Tuesday, 30-Dec-08

DuPont-Teijin shutting down PET film line
CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO (December 30, 2008) -- DuPont-Teijin Films U.S. LP will close its polyester film line in Circleville on January 31. Officials with DuPont-Teijin -- a 50-50 global joint venture between DuPont Co. of Wilmington, Delaware, and Teijin Ltd. of Tokyo -- cited lower product demand.

Designer fosters global advocacy movement

Casey

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (December 30, 2008) -- Industrial designer Valerie Casey has created a series of principles that she dubbed the Designers Accord, with the lofty aim of being “a global coalition of designers, educators, and corporate leaders, working together to create positive social and environmental impact.” In about two years, 140,000 people in more than 100 countries have signed on. [View PN’s recent video interview in English with Casey from the recent Sustain ´08 conference in Chicago.]

Wasted energy costing firms big bucks

Kent

CHICAGO (December 30, 2008) -- Robin Kent thinks a lot of plastics processors are leaving money on the table -- in some cases, millions -- in the mistaken assumption that energy is a fixed cost over which they have little control. In fact, the Australian-born consultant contends that about 30 percent of a processor’s energy costs are variable and discretionary, and that learning how to manage them more efficiently can provide a significant competitive advantage.[View English-language video clip from Kent’s presentation at Sustain ’08.]

Kuwait nixes K-Dow joint venture
MIDLAND, MICHIGAN (December 30, 2006) -- The Kuwait Supreme Petroleum Council has canceled the planned K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture with Dow Chemical Co. and its partners Kuwait Petroleum Corp. and Petrochemicals Industries Co. The venture was supposed to close January 1.

Tuesday, 23-Dec-08

China’s stimulus plan may aid plastics industry
BEIJING (December 23, 2008) -- The global financial crisis continues to impact factories throughout China, with exports down and domestic consumption slowing. But some of the country’s plastics manufacturers are looking for a silver lining in China’s economic stimulus plan.

Government investigating resin maker Zongheng
SHAOXING, ZHEJIANG (December 23, 2008) -- Chinese PET resin and fiber manufacturer Zhejiang Zongheng Holding Group Co. Ltd. is facing insolvency and is under governmental investigation. The company is at least 1 billion yuan in the red, and, now, its Chairman and General Manager Yuan Boren is under surveillance.

DuPont going forward with solar energy investment

Muzyka

HONG KONG (December 23, 2008) -- China’s photovoltaic solar energy market has seen a dramatic slowdown in the last few months, but that is not deterring plastics supplier DuPont Co.’s plans in the sector, at least for now. Speaking at the InnoAsia 2008 conference in Hong Kong, DuPont Greater China President Doug Muzyka said the company is not slowing plans for investments in the photovoltaic industry, including a new research center in Hong Kong and a manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, announced in May.

CMAI: Resin prices swing faster than predicted

Rappaport

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO (December 23, 2008) -- Some U.S. retailers have considered buying their own resin or buying plastics resin futures as a means of dealing with wildly fluctuating commodity pricing, according to a resin consulting firm. Howard Rappaport, global business director for plastics and polymers for Houston, Texas-based Chemical Market Associates Inc. (CMAI), said the situation in the plastics resin industry is changing so drastically that, statistically, it’s nearly impossible to keep up.

LyondellBasell’s Guangdong PP plant up and running
NANSHA, GUANGDONG (December 23, 2008) -- LyondellBasell Industries AF SCA of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has started production at its new polypropylene (PP) compounding facility in Nansha. The new facility, operated by Guangzhou Basell Advanced Polyolefins Co., is concentrating on the automotive and appliance end markets. LyondellBasell operates 15 PP compounding plants in 12 countries on four continents. The company’s 16th PP compounding plant will go on-stream in Saudi Arabia in 2009, and plants in India and Russia are planned for the near future.

Intellectual property issues hinder China’s entrepreneurs

Wang

HONG KONG (December 23, 2008) -- Intellectual property specialist Victoria Wang sees the challenge for some of her Chinese manufacturing clients who find they can’t escape a vicious cycle in product innovation: Their profit margins are too small to fund their own research. Yet to be competitive, they have to spend their profit licensing technology from somebody else. Wang was one of several intellectual property experts who spoke at the Business of Intellectual Property Forum, held December 11 in Hong Kong as part of the Business of Design Week, offering advice for firms seeking to innovate in China’s much-maligned intellectual property environment.

Firms tout ´green´ machines at Japan´s IPF 2008

TOKYO (December 23, 2008) -- "Energy savings" and "greener manufacturing" were the buzzwords that surrounded almost every new technology at the International Plastics Fair in Tokyo. The show, held every three years, is traditionally the venue where the Japanese industry unveils its latest developments in some of the markets where it has a commanding position, like electric injection molding presses, and presents equipment sometimes not exhibited at other major fairs.

Injection molder, mold builder Mastercraft expanding

Rawlings

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (December 23, 2008) -- Mastercraft Cos. ordered two all-electric Arburg injection molding machines to accommodate its growing medical market. In addition, it will install some newly purchased transducer technology on the presses and retrofit two others. Mastercraft sources tools through four domestic shops in the U.S. and four international shops in China. “Today, in the business of mold making and molding, you must be flexible and creative, for we are competing globally and not just across town,” said Arle Rawlings, Mastercraft’s chief executive officer and president.

Design Guide: Product perception starts on the surface

Lefteri

As part of his Design Guide series, designer and materials specialist Chris Lefteri discusses the importance of a product’s surface. The surface, Lefteri says, is the first point of reference in the all-important image of a product, and it is the primary method of communication. The type of surface chosen by designers provides an opportunity to create a personality, experiences and scenarios.

Tuesday, 16-Dec-08

International registrants for NPE urged to apply soon

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 16, 2008) -- If you plan to travel to the U.S. in June to attend the NPE2009 international plastics conference and exposition, the show’s organizer recommends applying for a visa early. For links to Web sites to get you started and information about the process of applying, see the full story. In addition, NPE2009 will be colocated with Antec 2009; the MoldMaking Expo trade show and conference; and Coatings for Plastics, a conference produced by the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology.

Execs’ green message: reduce packaging
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (December 16, 2008) -- One by one, speakers at Pack Expo 2008 in Chicago underscored the same theme: The need to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment for their corporations, customers and society.

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