Advanced Drainage Systems garners pipe certification
HILLIARD, OHIO (August 19, 2008) -- Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. has received 100-year service life approval for its corrugated high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe by the Florida Department of
Transportation, which will open up the state’s high-traffic arteries for the first time to the U.S.-based pipe maker.
Plastic pipe maker JM Eagle runs ad during Olympics
 JM Eagle ad image “all people everywhere”
LOS ANGELES (August 19, 2008) -- Los Angeles-based JM Eagle has debuted a new television commercial during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The ad focuses on a “power of water” theme,
highlighting the role of water in people’s lives and the importance of transporting it safely and efficiently. According to Advertising Age, a sister publication of Plastics News,
through five days, NBC Universal said it has attracted 168 million total viewer for the Olympics, nearly 15 million more than the first five days for Athens, which reached 153 million viewers.
N. American Rotomolders adjust to changing landscape
 Mooney
ADVANCE, NORTH CAROLINA (August 19, 2008) -- North American rotational molders were generally optimistic going into this year, despite signs of higher resin prices and more competition from industrial
blow molding, according to an updated study by Plastics Custom Research Services (PCRS). Peter Mooney, president of PCRS, thinks growth for 2008-2010 will continue at 2 to 3 percent, and the study
points to several reasons for the slowdown from previous years. For example, rotomolded toys have declined, squeezed by domestic retailers, changing tastes in toys and competition from China.
ITW’s decorative surfaces business going up for sale
GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS (August 19, 2008) -- Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) plans to sell its decorative surfaces business, which includes the Wilsonart, Polyrey and Resopal brands, with international
operations in China, Thailand, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. And, with several inquiries from companies about buying Wilsonart International Inc., ITW officials think now might be the time
to sell.
Plastics help designs bring home IDSA gold
 One project provides low-cost, energy-efficient laptops to children around the world.
DULLES, VIRGINA (August 5, 2008) -- A low-cost laptop, a featherlike welding helmet and a customized baby bottle used plastics in winning this year’s International Design Excellence Awards. Components
in plastic appeared in about two dozen of the gold winners in the annual contest, co-sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America in Dulles and BusinessWeek magazine. A panel of 20
designers and evaluators judged 1,517 entries from 33 countries to select the award winners. Plastics News presents the plastics-related highlights of the gold award winners in the full story.
Lubrizol makes its China debut at the Beijing Olympics
 Lubrizol supplied the piping for the Water Cube’s water treatment system.
BEIJING (July 29, 2008) -- While spectators probably won’t see it, one U.S.-based company expects the debut of its technology in China will make a splash at the Beijing Olympic Games. Lubrizol
Advanced Materials Inc. has provided the piping that will support the water treatment system at the giant Water Cube Olympic pool complex. The company’s Corzan CPVC piping system, along with its
fittings, is highly resistant to the corrosive chemicals being used in the filtration system. The material is also highly impact-resistant and needs little maintenance compared to metal-based
systems.
JM Eagle donates pipe for humanitarian water project
LOS ANGELES (July 29, 2008) -- Los Angeles-based JM Eagle, the world’s largest plastic pipe manufacturer, has teamed up with Columbia University’s Earth Institute to bring sanitary, potable water to
thousands of suffering people in the African nation of Senegal.
International plastics mergers, acquisitions on rise
 Blaige
AKRON, OHIO (July 22, 2008) -- International players are big on the mergers and acquisitions scene this year, and, in certain plastics sectors, that’s likely to pick up. Spurring the activity are, in
part, the weak U.S. dollar and protectionism, as companies in North America and emerging markets compete for global advantage. Several analysts interviewed by Plastics News noted increases in
the numbers of plastics mergers and acquisitions deals in the first half of 2008 versus the same period in 2007. For instance, Tom Blaige, president of Blaige & Co. in Chicago predicts pipe, profile
and tube extrusion mergers and acquisitions will increase by nearly 60 percent, driven primarily by cross-border sales of privately held niche companies.
Has China lost its ‘low-cost workshop’ status?
 Franz
GUANGZHOU (July 15, 2008) -- Many Chinese manufacturing plants are feeling the pinch from rising costs and a stronger Chinese yuan. And some manufacturers are moving work to Vietnam and other cheaper
manufacturing locations. Plastics News interviewed several companies for their take on the situation, including Helmar Franz, executive vice president of Chinese press maker Ningbo Haitian
Group Ltd., who said the situation is complex, with some of the company’s customers greatly impacted by China’s rising costs.
Design competition goes international for NPE 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 15, 2008) -- In a break with tradition, the Washington-based Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. (SPI) will make its next design competition an international event and will
add new design categories. The competition will be held in conjunction with NPE 2009, scheduled for June 22 to 26 in Chicago, Illinois. In the past, the National Plastics Design Competition was
mostly restricted to U.S. entries and limited to load-bearing parts, enclosures and structural parts. The upcoming competition will be open to virtually any type of design, including packaging
products, bioplastics, nanocomposites, and products that address energy efficiency and sustainability.
Opinion: Design center gala full of surprises
 Grace
Plastics News editor Robert Grace recently returned from a trip to China where he was a part of the opening ceremonies of the International Design Center, a joint-venture undertaking between
Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design and Zhejiang University. The joint venture has been a year in the making, and the Zhenhai district government of Ningbo city is offering strong
support to help get it kick-started. The aim is to stimulate industrial design and product research and development. Grace shares his observation and experiences of the celebration through the eyes
of a Westerner.
Russia’s plastics growth boon for additives suppliers
 Stott
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (July 1, 2008) -- The growth of the Russian plastics market is a good thing for additives giant Chemtura Corp. “Most polymer applications are growing 25 to 35 percent a
year,” said Paul Stott, Russian business development director for Middlebury, Connecticut-based Chemtura. “Petrochemical units are flush with cash.” That type of growth translates
into a lot of opportunities for Chemtura to sell products such as antioxidants for polyolefins and styrenics, and heat stabilizers and flame retardants for PVC.
U.K.-based BNL to open Thai plastic bearings plant
RAYONG, THAILAND (June 24, 2008) - BNL UK Ltd., a U.K.-based plastic bearing designer and manufacturer, is opening a new factory in Thailand this month. Production will start later this year.
Initially, the plant will assemble parts for some Asia-based customers, with further opportunities to transfer other assembly work and molding activities to the factory. The Rayong plant will also
start injection molding on seven new Krauss Maffei presses.
Fast facts
China’s manufacturing capacity of plastic pipe has exceeded 4.5 million metric tons annually. More than 100 manufacturers across the country have capacity of more than 10,000 metric tons.
(Source: China Plastics Processing Industry Association) China exported 39,700 units/sets of plastics machinery, 65 percent higher than 2006. Dollar value of sales reached $820 million,
52 percent over a year ago. (Source: China Plastics Processing Industry Association)
Cincinnati Extrusion closing Dalian plant
SHANGHAI (April 22, 2008) -- Sister companies Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH and Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH are consolidating their production in China, closing Cincinnati’s production in Dalian,
Liaoning province and relocating it to Battenfeld’s facility in Foshan, Guangdong province. The two European companies said they will keep separate brand identities in China, but will be combining
production later this year as a way to control cost and boost efficiency.
Qenos rallies for duties on Asian HDPE, LLDPE goods
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (April 8, 2008) -- Australian plastics manufacturer Qenos Pty. Ltd. has applied to have anti-dumping duties extended to protect Australian high and linear low density polyethylene
(HDPE and LLDPE) product manufacturers from being undercut by Asian exporters. Duties imposed on HDPE products exported to Australia from South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore are due to expire in
December, as are duties imposed on LLDPE products exported from South Korea and Thailand.
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