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Aggressive pricing planned for new robot range August 13, 2002
Italian robot builder TecnoMatic, which earlier this year was looking to expand its European distribution, has appointed Zenith European to handle sales in the UK and Ireland. Zenith used to be UK distributor for Fahr Bucher injection moulding machines before they were absorbed into Krauss-Maffei, and the TecnoMatic agency marks a return to selling capital equipment.
TecnoMatic builds around 300 robots per year suitable for injection machines from 40 to 2,000 tonnes. Zenith, which is promising 'advanced specifications and exceptionally competitive pricing', expects the most popular model to be the Mini all-CNC beam robot suitable for machines from 80 to 200 tonnes. It has a freely programmable controller, 8 inch colour screen, options of three or five axes, 10 kg payload with two vacuum circuits and adjustable end-of-arm tooling fitted, and a price tag of under £13,000.
Also in the range are simple pick and place devices for machines up to 180 tonnes selling for less than £7,000. For around £1,000 more these can be fitted with servo drive on the traverse stroke to make them suitable for accurate placing to feed printing or weighing equipment.
A new award is being given by the Worshipful Company of Horners. Following its takeover of the Bottlemakers Company (535 years ago - these things take time) it is to present an annual award for a plastics bottle, jar or container with a capacity of no more than 20 litres. The bottle can be made by blow, injection or rotational moulding or thermoforming and should be innovative, of pleasing or practical design, and with a likely proven or commercial application or potential. The bottle must be developed, manufactured or sold in the United Kingdom. Judging points will be awarded for: choice of material, choice of process, originality, innovation, aesthetic design, practical design, closure, commercial potential, and environmental friendliness.
The award itself will be a traditionally-made leather bottle flanked by two silver-rimmed horn beakers mounted on an oak plinth.
Launch of the award will coincide with Interplas. Administration is by Sandy Weaver of the Polymer Machinery Manufacturers and Distributors Association who is looking for sponsors from industry at £100 a time. Contact her at the PMMDA.
Don't dump that mattress - recycle it August 13, 2002
After carpet recycling comes...mattress recycling. A local authority in California, USA, has set up the recycling scheme with the support of the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry Polyurethanes Recycle and Recovery Council as a pilot with a view to a nationwide operation.
Operations actually began some 18 months ago, and since that time the centre has processed more than 28,000 mattresses and is now handling around 100 mattresses a day. This yields some 800 lb of polyurethane foam, 3,700 lb of steel and 1,800 lb of cotton and is saving 23 cu ft of landfill space per mattress.
The reclaimed PU foam is being re-used in carpet underlay.
As well as working with solid waste contractors, the recycling facility also takes scrap mattresses from local mattress manufacturers who have a buy-back scheme for the sale of new mattresses.
Antimony flame retardant prices up again August 13, 2002
The price of antimony trioxide flame retardants from Great Lakes Chemical is being increased again because of the higher price of antimony. TMS, Timonox, Trutint and Microfine grades go up $350/tonne in Europe and Asia Pacific on August 19, with other increases elsewhere. Great Lakes has had to increase the prices of its antimony-based materials in March, May and July of this year.
Expansion boost for screenchangers August 13, 2002
German screenchanger manufacturer Trendelkamp is expanding its operations through the establishment of a separate company. Hitherto equipment for plastics processing - mainly screenchangers but also other products such as materials handling and extruder degassing equipment - were produced by the Plastics Technology division, which operated alongside the company's other business group, construction. Now Trendelkamp Technologie GmbH has been set up, and is planning expansion with more staff to cover service, development and sales, and an expansion of its US office.
Invicta Plastics has appointed Martin Stanfield as finance director. He has been with the company since 1999 as financial controller.
Co-operation in in-line compounding August 13, 2002
Two German extrusion equipment companies have set up a co-operation to develop in-line compounding systems. Leistritz, which is primarily a compounding equipment supplier, and Breyer, which makes complete lines for film, sheet and tube extrusion, have already handled a couple of installations, and are planning a workshop Inline and Speciality Compounding in Nuremburg on November 6/7.
Typical examples of in-line compounding are the production of wood flour/PP sheets, film for acoustic and energy insulation and the processing of undried PET into flat film. A complete flat film line is to be installed in the Leistritz laboratory and will be available for testing after the workshops in November.
Rubber processing equipment built in Belgium by Agila is now available in the UK through Nortest. The company builds two-roll mills with roll diameters from 110 to 300 mm and nips up to 50 mm; heating and heat/cool platen presses from 20 to 100 tonnes closing force in single or double daylight format; and hydraulic bale cutters up to 25 tonnes. The company can also build stockblenders.
Soft touch surface on flexible substrate August 13, 2002
What is claimed as 'the next step in soft-touch overmoulding' has been taken in a joint development between compounder AlphaGary and Corsham, Wiltshire-based injection moulder Slatebond. This is to overmould a soft material on to a flexible base material - the companies say that most applications concentrate on soft-on-hard overmoulding.
To achieve this AlphaGary developed a new grade of its Evoprene based on Kraton G styrene block copolymer. It has enabled a very soft TPE to be co-injected on to the medium hardness flexible Evoprene at high pressure without any deformation taking place. The resulting product is said to have an even wall thickness with excellent adhesion between the two layers - overcoming previous adhesion difficulties when using other soft, flexible base materials.
BASF has been given the go-ahead by the Chinese State Council to build the world's biggest polytetrahydrofuran plant. The plant, at Caojing near Shanghai, will come on stream in 2004 with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes of PolyTHF and 80,000 tonnes of tetrahydrofuran.
PET bottles made more attractive by being less attractive August 13, 2002
An anti-static coating to improve the appearance and handling qualities of PET bottles has been introduced by Owens-Illinois Plastics and is in use at the company's British plant supplying bottles for Procter and Gamble's Clairol product range.
The PETStat coating is reckoned to cut the stickiness of PET bottles by around 82 per cent, giving them a similar surface to that of HDPE. This reduces jamming on the filling line and scuffing during transit, reduces dust adhesion, and the combination of less scuffing and dust improves appearance.
O-I spent £500,000 to install the technology on seven lines at its Chalgrove, Oxfordshire plant, and plans to use it at other sites, starting with its Netherlands plant.
PETStat is sprayed on to the bottles as they leave the blow moulder. It conforms with US FDA regulations for direct and indirect food contact and to CONEG status for metal content. All components are also classified non-toxic by the OSHA/ANSI test criteria.
Increased demand coupled with product shortages, particularly in styrenics, enabled BASF to increase prices in the second quarter and outstrip rising raw materials costs. Sales increased 4 per cent to Eur 2·2 billion and earnings before special items climbed from Eur 70 million to Eur 211 million. Restructuring of some of the company's businesses also helped reduce fixed costs. The plastics and fibres division showed one of the biggest performance improvements, while other divisions, notably the agricultural products business which suffered from the poor weather conditions in North America, showed a downturn.
Borealis turned the corner financially in the second quarter of this year, recording a profit after tax of Eur 48 million, compared with a loss of Eur 10 million in the same quarter last year, and a loss of Eur 43 million in the first quarter of this year. The first half of this year has shown a profit of Eur 5 million compared with a loss of Eur 8 million in last year's first half.
BASF to join with Dow in making PO from hydrogen peroxide August 5, 2002
The development of the process for making propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide, for which BASF recently announced it was considering building a 250,000 tonnes plant, is now to be shared with Dow Chemical. Dow has technology bought when it took over EniChem's polyurethanes business last year - EniChem had held patents dating from the early 1980s. BASF has been working in this area since 1995. The two companies believe that pooling their resources could improve and accelerate commercialisation of the process, and are talking about a possible world scale plant starting up in 2006.
French plant goes in Graham restructure August 5, 2002
Graham Packaging Europe has got rid of another European blow moulding plant as part of a restructuring plan which has seen the closure of a plant in Britain, the sale of two Italian plants, and the opening of a new plant in Poland. The company is focusing on on-site operations, and in June opened such a facility at the Danone Group in Aldaia, Spain.
The latest move has been to sell one of its four French plants - at Blyes - to Arcc Holdings, a subsidiary of Dutch redevelopment and investment company Business Creation Holdings. Blyes makes polypropylene and HDPE bottles for agriculture, pharmaceutical, household and food applications. Arcc will continue blow moulding at the plant, employing 80 of the current 100 workers, and plans to set up a recycling facility there.
Polyadd extends FR and filler range August 5, 2002
Expandable graphite flame retardants from India and ATH fillers from Holland are now available from Polyadd. The company is selling the Carbofoil graphite flame retardants from Cleanline alongside its existing series of low toxicity, halogen-free fire suppressants. Carbofoil exfoliated graphite is already used in flexible poyurethane FR foam and work is being done on its use in other polymers such as intumescent polyolefins, polystyrene, rubbers, thermoset polyester and epoxy composites. Carbofoil has minimal effect on mechanical properties and is synergistic with other flame retardants such as red phosphorus, phosphates, nitrogen compounds, hydrates and, where permitted, halogens.
The ATH fillers are from TP & T, better known as Tor Minerals. TP & T makes high whiteness low viscosity alumina trihydrate aimed particularly at the solid surface cast polyester/acrylic market. It is used together with coloured mineral chips to make vanity and kitchen basins, worktops, shower trays, fireplace surrounds and similar products. TP & T also makes ATH products for use as flame retardants.
Rapra takes a new view of the research business August 5, 2002
Rapra Technology has been restructured to become more profit-oriented though a management buy out which has turned the former industry research association from a company limited by guarantee and owned by its members, to a private limited company run by a management board. It has set targets of increasing business through acquisition of other companies, and increasing the scope of its business - something which was limited in its previous structure. The MBO will release funds for development of the company, and will also protect it from being taken over itself.
Tessenderlo buying French PVC compounders August 5, 2002
PVC specialist Tessenderlo of Belgium is to buy France's biggest independent PVC compounder Saplast, and its subsidiary Europolymers, who have an annual capacity of around 80,000 tonnes. With the takeover Tessenderlo reckons to become the fifth largest PVC compounder in Europe.
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