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PTi readies sheet lines for global debut
AURORA, ILL. (Aug. 27, 5 p.m. EDT) -- Extrusion equipment maker Processing Technologies LLC will introduce its first global brand of sheet production lines — dubbed the Globaline range — at trade shows next year.

DMT biax equipment plant targets China
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Aug. 21, 3:40 p.m. EDT) -- Biaxially oriented film line supplier DMT Technology GmbH has set up its first plant in China, hoping to take a leadership position in the world’s largest market for the equipment.

Octal ups investment in integrated APET site

Barenberg

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY (Aug. 21, 3:15 p.m. EDT) -- Octal Holding & Co. SAOC is launching its $300 million integrated PET resin and sheet plant in Oman this month. Chief Operating Officer Joe Barenberg said the plant will have initial capacity of about 396 million pounds of APET sheet and 330 million pounds of its own PET resin. By 2010, the site should have another 1.1 billion pounds of capacity.

Schulman may sell Invision sheet business

Gingo

FAIRLAWN, OHIO (Aug. 18, 12:30 p.m. EDT) -- A. Schulman Inc. has placed its Invision-brand sheet business on the selling block. Officials with Fairlawn-based Schulman — a major compounder — said in an Aug. 18 news release that the firm “is seeking a joint venture partner or other strategic arrangements” for the business.

Curwood planning major expansion
FREMONT, OHIO (Aug. 15, 1:45 p.m. EDT) -- Packaging supplier Bemis Co. Inc. will expand its Curwood Inc. thermoforming and extrusion plant, taking advantage of an upswing in flexible packaging that’s related to clients’ cost-cutting efforts.

ITW puts Wilsonart International on market
GLENVIEW, ILL. (Aug. 12, 6:10 p.m. EDT) -- Glenview-based Illinois Tool Works Inc. plans to sell its decorative surfaces business, including Wilsonart International Inc.

China film maker Decro eyes new markets
SHUNDE, CHINA (Aug. 12, 4:30 p.m. EDT) -- Guangdong Decro BOPP Co. Ltd. operates in one of China’s most competitive manufacturing sectors, plastics packaging. But the company said it sees its future not in price wars slugging it out for volume with countless competitors, but in technology and market development.

Thermo Fisher launches biocenter, shifts operations
WALTHAM,MASS. (Aug. 12, 1:55 p.m. EDT) -- With the opening of the first phase of a biocenter at its Logan, Utah, operation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. plans to shutter a production facility in Novato, Calif., by early next year. Operations that will shift to Utah include specialty film manufacturing.

Atlantis sells films, molded products units
ATLANTA (Updated Aug. 11, 5:05 p.m. EDT) -- Atlantis Plastics Inc. is breaking up its $400 million business, selling its films unit to AEP Industries Inc. of South Hackensack, N.J., and its molded products division to a private equity firm.

Japanese firms turn interests to bioplastics
TOKYO (Aug. 7, 4:20 p.m. EDT) -- Japan is one of the hot spots today for using plant-based plastics, with grocery chains, carmakers and electronics firms all taking a serious look at the materials. Some companies, like Fujitsu Ltd., are making a splash with a notebook computer housing made partially from corn-based polylactic acid resin.

Packaging taxes, bans looming in California
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (Aug. 1, 3:25 p.m. EDT) -- A series of recommendations from the California Ocean Protection Council could lead to more bans and taxes on plastics packaging.

Ex-GE executive starts Ohio business
CINCINNATI (Aug. 1, 12:10 p.m. EDT) -- A former GE Plastics executive has opened a polycarbonate sheet and film business in Cincinnati. Richard Filiault launched Optiglass PC LLC earlier this year after buying Si Kote Technologies.

Sealed Air to eliminate about 1,000 jobs
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. (Aug. 1, 10 a.m. EDT) -- High raw material and energy costs are forcing Sealed Air Corp. to cut 900-1,000 employees — about 5 percent of the company’s workforce — and will result in some facility closures or consolidations, company officials said.

SPE making big changes to ´avert crisis´
BROOKFIELD, CONN. (July 31, 11 a.m. EDT) -- Leaders of the Society of Plastics Engineers — trying to shore up finances as the association struggles to attract a younger generation of members — have proposed selling SPE’s headquarters building in Brookfield, cutting jobs and reducing the amount of dues money rebated to sections and divisions.

New equipment will help Prospect diversify
CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO (July 31, 9:45 a.m. EDT) -- Prospect Mold Inc. is investing $3.7 million in new machinery this year, including a milling machine that can handle components as long as 24 feet long.

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