India's plastic industry needs to invest in Hamriya Free Zone

An Indian business delegate visited UAE's Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, or HFZA, and met with Rashid Al Leem, Director General of Sharjah Department of Seaports and Customs and HFZA, to boost bilateral business partnership and investment promotion.

The delegation has been led by Manish Dedhia secretary of All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) and also other members.

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Economic downturn puts a kink in Lola’s finances

Lola Cars, along with its subsidiary Lola Composites, is teetering on the brink of administration for the second time in its history.

According to the Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire-based firm, which was established in 1958: “The latest economic downturn and the decision of HMRC not to pay ongoing R&D tax credits has caused a serious cashflow problem for the businesses.

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Vauxhall factory saved along with 2,100 jobs

General Motors has signalled that the new Vauxhall Astra will be manufactured at its Ellesmere Port factory in north-west England.

The news sees a reversal of fortunes for the previously doomed plant, which will now be saved along with 2,100 jobs.

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Hong Kong seeking own brands

Hong Kong’s medical-related plastics manufacturing industry is making a push to develop its own brand of products, as it looks for a profitable edge against fast-developing counterparts in mainland China.

At the recent Hong Kong International Medical Devices and Supplies Fair, held May 7-9, several prominent medical-device processors in Hong Kong said they are investing heavily in launching their own products.

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Auto supplier Faurecia develops system to injection mold natural fibers

 Auto supplier Faurecia SA is developing a system to injection mold using natural fibers, potentially replacing existing compression molded parts.

Faurecia’s natural fibers for injection process -- NAFI -- uses in-line compounding to add fibers such as hemp or kenaf to polypropylene to reinforce parts in place of heavier glass.

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KrausMaffei expands dual-platen machine range

KraussMaffei has extended its hydro-mechanical dual-platen injection molding machines in the medium clamping force range with the world premiere of its GX series.

Launched at a customer event at its headquarter in Munich, the GX Series features a redesigned locking device and guide shoe, among other new features.

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Ecospan Has Plan for Vegetable-based Plastics

With all his talk about sugar cane, corn, casaba and fungi, Jeff White sounded like someone with a food obsession. But the ingredients he enumerated during an interview last week had to do with manufacturing, not a meal.

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Microplastics endanger ocean health

Air Pollution Control - Jet & High Energy Venturi Scrubbers Packed Towers-EtO/PO/NOX Removal - www.croll.com

The main concern is that microplastics are plastic pieces too small to see with the naked eye. They may be small by design, or be fragments of larger pieces of plastic waste.

Their size means they can be mistaken for food by even the smallest sea creatures, as well as large animals like seabirds and fish.

Scientists are concerned about the damage this could be c...

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Medical-Grade Polyurethanes, from Wound Care to Permanent Implants

Tony Walder, manager of technology, thermedics polymer products, for The Lubrizol Corp. (Wickliffe, OH) will present “Medical-Grade Polyurethanes, from Wound Care to Permanent Implants” at the MD&M East conference program on Monday, May 21. Lubrizol specializes in additives, ingredients, and compounds optimized for the healthcare and other industries.

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Market Report: Plastics Industry to Follow Manufacturing’s Growth Trend

Taylor noted that since plastics manufacturing is interwoven with manufacturing in general, the news that economic indicators expect manufacturing to continue to grow in 2012 at a rate of 3.5 percent also is good news for plastics.

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KrausMaffei expands dual-platen machine range

KraussMaffei has extended its hydro-mechanical dual-platen injection molding machines in the medium clamping force range with the world premiere of its GX series. Launched at a customer event at its headquarter in Munich, the GX Series features a redesigned locking device and guide shoe, among other new features.

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Coca-Cola and ECO Plastics claim recycling breakthrough

United Kingdom: Having established a state-of-the-art, US$ 24 million (Euro 18.7 million) recycling facility in the UK dedicated to processing plastic bottles and polymers simultaneously, Coca-Cola and ECO Plastics state they have tackled the enduring issue of recycling mixed plastics.

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UK Plastics Recycler Invests in Plastics Granulator

Luxus Ltd., a plastics recycling company based in Lincolnshire, U.K., has invested £120,000 (US$190,000) in a new plastic granulation line that will boost the company’s granulation capacity. According to Luxus,, the new line will granulate large moldings at a rate of one metric ton per hour, increasing the company’s total granulation capacity to 13,000 metric tons per year.
The company says that its investment will allow the company to target growing markets for its closed...

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Vermont student creates recycling device

A Vermont Technical College engineering major has created a way to recycle jugs and other plastics into filament to be used with desktop printers.

Tyler McNaney, a mechanical engineering student from Milton, Vt., has raised more than $30,000 in capital via Kickstarter, a funding website for startups, and has been named to the list of “Most Successsful Entrpeneurs of the Next Ten Years,” by World Future Society.

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Green bottles: Coca-Cola and Eco Plastics joint recycling venture opens in the UK

Calling it a first for the UK recycling and beverage industries, Coca-Cola Enterprises and plastic recycler Eco Plastics have established a recycling facility in the U.K. dedicated to processing both PET plastic bottles and other polymers simultaneously.

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'Green Team' kids urge Crayola to recycle plastic markers

Wilson said his own two children are huge Crayola marker fans. "Over the past 8 years, we have gone through approximately 500," he figured. 

Crayola acknowledged the good intentions but said that, for now at least, there’s no practical way to take back and recycle entire markers.

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Recycler Pro Pel Plastech recycles the sun with new PV array

With a new 257 kilowatt photovoltaic rooftop array, Pro Pel Plastech in Massachusetts is recycling more than just plastics, it’s recycling the sun. The array is capable of producing roughly 25 percent of the South Deerfield, Mass., company’s energy needs at its processing facility. There have been a lot PV arrays installed at waste-water treatment facilities, but seemingly not as many at recycling facilities.

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The CIPA Plasticulture for a Green Planet Conference looks at agricultural plastics for farming.

Agriculturalists worldwide need to capitalize on the increasingly sustainable plastics being developed for farming, industry officials agreed at a conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

This in light of the escalating food supply needs of an exploding population.

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Thermoformed plastics market projected to grow at 4% CAGR through 2017; packaging leads the way

The global market for thermoformed plastic products is expected to increase from 7.0 billion lb in 2012 to 8.5 billion lb by 2017, a 4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

In comparison, the global market for thermoformed plastic products was 6.8 billion lb in 2011, according to the study from ReportsnReports, an online market research company.

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