surge, and for the change over position to be more easily adjusted in thinwall moulding. The control system is the PLCS-9 control used on the company's H series hydraulic machines, but with additional features for servo motor control. It also adopts from the most recent H series hydraulic machines the use of fibre optic cabling. This technique has been used to counter the growing danger from electromagnetic interference, the H machine being essentially a G2 series modified to comply with EMC regulations.
Babyplast's Spanish cousin lands in Britain April 9, 1998
JET Industrial Services is importing another small injection moulding machine from Spain (JET sells the diminutive 6·25 tonne Babyplast). The Erinca SprintEr-11 is a direct hydraulic lock, floor-standing, four tie bar 11 tonne machine with proportional hydraulic control and LCD touch sensitive control screen, selling at £13,500. Proportional control is unusual, if not unique, on a machine of this size, says JET.
The standard specification includes a hydraulic ejector, double hydraulic oil filtration, suck back, two stage injection and set up data storage, and the options include air blast, core pulling and unscrewing, five zone hot runner control, three stage injection, low pressure injection, and adjustable injection unit height.
The Babyplast machine is itself soon to be built with proportional hydraulic control. Among UK users is Abex in Birmingham which is now moulding Ford Mondeo side indicator lenses on them. Originally these lenses were moulded on a multi-cavity hot runner tool and assembled on a multi-head ultrasonic welder, but reject rates were too high. A Babyplast installation with tooling to use a single head welder cost less than the hot runner system previously used, and the whole line has been turned over to this style of production, says JET.
Ebonite powder back in Britain April 7, 1998
Micronised ebonite is once more available as a British-made product. Micron SRL (UK) was set up last October to grind ebonite, which it buys from a compounder in Manchester, and has risen to a production of around 150 tonnes a year. This might not sound much, but according to Micron there are only two or three other companies in Europe supplying ebonite powder, and the biggest of these has a capacity of only 400 tonnes.
Ebonite is made by vulcanising natural rubber with approximately 30 per cent sulphur in a steam autoclave, producing a very hard sheet material. To make the fine powder the sheet is first crumbed conventionally (Micron uses a Blackfriars granulator) and the crumb is then further reduced by a micronising process developed by Micron to 125 microns or below.
Ebonite is pure - it contains only rubber and sulphur - and has very good chemical resistance. At one time its big application was in battery boxes, but these are now predominantly in polypropylene. There are, however, niche markets such as clarinet mouthpieces, cigarette holders and pipe stems, which use powdered ebonite for the hard, smooth, chemical resistant mouldings it can produce. Micron is also supplying material for industrial applications, which include linings for chemical tankers in which the ebonite powder is compounded into a flexible sheet, and linings for valves.
Husky to build machines for metal moulding April 7, 1998
Husky is broadening the range of applications for its injection moulding machines by taking an exclusive licence to build machinery for the Thixomolding process in North and South America and Europe.
Thixomolding, developed by Thixomat of Michigan, USA, is a process for injection moulding magnesium and other alloys in a thixotropic form, eliminating some of the less desirable aspects of die casting. There are 46 machines in use around the world making components for the electronics, telecommunications, automotive and consumer appliance industries, and there are projections for 70 additional machine installations during this year. Husky's first machine will have a 400 tonnes clamp, with an injection unit remodelled from the company's existing range, and is expected to go into Thixotech in Alberta, Canada, early next year.
Thixomolded parts are said to exhibit mechanical properties equivalent to or better than die casting, with half the porosity, and tighter part tolerances leading to reduced shrinkage, reduced residual stress and less component distortion. No foundry is required, there is no molten metal handling with its associated losses from flux, sludge or dross, and the process eliminates the use of sulphur hexafluoride, a suspected greenhouse gas which is used in magnesium foundries.
Husky sees Thixomolding as an adjunct to plastics injection moulding, enabling moulders to supply metal parts using familiar equipment. Thixomolded magnesium is said to improve on engineering thermoplastics in terms of improved strength and stiffness to weight ratios, heat resistance and shielding from electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.
The new agent for Herbold granulators in the UK and Eire is Apropa Machinery. As well as building new granulators and pulverisers, Herbold has a department reconditioning used machines.
Managing director of APT Cenca, Mike Robinson, has retired and has been succeeded by Paul Bird, formerly works manager of the High Wycombe-based toolmaker and hot plate welding machine manufacturer.
New marketing chief at Caradon Terrain April 7, 1998
The new marketing director of Caradon Terrain is Martin Gisbourne. He joined Caradon in January 1996 as marketing project manager.
Husky plans small injection moulding machine April 4, 1998
Husky is to build a new range of small injection moulding machines, with availability scheduled for later this year. The range will start at 60 tonnes and the machines will have direct hydraulic lock, with closed loop control of both injection and clamping. The control systems used will be those of the existing larger machine ranges to maintain familiarity across a plant.
Filmflex now represents Brampton Engineering April 4, 1998
UK distribution of the Canadian-built Brampton Engineering multi-layer and high production mono blown film dies has switched from Falcon BE to Filmflex Machinery. Falcon's sales director Eric Wigglesworth has also made the move, taking along representation for the Sussex Gauging range of equipment.
Windows compatibility simplifies data gathering for process analysis April 4, 1998
A Windows 95/NT version of the PRO-t-CON process optimisation program from GS Technology now gives the option of working with data from any industry-standard Windows monitoring and management program.
PRO-t-CON is a statistical analysis program that uses actual production data to build a model of the process in real time - it does not require the process to be stopped for experiments or tests - and then uses this model to identify process variables which need to be brought under control. The variables are ranked in order of the contribution they make to variation in a chosen attribute and so create an understanding of the crucial control factors in the process.
With Release 2.0 PRO-t-CON can receive data collected by monitoring programs from suppliers such as Barco, Mattec, Nicollet and Syscon, bringing about substantial simplification in operation.
A European film, sheet and packaging group, which has PRO-t-CON installed at five sites in the UK, France and Spain, recently carried out an analysis of the production of a thermoformed confectionery tray. By optimising the balance of process speeds and temperatures a de-nesting problem on the filling line was eliminated, and the forming cycle time was reduced from 3·8 to 2·9 seconds, a gain of nearly 25 per cent.
Valpak plans national waste recovery monitoring programme April 4, 1998
Following the announcement of its involvement in a waste-to-feedstock reclamation study (see story March 30) packaging waste compliance operation Valpak has unveiled what it calls project PRIME - the Programme for Recovering Increased Material from the Environment. It has appointed environmental consultant Enviros RIS to carry out a study of where municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial packaging waste are being generated on a region by region basis and in what quantities. This will be related to regional profiles of current and planned waste collection and reclamation activities to produce a programme to identify opportunities for collection and reclamation improvements, and new potentials for each materials stream. These will be further refined into a national plan, enabling Valpak's members to meet their obligations at the lowest cost.
Good result for Doeflex despite PVC compound glut April 4, 1998
Despite reduced profitability in its vinyl compounding business, Doeflex Industries had another record year in 1997 and anticipates continued organic growth across the markets in which it is involved. Turnover was up 13 per cent at £81·5 million, while profits grew 21 per cent to £5·8 million.
The UK PVC compounding market suffered from over capacity, says the company, with the resultant depressed prices forcing down profits - although still to the second best ever level - on an 8 per cent volume rise. The styrenics sheet business and Perrite engineering compounds division did well and both share £8 million investment plans (a consolidation of the styrenic sheet businesses at a new purpose-built factory was reported here on March 24.)
PP ousts ABS in vacuum cleaner April 4, 1998
What is heralded as the first all-polypropylene vacuum cleaner has been introduced by Electrolux using PCD's Daplen XMOD material. XMOD is formulated for good surface finish and some scratch resistance, and compared with ABS is said to be cheaper, lighter - by 15 per cent - and to have brought about a noise reduction in the cleaner. Recycling is made easier by the use of a single polymer.
Disappointing results in plastics as BASF group sales climb April 4, 1998
Sales grew 14 per cent at BASF during 1997 to reach DM 55·8 billion, with nearly two thirds of the growth attributable to increased volumes. However, this masked unsatisfactory progress in the group's Plastics & Fibers division, where earnings of DM 720 million were below expectation, principally through depressed polymer prices. (For UK performance see story March 30)
During the year BASF closed two small polystyrene plants in North America, sold off its PMMA business to the Barlo Group in Ireland, and moved its polypropylene and polyethylene businesses into joint ventures with Hoechst (Targor) and Shell (Elenac).
The group continued to strengthen its position in Asia by taking over the remaining shares in its Korean joint ventures in styrenics and polyurethanes and setting up a fibres joint venture in Shanghai. BASF is also involved with DuPont in a nylon intermediates joint venture in China, which has now selected a site for a 300,000 tonnes butadiene-to-adiponitrile plant to be built in 1999. The adiponitrile will be converted to hexamethylenediamine for nylon 66 and caprolactam for nylon 6 - the first commercial production of caprolactam from adiponitrile.
Also in China, BASF has linked with ICI Polyurethanes and Nippon Polyurethane in a proposal to build a world scale MDI plant. Both BASF and ICI had previously been involved in projects to build 100,000 tonnes MDI facilities in China, but after discussions between themselves and their Chinese partners, now favour a joint venture to build a 160,000 tonnes crude MDI plant. The product from the plant would be sold to independent operations headed by BASF and ICI for finishing and marketing. BASF's proposal for its finishing plant is linked to a separate joint venture with Chinese partners to build a 130,000 tonnes TDI plant.
New olefin catalyst 'breakthrough' March 30, 1998
A new family of catalysts for the polymerisation of olefins has been discovered by BP Chemicals and a team of scientists from Imperial College, London. The new catalysts are based on low-cost discrete iron and cobalt complexes and are expected to be of use in a range of materials from oligomers to high molecular weight polymers.
The word 'breakthrough' has been used, and BP sees these materials offering many of the advantages of metallocene catalysts in terms of activity and control of polymer properties while producing a broader range of polymers at low cost.
Scottish waste-to-feedstock plant comes a step nearer March 30, 1998
A plan is under consideration to build a 25,000 tonnes/year feedstock recycling plant fuelled by unsorted waste plastics garnered from the central belt of Scotland.
Valpak, which runs a compliance scheme for the packaging waste regulations, and Scotland's largest waste management company Shanks & McEwan (Northern) expect soon to ratify a £300,000 viability study for the plant.
The study will continue the project started by BP Chemicals five years ago as part of a consortium which includes DSM, Elf Atochem, EniChem, Fina and the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe. Since completing the research and development phase in mid-1997 BP has been seeking partners who understand waste and recycling to start the work needed for a fully-commercial plant. BP's Grangemouth site is seen as a suitable location.
Both Shanks & McEwan and Valpak would contribute funds to the project through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.
Little change in BASF's fortunes March 30, 1998
The BASF Group saw little change in turnover in the UK last year - £1,167 million against £1,166 million in 1996 - but this was against a background of Sterling strengthening against other European currencies. Plastics & Fibres' contribution was £34 million (1996 £32 million) representing increased volume at lower prices.
Management appointments at Zwick March 30, 1998
New management appointments at Zwick Testing Machines see Paul Bryant become director of sales and marketing and David Phillips director of service and technical. David Phillips has been at Zwick for 15 years in sales and service. Paul Bryant joined the company recently and takes over the sales and marketing role from Jeff Aldridge, who retired as managing director last month after 20 years with the company.
Continued investment at Formold March 30, 1998
As part of a continuing investment programme, which has so far cost £750,000, Formold of Twyford has installed two more Kiefel thermoforming machines for thin sheet forming. The 75 BFS and 52 BFS machines both have pre-heat ovens and in-mould steel rule trimming. One of them runs in a clean air-conditioned packing area for medical work. The company has also installed an Illig machine for thicker sheet forming together with a further Maka 5-axis computer controlled high speed routing machine.
Sikoplast names UK agent March 30, 1998
The Sikoplast range of recycling machinery is now available in the UK through Con-Text International of Morley, near Leeds. The range includes cutting, washing and separation lines for PET bottles, automatic strand pelletisers and reclaim lines for fibre waste.
US olefins giant is even bigger now March 30, 1998
The Equistar olefins giant set up in America at the end of last year by Lyondell Petrochemical Company and Millennium Chemicals has been expanded with the addition of the ethylene, propylene, ethylene oxide and derivatives businesses of Occidental Chemical Corporation. The restructed Equistar now has a capacity of more than 5 million tonnes of ethylene and around 2·5 million tonnes of propylene. The original 57/43 shareholding in Lyondell's favour will be restructured to 41 per cent owned by Lyondell, and 29·5 per cent each for the other two.
Mercury Asset Management has bought a majority stake in Braitrim, which specialises in clothing industry products through five divisions - UK Hangers, UK Labels, UK Packaging, Overseas and Direct.
The investment which, together with the injection of expansion capital amounts to £50 million, sees former owner Peter Shalson move to a non-executive role as a director with a 'significant minority stake'. The new chairman introduced by Mercury is Gus Moore.
Braitrim's turnover is £60 million, and its annual growth rate is 30 - 40 per cent.
30 tonne Boy comes to the UK March 30, 1998
The 30 tonne injection machine launched by Boy at the last Fakuma exhibition is now available in the UK. It is based on the 25 tonne machine, with four tie bars, but with greater tie bar spacing and a larger opening stroke.
Elf Atochem to quit technical film production in Germany March 26, 1998
Elf Atochem is to sell its German technical films business, including the Bonn production plant, to Bayer Group subsidiary Wolff Walsrode as a rationalisation measure. The business includes thermoplastic polyurethane films, and Elf Atochem has no integrated polyurethane operations.
AIS ceases to trade March 26, 1998
AIS Container Handling of Broughton, Nottinghamshire, which distributed a variety of conveyors, unscramblers, shrink wrappers and other product handling equipment, is no longer trading.
Iridon is on the move March 24, 1998
Iridon is moving closer to its parent company Doeflex Industries. The styrenic sheet extrusion specialist, bought by Doeflex six years ago, is moving from its St Albans, Hertfordshire, site to a purpose-built factory in Redhill, Surrey, as part of an £8 million expansion programme. The move will be made over several months, starting in August.
Sherman opens Belgian office... March 24, 1998
Sherman Treaters has expanded into the low countries with the opening of an office in Belgium. It will cover the sales and service of the company's corona and gas flame treatment equipment, ozone generators and QA testing equipment in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
...and Ashland moves in to Poland March 24, 1998
Ashland Plastics-Europe has continued its expansion eastward by opening an office in Warsaw, Poland. The company says a significant portion of Polish thermoplastics consumption is met by imports, and estimates that there are more than 4,000 small processors who would typically be served by a distributor. Ashland says it is the largest thermoplastics distributor in Europe.
PVC modifiers from LG March 24, 1998
LG International is to bring in to the UK an enhanced range of PVC modifiers, primarily acrylic process aids, acrylic impact modifiers and MBS impact modifiers.
There are three acrylic process aids: one is a low molecular weight grade for fast melting, another is a high molecular grade for use in thermoforming sheet, and the third is a mid-range Mw grade giving a balance of the properties of the other two.
The two acrylic impact modifiers are essentially for outdoor applications, and the MBS impact modifiers are used for low temperature impact resistance with good clarity in non-weatherable applications such as blow moulded bottles, conduit, sheet and film.
PBE imports Italian printing machines March 24, 1998
Silk screen and offset printing machines made by Calf of Italy are now available in the UK from PBE Marking Systems. The Decoline being shown at Pakex is a fully automatic silk screen machine for printing bottles in up to six colours.
Glazing sheet combats greenhouse effect March 24, 1998
Multi-wall acrylic sheet is being used in Germany to stem the greenhouse effect and make oxygen from carbon dioxide. Researchers at Preussag AG in Hanover and at the Institute of Cereal Processing (IGV) in Berlin have built a bioreactor using Röhm's Plexiglas glazing sheet. CO2 is exposed to a mixture of algae and nutrient salts in the cavities of the sheet and is converted to biomass and oxygen. Plexiglas was used because of its 92 per cent light transmission and its smooth surface which resists dirt pick-up.
EDI beats internal deckle problem March 24, 1998
A cast film manifold which combines internal deckling with varying cross section has been produced by Extrusion Dies Incorporated. Variable cross section is used by manifold designers to optimise melt distribution by diminishing the cross sectional depth from the centre to either end. This unfortunately prevents the use of an internal deckle - a barrier which obstructs the melt flow and changes the width of the extruded sheet without changing the die - which needs a constant cross-section. The alternative is to use an external deckle, but this increases the distance between the die exit and the cooling roll and can be responsible for problems such as neck-in, edge bead and polymer hang-up.
EDI's Multiflow VI is a hybrid of its Multiflow V design whose elongated teardrop configuration has a diminishing cross section, and the Multiflow IV which has a constant cross section. The diminishing depth section distributes the melt to get optimum flow distribution, and is followed by the straight 'gull wing' section whose constant depth accommodates varying deckle positions. The design can be used for single- and multi-manifold dies.
DuPont Engineering Polymer's European marketing director for the past 34 years, Pierre Andreotti, retires in April. He is succeeded by Timothy McCann, who was Zytel business manager in Geneva.
Melton Mowbray site for new Laporte compounding plant March 24, 1998
The new compounding plant to be built in the UK by Laporte (see story posted March 10, below) will be at Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, nine miles from Laporte's existing AlphaGary site in Syston. The plant will make Laporte's full range of thermoplastic and elastomeric compounds, and will have a segregated area for the production of compounds for medical devices and crown and closure sealants. It will cost around £12 million, will approximately double the group's current UK capacity, and will mirror Laporte's plant in Pineville, North Carolina, USA.
Single-barrel two-material process is among new injection developments from Ferromatik Milacron March 21, 1998
Ferromatik Milacron unveiled a number of enhancements to its injection moulding machine range at a series of open days at its Malterdingen, Germany, factory this week. These include multi-material moulding, space saving and clean room production.
The multi-material development is a marriage of its Mono Sandwich technology with an overmoulding tool. The Mono Sandwich process is a lower cost alternative to conventional sandwich moulding. Sandwich moulding typically requires two injection units to inject in sequence through a manifold, producing a skin in one material and core in another. Ferromatik's Mono process has only an additional plasticising unit, not a full injection unit. This extrudes skin material into the forward part of the main injection barrel so that on injection the two materials are dosed in sequence, forming the sandwich structure. For its 'Mono Sandwich V' process Ferromatik has added a melt switching valve to a sliding core two-component mould, enabling a preform to be moulded in the material in the forward part of the barrel. Injection is then stopped, the switching valve is rotated, and the shut-off cores slid back, enabling the second part of the moulding to be injected. To demonstrate the process Ferromatik moulded a lawn mower wheel in Polymerchemie PP G 2980 polypropylene with a TPR tyre in PTS Thermoflex 60.2 R (mod). The wheel, for Schell-Modell, cycled in around 95 seconds.
A space-saving construction has been introduced for the 140 and 160 tonnes K-series machines by redesigning the injection unit. 700 mm has been pared off the length, giving the machine a 10 per cent smaller footprint. At the same time plasticising has been improved by adding a larger pump.
Further plasticising improvements have been made across the K range by introducing a barrier screw option. This has advantages over conventional three-zone screws by feeding melted material forward over the barrier flight to a melt channel, removing it from the plasticising channel where it otherwise insulates unmelted particles from the barrel wall, and so enabling these unmelted particles to melt earlier. A higher throughput is achieved with lower power consumption; lower melt temperature can be set and the machine can be run without back pressure. Various mixing heads are available to improve colour dispersion.
The clean room facility now available is intended to give clean mouldings rather than a clean room, and consists of an add-on air cleaning unit which bathes the mould area in a stream of filtered air. Air can be filtered to class 100 purity (100 particles per cubic foot of air). One UK moulding company is planning a six-machine installation using this facility for the start-up of a medical component moulding contract.
Ferromatik also demonstrated its new micro injection unit developed in association with the IKV in Aachen. This has an 18 mm screw feeding a first-in first-out transfer unit which can be fitted with rams of 7 - 11 mm diameter according to the required shot weight. Ferromatik claims a number of advantages for this design over some competitive systems using 14 mm reciprocating screws. The screw's standard flight depth enables normal size pellets to be processed, but because the very small shot weights - anything from 0·001
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