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Mannesmann Plastics Machinery has been bought by a management buy-out group under the wing of Madison Capital Partners in the USA. MPM is the world's largest grouping of plastics and rubber processing machinery companies, incorporating Demag Plastics Group, Krauss-Maffei, Berstorff, and Netstal. Until October last year it also included French injection machine manufacturerer Billion.
The group was put together six years ago in the run-up to the takeover of Mannesmann by Vodaphone and put up for sale later that year. An abortive sale to financial group Apax Partners in 2001 was followed by its eventual purchase by New York/London based investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in mid-2002.
The group was administered by a holding company called Demag Holding in Luxembourg, owned 81 per cent by KKR with the rest owned by Siemens. Now Demag Holding has agreed to sell the group to management and strategic investors represented by Madison Capital Partners. The sale and purchase agreement was signed on May 26. The purchase price is not being disclosed - the group's sales in its last full year were Eur 1·3 billion. The deal is expected to close within 45 days.
Madison Capital Partners has had skirmishes and successes in the plastics machinery sector before. It is the company which bought and sold some of the John Brown plastics machinery businesses in 1998 and famously failed in 1999 to buy the Battenfeld injection moulding machinery business. In fact the company has now had discussions with five injection moulding machine manufacturers since 1994, and in each case 'was not satisfied with the depth and breadth of people, technology and products' until now. In 2000 it bought the Dynisco businesses with the exception of the hot runners division, but it added that to the collection in 2003 when it bought the by-then Synventive company - both Dynisco and Synventive now having been sold.
MPM has always resisted any pressure to amalgamate its injection moulding machinery businesses and operates a policy of allowing them to compete openly with each other. Madison says it supports this multi-brand strategy.
Smithers makes changes at Rapra while creditors count the pennies May 31, 2006
Andrew Ward, the chief executive of Rapra Technology who controversially put the company into administration in March leading to its sale to Smithers Group of the USA, left the company today and will work from home for the next couple of months. A new caretaker chief executive is looking for a replacement. He is Hugh Pace, who worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co for 30 years, the last six of them as president of the Asia-Pacific region. A spokesman for Smithers Group was unable to comment but said the company was preparing a statement for release in the next couple of days - although could not say to what the statement referred.
Andrew Ward, and the rest of the original senior management team, were retained by Smithers to run its new company Smithers Rapra, which is trading as Rapra Technology. The former Rapra Technology has been renamed RAP Realisations Ltd and is moving into voluntary liquidation.
The £2·55 million paid by Smithers is unlikely to spread very far among creditors, with a conjectured 16 p in the pound and a possible interim payment of 5 - 6 p. Like everything else in the collapse of this 87 years old research company, it hinges on the deficit in the pension fund which, despite all that has occurred in the past couple of months, still remains an unknown.
A figure put on the deficit is £10 million, but the administrator said at the creditors' meeting that he had seen no documentation concerning the deficit and that the conjectured figure had not been 'agreed or quantified'. It was the reported size of this liability to the pension fund that was deemed to have caused Rapra Technology to be trading insolvently, and so triggered the application for administration which at a first stroke led to the loss of 21 of 139 jobs at Shawbury.
The recent history of Rapra (it dates back to October 1919 when it was set up as the Rubber and Plastics Research Association of Great Britain) is dominated by the management buy-out in 2002. Rapra Technology Ltd, which it became in 1985, sold the major parts of the business and its assets to a management team via a holding company called Ultraskill. Rapra Technology Ltd was renamed Rapra Ltd, and a company structure called Adaptive Sciences Ltd became the new Rapra Technology Ltd. Crucial to this deal was that responsibility for the Rapra Pension Fund was also transferred to the new company.
According to former technical director David Wright an estimation was made of the pension liability at the time of the MBO which showed a deficit of around £1 million, so Rapra Ltd injected that amount to nullify the deficit. However, when in the following year the fund was valued thoroughly, it was found to be around £5 million in deficit. The pension scheme was closed and action was taken to close the gap by pledging £350,000 a year for the next 15 years or so. But the deficit continued to grow. The next valuation of the fund has yet to be completed - hence the inability to value it as a creditor for the purposes of liquidation - but the anticipation of the deficit was sufficient to signal to Rapra Technology that it was time for drastic action: financial administration.
Smithers appears to have got a very good deal. The book value of the tangible assets is put at £1·33 million and it also bought the outstanding debts, pricing Rapra's 87 years of reputation, goodwill and intellectual property at only around £1 million.
The collapse of Rapra Technology has brought much acrimony from some present and former employees, most of it directed at the original management buy-out team. There have also been raised eyebrows over Rapra Ltd writing off the loan that it made to the buy-out team in 2004, and then resurrecting it as a secured claim in liquidation. And the way in which the company was advertised and sold brought criticism of the administrator - as did his firm's £150,000 charges.
Geleen SMA plant to restart in new hands May 31, 2006
Production of styrene maleic anhydride is to be resumed at DSM's Geleen site in the Netherlands - although not by DSM. The site is now the 'materials valley' Chemelot site housing several chemicals companies - including DSM and SABIC Europe - and the SMA plant is to be started up by a new company. Polyscope Polymers was set up earlier this year by automotive plastics industry veterans Michael Downs and Josef-Michael Eder along with a number of other investors.
Polyscope has two target markets - automotive and paper additives. SMA co-polymers are increasingly being used by companies including VW/Audi, Opel and Ford for automotive interior components such as instrument panels on account of their high temperature stability, dimensional stability and adhesion necessary to attach a soft, foamed skin. As a component in paper-sizing SMA helps to achieve smooth paper finishes and gives better printability with less ink 'bleeding'.
Production is expected to start later this year.
PEEK to compete with fluoropolymer coatings May 31, 2006
Another new material based on PEEK has been introduced by Victrex. Only a few days ago the company announced a tie-up which enabled it to alloy Victrex PEEK with polybenzimidazole to increase its stiffness, wear resistance, hardness and temperature performance.
Now it has introduced a coating material called Vicote to compete with fluoropolymers in applications such as automotive and industrial components, consumer cookware, and food processing equipment. Vicote coatings are resistant to chemicals such as salts, water/steam, alkalis, acids, and aromatic hydrocarbons and are dishwasher safe and FDA food contact approved. Victrex says test have shown Vicote to have the potential to extend the life of applications by between 50 and 200 per cent because of its scratch, wear, heat, and chemical resistance properties.
Vicote can be applied without a primer, in thin coatings, keeping down system cost. There are two types. The 700 Series is a range of powders for electrostatic coating and the 800 Series are dispersions for use where thinner coatings are required or where difficult geometries must be coated. A pure PEEK-based dispersion is also available.
Victrex has established a new coating facility at its UK headquarters with annual production capacity of around 100 tonnes.
Nordenia doubles investment budget May 31, 2006
Film manufacturer and converter Nordenia International is planning to invest Eur 30·3 million worldwide this year - double last year's budget - as part of a growth plan devised with its new major shareholder Oaktree Capital Management of the USA. Eur 15·5 million will be spent on expanding capacity at the Gronau site in Germany. Other investment targets are in the USA (Eur 4·5 million); Spain (Eur 4·1 million); Hungary, Poland, and Russia (a total of Eur 3 6 million); and a further Eur 1·4 million at Halle and Osterburken in Germany.
The target will be to increase capacity for hygiene products, where the company sees above-average growth potential.
The group has more than 3,000 employees worldwide, and increased its sales 18·1 per cent to Eur 462 million in 2005.
Honda puts plant-based polymers into automotive fabrics May 29, 2006
Japanese electronics and automotive companies have in recent years made significant strides in developing bio-sourced polymers as alternatives to oil-based plastics for components in their products. Most of the work has been done in rigid components, but now Honda Motor Co has taken the process into fibres for interior textiles.
The company has developed bio-fabric, a plant-based fabric with durability and resistance to sunlight enabling its use as a surface material in car interiors. Until now plant-based fabrics have not been used commercially for car interiors because of concerns about limited durability and aesthetic issues. Honda says its new material overcomes these issues, achieving a soft and smooth surface with high durability and excellent resistance to sunlight to prevent colour fading after prolonged use. In addition to seat surfaces, the fabric can be used on door trims, roof liners and for carpets, and Honda will start to use it in its fuel cell vehicle due to be introduced within the next three years.
The material is a polyester - polypropylene terephthalate - produced through polymerization of 1-3PDO (propanediol) produced from corn, and terephthalic acid, a petroleum-based component. Honda expects to reduce energy used during the production process by 10 to 15 per cent compared to the production of petroleum-based polyester materials and to reduce CO2 emissions per vehicle by 5 kg. The new bio-fabric does not require changes in existing fabric production processes, and is suitable for mass production.
PBI pushes up PEEK performance May 29, 2006
An even higher level of performance for PEEK is being achieved through a new co-operative venture between Victrex of Thornton Cleveleys and US company PBI Performance Products. The two have struck a deal to develop compounds of Victrex PEEK and PBI's Celazole polybenzimidazole which are initially being commercialised as the Victrex T-Series.
The technology was developed by PBI and increases the stiffness, wear resistance, hardness and temperature performance of PEEK, giving it new application potential.
PBI is the world's only producer of polybenzimidazole which is used in moulded shapes and parts for semi-conductor and industrial applications; films for proton exchange membrane fuel cells; and fibres for fire protection clothing.
Films associations to merge May 29, 2006
Two trade associations in the plastics film business are to merge. The Flexible Packaging Association and The Packaging and Industrial Films Association used to represent businesses operating in different parts of the flexible and rigid packaging market, but mergers and acquisitions resulting from the globalisation of the industry have brought common needs and interests. By becoming a single organisation they will represent companies with more than 80 per cent of the flexible and rigid packaging and industrial films market and having a combined turnover of £2 billion.
The new association expects to offer increased breadth of service and support through a single focal point, more representational power when negotiating with government and throughout the supply chain, and to eliminate duplication for its members when attending industry discussions and meetings.
Ineos contemplates Chinese expansion May 29, 2006
Ineos is exploring its options for manufacturing in China. Despite its extensive manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America, the world's third largest chemical company has a relatively undeveloped base in Asia. The board visited China a couple of weeks ago to meet Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan and is now planning to review potential for investing in upstream refining and petrochemical activities in the country.
ColorMatrix bought by investment company May 29, 2006
Liquid colorant and additive concentrate manufacturer ColorMatrix has been bought by American investment company Audax Group of Boston and New York. ColorMatrix is based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA and has operations in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. It reckons to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid colour and additive concentrates for thermoplastic products, with emphasis on beverage bottles and vinyl siding and pipe.
Competition from landfill hits PVC recycling - but but not hard enough to stunt its growth May 29, 2006
Recycling of PVC in Europe is being hampered by competition from landfill sites, still open because of the slow implementation of the European Landfill Directive. Despite this, recycling of PVC in Europe more than doubled from 2004 to 2005, reaching 38,800 tonnes from 18,400 tonnes in the previous year.
Recycling is just one of the goals of Vinyl 2010, now in its sixth year of promoting sustainable PVC waste management. Other aims include the reduction of lead in stabilisation systems in PVC - which is ahead of target in reducing sales of lead stabilisers by 20 per cent since 2000.
Vinyl 2010 reports that 'research showed the implementation of the Landfill Directive in Germany led to a significant increase in the amount of PVC recycled' while Stigsnaes, the Danish high-tech recycling plant due to start in Summer 2005, decided not to accept PVC waste due in part to technical difficulties, but also because it could not compete financially with cheaper options such as landfill. Stigsnaes had originally planned to recycle 50,000 tonnes of PVC waste per year.
Despite the growth in recycling Vinyl 2010 comments that the quantities of PVC available for collection are substantially lower than estimated at the start of the programme in 2000 because of the longer-than-expected life cycle of PVC products and the direct re-use of certain applications such as 'end-of-life' PVC window profiles. There were also financial incentives in the waste market to export waste outside Europe to be recycled.
Ryan heads Dugdale PVC compound development May 29, 2006
Jeff Ryan, previously technical manager - materials at Eurocell Profiles, has joined PVC compound and dry blend manufacturer Dugdale as technical director as part of the company's strategy of developing and manufacturing tailored, high performance PVC compounds. His role will be to take overall control of the existing technical department and lead the development of new materials and the processes required to manufacture them.
Brown PVC profiles get a reprieve May 29, 2006
Building profile manufacturer Celuform of Kent has been able to continue its popular Expresso Brown coloured roofline and cladding profiles through an exclusive deal with DuPont. The Expresso Brown series is coated with a brown PVF heat-reflective film making it, according to Celuform, 'the only solid brown foiled product available for the UK building market'. The film was developed for an aerospace application, but this application is no more, and Celuform had been unable to continue production of Expresso Brown profiles. DuPont has now recognised the strength of demand and will continue to produce the film exclusively for Celuform.
RTP extends long fibre capabilities May 29, 2006
US-based engineering materials compounder RTP Company has added new capacity to make long fibre compounds. It has also expanded its product range. The investment includes a new plant near its headquarters in Winona, Minnesota, with several long fibre lines, and the addition of long fibre lines to several of its plants worldwide.
The product enhancement expands long fibre compounds beyond polypropylene and nylon to include compounds based on PBT, PPA and PEEK. The systems have been broadened to add flame retardant, wear resistant, and conductive capabilities.
High glass loading concentrates were introduced last year, and these have been extended to include stainless steel fibres in a number of polymer bases.
TPE producer changes agency May 29, 2006
Turkish thermoplastic elastomer producer and engineering plastics compounder Enplast has switched UK representation from Polymers Direct to Ultrapolymers.
More Chemtura additives from Brenntag May 29, 2006
Brenntag (UK) is adding the Great Lakes Polymer Stabilisers from Chemtura to the other plastics additives it sells from the company. From July Brenntag will be selling Lowilite UV absorbers and HALS light stabilisers, Lowinox antioxidants and metal deactivators, Anox and Alkanox antioxidants and Clearlite nucleating agents and clarifiers.
Zhafir to build electric moulding machines in Germany to sell to China May 22, 2006
The new German-based, Chinese-funded electric injection machine manufacturer Zhafir Plastics Machinery, whose founding we reported exclusively a week ago, set out its strategy in a meeting in Frankfurt today. It is planning to build high-end all-electric machines in Germany and export them to China. And while this sounds a bizarre coals-to-Newcastle concept, it is based on some deep thinking about the culture difference between East and West.
According to Professor Helmar Franz, who is managing director of Zhafir and a main board director of Ningbo Haitian Group in China, Chinese consumers and the companies supplying them are inclined to buy cheap and replace quickly, benefiting from the latest in technology. This contrasts with the higher prices paid in the West for longevity. On the other hand, they do expect quality, which is achieved within the price they are prepared to pay by offering no options. All the 'optional extras' are included as standard, and the volume and simpler build by not building 'specials' keep the cost down.
Ningbo Haitian built 14,000 injection moulding machines in 2005 making it the world's biggest producer by numbers. Its revenue was $490 million. Contrast that with Engel of Austria, which reckons to be the biggest single brand producer by revenue. In its last financial year it sold 2,725 machines and turned over Eur 545·9 million. Which says a lot about Haitian's prices - or Engel's.
Ningbo Haitian has around 25 per cent of the Asian market for injection moulding machines - including Japan - and is attempting become market leader in the whole of Asia. The company classifies the Chinese market as 45 per cent low technology, 35 per cent medium technology and 20 per cent high technology. By 2010 it expects the low technology sector to shrink to 25 per cent of the market, medium technology to represent a little more at 40 per cent, and for the high technology moulding sector to increase to 35 per cent of the market. At present it targets its machines at the low to medium technology sector which it is predicting to shrink in relative terms, so a vehicle is needed to get it into high technology moulding. This is where Zhafir comes in.
Customers for high technology machines may need convincing that Ningbo Haitian is the right company to produce them while Haitian is also concerned that the reverse may be true - that its existing customers may become uneasy that it is moving away from its traditional mass market.
So instead of adding a high tech electric series to the Ningbo Haitian range, Zafir has been born as a separate legal entity, founded by Professor Franz, Ningo Haitian chief executive Jianming Zhang, and 'other investors'. Ningbo Haitian is itself not without an all-electric machine. The company introduced the HTD series from 56 to 360 tonnes at Chinaplas earlier this year as it filled the gap left by the dissolution of its association with Demag. This is, however, being regarded as strictly a work horse machine, so remains targeted at the middle market. The Zhafir series up to 500 tonnes will be the 'race horse'.
But why build the machines in Germany, the place other German manufacturers have told us is too expensive as a machine building base for so many years? The answer is that it - or at least it and the rest of Europe - is still a machine-building base. It has the engineering service companies with the competence to develop injection moulding machines further, and major suppliers of drives, controls and other crucial systems have their development bases there. And perhaps most important, the potential customers for these machines have their development bases in Europe. Regardless of whether a plastics product is likely eventually to be produced in China or elsewhere in Asia, the development is most likely to be done in Europe. As Professor Franz said: 'If we meet them in Asia, we are already two years too late'.
Zhafir is still embryonic. It has just begun building its headquarters at Ebermannsdorf, and is currently recruiting engineers. A second phase of building will add a machine production area. The final machine specification is planned to be announced at the K2007 exhibition, and the machine itself is expected to go into production in January 2008, making its debut at Chinaplas in the spring. Zhafir's investment up to the start of manufacture will be 'not less than Eur 10 million'.
When production starts the machines will be assembled in Germany from out-sourced sub-assemblies. Zhafir expects to buy basic components such as the frames from Eastern Europe, to bring in more complex components such as screws and barrels and toggles from China, and to source the high value-added components such as drives and controls from Western Europe. In keeping with the 'all options as standard' philosophy there will be no flexibility on the machine specification.
Helmar Frantz is not committing himself on production volumes. The anticipated growth in demand in Asia over the next four years is substantial, and Europe is not being overlooked. While European interest in electric machines still lags way behind the rest of the major machinery markets, it is growing nonetheless. Zhafir expects to sell in Europe, although its primary interest is not so much European market share in electric machines as increasing machine turnover to give it the buying power for components that it needs for its 'high spec for the price of a standard product' philosophy.
Ningbo Haitian has recently raised its game in Europe by setting up a European support centre at Brescia in Italy offering 24 hours spares delivery and the ability to customise Haitian's standard machines. It has taken on two more former Demag managers (Professor Franz was chairman of Demag Plastics Technology until March last year): Eric Taveau, former managing director of Demag Plastics Group Italia, joined at the beginning of this month with responsibility for Haitian Europe's marketing while chief financial officer Uwe Bär was formerly chief financial officer of Demag Haitian Plastics Machinery.
Haitian sells through agents throughout Europe, and last year sold 1,100 machines. They were sold primarily in three areas - 650 in Turkey, 140 in Russia and the former Soviet Republics, and 120 in Poland - although Haitian says that last year its machines were installed in all European countries, even those without an active Haitian marketing structure. This was enough to give it a claim to 10 per cent of the European market and it has a target of increasing this to 15 per cent by 2010. To do this it anticipates increasing its agency network further. This agency network will be able to sell Zhafir machines - 'providing they qualify to do so'.
French government supports energy price stabilisation and biodevelopment moves May 21, 2006
Two initiatives in France in the fields of energy and biodevelopment have long term implications for plastics.
Exeltium is a group of high energy users set up with the support of the French government to bulk buy and stabilise electricity costs. It follows legislative moves last year designed to help power-intensive companies access competitive electricity prices over the long term, based on production costs. Three plastics-producing companies - Arkema, Rhodia and Solvay - are among the seven founder members. Two of them, Arkema and Solvay, have joined to support their chlorochemicals activities, which include the production of PVC.
The declared aim of Exeltium is to create an electricity supply mechanism based on the acquisition of drawing rights with a duration of at least 15 years, which would reserve a stable energy supply for them, at prices linked to the most competitive production costs. The mechanism is expected to be in operation by the end of the year. It is open to other industrial groups, within the limits of criteria set by the French authorities. Among other conditions, electricity must be a substantial element in their creation of value and their consumption must be steady. Some 50 companies in France are reckoned to be eligible, in addition to the seven founding members.
The new biodevelopment initiative is BioHub, a seven-year programme intended to make use of agricultural resources through green chemistry, and one of six programmes announced at the end of April by President Chirac as having been selected by France's Agency for Industrial Innovation.
BioHub aims at developing new avenues for producing chemical products from renewable agricultural sources to help limit the use of fossil fuels and reduce the production of greenhouse gases. It has a Eur 98 million budget (Eur 43 million from the Agency for Industrial Innovation itself).
Blow moulding machinery producer Sidel will be getting involved to develop innovative plastic food packaging with the ultimate goal of developing new bio-materials in partnership with Roquette Frères, Tergal Fibres and the Laboratoire de Matériaux Macromoléculaires at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Lyon.
Roquette Frères, is the world's fourth largest producer of starch and a specialist in processing wheat and corn for industrial uses. The BioHub project calls for the construction of a bio-refinery able to process 1·3 million tonnes of cereal annually into different bio-products. These include monomers and polymers for specialty and commodities markets.
Cold comfort from Energy Minister as associations seek support for industry May 21, 2006
A meeting this week between the British Plastics Federation, British Coatings Federation, British Rubber and Polyurethane Products Association and Packaging and Industrial Films Association and Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks brought little comfort for British plastics processors. While the Minister gave assurances that he and the EU Commissioners were pushing hard to liberalise the European energy markets, he could not give the same assurances that new infrastructure to bring gas in from Norway and Qatar would bring significant price reductions. The result, according to the BPF, is that this year 'will be a tight winter for gas supplies' and representatives at the meeting expressed concerns that the uncertainty surrounding supplies and the associated speculation will exacerbate energy cost pressures on industry even further.
MuCell injection adds soft skin to car dashboards May 21, 2006
A new slant on car interior soft-touch components has been taken by a European consortium in the Dolphin process, demonstrated at Engel's St Valentin plant in Austria this past week. Applying a soft touch surface to a rigid component generally involves lamination of two separately-moulded components, the rigid substrate and the flexible skin. This is costly in terms of time, and the risk of reject products. An alternative process adding a reaction injection unit to the thermoplastic moulding machine to overmould a flexible PU skin was shown at K2004 by Krauss-Maffei, and more recently the concept has been adopted by Bayer.
The new Dolphin process does not use polyurethane, but instead adds a surface skin of a copolyester foamed by injecting carbon dioxide in a supercritical state - the MuCell process. It is also being aimed at larger components than have been demonstrated by K-M or Bayer. The sample component moulded by Engel was a car dashboard - well, half a car dashboard to show the concept - and intended applications also include centre consoles and glove compartments.
Engel's partners in Dolphin are BASF and P-Group as material suppliers and mould maker Georg Kaufmann Formenbau. The demonstration component is moulded initially in a glass fibre reinforced PBT/ASA blend (BASF Ultradur S4090 IGX) and then overmoulded in the second stage with P-Group's Pibiflex COPE foamed with MuCell. The close chemical affinity between the two materials creates a chemical bond.
The Engel machine used for the trials is a 1,500 tonne DUO 11050/4550/1500 Combi M. This model has also been used in the Glazemelt process to mould vehicle glazing with a seal around the polycarbonate panel, and is distinguished by having its second injection unit mounted behind the moving platen where the injector would normally go, horizontally opposed to the main injection unit. The mould core rotates between them and the two cavity plates on a horizontal turntable.
Engel claims a couple of benefits to counter the demerit of increasing machine length with the second injection unit installed in this way: it reduces the complexity caused by a concentration of several injection units in one confined space; and the melt can be injected straight into the second cavity taking the shortest possible route as it no longer has to pass through a bypass hot runner system in the central block of a conventional stack mould.
The two-platen layout of the DUO machine enables the mould to be opened a few millimetres for venting to enable the Mucell component to expand. Another function of the DUO machine called into play here is the monitoring of stress on each tie bar. It is possible for uneven foaming to occur which could cause an irregular or asymmetrical distribution of forces in the cavity leading to misalignment of the platens. In extreme cases this could damage the mould and/or the machine. The DUO control has a platen parallelism feedback system with which deviations from parallelism are corrected by adjusting the locking force on each of the four tie bars.
The Dolphin cell demonstrated by Engel was fitted with two Kuka Jet six axis robots mounted on a rail at the back of the machine, increasing the working radius for handling operations. One robot services the cavity for the rigid component. In the demonstration the robot simply removed the sprue, but in production it could also be used for other tasks, such as placing inserts - in production the gating system would be equipped with a needle valve nozzle. The second robot, at the other end of the mould space, removed the finished part from the second cavity, separating the sprue and depositing the dashboard panel on to the conveyor belt.
Cost-cutting is working for Lanxess May 21, 2006
The continuing restructuring at Lanxess is paying dividends according to the company's results for the first quarter. The restructuring measures in the Technical Rubber Products business unit and production optimization in the Polybutadiene Rubber business unit gave the Performance Rubber segment the greatest growth in the company year on year, with sales up by 11·7 per cent to Eur 438 million and pre-tax profits up 26·8 per cent at Eur 71 million from a margin improved by 1·9 per cent to 16·2 per cent.
Sales in the Engineering Plastics segment rose by 10·1 per cent to Eur 456 million, with the Styrenic Resins and Semi-Crystalline Products business units posting significant volume growth. Profits were down by 37·1 per cent to Eur 22 million, however, because of comparisons with the very good quarter for the Semi-Crystalline Products business unit last year and the poor performance of the Fibers business unit - which has now been sold. Restructuring of the Styrenic Resins business unit also brought improvements. However, the Engineering Plastics segment continues to generate the smallest contribution to earnings in the Lanxess Group, both in relative and absolute terms.
Another sales outlet for Cannon May 21, 2006
Another company has taken on sales of Cannon polyurethane equipment. Cannon Solutions (UK) has appointed CTM of Barnsley as a representative within the UK.
Dow delays PS plant re-start because of poor profitability levels May 21, 2006
Dow Chemical has extended the maintenance shut-down of its 125,000 tonnes polystyrene plant in Joliet, Illinois, USA, because of the poor market conditions for polystyrene. The plant was shut on May 1 and will now not re-open until at least June 1 - 'or as business conditions warrant'.
The company says that 'continued increases in the costs of raw materials for all polystyrene resin grades have exacerbated a business condition that simply is not supporting acceptable margins.'
Fujitsu toughens up biopolymer compound May 21, 2006
Following the recent announcement by Mazda of a higher impact and temperature resistant PLA-based polymer, Fujitsu has also increased the performance of a biopolymer-based alloy, which it has used for a prototype mobile phone chassis. The new material retains the heat resistance and mouldability of its forerunner, while improving impact resistance by half.
Fujitsu and Fujitsu Laboratories have worked with Toray Industries to develop the new material by further refining the microstructure and improving the alloying ability of polylactic acid with polycarbonate.
The new prototype mobile phone chassis is moulded entirely from the new material and Fujitsu plans to use it in future mobile phone models.
Battenfeld invests in another extruder company May 21, 2006
Battenfeld has invested in another extrusion equipment manufacturer in an emerging economy. A few weeks ago Battenfeld bought out its Chinese partner in Battenfeld Chen Extrusion Systems. Now it has bought a stake in its Indian extruder licensee.
Between them Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik and its American subsidiary American Maplan have bought 14 per cent of Kabra Extrusionstechnik, the largest manufacturer of extrusion equipment on the Indian sub-continent. Kabra has built extruders under Battenfeld license for a considerable time.
Heavy duty granulators from Bulgaria May 21, 2006
Total Plastics Machinery - the company set up by Don Cooper following the closure of Trendpam - has become UK agent for a granulator range from Bulgaria. The Desislava 20 company builds the Kompass range using American design technology, to European CE marked quality standards, but at 'Bulgarian low prices'. The company specialises in large machines, and in addition to its standard range will design and build to special order.
TPM works alongside UPM Machinery Sales in upstream PET processing plant, and is now offering the Kompass 500/800 granulator for PET film up to 0·9 mm, fitted with a 55 kW motor, 1·5 kW hydraulic unit, and a 17 kW fan for blowing the regrind into bags or bins. Outside film reclaim, the Kompass range can handle materials ranging from tyres to glass-filled thermoplastics.
Quality Additives expands with Foscolor takeover May 21, 2006
Quality Additives, which was split up last year on the retirement of its owner Arthur Davis, has bought the Foscolor masterbatch business. The masterbatch operations of Quality Additives were bought by Kevin Sheridan, who owns Dell Polymers, and Nigel Tyrrell and its equipment moved to Dell's site in County Longford in the Republic of Ireland and augmented by a new twin screw and a twin screw laboratory extruder. Now the company has bought Foscolor's manufacturing equipment, masterbatch technology and customer base.
Injection machine majors hold out against the downward trend May 21, 2006
Both Krauss-Maffei and Engel have reported encouraging sales of injection moulding machines against a falling trend. Engel's sales for its financial year ending March 31 actually fell by 6·9 per cent to Eur 545·9 million compared with 2004-05, but given a general decline in the market of 10 per cent, Engel rationalises that its market share increased. Krauss-Maffei, reporting on its half year to the same date, increased sales by 1·2 per cent to Eur 197·9 million.
Both companies credited sales of larger sized machines for much of their business, Engel Austria's president Georg Tinschert commenting: 'Above all it was the demand for small and medium-sized machines that declined. A particularly clear example of the weakening situation in the market for these sizes of machine in Europe is the telecommunications industry. A drastic shift in the market has taken place within only a few years: today, this industry is now shifting its production more and more to Asia; Europe is no longer the dominant market.'
Alongside its growth in injection moulding machine sales, K-M also saw growth in extrusion and reaction processing equipment. Extrusion system orders leaped 50 per cent to Eur 59·3 million, while reaction processing equipment orders rose a more modest 6·1 per cent to Eur 48·5 million. Engel is planning to invest Eur 45 million this year and the same amount next year primarily in development and customer support. Eur 25 million of this will be spent on a new technology centre at Schwertberg in Austria, while the company will also open a sales support centre in Warsaw, Poland.
More funding for tyre recycling projects May 21, 2006
Further assistance in finding methods of disposing of scrap tyres is promised by the Waste & Resources Action Programme WRAP. A new capital support programme aims to create a new reprocessing infrastructure for used tyres, providing financial support towards the costs of plant, equipment and infrastructure for projects to increase recycling of used tyres into value added markets, including re-treading facilities.
In particular, the programme is looking for proposals that will also benefit construction and manufacturing, either from the supply of the raw materials created from tyre rubber processing, or from the manufacturing of finished products incorporating recycled rubber.
One recent project to benefit from WRAP funding to recycle tyres is a system of interlocking panels to lay a road on the bed of a railway track, creating a combination of vehicle roadway and light railway/tramway. The HoldFast Rubber Highway developed by HoldFast Level Crossings consists of panels containing bound rubber crumb with a patented connection system. A trial 300 m installation is being laid at the site of a car distribution centre in Corby, taking just five days to install. The HoldFast Rubber Highway is estimated to cost around £1·4 million per mile, compared with £20 million per mile to build a new road. It has the potential to absorb 354,000 tyres per mile.
New TDI process will cut costs and save energy May 21, 2006
A new way of producing toluene diisocyanate developed by Bayer MaterialScience could cut the cost of building a TDI plant by 10 - 20 per cent, and reduce the plant's energy consumption by a third. A 30,000 tonnes pilot plant has been in operation in the Bayer Chemical Park in Dormagen, Germany, for more than a year and the technology is scheduled to be used for the first time on a world scale at the Caojing site near Shanghai in China, where the company plans to build a 160,000 tonnes TDI plant by the end of 2009. It is also likely to be used in any new TDI plant in Europe.
Research centre to promote aerospace composites May 21, 2006
A centre for research into the use of composites in light weight aerospace structures has been opened in Manchester. The £2·1 million Northwest Composite Centre is funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency through the Northwest Science Fund, which is managed by the Northwest Science Council and is a joint collaboration between the universities of Manchester, Bolton, Lancaster and Liverpool. It aims to find more cost-effective methods of processing composites structures to make them more attractive to aircraft builders.
Resin Express adds Borealis automotive PPs May 21, 2006
Resin Express has joined Ashland as a distributor of Borealis polypropylenes for the automotive sector, including Daplen and Borcom. The move is focused on reaching Resin Express's small and medium-sized customers across Europe.
British-built formers to make Indian bathroom fittings May 21, 2006
Two British-built thermoforming machines have been shipped to India as part of a £120,000 order for Ridat of London. The two 7248 AVF machines have gone to Micron Maschinen & Agrotech in West Bengal to make bathroom sanitary ware. The 7248 AVF is designed for the continuous production of large heavy-duty formed components such as bath panels, suitcase shells, refrigerator inner linings, and car and caravan parts, and can handle sheet up to 12 mm thick.
BPF and PMMDA combine to support small processors May 12, 2006
Last year the Polymer Machinery Manufacturers and Distributors Association and the British Plastics Federation fell out over a plan by the PMMDA to offer a form of membership to polymer processing companies 'who believe themselves to be too small or too busy to bother with membership of an organisation'. The BPF saw this as poaching in its own traditional membership pond and threatened to sever links between the two bodies and with companies who joined the PMMDA under this scheme, adding 'there is absolutely no question of processors who join the PMMDA receiving any membership benefits sourced from the BPF'.
Now the two organisations have patched up their differences and have put together a small processor package operated by the BPF and supported by the PMMDA. The target membership of the Small Processor Group will be processing companies with a turnover of less than £1 million, with the services offered and subscription levels set to reflect this. The BPF will be offering a range of services and representation in line with support functions for all UK processors, while the PMMDA will provide information and support on issues such as machinery, health and safety, and energy efficiency, and will also offer updates of an informal nature on machinery-related issues.
Chinese injection machine giant to build electric machines in Germany May 12, 2006
Chinese injection moulding machine manufacturer Ningbo Haitian Group has set up a German operation which has started developing a series of German-built all-electric machines. Zhafir Plastics Machinery in Schwäbisch Gmünd is part of Haitian's strategy to take its market-leading position in China worldwide - although with a production rate of 14,000 machines a year it thinks it already is the world's biggest. By far the bulk of its machine sales are in China - the group claims 60 per cent of the Chinese market for large machines and 15 per cent of the market for small machines - and Haitian is now aiming to expand into other markets, and in particular into other Asian countries. It already sells machines in 70 countries and has assembly plants in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy and Turkey. In the UK it sells machines through Premier Moulding Machinery in Aylesbury.
Haitian introduced its HDT series of all-electric machines at the Chinaplas exhibition in April. The group has the background for all-electric machine production, being also a manufacturer of CNC tooling machines and electric motors.
Until the end of last year Haitian operated a joint venture with Demag - Demag Haitian Plastics Machinery. But this was dissolved effective January 1 with Demag buying out Haitian and setting the company up as a wholly-owned Demag company building and selling machines in China.
Executive vice president of Haitian - and managing director of the new Zhafir Plastics Machinery - is Professor Helmar Franz, who until March last year was chairman of Demag Plastics Machinery in Germany.
Basell in new Saudi JV May 12, 2006
Basell is to take part in a joint venture integrated ethylene and polyethylene complex at Al-Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia. Its partner will be Tasnee & Sahara Olefins Company, a new company owned mainly by Tasnee Petrochemicals and Sahara Petrochemical Company. Basell is involved in another joint venture with Sahara Petrochemical, Saudi Polyolefins Company, which has a 450,000 tonnes polypropylene plant in Saudi Arabia.
The new joint venture, in which Basell will have a 25 per cent stake, will include a gas cracker and two 400,000 tonnes polyethylene plants, one making HDPE using Basell's Hostalen process, and the other making LDPE with Lupotech T. Start up is scheduled for 2008, when the two plants will become the largest Hostalen and Lupotech T process plants in the world.
Bioplastic has potential for car panels, says Mazda May 12, 2006
An alloy of a bio-sourced plastic and petrochemical technology developed by car maker Mazda in Japan is being used for vehicle interior parts on display at the Japan Society of Automotive Engineering Annual Congress later this month, and could also be used for exterior parts, says the company.
The material is a polylactic acid which has been modified by a newly developed crystallising agent and compatibiliser, raising the strength of the material to a level Mazda says is three times the shock resistance and 25 per cent higher heat resistance than bioplastics being used for electrical appliances. Mazda says the material is 88 per cent corn and 12 per cent petroleum, making it carbon neutral. It is 30 per cent less energy-consuming to make than polypropylene.
Mazda reckons the material is stiff enough to replace current polypropylene components at a thinner wall section. It says it will continue its research and development in this area for the next few years, with any new advances being employed in Mazda products.
Mazda was joined in the research by Nishikawa Rubber and Hiroshima and Kinki Universities - who between them developed the nucleating agent and compatibiliser. Others in the 11-strong consortium included academic bodies, government agencies and industrial companies.
PE scrap made easier to recycle May 12, 2006
A new compatibiliser developed by DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers for reclaiming polyethylene is reckoned to provide a number of improvements over other grafted monomer compatibilisers, making polyethylene easier to recycle.
The new Fusabond E EC-603D has a wider tolerance of contaminants such as EVOH, moisture and zinc stearate lubricants, giving manufacturers easier access to a constant recycle supply, while also reducing costs by being able to accept a higher mix in recycle streams, which are less expensive than those with cleaner reclaim.
Other benefits are improved impact strength of wet blends (700 ppm water) and blends with lubricant. DuPont says the new Fusabond was more effective at 0·5 per cent by weight than traditional grafted modifiers at 1·0 per cent by weight. Fusabond also aids the reduction of die build-up by helping to incorporate polar components into the polymer matrix.
DuPont is currently conducting tests that should prove useful for systems containing glass fibre or nylon. Fusabond E EC-603D is not globally approved for food or medical packaging use. DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers has opened an R & D Laboratory in China at Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai. The facility will support customers throughout the world with research in ethylene copolymer materials. It incorporates an industrial scale nine-layer blown film co-extrusion linecapable of producing film structures with a film lay flat of up to 1·27 m and from 30 to 250 microns in thickness.
United Plastics Group opens second moulding plant in China May 12, 2006
US-based international moulder United Plastics Group, which is active in the medical, consumer, automotive and electronic sectors, has opened a $10 million plant in China. The company already has two plants in China - one moulding, the other producing tooling, as well as five plants in the USA, one in Mexico and one in Mountain Ash in Wales.
The new 115,800 ft² plant at Suzhou in Jiangsu includes clean room and white room areas and was built, says the company, in response to rising Fortune 100 customer demand for China-based, value-added custom manufacturing. It is certified to ISO9002 and TS 16949 and can handle production for the whole range of industries served by the group. UPG plans to run some 60 moulding machines there from 35 to 610 tonnes clamp.
The new plant more than trebles the company's production area in China, and quadruples its capacity. UPG has an 18-machine, 25,000 ft² custom manufacturing facility a few miles away, and its third plant in China is the 32,000 ft² United Tooling Group tooling plant which supplies tooling around the world to UPG, and to other companies.
Brenntag adds Dow polyols and isocyanates May 12, 2006
Brenntag (UK) is to become the UK distributor for Dow Chemical's Isonate, Vornate and Vornanol ranges of polyurethane polyols and isocyanates used in coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers from August 10.
Solvin focuses on big PVC plants making fewer grades May 11, 2006
The joint (75 per cent Solvay) Solvay/BASF PVC producer SolVin has restructured its European production since the closing on January 1 of its VCM and PVC facilities at Ludwigshafen in Germany. It has transferred operations previously carried out in Ludwigshafen to its sites of Martorell in Spain, Jemeppe-sur-Sambre in Belgium and Rheinberg in Germany.
The move has been more than just a transfer of production. SolVin has spent nearly Eur 50 million to increase capacity such that each site has a capacity of more than 300,000 tonnes, with an average 30 per cent higher than the European average size for PVC plants. Larger autoclave units and various process improvements are being installed, with completion scheduled for later this year.
The grade slate is also being adjusted. SolVin has liaised with its customers to produce new grades with enhanced properties able to cover a variety of applications with an overall reduced number of variants.
Solvin's total capacity in France, Germany, Spain and the Benelux countries is 1·3 million tonnes.
MIR names Dassett as UK agent May 10, 2006
Italian plastics and rubber injection machine manufacturer MIR has closed its British office in Reading and appointed Dassett Process Engineering as its UK agent.
MIR was taken over last year in a curious deal under which holding company Ipsa Group is running the company for three years, with an option to buy it at the end of the term.
Automotive PP joint venture to be dissolved May 10, 2006
The ExxonMobil and Mitsubishi joint venture in automotive grade polypropylenes, Mytex, is being dissolved. Mytex, formed in 1987, produces PP compounds for use in instrument panels, bumpers and other components for US and Japanese car makers. The shares held by ExxonMobil in the USA and in Asia are to be transferred to Mitsubishi companies in the USA and in Singapore.
At the same time ExxonMobil is introducing its own line of PP compounds for the automotive sector, which will be available in North America, Europe and Asia.
Ferromatik Milacron to cut staffing and give the remainder more power May 10, 2006
Ferromatik Milacron has given more detail of how it plans to restructure its Malterdingen plant in Germany to reduce costs. Staff were told at a meeting on Monday that the company's American parent Milacron Inc has 'declared its agreement with the safeguarding of the location and unequivocally backs this concept'.
The restructure, agreed with the works council and the IG Metall trades union, will see the loss of 90 jobs. It brings a product-based manufacturing system instead of the factory-based system currently used. This means that instead of overall sales, engineering and production departments, there will be three business units based on the company's three machine series, the Elektra evolution, K-Tec and Maxima. Ferromatik is referring to them as 'internal companies'. The aim is to give employees greater decision-making abilities, and to speed up decision making and response to market situations.
According to managing director Dr Karlheinz Bourdon 'Machine construction in Germany must become more flexible and better attuned to market conditions. New and progressive methods are required, such as business units with self-contained control systems as well as their own responsibility for costs and performance'.
Performance Plastics to represent US thermally conductive plastics producer May 10, 2006
Thermally conductive plastics have been added to the Performance Plastics range of engineering materials with an agreement for the company to represent Cool Polymers of Rhode Island, USA.
The CoolPoly materials typically offer a thermal conductivity from 1 to 20 W/m-K which is up to 100 times greater than normal thermoplastics. Some grades offer thermal conductivity of up to 100 W/m-K, bringing them into the same range as metals like stainless steel, with a conductivity of 15 W/m-K, and some aluminium alloys which range from 50 - 100 W/m-K.
CoolPoly materials are based on a range of commodity and engineering thermoplastics polymers, including PP, ABS, PC, PA, LCP, PPS, PEEK and TPEs. They are supplied in pellet form and can be processed in a similar manner to unfilled materials without the need for special equipment.
As well as enabling heat to pass more evenly throughout a component and so preventing the build up of hot spots, thermally conductive plastics have a processing bonus in reducing cycle time by up to 50 per cent. Their inherently low coefficient of thermal expansion also lowers shrink rates which eases the production of dimensionally critical parts.
CoolPoly materials come in two ranges - the E series which are electrically conductive and suitable for EMI/RFI shielding, and the D series which are electrically insulating, their combination of thermal conductivity and electrical insulation being unique for a melt processable material, according to Performance Plastics.
Biodegradables association becomes more European May 10, 2006
The European association representing biopolymer producers, the International Biodegradable Polymers Association, or IBAW, has renamed itself European Bioplastics, with the aim of a more European approach to its members' interests. Its remit is to represent companies engaged in the manufacture, application or recycling of bioplastic products, which it defines as 'biodegradable polymers that comply with the EN standard 13432 and non-biodegradable polymers that are based on agricultural feedstocks'.
A major aim of the association is to foster increased use of renewable raw materials as a replacement for fossil resources. It says the market development of bioplastic products has been showing high growth rates for several years, and today is benefitting from the price increases in conventional plastics and continuing discussion on fossil resources.
The association almost doubled the number of its members to 60 over the past 18 months. Apart from polymer manufacturers and converters, the association's members also comprise industrial end users such as Danone, Kraft Foods and Nestlé. Agricultural feedstock and recycling companies are also members.
Scrap tyres to be trialled as bridleway surfaces May 10, 2006
With shredded tyres being banned from land fill sites from July, the race is on to find an acceptable, and hopefully profitable, way of disposing of them. The latest venture being investigated by WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Programme, is to use reclaimed tyres as surfacing for bridleways.
WRAP is funding a collaboration between Scott Wilson, Nottinghamshire County Council, Charles Lawrence International, the Countryside Agency and the University of Nottingham, to research reclaimed rubber as an alternative to asphalt. Bridleway surfaces are usually made from traditional unbound materials or left in the natural state, but in many instances asphalt is used as it provides a flat, durable surface. Tyre rubber could be used as an unbound material or as a bound material to provide a shock-absorbing bridleway for equestrians and joggers, while also providing a flat surface for cyclists, wheel chair users and walkers.
The trial will involve tyre rubber being used for Rights of Way foundations, surface dressing and in between conventional materials along a 420 m stretch in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The surfacing will be monitored every three months alongside an 80 metre section that is made of conventional materials to assess its durability. If the trials are successful the application could be extended to footways alongside roads, as part of the 'urban gym'. WRAP has published its next two-year business plan. Since 2001 it says it has has delivered 6 million tonnes extra recycling capacity through its market development work. Now it is looking to eliminate or divert from landfill an additional 3·2 million tonnes of material per year by 2008.
The organisation says it will be concentrating its efforts where large tonnage gains can be made, such as the construction industry which is the UK's single largest user of material resources, or where there are major market or behavioural barriers which can be overcome.
One of WRAP's key objectives is to create a much larger scale of demand for the wide range of recycled materials and products now available. One major project is on the closed loop recycling of HDPE milk bottles, based on technology already developed with WRAP funding, which has demonstrated the potential for a major shift from virgin to recycled material use. WRAP says that this will be the first time this particular technology has been applied on a commercial scale anywhere in the world, and it has the support of a leading dairy, its packaging manufacturer and a major retailer.
New EP sales manager for DuPont May 10, 2006
DuPont Engineering Polymers has a new sales manager in the UK. Myriam Vansteenkiste has been appointed sales manager with responsibility for the Baltics, Ireland, Nordics and the UK, succeeding Craig Oliver, who has become European business manager and global automotive segment manager at Microcircuit Materials, DuPont Electronic Technologies, in Bristol. Mrs Vansteenkiste will be based at DuPont Engineering Polymers' new offices in Stevenage.
PolyOne adds new UK manager May 10, 2006
PolyOne's Polymer Coating Systems operation in Widnes, Cheshire, has appointed Alan Cooke as commercial manager of its UK distribution business.
Chemicals sector insolvencies rise May 6, 2006
The chemicals sector shows the highest level of year-on-year company failures in the manufacturing sector of the insolvency statistics just released by the Department of Trade and Industry, and the high price of energy is being cited as a major factor. After a steady decline in insolvencies since 2002 the number of companies being declared insolvent in England and Wales - there were none in this sector in Scotland - increased from 21 in 2004 to 34 in 2005, a 62 per cent increase. The metals and engineering sector, with a level of insolvencies on an altogether higher plane, showed a slight decline in failures from 630 in 2004 to 591 in 2005.
Commenting on the figures accountant Deloitte & Touche said 'Although there have been some signs that the manufacturing sector is rallying this week, UK manufacturers continue to face a threat to their competitiveness from escalating energy costs which could drive liquidations in the manufacturing sector even higher.
'UK energy costs are now amongst the highest in Europe. Coupled with increasing raw materials prices and quite strong growth in wage costs, this has pushed manufacturers' total weighted costs up at fairly rapid rates in recent months. Less competitive industries or industries where demand is high are more likely to be able to pass on the price increases. However, fixed price contracts mean manufacturers are not always in a position to pass these mounting costs on to their customers.'
Trexel simplifies MuCell licensing May 6, 2006
The MuCell microcellular moulding process has been made easier to adopt. Its licensor Trexel will no longer sell separate licenses, but is to bundle licenses in with equipment purchases. The move follows requests by Trexel's multinational customers to make the technology easier to purchase.
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Engel is planning to invest Eur 45 million this year and the same amount next year primarily in development and customer support. Eur 25 million of this will be spent on a new technology centre at Schwertberg in Austria, while the company will also open a sales support centre in Warsaw, Poland.