Plastopedia

The U.S. Polyurethane Foam Association has introduced a new federated membership for companies with production exclusively outside the United States.

Walki Group is to expand its production network in Europe by opening a new manufacturing plant in Wroclaw, Poland. The new plant, which is to commence its production during the third quarter of 2013, will be Walki's third production site in Poland.

The global market for specialty resin polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is expected to average growth of just over 8 percent through 2016.

Family-owned BMI Plásticos SA de CV is expecting delivery of a KraussMaffei 420 injection molding press this spring with which it plans to launch an environment-friendly venture that's been five years in preparation.Employing technology licensed from LiveRoof LLC, of Spring Lake, Mich., the Mexico City processor will manufacture modules from recycled polypropylene caps used on PET bottles.

Mexico's plastics industry association has launched a program aimed at stopping plastic pellets from reaching the sea.The Asociación Nacional de Industrias del Plástico AC (Anipac) unveiled the Cero Pellets initiative at the Plastimagen México trade show in the Mexican capital in mid March.

The new facility features clean room environments for bag manufacturing and will make aseptic bag-in-box products. The plant also gives Rapak the chance to reach emerging market segments for bag-in-box products such as quick serve restaurants and food service, said Santi Khunpisitwong, general manager of Rapak Thailand, in a news release.

PepsiCo Inc. will introduce a new bottle shape for the first time in 16 years, along with new graphics, this month.The brand's 16 oz. and 20 oz. plastic bottles will feature a swirled grip on the bottom portion of the bottle, with a shorter label edged in a "cola-colored" border and showing an enlarged version of its existing globe logo. A 12 oz. glass bottle, which will be available in select retailers, features the same twisted shape as well as the globe logo ringed in a thick silver line.

Constantia Hueck Foils LLC, a flexible film and foil converter, is planning a $12 million expansion at its Blythewood, S.C., plant.Constantia will break ground on the expansion, which includes a 15,000 square-foot addition and new equipment, in April and should be finished by October. The company plans to add 15 new jobs at the facility.

China may have hit a watershed last year in its trade balance for injection molding machines — for the first time, exports of injection presses made in China exceeded imports, with the country sending nearly US$1 billion worth of molding machines abroad.

Regional PVC prices were up a nickel per pound in March, while PP prices slipped an average of 6 cents. Strong demand led to the PVC move, while factors in propylene monomer drove PP down. The March move was the second straight month that PVC prices were up. PP gave back a 6-cent hike from February that followed a 15-cent January hike.

Processors familiar with the nXheat induction barrel heating technology from Nordson Xaloy (New Castle, PA) for non-contact heating of injection barrels now have a potential alternative from a Korean source in the Eco-heater from ECOnomical Heater Co. (Siheung, Korea).

DOCUMENTS, banners, buntings, boxes, building wraps are products that one normally expect to come out of a  printer. But customised dresses and hats? Maybe not.Already available as proof of concept and as prototypes, these 3D printed items have potential to become a fashion trend, says Wim Michiels, managing director of Materialise, a Belgian-based pioneer in Additive Manufacturing (also popularly known as 3D printing) software and solution.

After several months of visiting potential sites for an expansion, Paragon Films narrowed its choices for its third manufacturing facility to Reno, Nev., and Union Gap.As expected, both cities put their best foot forward. Pitching for Union Gap was Yakima County’s economic development organization, New Vision.

Like honeybees to fresh flowers, seemingly everyone is flocking to Brant Braue and Krista Haley’s new distillery in Fairfield.Distributors call offering their services, and restaurateurs, such as chef David Felton of Ninety Acres in Peapack-Gladstone, drop in to explore culinary partnerships. And then there are the unending deliveries of sample corks.

Its raw materials are plants and it bases its products on texts dating back millennia, but don’t dare call India’s biggest herbal healthcare group a maker of ‘alternative medicine’.

The Ministry of Industries has proposed to the government to impose 1.0 per cent duty on import of all types of capital machinery and basic raw materials in the next budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2013-14 to check tax evasion and remove discriminatory duty-structures.

It’s that time again boys and girls! The snow is finally melting which means it’s the start of the three-month window where the weather outside doesn’t make your face hurt! It’s beautiful. You can open your windows, wear shorts and play video games outside (maybe that’s just me). Most importantly, the advent of spring means that it’s time for spring cleaning. Your hovel has been accumulating filth since October, so it’s time to purge! The hardest part about this task is knowing what to throw away, and what to keep. For nerds this can be hard, for the marketing of most of the goods we purchase emphasize retention.

Methee Athichiskul, deputy managing director, said the company was studying a plan to set up a factory in Yangon in the next couple of years and to use the Myanmar factory as its base to serve the domestic market and for exporting to markets that extend the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to Myanmar - Japan, the US and European Union. The factory itself will cost between US$3 million (Bt87 million) and $4 million.

The rapid emergence of electronic identification systems to prevent medical counterfeiting will get a boost from a new internal welding process supplied by Wittmann Battenfeld (Kottingbrunn, Austria).

Representatives of two leading plastics engineering colleges — the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and Ferris State University — told Plastics News Executive Forum attendees that academia and plastics companies should work together to attract more students to the industry.