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Welsh automotive rubber moulder gets new lease of life July 14, 2005
Hampshire-based rubber manufacturer Cellular Developments has bought the assets of the former Roulunds Codan (Wales) operation on the Penallta Industrial Estate, near Ystrad Mynach in Wales. The plant was part of the Danish-based international Roulunds Rubber Group and produced rubber hoses and mouldings for the automotive industry. It was scheduled for closure a year or more ago, but CDL, which was a supplier to the plant, intervened primarily to source equipment and ultimately bought the whole operation.
Under its new ownership the company will trade as Valley Rubber, and aims to continue supplying the automotive sector with an expanded range of products. In particular it will use the ISO 9000 registered laboratory to provide a research and development service. The company is also certified to the ISO/TS 16949 automotive quality standard which will supersede QS 9000 at the end of next year (see below).
With the takeover of the plant Cellular Developments has retained 16 jobs.
Time to catch up on your automotive quality certification July 14, 2005
If you are a supplier to the automotive industry you need to be thinking about your quality certification. QS 9000 is closely aligned to the now obsolete ISO 9001:1994 and according to certification body NQA, certificates are due to expire on December 15, 2006.
NQA says that there is a worldwide demand from original equipment manufacturers for their suppliers to become certificated to ISO/TS16949 which is aligned to the updated ISO 9001:2000.
This certification, developed by the International Automotive Task Force in association with the International Organisation for Standardisation, removes the need for automotive suppliers to have multiple certification such as QS 9000 and the various European standards - VDA6.1 in Germany, EAQF in France and AVSQ in Italy. The standard is accepted by IATF members including BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Volkswagen.
ISO/TS16949 applies solely to automotive related products and specifies quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of automotive-related products.
European machinery sales set to fall this year July 14, 2005
Measures being taken by the Chinese government to prevent the country's economy from overheating are likely to depress sales of European plastics and rubber equipment this year, according to Euromap president Ulrich Reifenhäuser.
Euromap reports that sales of equipment in 2004 grew 2·6 per cent over 2003 to reach Eur 16·1 billion. Eur 10·9 billion of this was sold outside Europe - 9·6 per cent more than in 2003 - principally to China, the new EU members in Eastern Europe and Russia as well as oil exporting countries in the Middle East, especially Iran.
But this strong performance in 2004, coupled with a slowdown in China, is likely to see year on year production values fall by 2·5 per cent in 2005, says Euromap.
German speciality chemicals company Cognis is moving its oleochemicals business into its Cognis Oleochemicals joint venture with Malaysian plantation operator Golden Hope and will switch management of the business from Düsseldorf in Germany to Kuala Lumpar in Malaysia. Plastics additives are included in the business alongside fatty acids, glycerin, oilfield chemicals, azelaic acid and pelargonic acid. Cognis makes anti-blocking, anti-fogging and anti-static, agents, lubricants, release agents, and PVC plasticisers.
An unconfirmed report from Reuters said that Cognis and Golden Hope envisage new units in Britain, Brazil and Japan to manufacture plastics.
Cognis has two plants in the UK which it bought from Laporte in 2003, at Hythe near Southampton and Barry near Cardiff. The Barry plant makes Bisoflex synthetic ester plasticisers for the PVC, synthetic rubber and lubricant markets. Hythe makes multifunctional methacrylate monomers which are used in rubber compounds and super absorbent polymers in disposable nappies among other applications. It also makes dimethyl isopthalate, used primarily used as an additive to PET where it improves clarity and strength in carbonated drinks bottles and in PBT, and dimethyl sebacate which is used mainly as an intermediate for UV stabilising coatings and plastics.
Urbanek joins K-M board July 14, 2005
MPM Group chief technical officer Dr Otto Urbanek - formerly Engel's technology director - has extended his role to become chief operating officer at MPM Group company Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik.
Also joining the K-M board, as chief financial officer, will be Peter Sassenfeld who comes from Bayer where he was head of mergers and acquisitions.
Graziano Parisi will retire from the main board on December 31 and will continue in an advisory capacity.
PLA blended with recycled PP for electronics components July 12, 2005
Another Japanese electronics company has made moves to cut the fossil fuel content of its plastics components by incorporating a bio-sourced material in its compounds. In the past we have reported developments by NEC Corporation which has produced a flame retardant polylactic acid material and Fujitsu which blended a polylactic acid material with a conventional engineering plastic to reduce the environmental burden of its plastic components.
Now Sharp is working on a technique to blend polylactic acid with polypropylene from recycled consumer electronic goods. The company is to test the commercial potential of the process, with the aim of using such blends in its products by 2006. It anticipates that when the price of plant-based plastics reduces to the level of oil-sourced plastics, the percentage of renewable resources (plant-based plastic and waste plastic) used in its products will increase to 30 per cent, and this by 2010. Sharp does, however, acknowledge problems with bioplastics in impact/shock resistance, thermal resistance, cost and other factors, which limit their adoption in consumer durables, particularly electronic products.
Overcoming these problems is one strand of its current development. The other is the technology to blend oil-based and plant-based plastics. These two targets are interlinked in that Sharp says it is the basic incompatibility of the two types of material causing low boundary strength between the two polymers that is at the root of the poor physical properties. It has developed a compatibiliser with chain segments which have an affinity for PLA and other segments which have an affinity for PP. This creates an ultrafine dispersion of PLA in the PP 'thereby dramatically improving the physical properties of the blended material'.
Plastic radiation shield could take men to the stars July 12, 2005
Plastics that can deflect cosmic radiation have been developed by Bayer MaterialScience and may one day figure in manned exploration of space.
Cosmic radiation is a complex mix of various forms of radiation generated by the stars - including the Sun. The majority of radiation reaching the Earth is deflected by its magnetic field. However, beyond the reach of the Earth's magnetic field the radiation intensity increases significantly and can have a damaging effect on the
human body and cause malfunctions in electronic systems.
To counter this radiation space capsules and aircraft are shielded with aluminium. Bayer says its new plastics offer the same level of shielding as aluminium, but are up to 30 per cent lighter.
A measuring method for testing the effectiveness of radiation shielding materials has been developed at the Austrian Universities' Atomic Institute at the Vienna University of Technology. This can simulate cosmic radiation in experiments on Earth as an alternative to testing the materials in unmanned space flights. The new Bayer materials are being tested in this way and according to the company: 'If the results continue to be positive, the new lightweight polymer materials could one day be used on aircraft and space capsules to protect aircrew and astronauts from cosmic radiation'.
Japanese rubber mixers to be built in Italy July 11, 2005
Italian rubber processing equipment manufacturer Comerio Ercole is to build internal mixers designed by Kobe Steel of Japan. There will be two designs. The first, 270 and 370 litre tangential mixers, will be built substantially by Kobe Steel and the mixing chambers finished to European standards by Comerio Ercole, who will also produce or supply under licence related equipment including complete hopper assemblies, the mixer drive system and other electronic equipment.
Comerio Ercole will also supplement its 80 litre intermeshing type mixer with mixers in 14, 100, 150 and 210 litre sizes which it will build under license from Kobe Steel.
SIG Corpoplast main board member Olaf Weiland is leaving the at the end of July to take up a new position. He has been a board member since 1999. Norbert Bargelé, who has also been a Corpoplast board member since 1999, will take sole responsibility for the management of the company.
Lanxess invests further in China July 11, 2005
Lanxess is to build a Eur 5 million technical centre for its technical rubber products business in Shanghai, China, and will transfer to it the work of its Singapore technical centre. Recently the company announced a Eur 20 million plant to build a 20,000 tonnes compounding plant for nylon and PET/PBT at its Wuxi leather chemicals site.
European Union to make phthalate plasticiser ban permanent... July 10, 2005
The temporary annual ban on the use of some phthalates as plasticisers in PVC children's toys is being made permanent by the European Parliament, with consequent claims of victory from Greenpeace and bad science from the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates.
A total ban is to be imposed on the use of three phthalates, DEHP, DBP and BBP, in all toys and childcare articles because of their reprotoxicity. DINP, DIDP and DNOP will be banned in toys and childcare articles that can be put in the mouth. The ban on PVC toys incorporating two phthalates, DINP and DEHP, and adding four others not commonly used but seen as alternatives to bypass the ban, was brought in towards the end of 1999, after some vacillation. Attempts were made in 2000 to extend the ban to all phthalates used as plasticisers. But as the new proposals indicate, these attempts were unsuccessful.
The proposed ban - it's not yet on the statute books - establishes EU rules to replace 25 national pieces of legislation and should receive formal approval in the autumn.
Greenpeace welcomed the ban with the claim 'Greenpeace wins battle to ban toxic chemicals in plastic toys'. The environmental organisation first claimed that children were being exposed to high levels of phthalates in 1997, when it tested a wide range of popular PVC plastic toys, such as bath ducks, dolls and babies' teethers. Over the next few years there was much scientific argument as to whether this exposure actually represented any danger.
The temporary bans for the past five years have been in order to wait for the results of a series of comprehensive risk assessments conducted on these phthalates under the Existing Substances Regulation (793/93/EEC). The decision by the European Parliament to bring in a permanent ban was prepared 'following these risk assessments and having regard to the opinions of the scientific committee responsible'.
However, according to the ECPI 'such stringent measures are unnecessary and ignore scientific risk assessments'. The organisation says that only one of the six phthalates - DINP - is generally used in toys and recently underwent an EU Scientific Risk Assessment when it was agreed by Member State technical experts that children are not at risk from the use of DINP in toys - including from those which can be put in the mouth. DINP has also been investigated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the United States who also confirmed that there is no demonstrated health risk from the use of this plasticiser in toys.
...while BASF is ahead of the game with plant closures July 10, 2005
BASF has already decided to discontinue production of DEHP - and the associated alcohol 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) - in Europe in the third quarter of 2005. The 2-EH plant in Ludwigshafen, which has an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes, will be shut down and dismantled starting in October.
BASF says that European producers and users have increasingly been replacing DEHP with alternative products, in particular with C9 and C10 phthalates. This has caused the DEHP market to decrease by 50 per cent since 2000.
BASF's alternative plasticiser range includes Palatinol N (DINP) and the C10 plasticiser Palatinol 10P (DPHP) for standard applications. For sensitive applications such as toys, medical devices and food contact BASF has Hexamoll DINCH.
The restructuring in Europe will have no effect on BASF's plasticiser portfolio in NAFTA and Asia, where the company will continue to offer 2-EH and DEHP.
As well as the scrapping of the Ludwigshafen plant BASF plans to close several facilities at its site in Feluy, Belgium, where it feels it is no longer possible to manufacture phthalic anhydride, plasticisers, fumaric acid and butanediol derivatives competitively. Maleic anhydride will, however, continue to be produced there.
Skelmersdale follows Leeds as Huhtamaki economises July 10, 2005
The Huhtamaki EPS packaging plant at Skelmersdale is to be closed by the end of the year in the second phase of the Finnish packaging group's two-year restructuring programme. The first phase, announced last year, included the closure of the group's Leeds rigid packaging plant together with job losses at several other rigid packaging sites in Europe. A site at Göttingen in Germany, originally earmarked for job reductions, is now to be closed in stages by mid-2006.
The announcement of phase 2 of the restructing plan warns 'The program provides for the further closure and relocation of up to four manufacturing sites by the end of 2007'.
Huhtamaki's aim is to save around Eur 40 million a year. Nearly 1,000 employees will be affected, but this number will be offset by expansions at other locations.
Student designers Embark on new business for Barkston... July 10, 2005
Plastics fabricator Barkston of Leeds has launched a furniture manufacturing company called Embark Design as part of its plans to diversify. Embark will make contemporary occasional furniture made from plastic and will be marketing its products at both the domestic and hospitality market.
The new company springs out of a partnership project with York St John College in 2004. As part of its plans to develop its own product range Barkston approached third year design students with a brief to design a piece of occasional furniture out of plastic which Barkston could manufacture and market commercially. Barkston had initially planned to manufacture one of the designs but the standard of the resulting prototypes was so high that six designs were selected to form the start of the new company's range.
...and Avon buys breathing space in the USA July 10, 2005
Also moving into complementary markets is Avon Rubber, which has bought an American manufacturer of self-contained breathing apparatus. It is paying up to $23 million for International Safety Instruments, of Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Avon has identified respiratory protection as a major growth area. It is the prime contractor for the new US Joint Services General Purpose Mask, which enters production towards the end of this year and it also supplies nuclear, biological and chemical respiratory protection equipment.
Hamilton man picks up the pieces July 10, 2005
The sales director of Hamilton Machinery Sales which was sunk by its pension fund commitments in May, is starting his own agency to represent some of the companies formerly handled by Hamilton. Jeff Farrow, operating on 01332 298071 (jeff_farrow@btinternet.com, is initially only handling sales, and liaising between customers and the manufacturers - Bekum, Delta Engineering, Fasti, Lectro Engineering and STT - for service and support. But there are discussions for former Hamilton service staff to be employed by Bekum.
Ticona expands Co-PE elastomer production and adds new grades July 10, 2005
'Skyrocketing' demand for thermoplastic elastomers has caused Ticona to increase production capacity and add more variants of its Riteflex thermoplastic copolyester elastomer series. The unspecified boost in output will be at Ticona's Shelby plant in the USA. The new grades are in the 400 series which bring higher melt temperatures and introduce soft-touch grades.
Biggest plastics additives business opens its doors... July 10, 2005
Crompton Corporation's takeover of Great Lakes Chemical Corporation to form the world's biggest plastics additives company has brought a new name into the market - Chemtura Corporation started trading officially on July 5. As well as its plastics additives business, Chemtura is also prominent in petroleum additives, flame retardants, organometallics, castable urethanes, and pool and crop protection chemicals.
Crompton's plastics additives can now be obtained from Brenntag (UK). These include Mark vinyl heat stabilisers, boosters, kickers, phosphites and inhibitors; Marklube lubricants; Markstat antistatic agents; Markscreen UV absorbers, HALS, antioxidants and optical brighteners; Blendex modifiers and process aids; Drapex co-stabilisers; Ultranox, Naugard and Weston antioxidants; Polybond and Royaltuf polymer modifiers; Celogen and Expandex blowing agents; and Kemamide slip agents and lubricants.
What to use now curing with lead is forbidden July 10, 2005
Rubber processors can now no longer use lead in their formulations for components for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. From the beginning of this month the European Directive on the disposal of end-of-life vehicles has replaced transitional regulations which permitted the use of lead compounds in applications where it could not be avoided for technical reasons.
The alternative to curing with lead compounds typically consists of a curing agent, such as a bisphenol derivative, a phosphonium derivative as activator and an acid acceptor. Sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, has proved to be a particularly suitable acid acceptor but, says Lanxess rubber additives producer Rhein Chemie, this is a hygroscopic substance and, like the entire curing system, its curing behaviour varies according to its moisture content. It also has a tendency to clump and must be specially protected in order to avoid scrap and quality problems.
The company naturally has an answer. Its Rhenogran Na2CO3-70/CO F is a polymer-bound sodium carbonate consisting of a particularly fine grade of sodium carbonate dispersed in an epichlorohydrin binder system which protects the acid acceptor from changes in moisture content.
At present the product is primarily used in hose manufacture, and in particular for fuel lines using combinations of fluororubber or fluorothermoplastics, ECO/CO compounds and sometimes also AEM and ACM compounds, where the Rhenogran enhances the linkage of the fluoropolymers to the ECO/CO compound.
Rhein Chemie offers a downloadable technical report on the lead-free curing of ECO and CO compounds, but as yet this doesn't appear on its technical reports page at www.rheinchemie.com/rc.nsf/id/0E03D6FBEC89A099C1256E900031F3D5. Production of Rhenogran materials in China is to be increased with an investment of Eur 2·8 million in a new production facility for polymer-bound chemicals as part of a joint venture in the Eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao. The move doubles the company's production capacity for Rhenogran in China. Construction should be complete in the first quarter of 2006 and production will start on an annual 4,800 tonnes of polymer dispersions for the Asian market.
Alcan looking to shed more bottle businesses July 10, 2005
Following the sale of its two French plants making blow moulded packaging for beauty products, Alcan is now looking at selling its food packaging bottle business which has three plants in the USA, and one each in Canada and France.
The business, which had sales of $130 million in 2004, operates in juice, foodservice, and retort drink applications such as energy drinks, coffee-based beverages and infant formula. It also makes hot- and cold-fill containers for sauces, jams, teas, juices and other products. Alcan is considering selling it to focus its food packaging operations on flexible packaging.
New ownership structure for Borealis July 10, 2005
Norwegian petrochemicals major Statoil is selling its 50 per cent stake in Borealis to its partners The International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and OMV of Austria because petrochemicals are no longer its core business. Borealis will then be owned 65 per cent by IPIC and 35 per cent by OMV. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
Borealis is also joint owner with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of the Borouge polyolefins company in Abu Dhabi. Coincidentally Borealis has anounced a Eur 36 million investment at its Porvoo site in Finland where ethylene capacity will increase from 330,000 to 380,000 tonnes and propylene from 200,000 to 223,000 tonnes in 2007.
German injection moulding toolmaker Foboha is investing Eur 8 million in a 40 per cent expansion of its manufacturing space to 11,000 m². Of this, Eur 2 million will be spent on new machinery and software 'to meet the rising cost pressure from foreign competitors'.
Foboha, which became part of the Swiss Adval Tech group - which also owns AWM - in 2003, has doubled its turnover in the last five years and increased its workforce by 40 per cent to 175.
New technology in methacrylate expansion July 10, 2005
The cost-saving Alpha process for making acrylic, revealed by Lucite early last year will go into production in Singapore in 2007. Lucite is building a 120,000 tonnes plant for methyl methacrylate production and is to co-operate in an interchange supply deal with Mitsubishi Rayon, which is building a 140,000 tonnes methyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid plant in the USA using its own proprietary process.
Both companies are also building plants in China, with Lucite currently commissioning a 100,000 tonnes plant in Shanghai and Mitsubishi Rayon constructing a 90,000 tonnes plant for completion next year.
Lucite makes around 850,000 tonnes of acrylic products annually and has around 25 per cent of the world market by volume. The Mitsubishi Rayon Group is the largest manufacturer of methacrylate products in Asia. Another acrylics major, Degussa, has announced plans for an integrated MMA plant in China. The plant should come on stream in 2008/09 producing MMA and speciality chemicals based on methacrylate.
BASF buys more customers for its TDI July 10, 2005
BASF has bought Huntsman's toluene diisocyanate business for an undisclosed price. This is a commercial transaction only involving Huntsman transferring its TDI customer list and sales contracts to BASF. There is no transfer of manufacturing operations or personnel.
BASF makes TDI in Geismar, Louisiana, USA; Schwarzheide, Germany; Yeosu, Korea; and, from next year, in Caojing, China in cooperation with Chinese partners.
Huntsman is more involved in the MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) business than TDI, which represented only around 2 per cent of the company's total polyurethanes segment revenues in 2004.
IMG group to consolidate its PET assets July 10, 2005
The Portuguese Imatosgil Group is to consolidate its PET interests to form the second largest PET producer in Europe. Imatosgil Group (IMG) is the main shareholder in La Seda de Barcelona, which had 115,000 tonnes of capacity in 2002 and a plan to increase this to 180,000 tonnes by this year, and Selenis of Portugal. Selenis grew out of ICI fibres as Trevira, via Hoechst, being bought by Imatosgil in 2002 and having its PET capacity raised to 70,000 tonnes in 2003. In 2004 Selenis bought Aussapol from Radici in Italy, adding a further 145,000 tonnes of PET capacity.
Thompson Group subsidiary Thompson Technik has invested £250,000 in a carousel rotational moulding machine from Alan Yorke and other equipment which increases its roto moulding capacity by 20 per cent. The company's Bridgend plant makes a range of plastic products for the vehicle and industrial markets. Later this year Thompson plans to extend the factory to provide additional storage space.
Trendpam is totalled July 10, 2005
Trendpam Trading, which sells equipment from Nissei, Aoki and Bausano among other manufacturers, has changed its name to Total Plastics Machinery.
INEOS buries EVC name July 10, 2005
INEOS has become more prominent in polymer production by putting its own brand on the former EVC businesses and dropping the use of the EVC International name. Following its long-running takeover of the former European Vinyls Corporation. The new names are:
New polyolefins plants for Brazil and Saudi Arabia July 10, 2005
A 300,000 tonnes polypropylene plant is to be built by a joint venture between Braskem and Petrobras Quimica in Brazil. The plant, scheduled to start up in 2007, will use the Basell Spheripol technology. Braskem already operates a 550,000 tonnes Spheripol plant.
Besell technologies will also be used in polypropylene and low density polyethylene plants to be built by Project Management and Development Company in Saudi Arabia. The two Spheripol PP plants will have a combined annual capacity of 640,000 tonnes, and the Lupotech T LDPE plant will have a capacity of 270,000 tonnes. They will be part of a new petrochemical complex in the industrial city of Al Jubail. Start-up is scheduled for late 2008.
More PPA from Europe July 10, 2005
Capacity for Grivory HT polyphthalamide is to double. Ems-Grivory has increased output from its existing plant and intends to build a new plant in Switzerland, coming on stream at the end of next year.
Quadrant adds UHMWPE with Poly Hi Solidur purchase July 10, 2005
The Poly Hi Solidur high molecular weight polyethylene shapes business is being sold by Menasha Corporation in the USA to stock shapes specialist Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products for around $82 million.
Poly Hi Solidur operates production facilities in the USA, Germany, France, the UK, Japan and South Africa, and has a workforce of more than 1,000 worldwide. 2004 sales were $169 million, approximately two-thirds of which were generated in the US.
PolyOne has started up a 10,000 tonnes compounding plant at Shenzhen, South China. The new facility is one of the first plants within PolyOne to manufacture a broad range of products at one location including colour and additive masterbatches, engineered materials, and polymer coating systems.
Ems goes solo in Japan July 10, 2005
Ems-Chemie and Showa Denko have dissolved their joint venture specialty nylon business. The 70/30 EC/Showa Denko operation has been operating since May 2000. It has now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ems-Chemie and
continues under the new name of Ems-Chemie (Japan).
Expansion in PI for stock shapes July 10, 2005
Growing demand for polyimide engineered shapes has led DuPont to increase production of Vespel in Circleville, Ohio, USA by 50 per cent from October.
Dow completes Korean epoxy takeover July 10, 2005
Dow Chemical has bought the remaining 20 per cent it didn't own of Pacific Epoxy Co of Korea from Saehan Industries. The company makes 30,000 tonnes annually of converted epoxy resin - brominated, solid, and solid-solution epoxy - for use in protective coatings, electronics and specialties. Dow bought 80 per cent of the company in 2001.
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Production of Rhenogran materials in China is to be increased with an investment of Eur 2·8 million in a new production facility for polymer-bound chemicals as part of a joint venture in the Eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao. The move doubles the company's production capacity for Rhenogran in China. Construction should be complete in the first quarter of 2006 and production will start on an annual 4,800 tonnes of polymer dispersions for the Asian market.