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Engel is expanding its offering in electric injection moulding machines with an extension of its e-Motion all-electric range, and a hybrid of the e-Motion and Victory hydraulic machines.
The e-Motion series is being taken up to 350 tonnes from the present 55/100/150/180 tonne series. A 280 tonne machine - the additional size most requested by its customers - will go into production in May, and a 225 and a 350 tonne machine will go into production early next year.
The new Victory Electric is being introduced to meet a number of demands. It will combine the precision achievable on the all-electric injection unit with the lower cost of a hydraulic clamp, giving an increase in precision without the expense of an all-electric machine for moulders where the energy savings achievable with an all-electric are less significant. One area where this is seen as beneficial is in the moulding of pipe fittings, where the complex coring of the tools calls for a hydraulic power pack to be mounted on the machine anyway. Engel makes the point that in this field its machines already offer cost advantages in that their tiebarless format accommodates tools that would otherwise need a much bigger tiebar machine.
Another attraction of the Victory Electric is that enables the user of a hydraulic machine to operate the X-melt explosive injection process, which is only available on Engel's servo-driven injection units. In this process injection is performed not by screw movement, but by compressing the melt behind a nozzle or tool-mounted needle valve, and then decompressing it suddenly so that the rapid expansion fills the mould. This is reckoned to give improvements in shot weight variation and overall process control for precision mouldings and thin wall parts, and to take out the influence of minimum check-ring movement in the moulding of micro-components.
X-melt is still a specialised process. There are no machines running it in the UK, and worldwide, despite Engel's substantial output in injection moulding machines, there are only eight commercial X-melt machines running, three years after the process was introduced.
Introduction of the Victory Electric will be to a similar timetable to that of the new e-Motion machines. Models of 60/70/80/90/110 and 120 tonnes clamp will be available in May this year, 130 and 150 tonnes later this year, and 35/45/180/200 and 220 tonne clamp machines from the beginning of 2005.
Top changes at Thompson Plastics February 27, 2004
Richard Guest has been appointed as general manager of Plastics (Manchester) Ltd, joining from Scapa where he was manufacturing manager. Former director and general manager Richard Clynes has become divisional managing director of the Thompson Plastics Group, of which the Manchester business is a part.
Tosoh invests more in expanding Philippines PVC manufacturer February 27, 2004
Tosoh Corporation is to acquire 30 per cent of the outstanding shares in the Philippine PVC manufacturer Philippine Resins Industries, Inc. As a result, Tosoh will increase equity from 50 to 80 per cent in PRII, with Mitsubishi Corporation retaining the balance.
PRII was established in the Philippines in 1996 for the production and sale of PVC. In 1999, capacity and sales had reached 70,000 tonnes and in 2001 a capacity increase of 20,000 tonnes was undertaken to meet growing demand. Present debottlenecking operations are scheduled for completion in May and will result in the plant achieving a 100,000 tonnes capacity. The additional capacity will make PRII the biggest manufacturer of PVC in the Philippines. Tosoh supplies vinyl chloride monomer from its Nanyo Complex in western Japan.
Higher prices for rubbers and PET February 27, 2004
Bayer has just announced that the price of its Therban hydrogenated acrylonitile-butadiene rubber was increased by Eur 1/kg on January 1, and the price of Buna EP EPDM by Eur 0·1/kg on February 1, both increases the result of a steep increase in the cost of raw materials.
Dow is to implement the third price increase for its Lighter PET this year on March 1. The price increased Eur 60/tonne on January 1, Eur 100/tonne on February 1, and now is to go up another Eur 100/tonne on March 1. The company says that supply for PET remains tight due to continuous strong demand, and that the current pricing does not allow for sufficient margins due to a continued increase in prices for raw materials like PX and MEG.
EVC reduces losses February 27, 2004
Europe's largest PVC manufacturer EVC continued to claw back losses last year despite the difficult trading conditions in PVC, with selling prices rising and falling and average raw material prices remaining at the same level as 2002. A problem peculiar to EVC was difficulty in obtaining chlorine under a long-term supply contract, forcing it on to the open market to buy ethylene di-chloride, which led to an extra Eur 10·8 million direct cost, and an overall estimated cost of Eur 23 million.
Group turnover fell 2 per cent on 2002 to Eur 1,032·2 million, and gross margin fell Eur 19 million to Eur 38·2 million, but reduction in operating costs and other factors such as currency exchange brought the group's operating loss down from Eur 13·7 million in 2002 to Eur 3·6 million. Pre-tax loss was Eur 21·2 million against Eur 30·0 million in 2002.
BASF joins Toray in Malaysian PBT plan February 25, 2004
BASF is increasing its investment in Malaysia with the setting up of a joint venture with Toray Industries of Japan to make PBT. The butanediol feedstock will be sourced from the BASF Petronas joint venture plant which was commissioned in January at BASF's site at Kuantan, where the PBT plant will start operating in 2006, and the plant will use Toray's polymerization technology.
The Kuantan site is part of BASF's first integrated chemical complex in Asia - a 150-hectare site jointly operated with Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad). The first plants in the Kuantan site became operational in mid-2000. Currently acrylic monomers, syngas, oxo alcohols, phthalic anhydride, and plasticizers are produced there.
Output from the 60,000 tonnes PBT plant will be sold independently by the two partners in a similar approach to the DuBay Polymers DuPont/Bayer PBT joint venture which was opened in Germany in December last year.
Toray says it is the first Japanese company to establish a PBT polymerization plant outside Japan. It will supply PBT base resin to its compound bases worldwide from its ABS resin production site, Toray Plastics Malaysia in Penang, as part of an expansion of its compounding structure and its plan for 'the highest global competitiveness and expansion of the PBT resin business'.
The joint venture will be named Toray BASF PBT Resin, and the plant will cost $40 million.
Fortron Industries, the Ticona/Kureha Chemicals PPS joint venture, is planning an expansion of its capacity in two moves. The first will be a two-stage debottlenecking operation at its Wilmington, USA plant to add 25 per cent more output, and the second will be a new plant, currently at the feasibility study stage, which will be built in the next five years.
Fortron has squeezed ever more production out of the Wilmington plant. It was built in 1993 with a capacity of less than 4,000 tonnes, was expanded and then expanded again to 7,250 tonnes, and the current expansion programme was mooted in 2001 when Fortron began evaluation of new production technologies developed separately by Ticona and Kureha.
Ethylene elastomer plant starts up February 25, 2004
ExxonMobil Chemical has started up its new metallocene ethylene elastomer manufacturing facility in the USA, with a capacity of more than 90,000 tonnes. Included among the products made on the plant are the Vistamaxx speciality elastomers introduced last year.
Battenfeld gets the inside track on Chinese extrusion requirements February 25, 2004
Battenfeld has entered a strategic cooperation with one of its Chinese customers to share technology in pipe and profile extrusion. Under the agreement Battenfeld designates Hebei B & S Group as a key account to share new designs in extrusion equipment, and will act as a consultant to keep the Chinese company up to date with emerging applications in flexible packaging and pipe and profile, global trends in polymer consumption and other relevant market data that can be used to help develop business in China, and will also provide technical advice on product development.
In return HBS makes Battenfeld its preferred vendor for extrusion equipment and will share information on market trends in China for flexible packaging and pipe and profile, product requirements of its end-user customers and other market information, and technical feedback on equipment performance and process needs that can be used in the engineering of extrusion systems.
The Battenfeld companies have been doing business with the Hebei B & S Group for some time. Among the equipment installed are blown film and cast polypropylene sheet lines from Battenfeld Gloucester, several PVC pipelines from Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, including socketing units, and polyethylene pipelines and PVC window extruders. Battenfeld Chen Extrusion Systems has supplied pipe extrusion and multilayer blown film lines to the group.
Going up February 25, 2004
Borealis is to increase the European price of its polyethylene and polypropylene by Eur 100/tonne from March 1 to 'sustain our investments in innovation and technology'.
Albemarle is increasing the price of its Saytex CP-2000 flame retardant globally by 10 per cent on March 7.
X-ray equipment makes NDT of gas injection more feasible February 25, 2004
When gas injection is used in structural mouldings it can be important to inspect the formation of the gas channel, but how to do this without destroying the part is a challenge. Cinpres Gas Injection says that film X-ray inspection has been possible but is expensive, time consuming, and requires special lead screen rooms and film development and storage. Non-film X-raying has also been available but again, is expensive, requires high energy and is normally only available at academic or development laboratories.
To carry out non-destructive testing in a production environment the company is now offering real time X-ray equipment built by Alpetor Systems of the USA. The equipment requires comparatively little space and is mobile so can be located adjacent to R & D, production or assembly facilities.
On screen images show where gas has penetrated the plastic and, equally importantly, where gas channels have not extended to the desired position in thicker sections. Options from CGI range from a one-off testing service, through a continuous service contract to the supply of equipment.
West Yorkshire toolmaker Wilson & Royston has changed its name to WR Tooling following a management buy-out earlier this year. It was part of the JL French UK group, formerly Morris Ashby, which decided to sell it to concentrate on core business activities. The company has been bought by founder shareholder Ian Wilson and director Paul Royston, son of co-founder Mike Royston.
Belting and hose specialist Fenner Group has bought Indico (Europe) which makes rubber hoses for commercial vehicles, for £2·8 million. Indico, based at Poynton near Manchester, will become part of Fenner's James Dawson subsidiary, which makes silicone hoses for commercial vehicles in Lincoln.
This expansion by acquisition follows further expansions by James Dawson involving the setting up of a hose manufacturing plant in China and expansion of its North American distribution centre. Its hose business in Europe, North America and Asia now generates around £14 million.
Cable winding system manufacturer Reelotech, which was once the market leader, has been bought by competitor Autoreel. The plan is to integrate both companies, but for the time being they continue to operate side by side. Since the takeover Autoreel has introduced a range of large bore pipe coilers in three sizes.
Tool and pattern making heavyweights combine February 25, 2004
'The world's biggest' in pattern making and toolmaking have joined forces with the purchase of a 55 per cent stake in NPL Technologies by Arrk Product Development Group. Arrk's parent Arrk Corporation of Japan says it is the world's largest toolmaker and prototype manufacturer, and NPL Technologies of Nuneaton says it is the world's biggest in patternmaking.
NPL was formed in 1988 following a management buy in of Nuneaton Patterns, and since then has bought 51 per cent of Mexican toolmaker Ditemsa.
Changes are to be made to the structure of Atofina's UK companies as part of a wider reorganisation of the French company's chemical operations.
The UK petrochemicals businesses (styrene, polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene) are to be based at a new sales office at the Stalybridge head office. The chlorochemicals, intermediates and performance products businesses will have a new head office at the existing sales office at Solihull. The changes are planned to take place by September 1.
EC restricts use of rubber extender oils in tyres February 21, 2004
The European Commission is imposing limits on the use of some extender oils in tyre manufacturer as a safeguard to public health. It says that extenders can contain high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogenic, and is proposing a maximum limit of 10 ppm for PAHs in extender oils used in the manufacture of tyres. Both the oil industry and the tyre industry have agreed to phase out the production and use of PAH-rich extender oils over a transition period up to December 31, 2008 while alternatives are tested.
To police the limit, the Commission is working on suitable test methods that allow the proper identification of tyres that do not conform with the requirements of this Directive.
Polymer Training - the former plastics processing industry training board - has a new image to go with what it sees as its expanded role. From February 1 it has been trading simply as PTL, and is offering services beyond its traditional role of training, providing further education, technical support for product and process development, the provision of company incubation facilities and conferencing services.
Rapra and Barwell join in rubber processing development February 21, 2004
Rapra Technology is expanding its support for rubber processing in a new partnership with rubber machinery distributor Barwell. A 500 tonne LWB Steinl dual nozzle injection moulding machine has been installed at the Shawbury research and testing centre for material, product and tooling developments and enhanced training for designers and moulders of both TPEs and rubbers. The machine will be paired with Rapra's Sigmasoft 3D tooling simulation package for tooling validation.
Innovators in PVC can compete for a prize being offered by Solvin, the Solvay/BASF PVC joint venture. Solvin's 2004 Award for PVC Innovation offers prizes of Eur 50,000, Eur 25,000 and Eur 10,000, to be presented at the K2004 exhibition in Düsseldorf.
The award is open to processors, additive suppliers, processing machine producers, end-users, specifiers, service providers, media related activities or academic institutions. There will also be three special prizes of Eur 5,000 for entries which demonstrate the versatility of PVC. Candidates' innovations should: · have a link with PVC · contribute to the positive image of PVC · bring improvement to existing products · lead to an application on the European market · have been under development or on the market from January 1, 2002.
The closing date for applications is April 30.
Russian HDPE plant will use Basell technology February 21, 2004
A 120,000 tonnes HDPE plant to be built by Salavatnefteorgsintez at Salavat in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, will use Basell's Hostalen technology. The plant is scheduled to be completed in 2006.
The Hostalen process is a slurry cascade process for the production of monomodal and bimodal HDPE, including PE 100 pipe and high tenacity film grades.
Price increases for FEP and styrenics February 21, 2004
DuPont Fluoroproducts is to increase global prices for all grades of Teflon FEP fluoropolymer resin by $2.00/pound in the dollar based markets and by Eur 2.00/kg in Europe, the Middle East and Africa from March 1. The increase reflects growing demand for FEP in applications such as wire insulation in data communications cabling systems and specialty industrial tubing, and 'will also support reinvestment in new product and technology development'.
Also on March 1 BASF is raising the price of its styrene copolymers - Styrolux (SBS), Luran (SAN), Terluran (ABS), Luran S (ASA), Terlux (MABS) and Terblend N (ABS/PA) - by Eur 100/tonne, because of worsening profit margins.
South Africa's Sasol expands PP with BP process February 21, 2004
Sasol Polymers of South Africa is to expand its polypropylene capacity at Secunda with a 300,000 tonnes plant using BP's Innovene technology. The plant will make homopolymers, random copolymers and impact copolymers, and start up in 2006.
MPM to make components in Slovakia February 21, 2004
Mannesmann Plastics Machinery is continuing the eastward impetus of its Demag subsidiary - which has started assembling injection moulding machines in Russia - with a plan to build a small component production plant at Martin in Slovakia. The Forum Components plant will supply injection unit components to both Demag and Krauss-Maffei and will also act as a procurement base for MPM to buy components from other Eastern European companies.
Construction at Forum Components, which represents a 'single digit million Euro' investment, will begin this summer. MPM says there are no plans to build complete machines at the plant.
European orders help Milacron towards recovery February 21, 2004
European sales of plastics machines in 2003 did well for recovering US machinery group Milacron, returning a 26 per cent increase in new orders over 2002 at $154 million. Although two-thirds of the increases were accounted for by beneficial exchange rates, the increase in new order value was still double the increase in the company's home operation, which rose $4 million to $325 million.
A contributor to the European growth was the restructuring of the Italian blow moulding machine operation, which reduced losses in Europe from $8·1 million in 2002 to $1·5 million - US profits were $6·7 million in 2003 compared with $8·0 million the year before, and this figure included $3·5 million more in royalty income than in 2002.
Milacron's mould components and machine servicing businesses did not fare so well in 2003, with sales for the year at $169 million, compared with $175 million in 2002. Operating earnings in 2003 fell to $1·8 million from $5·3 million due to operating losses in Europe and reduced profits in North America.
Despite its figures continuing in the red - group losses were $191·7 million but not quite so red as the $222·9 million in 2002 (ignoring the balance sheet adjustments relating to goodwill write downs and revaluations) - Milacron is bullish about the future. It saved $22 million through cost cutting measures in 2003 and is 'better positioned to take advantage of stronger levels of business expected in 2004'.
GE plans plastics investments, and bombards the market with new materials February 5, 2004
GE's engineering plastics business has set a new date for the expansion of its Lexan polycarbonate production at Cartagena in Spain. The plant, with a capacity of around 150,000 tonnes, was opened in 1999 with a plan in place to double capacity by 2002, but construction of the planned second plant was slowed down. Now it is finished and the company is intending to open LX2 towards the end of this year with an additional 150,000 tonnes capacity.
Cartagena is also to be the site of a new world scale plant for Ultem polyetherimide, which will open in 2007. GE is not revealing the capacity of the plant, but is planning to spend $135 million on it in a first phase, and while no details have been determined yet about expansion, says there will certainly be a second phase. In addition to increasing capacity, the Cartagena plant will be used to develop higher performance products, with the emphasis on heat resistance - one grade of Ultem already claims to be the highest temperature amorphous thermoplastic available with a Tg of 247 degC - improved flow and improved impact and chemical resistance.
A further investment is focused on GE's LNP performance compounds subsidiary, which is opening two facilities in the US over the next few months. All LNP technical development is to be concentrated on its headquarters site in Exton Pennsylvania, fuelled by a $2·2 million investment coming to fruition in March, while $1 million is being spent on a centre for Verton long fibre reinforcement technology at Columbus in Indiana, opening in the second quarter.
GE Plastics as was is no more, having been integrated with the silicones and quartz business groups at the turn of the year to form GE Advanced Materials. The new group represents a combined turnover in 2003 of $6·8 billion, of which $5·2 billion came from plastics. Apart from new production capacity, GE is also planning to increase investment in plastics technology during the coming year. It anticipates spending 33 per cent more than it did in 2000, and having 22 per cent more employees. The company is recapturing its earlier drive from 20 years ago with a greater emphasis on market development, and to that end expects this year to be employing 65 per cent more people in plastics customer application and market development than it did in 2000.
Part of this greater awareness of application technology was the adoption last year of the X Gen label for products that GE feels operate at a particularly high level of performance, and the company has released an unprecedented - outside the build-up to a major trade show - blizzard of new products, many of which carry the X Gen label.
New grades have been added to the Lexan EXL series of low temperature high impact siloxane-modified polycarbonate, one of which becomes the highest flow material in the Lexan range giving up to 50 per cent reduction in injection moulding cycle time over standard materials; and two opaque colourable grades have been added to the Lexan SLX series of highly weathering-resistant polyester carbonate/resorcinal arylate copolymers intended to do away with painting.
Two new films have been introduced, one based on polycarbonate and the other on polyetherimide. Illuminex is a Lexan polycarbonate film for display diffusion on LCD screens that offers greater scratch-resistance than present coated PET films, with high optical properties. The Ultem PEI films are the first in what will be a wider range, intended for applications demanding high heat performance or electrical resistance where higher cost polyimide films may currently be used.
LNP's materials are also included under the X Gen brand, and there are new amorphous nylon (polypthalamide) grades for use in reflow soldering applications, with flame-resistant formulations conforming with the tougher EC requirements for recycling. LNP is also responsible for the Valox PBT product line, because it's the only crystalline material made by GE and thus fits more closely with LNP's range. A PET has been added to the Valox series for applications needing a higher operating temperature than PBT can provide.
In GE's long-standing Noryl polyphenylene ether series the company has introduced grades for freezer to microwave food packaging; as expandable bead for moulding cycle helmets and motorcycle helmet liners; for halogen-free cable covering; and a blow moulding grade has been introduced to compete with nylon 6.
The Ultem PEI range has been extended with a glass filled version of the ATX polyetherimide/polyestercarbonate alloy which fits in use between Ultem and Lexan, and there are new platable grades for automotive lighting.
Pentex Sales has been split up with part of the sales representation being taken over by a German company, while the mainly packaging balance of the agency list is understood still to be handled personally by former director Barrie Penny.
Velox, a distributor of a wide range of materials in Germany, is representing Asahi Kasei of Japan (Asaclean purging compound), Movacolor of Holland (dosing equipment), Proditec of France (vision inspection equipment for caps and closures) through its Velox UK subsidiary, which also sells Safoam blowing agents.
The company is operating from the Pentex office in Aylesbury shared with Hamilton Machinery Sales and Demag Hamilton but plans to move into larger premises.
Joint venture in light emitting polymers February 5, 2004
Joint development of light emitting polymers has been agreed by Cambridge Display Technology and Sumitomo Chemical Co of Japan.
The companies intend to develop new solution processable phosphorescent materials, such as dendrimers, which exhibit very high efficiencies and good stability. High efficiency emitters are important in portable electronic displays such as in cell phones, PDAs and digital cameras, where battery supplies are used. The new PLED materials are also expected to find applications for TV displays and possibly for lighting devices in the future.
Sumitomo is already a shareholder and materials licensee of CDT.
Eastman discusses the future of its Hartlepool polyester plant February 5, 2004
A question mark hangs over the future of the Eastman Chemical site in Hartlepool as Eastman Company UK is in consultation with trades unions. Eastman globally is seeking a more competitive manufacturing position for its copolyesters. The Hartlepool plant, which has approximately 80 employees, will continue to operate normally while discussions with the unions are held.
ABS/SAN prices to rise February 3, 2004
Dow Chemical is increasing the European prices for its Magnum ABS and Tyril SAN by Eur 100/tonne on March 1 because of continuing rises in feedstock costs.
Boston Matthews names Benelux agent February 3, 2004
Boston Matthews and Munchy have appointed Moretec Plastic Machinery as their agent for Boston Matthews extrusion machinery and the Munchy range of reprocessing machinery in Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg.
Honeywell to double Chinese polyester fibre production February 3, 2004
Chinese production of polyester fibres for tyre, hose and belt reinforcement and similar uses is to be doubled by Honeywell. The company already reckons to be the leading supplier of high modulus, low shrinkage polyester in China and to be the only polyester fibre supplier with manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe and North America.
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