This page is an archive of news and news background stories. Stories are placed here when they expire from the news pages and are filed in date order, most recent on the top. Go to the most recent or browse through the headline links.
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Avon Rubber buys US hose manufacturer September 30, 1998
Avon Rubber's North American subsidiary Avon Rubber & Plastics has bought the Nylaflow Hose Division of DSM Engineering Plastic Products. Nylaflow is based in Reading, Pennsylvania and makes thermoplastic reinforced hose products for automotive and other applications. The price was £4·676 million.
Shell and Montell in Indian polyolefin talks September 30, 1998
Montell Polyolefins and Shell Chemicals are joining with two Indian companies in a project to modernise a petrochemicals plant and set up a joint company to run it. Montell and Shell have signed an agreement with National Organic Chemical Industries (NOCIL) and Mafatlal Industries (MIL) to explore ways in which a partly implemented modernisation of NOCIL's Thane manufacturing site in Maharashtra may be enhanced. The outcome would be a jointly owned petrochemicals company to operate the plant, which would have a 450,000 tonnes naphtha cracker with an ultimate capacity of 600,000 tonnes, feeding new downstream polyolefin facilities including polyethylene and polypropylene plants. Start up would be by 2003.
New Targor PP plant opens September 28, 1998
The new polypropylene copolymer plant under construction at Targor's Wesseling site in Germany for the past 18 months has been opened officially. It has a capacity of 225,000 tonnes, bringing Targor's capacity to 1·7 million tonnes from seven European sites, and confirming its position as the biggest PP producer in Europe.
Chinese built Kautex blow moulder September 25, 1998
A Chinese-built blow moulding machine is being demonstrated by Krupp Kautex at an open house event its Bonn-Holzlar works during K'98.
The Krupp Chen KCC 1 has been built to meet world demand for low price small machines, and can produce containers up to 2·5 litres in HDPE, PP, PA and PVC. In particular, the company says HDPE or PP containers with 100 or 200 ml capacity can be produced particularly cost-effectively, with the two bottles blown one above the other from a single parison, and all deflashing being done before discharge. Output is around 45,000 bottles per day.
The KCC 1 is built by Krupp Chen Plastics Technology Co, with controls, hydraulics and pneumatics imported from international suppliers - the control system, for instance, is the Siemens S7-200.
The machine is to be followed by a twin station version, and a bigger single and twin station machine with a capacity up to 10 litres.
Krupp
Swedish boost in PET and PC sheet September 25, 1998
Plant to increase capacity for PET and polycarbonate sheet by more than 4,000 tonnes per year is being installed at Swedish sheet producer Arla Plastprodukter. Two new extrusion lines, one exclusively for PETG sheet and the other primarily for PC sheet are being housed in a new production hall in a £4 million expansion. They are the third and fourth new lines to be commissioned at the plant since 1995.
EVOH plant planned for Europe September 25, 1998
A European plant for EVOH production is under consideration by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co (Nippon Gohsei). Increasing demand for its Soarnol gas barrier material pushed Japanese capacity up by 2,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes in May this year, and a 9,000 tonnes capacity plant is under construction to double capacity in the USA from next spring. The feasibility of a third manufacturing site, to be built in Europe, is being studied and the company plans to start manufacturing there at the beginning of the next century.
Meanwhile, Nippon Gohsei is building a compounding unit, warehousing facility and technical centre based on its Düsseldorf office, and scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
BIP materials from Anglo September 25, 1998
Anglo Polymers has been appointed to handle distribution of BIP's nylon 6 and 66, PET and PBT compounds.
Costs cut in lost wax moulding September 25, 1998
Cores for lost wax moulding can now be made in silicone rubber moulds using an adaptation of MCP Equipment's vacuum casting machines. The moulds can be made in a few hours from a master model of the core which can be made in wood, plaster, wax or by one of the rapid prototyping methods, and costs a lot less than conventional steel or aluminium tooling.
Engineering wax is cast in the moulds under vacuum to produce cores with a precision surface finish.
Making pad printers intelligent September 25, 1998
A Brite Euram project has been started to develop an intelligent pad printing system. The project, dubbed Intelpadprint (intelligent learning padprint system), will aim to develop a software-controlled production system with integrated quality control, enabling its users to produce customised products with reduced stockholding, and to reduce solvent use.
Participants in the project are pad printer manufacturer Tampoprint; ink manufacturer Marabu; two system users, electronics manufacturer Philips and toy manufacturer Lego; and the universities of Birmingham in the UK and Maastricht in the Netherlands, who have experience in artificial process control, fuzzy logic and neural networks.
New board structure at Britton Group September 25, 1998
Britton Group Plastics has restructured its board following its buy-out from ACX technologies. Ron Singer has joined the board as chairman. He was previously chief executive of European paper products company Jamont. Keith Millican moves from Algroup Wheaton, where he was chief financial officer, to become Group Finance Director. Alex Watson joins the board as a non-executive director from Merlin Flexible Packaging where he was non-executive chairman, and which was bought by Britton earlier this year. Britton Group chief executive Colin Smith has left the board to pursue interests outside the group.
UniPoly sells Permali businesses September 25, 1998
UniPoly Industrials has sold its two Permali businesses to management buyout teams as part of the rationalisation of the UniPoly businesses worldwide following the UniPoly Group's formation with a buy out of BTR's Polymer Products Group.
Permali RP is a GRP moulder, and Permali Gloucester makes products in a wider range of thermosetting composites. The two disposals netted UniPoly more than £6 million.
Increased capacity for polyethylene armour September 25, 1998
Dyneema UD production capacity at DSM High Performance Fibres in the Netherlands has tripled to 'several hundred tonnes' with the start up of a new line. Dyneema UD is a ballistic material based on Dyneema gel spun polyethylene fibre, 'the strongest fibre in the world', for which DSM has capacity of 1,500 tonnes. It consists of parallel-laid Dyneema fibres which are cross-plied and bonded using a a polymeric binder, and is used as a lightweight armour against bullets and bomb fragments. The new production line can produce widths up to 160 cm, and new grades are to be introduced over the next few months.
Negri Bossi moves house September 25, 1998
Negri Bossi has moved from its Chesterfield headquarters to bigger premises at the Tachbrook Park industrial estate near Warwick (where its near neighbours include Engel and Arburg). The new address is:
Unit 2
Titan Business Centre
Spartan Close
Tachbrook Park
Warwick
CV34 6RR
Tel: 01926 420303
Fax: 01926 338271
Marbach offers standard forming tool components September 25, 1998
Marbach of Germany, which describes itself as 'the world's largest independent thermoforming tool manufacturer', has extended its operations to the supply of tooling materials and components. It has developed a standardised system of modules and components such as clamp ring shafts, bushings, plug assist shafts and pre-machined plug blanks which are available to other tool manufacturers, and to in-house maintenance departments.
Materials available for making plug assists include thermoplastics and syntactic foams supplied as raw materials, blanks with fitted quick-change or standard inserts, or finished plugs.
German/American plan to dominate blowing agent market September 25, 1998
Blowing agent producers Lehmann & Voss of Germany and Endex Polymer Additives of the USA are to pool their technologies in an attempt to become world leader. Lehmann & Voss specialises in exothermic blowing agents while Endex makes endothermic blowing agents.
Feasibility work started on Scottish waste plastics cracker September 25 1998
The waste plastics polymer cracking plant in Scotland under consideration by a consortium including BP Chemicals has inched another step closer.
The four consortium members - BP Chemicals, Shanks & McEwan (Northern), Valpak and SCORE Environment - have signed the agreement formalising their roles in the £300,000 feasibility study.
Working groups have been set up to establish the kind of waste required and its availability in the selected local authority areas; the optimum waste management process to extract the plastics; siting requirements; and overall logistics for continuous operation. Local community consultation has also begun.
The results of this first phase are expected next March, and if favourable, would trigger the next phase, that of the R & D work needed to desgin and build the plant, which would be capable of recycling an annual 25,000 tonnes of mixed waste plastics from Scotland's domestic and commercial waste streams.
Wellington buys another US seal maker September 25, 1998
Wellington Holdings has bought another American company to add to its Seals Division. CDI Seals of Houston, Texas, specialises in seals for demanding applications such as oil extraction, fluid handling and fluid power systems. Last year Wellington bought Dynamic Seals.
The initial price to be paid for CDI Seals is £4·6 million with an additional profit-related £1·5 million. The purchase of CDI brings to more than 25 per cent the level of group sales in North America.
Wellington Holdings reported half year profits on its continuing business - it disposed of its rubber conversion division in July with the sale of L & H Polymers - up 3 per cent on the 1997 first half from £3·25 million to £3·35 million.
New caprolactone plant for Solvay September 25, 1998
A new plant for the manufacture of caprolactone has been opened in Warrington, Cheshire, by Solvay Interox. The plant replaces a smaller 23 year old plant on the same site.
Solvays's CAPA caprolactone is manufactured in three forms: CAPA Thermoplastics are low melt point, hard, crystalline, biodegradable polymers; CAPA Polyols are polyesters used in elastomers and CAPA Monomer is used in paint manufacture.
Increase in co-polyester output by DSM September 25, 1998
DSM Engineering Plastics is expanding its capacity for Arnitel co-polyesters (TPE-E or COPE) by 30 per cent. The expansion at its Emmen plant in The Netherlands will come on stream at the end of the first quarter 1999.
Dutch testing gives cleaner bill of health for PVC toys and brings a commitment from manufacturers September 25, 1998
Studies by the Dutch Scientific Consensus Group are reported to have provided new evidence on the migration levels of phthalates from soft PVC toys. The Group has also proposed a laboratory test method to ensure migration levels remain within acknowledged safe limits.
A statement from the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates welcomes the Dutch findings, which it says show that exposure to phthalates from toys in real life chewing is much lower than had been supposed by the EU Scientific Committee for Toxicity, Ecotoxity and the Environment.
The toy trade association Toys Industries of Europe has urged the European Commission to adopt the Dutch testing method and says toy manufacturers will take immediate steps to ensure that toys intended to go into the mouths of children under three years old will be manufactured to conform to the phthalate migration levels determined by the test.
Husky Injection Molding Systems is to go public. The company has issued a statement announcing an initial public offering of its shares but has so far said little more. It is understood that the flotation will include the shares held by Komatsu of Japan.
There has been speculation for some considerable time that the Canadian machinery and mouldmaking company would pass from the sole control of its founder Robert Schad and seek wider public ownership. Husky's change in philosophy from being essentially an assembler of niche market machines - primarily for PET preforms, packaging and, more latterly, automotive components - to a manufacturer of more generally applicable moulding machines has been seen in some quarters as a move to give the company a wider stock market appeal.
Peter Windsor dies September 21, 1998
One of the three brothers who founded the Windsor machinery company at the end of the 1940s has died. Peter Windsor and his brothers Greg and Gordon set up R H Windsor after the death of their father, and grew the company into an international supplier of injection moulding and extrusion machines. Windsor was bought by GKN in the late '60s and was subsequently sold to Klöckner to become Klöckner Windsor in 1982. Peter Windsor resigned as chairman and managing director at that time, but retained involvement as chairman of the Indian subsidiary Windsor India until he retired in 1995 and the company became an autonomous wholly owned Indian public company known as DGP Windsor India on the takeover of Klöckner Windsor by Cincinnati Milacron.
'Revolutionary' coextrusion process September 21, 1998
A multi-layer extrusion process developed from the Conex technology of the 1980s is being claimed by Nextrom as 'the most significant innovation made in plastics processing in decades'. It is applicable to pipes, cables, films, containers and bottles and is said to enable products to be made from several layers of different materials, each of which can affect the properties of the final product.
Where it differs from conventional coextrusion technology is in the use of a machine with flighted conical rotors which are nested in sequence, so that each material layer is formed inside the extruder, rather than in a coextrusion feedblock. This transfers the complexity of coextrusion from the die, dedicated to each product, to the extruder, saving on tooling costs where many multi-layer products may be made. The individual layers meet inside the extruder just before the die, allowing a wide range of layer thickness adjustment through control of the material feed screws, and without requiring die changes. Total material volume in the extruder is smaller than that of a normal extruder plus die head, so material residence time is shorter than in conventional coextrusion, and changeover time between materials is consequently faster. Start up is also quicker.
The Conex process was invented in Finland at the end of the 1980s. Since 1993 it has been under development at the Technical Research Centre of Finland, with input from pipe manufacturer Uponor, cable manufacturer NK Cables (formerly Nokia Cables) and extruder manufacturer Nextrom (formerly Nokia Maillefer). Investment has been around FIM 50 million. Uponor sees potential in pipes with greater levels of customisation to resist attack from the pipe's contents, and resistance to mechanical wear. NK Cables is involved in tests to produce cables for applications from optical fibre to power transmission. Both Uponor and NK Cables have exclusive rights to the Conex process in their own industries, while Nextrom has secured the rights to film and blow moulding applications, and to manufacture of the machines. A Conex machine is being demonstrated at K'98 by Nextrom in a blown film application.
Promotion at Kestrel September 11, 1998
Richard Bromley, technical manager at Kestrel Injection Moulders, has been appointed technical director.
Rubber mixing rotor increases output by 20 per cent September 11 1998
A new six-wing rotor for rubber mixers developed by Kobe Steel in Japan is said to be 20 per cent more productive than current four-wing rotors. It uses a technique dubbed Various Clearance Mixing Technology whereby the tip clearance of the rotor changes along its length, rather than following a continuous curve as with conventional rotors. This gives better 'pulling' of the material into the chamber, leading to shorter ram down times and shorter mixing cycles. The design is under patent application around the world.
As well as being installed in new mixers, the new rotor can be retrofitted to the company's BB series during overhaul.
Dow building its second European CPP plant September 9, 1998
Dow Polyurethanes has started construction of a co-polymer polyol plant at Terneuzen in Holland, which is due on-line in December.
The plant, Dow's second in Europe, will have a capacity of 75,000 tonnes, and is described as the biggest in Europe. It will use new production technology which is also to be introduced at Dow's other European CPP plant, at Zwijndrecht in Belgium. This will enable production of CPPs with higher solids content and lower viscosities.
CPPs are used primarily in high load bearing and high resilience foams for bedding and furniture, and for automotive seating.
Husky tech centre opens September 7, 1998
Husky Injection Molding Systems (UK) moves into its new purpose-built technical centre in Coventry on September 21.
The address is:
Siskin Drive
Middlemarch Business Park
Coventry
CV3 4FJ
Tel: 01203 518900
Fax: 01203 518925
Pan and PTS become official Ticona distributors September 5, 1998
Ticona UK has appointed Pan Polymers and Polymer Technology Service as authorised distributors, supporting its internal key-account sales structure.
MBO at Proofings Technology September 5, 1998
Rubber-coated fabric specialist Proofings Technology of Littleborough, near Rochdale, has been bought by its management, led by managing director Mark Jones. The company's products are used in a range of applications from fire blankets and wet suits to parachutes and pipe insulation. It has 40 staff and a turnover of £2·6 million.
PP roto-powder deal September 5, 1998
ICO Europe, which specialises in materials supply to the rotomoulding sector, has bought Borealis' polypropylene rotomoulding product lines. Borealis will continue to make them, but ICO will supply them worldwide.
Korean PE plant on line September 5, 1998
The Hundai Petrochemical LDPE plant at Daesan in South Korea has come on line. It has a capacity of 85,000 tonnes/year of LDPE/EVA and uses Exxon autoclave technology.
PU/silicone rubber composite resists airframe seal abrasion September 1, 1998
Dunlop Precision Rubber has developed a sacrificial polyurethane coating to prevent the erosion being experienced on some airframe seals. The problem only occurs on some aircraft and in certain seal positions, and has only recently been noticed. The reason for it is not well understood, but it is thought possibly to be caused by volcanic ash in the atmosphere.
The Dunlop answer is an extension of its technology for applying polyurethane paint and sheet to the leading edges of helicopter blades and fixed wing aircraft leading edges as de-icing pads. The company has bonded a polyurethane compound to a standard fabric-reinforced silicone rubber seal, and while trials are still progressing, it looks as if the PU coating is protecting the seal, while not being excessively abraded itself. In fact, laboratory tests show that the resultant composite enhances the life of the polyurethane.
Textron buys British automotive trim producer September 1, 1998
US-based automotive components supplier Textron has bought Midlands Industrial Plastics and will integrate it into its Trim division.
MIP has two plants at Stourport and Elmdom in the West Midlands, and makes components such as door panel assemblies, instrument panels, moulded seat backs, parcel shelves and boot liners using polyurethane moulding, thermoforming and wood fibre compression moulding.
Textron Automotive Company has 51 plants in 13 countries, and in the past 20 months has bought 12 European businesses including fuel tank manufacturer Kautex (January 1997), the General Rubber Goods division of Pirelli Tyres (September 1997) and Valeo Wiper Systems (July 1996).
New address for Chase Elastomer September 1 1998
Chase Elastomer (UK) has moved to purpose-built premises at:
Unit 3, Fifth Avenue
Tameside Park
Dukinfield
Cheshire
SK16 4PP
Telephone: 0161 343 4433, Fax: 0161 343 4422.
BPI orders Reifenhäuser digital winders September 1, 1998
The first of Reifenhäuser's new UFA series digital drive film winders for the UK has been ordered by British Polythene Industries, which has ordered two for delivery later this year.
Arburg starts factory expansion September 1, 1998
Arburg has started work on a factory extension that will add half as much space again to its Black Forest production plant and give it facilities to build injection moulding machines up to 400 tonnes. Arburg II, as the development is known, will add 41,000 m2 of factory space, and should be ready by the end of 1999.
Shore modernises Dunlop rubber mixing September 1 1998
The Dunlop Precision Rubber mixing room at Bagworth near Coalville in Leicestershire has been modernised with the installation of a T A Shore control system. The Shoreweigh Microprocessor System is connected to the management information system, and caters for up to 1,000 formulations and 1,000 materials. It handles both mixing lines and provides graphical display of mixer time, temperature and energy profiles, as well as providing batch reporting and printouts of material inventory.
Travelling saw cuts mitres September 1, 1998
A travelling saw capable of cutting mitres on line has been developed by Plastics Ancillary Engineering. The saw has a single cutting head which will cut at any pre-programmed angle across the face of the extrudate. It will then reciprocate to the same angle in the opposite direction. It can also work as a conventional cut-off saw.
The cutting cycles are software controlled from a PLC in the main cabinet. The program is stored on an EEPROM, which negates the need for back-up power.
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