Plastics News - Molds/tooling

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Molds/tooling

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Managers acquire injection molder MXL
LANCASTER, PA. (July 25, 6 p.m. EDT) -- Lancaster-based injection molder MXL Industries Inc. is under new ownership after a group of upper-level managers bought the company from National Patent Development Corp., a distributor of home-improvement products and hardware.

DC-Mould relocating to larger Shenzhen site
SHENZHEN, CHINA (July 23, 5:40 p.m. EDT) -- For those who fear rising costs across the board in China, here’s a message from on the ground: You can keep costs relatively low, but it takes effort. Injection mold maker DC-Mould, for one, is moving its factory location around boomtown Shenzhen, to keep the rent low.

Lakeland closing old Wheeler Boyce plant
STOW, OHIO (July 18, 4:10 p.m. EDT) -- Lakeland Mold Co. is closing down its plant in Stow, citing a slowdown in demand. The plant, acquired when Lakeland bought Wheeler Boyce Co. in 2006, has made rotational molds for 33 years.

Sister firms refocus after M2M’s demise
WALLACEBURG, ONTARIO (July 17, 5:50 p.m. EDT) -- Injection mold maker M2M International Ltd., which was forced to close this year when the auto industry´s slump hit the company hard. But its sister companies have formed a new entity that is smaller, but casts a wider business net to catch new leads wherever they pop up.

Southco moves injection molding to Pa.
CONCORDVILLE, PA. (July 11, 5:45 p.m. EDT) -- Southco Inc. has finished moving its injection molding into a 135,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Concordville, which the company called part of its commitment to manufacturing in North America.

Upcoa purchases all-electric machine
PEABODY, MASS. (July 9, 10:15 a.m. EDT) -- Urethane Processing Corp. of America is adding its first all-electric molding machine and integrating it with valve-gate, cold-runner technology to boost its silicone part capability.

Execs take to the road to pursue customers
SAGINAW, MICH. (July 7, 5:40 p.m. EDT) -- During the past 18 months, Miller Mold Co. executives have visited thermoformers in 13 states and three countries, part of a concentrated effort by the maker of thermoforming and vacuum forming molds to get its name out there, build business and fight back against trends that had threatened the firm.

Spectrum buys prototyper Protogenic
WESTMINSTER, COLO. (July 7, 10:40 a.m. EDT) -- Spectrum Plastics Group, owned by Spell Capital LLC, has bought its second prototyping company, Protogenic Inc. of Westminster.

Progressive Moulded, Polywheels latest victims
CONCORD, ONTARIO (July 3, 4:40 p.m. EDT) -- Another Canadian auto supplier, Polywheels, has hit hard times, and the situation at Concord, Ontario-based Progressive Moulded Products Ltd. has grown worse.

Ideal Tool gets new owner, somewhat-new name
MEADVILLE, PA. (July 2, 12:35 p.m. EDT) -- Joint Venture Tool & Mold LLC has acquired Ideal Tool Co. Inc., picking up new capabilities in molding, more employees, a larger customer base and a new home and name.

Mastercraft Cos. names new management
PHOENIX (June 27, 4:40 p.m. EDT) -- Mastercraft Cos. is using a midyear lull to restructure its management ranks and target injection molding and tool-building opportunities in medical and other markets.

Deal lets Synergetics bring molding in-house
O´FALLON, MO. (June 26, 6:10 p.m. EDT) -- Medical-device maker Synergetics USA Inc. of O’Fallon has purchased injection molder and toolmaker Medimold Inc. for $80,000.

Hommer takes on ex-rival’s customers
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. (June 18, 5:35 p.m. EDT) -- Custom mold component maker Hommer Tool & Manufacturing Inc. is getting back to its roots by purchasing the business book of Neuwer Tool Corp. of Wheeling, Ill.

Univac expands mold offerings

SINGAPORE (June 16, 10:40 a.m. EDT) -- Molder and mold maker Univac Precision Engineering Pte. Ltd. of Singapore has taken a license in SpinStack multicomponent mold-making technology from Gram Technology ApS of Birkerød, Denmark. Univac wants to use the Gram technology to expand the tools it builds for exporting, for the medical and health-care and caps and closures markets.

Resin prices forcing uneasy conversations
COLUMBUS, OHIO (June 12, 4:40 p.m. EDT) -- Many plastics processors need to cull out very-low-margin, or even no-margin, molding jobs — and today’s unrelenting resin hikes will force the decision, said analyst Jeff Mengel.