Tuesday, 08-Dec-09

Japan launches trade show for plastics processors
TOKYO (December 8, 2009) -- A new plastics show is launching in Japan in 2010 targeting end users of plastics in segments such as automobiles, medical, packaging and solar batteries. The N-Plas show is planned for May 19-21 at Tokyo’s Big Sight exhibition center.

Monday, 07-Dec-09

Teijin starts new unit to target automotive applications
TOKYO (December 7, 2009) -- Teijin Chemicals Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan has created a new business unit dedicated to expanding the automotive market for its Panlite polycarbonate resin and other advanced materials.

Monday, 30-Nov-09

Firms link in polycarbonate sheet JV in India
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY (November 30, 2009) -- Bayer MaterialScience AG and Malibu Plastica Ltd. have entered a joint venture to supply polycarbonate sheet in India. The JV will be named Bayer Malibu Polymers Private Ltd. and be headquartered in Ahmedabad, India.

Monday, 23-Nov-09

Ford uses wheat straw and PP in Flex interior
FAIRLAWN, OHIO (November 23, 2009) -- A bio-based plastics additive developed by A. Schulman Inc. has won recognition for its use in Ford Motor Co.’s Flex crossover vehicle. The application was named a Blue Ribbon Finalist for an Environmental Innovation Award given by the automotive division of the Society of Plastics Engineers.

Tuesday, 10-Nov-09

Reichhold opens unsaturated polyester plant in India
RANJANGAON, INDIA (November 10, 2009) -- Materials maker Reichhold Inc. has opened a plant making unsaturated polyester resins in Ranjangaon, India. Reichhold expects the material to be sold into wind turbines, glass-reinforced pipe, engineering stone, automobiles and other applications.

Monday, 09-Nov-09

Air Products opens speciality amines plant in China
NANJING (November 9, 2009) -- Air Products Chemicals Inc. has opened a new speciality amines plant in Nanjing, China, to support local customers in the polyurethane additives and epoxy markets.

Tuesday, 27-Oct-09

Chinese seen as buyers of U.S. auto suppliers
DETROIT (October 27, 2009) -- Chinese automotive suppliers are likely to be buyers of North American parts companies as the industry faces 12 to 18 more months of depressed volumes and tight credit, said Dietmar Ostermann, a director with the management consultancy PRTM in Addison, Texas.

Monday, 12-Oct-09

Sykes named president of Dow Greater China
DETROIT (October 12, 2009) -- Plastics and adhesives supplier Dow Automotive Systems today named Steve Henderson its news president, replacing Peter Sykes, who was named president of Dow Greater China.

Sunday, 11-Oct-09

Next big application for automotive plastics: beneath the car
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICH. (October 11, 2009) —- Automakers know that the clock is ticking toward a 2020 deadline to boost fuel economy performance by 10 miles per gallon or more, and they will be looking at a variety of solutions as time ticks down.

Monday, 05-Oct-09

BASF targets China’s automakers for engineering plastics

Althoff

SHANGHAI (October 6, 2009) -- BASF’s simulation software for testing engineering plastics – Ultrasim – has been available at its Shanghai technical center since 2007, but the company now is hoping it will catch the attention of China’s domestic automakers. "There is the potential to increase (engineering plastics) by more than five-fold," said Hermann Althoff, group vice president of BASF Engineering Plastics Asia Pacific.

Global auto suppliers are sourcing more from China
BEIJING (October 6, 2009) -- Although auto industries in North America and Europe are still deep in recession, global suppliers are continuing to ratchet up their sourcing activities in China.

Tuesday, 29-Sep-09

Chrysler replaces paper manuals with plastic DVDs
DETROIT (September 29, 2009) -- Chrysler Group is replacing its traditional owner's manuals with DVDs and an abridged printed guide in an effort to reduce costs and save 930 tons of paper annually. The searchable DVDs, designed for viewing at home or on some vehicles' entertainment systems, each contain an owner's manual, warranty information, direction for navigation and entertainment systems and a guide for 24-hour towing assistance.

Opinion: The real M&A work begins at deal’s end

Sun

At a time when caravans of affluent Chinese buy homes in the U.S. with cash, the nation’s corporate overseas buying spree continues with a new level of global mergers and acquisitions knowledge and sophistication. Plastics News assistant managing editor Nina Ying Sun analyzes the ongoing deal between Zhongding Sealing Parts Co. Ltd. and Myers Industries Inc.

Tuesday, 22-Sep-09

Tesla turns to metal for sedan

Dewhurst Photography photo

TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) —- When designers from Tesla Motors Inc. began planning the company’s all electric Roadster, they had to add up the 900-pound weight of its lithium-ion battery pack with the speed performance of a sports car and ultralow production volumes, and came up with a light-weight car-body equation of carbon-fiber panels.

Fuel economy rules encourage material changes
TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) -- One number is pushing innovation in the North American auto industry: 35.5. That’s the average number of miles per gallon that the passenger vehicle fleet will have to hit by 2016 according to new rules announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Page: 1   Top