Visit our separate China Web site, either in Chinese or English

Fabri-Kal gets tax break for investment
KALAMAZOO, MICH. (July 25, 6:55 p.m. EDT) -- Kalamazoo officials will grant a property tax abatement to Fabri-Kal Corp. to enable the Kalamazoo thermoformer to relocate part of its operations.

Analysts: Cross-border deals up in second half
AKRON, OHIO (July 25, 5:45 p.m. EDT) -- International players are big on the mergers and acquisitions scene this year — and in certain plastics sectors, that’s likely to pick up, in part spurred by the weak U.S. dollar, several analysts said.

Mergers, acquisitions up, but buyers picky
AKRON, OHIO (July 14, 10:50 a.m. EDT) -- Financial uncertainty has triggered a slowdown in global mergers and acquisitions, but a surprising number of plastics processor deals are happening and more will be announced before year’s end, industry watchers said.

Gage sells packaging business to Sabert
LAKE OSWEGO, ORE. (July 9, 3:20 p.m. EDT) -- Extruder and thermoformer Gage Industries Inc. of Lake Oswego has sold its packaging business to extruder and thermoformer Sabert Corp. of Sayreville, N.J. Sabert said the deal gives it a good position in dual-ovenable crystalline PET products.

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.

Armada relocates to nearby facility
TEMECULA, CALIF. (July 1, 10:25 a.m. EDT) -- Custom thermoformer Armada Industries Inc. has moved about a mile in Temecula into a facility it´s leasing from Western Plastics.

Senior lender Brookfield purchasing Maax
MONTREAL (June 17, 12:10 p.m. EDT) -- Acrylic and fiberglass bathware producer Maax Corp. will be bought by its senior lender, Brookfield Bridge Lending Fund Inc. The purchase price, about US$270 million, is the amount Maax owes Brookfield, plus assumption of Maax’s other liabilities.

Tekni-Plex hires CEO, finishes restructuring
SOMERVILLE, N.J. (UPDATED June 5, 11:15 a.m. EDT) -- Packaging and tubing maker Tekni-Plex Inc. has completed a financial restructuring and appointed a new chief executive officer. The new CEO is Paul Young, an industry veteran who joins Tekni-Plex from Graham Packaging Co. LP.

Sportech to consolidate sites in new facility
ELK RIVER, MINN. (May 30, 6:15 p.m. EDT) -- Sportech Inc., which thermoforms windshields, visors and other products for snowmobiles, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles and other modes of transportation in the “power sports” business, will break ground June 3 on a 92,000-square-foot headquarters factory in Elk River.

Prairie Packaging founder Shapiro dies at 68

Shapiro

CHICAGO (May 30, 5:45 p.m. EDT) -- Earl Shapiro, 68, who guided thermoformer and extruder Prairie Packaging Inc. from its 1986 start to sales of $500 million in 2007, died May 26 of acute septicemia. His company´s success was evident from the $1 billion Pactiv Corp. paid for it in 2007, and family members and others said Shapiro was dedicated to a strong work ethic and giving back to the community.

Reynolds to shut Canada thermoforming site
LAVAL, QUEBEC (May 16, 3:35 p.m. EDT) -- Reynolds Food Packaging plans to close a thermoforming plant in Laval by October. The plant, which employs 120, makes packaging for the supermarket, food-processing and food-service markets.

Anchor increasing capacity, space in Arkansas
PARAGOULD, ARK. (May 16, 12:50 p.m. EDT) -- Anchor Packaging Inc. is expanding its thermoforming operation in Paragould to the tune of $40 million, the largest such expansion in company history, its officials said.

SPE honors members at Antec gathering

Mehta

MILWAUKEE (May 14, 5:30 p.m. EDT) -- The Society of Plastics Engineers honored 40-year SPE member Kishor Mehta as a Distinguished Member, during a May 4 ceremony to kick off Antec. Also at the banquet, SPE named nine honored service members and 11 fellows. In addition, Gail Bristol, a 26-year employee of SPE won the President’s Cup, an award that is kept secret until the event.

SCGM expanding in Malaysia, Thailand
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (May 6, 11:45 a.m. EDT) -- Malaysian thermoformer SCGM Bhd. plans to build a factory in Thailand and expand its extrusion capacity in Malaysia, using some of the nearly 12.9 million Malaysian ringgits (US$4.1 million) it raised from a public offering earlier this year.

Early thermoformer Glenn Blackburn dies at 84

Blackburn

WINTER HAVEN, FLA. (May 6, 11:40 a.m. EDT) -- Glenn George Blackburn, 84, a thermoforming industry pioneer, died April 13. Blackburn developed processes for thermoforming, and helped develop packaging films. Beginning in 1966, he had several successful plastics companies including Haines Industries, Winter Haven Plastics, Rebel Plastics, Blackburn Industries and Progress Plastics.

Entire contents copyright 2008 by Crain Communications Inc.
All rights reserved.               Terms & Conditions