As Chinese consumers take advantage of the government's trade-in subsidies to replace old home appliances, the need for proper, large-scale recycling is on the rise. In response, leading appliances maker TCL Corp. broke ground for a large-scale appliance recycling facility in Tianjin.

The facility, jointly owned by TCL Huizhou Environmental Protection Co., Tianjin Borg Metal Products Co. Ltd., and Tianjin Ziya Environmental Protection Industry Park Co. Ltd., will have the annual capacity to break down 100,000 tons of home appliances, once the first phase construction is completed.

Tianjin Borg has its own plastics recycling business unit.

Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd. plans to build an ABS compounding plant in Foshan, Guangdong province. The Foshan factory, slated for completion by 2010, will be Kumho's seventh plant in China and serve the automotive and electronics industries.

Media reports say the plant's initial capacity will be 10,000 tons of ABS compounds in 2010, with plans to reach 50,000 tons by 2015 and 100,000 tons by 2018.

The tough economic times are over for Inner Mongolia Elion Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. The company said its coal-based PVC project - the world's largest of its kind - has been running full scale production for five months and will achieve annual output of 300,000 tons of PVC.

Elion had to halt production due to the global downturn last year, according to media reports. With help from the local government, the company managed to resume production in February and gradually raise capacity utilization. The company said it broke even in May and became profitable in June.

Elion is a joint venture between Elion Resources Group Co., Shanghai Huayi Group and Shenhua Shendong Power Co. Ltd.

After last year's 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province, building materials manufacturers have found the Southwest Chinese market promising and started to establish a foothold there. Wuhu, Anhui province-based Conch Profile & Science Co. Ltd. is following the trend and making a move.

The publicly traded company recently announced that it will jointly invest 500 million yuan with its subsidiary Yingde Conch Profiles Co. Ltd. on the 80,000-ton Chengdu production base. Conch will hold 90 percent of the new plant's stake.

The company expects to finish the 40,000-ton first phase and start production by the end of 2010. The investment capital includes Conch's own fund as well as bank loans.

In the announcement, Conch said the new plant will take advantage of the ample PVC resin resources in that region and help increase market share. The company recognizes the growing local competition, but asserts confidence in the new operation.

Privately owned PVC pipe manufacturer Zhejiang Ruan's Plastic Industry Co. Ltd. was the hot topic at a recent local job fair in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. The company posted an ad at its booth touting "managerial positions with annual salaries from 80,000 yuan (US$11,718) to 800,000 yuan (US$117,182), plus perks including housing."

According to local media reports, the company said it didn't receive as many applications as it expected. A human resources representative said the job requirements are high, including at least eight years of experience in the field and outstanding leadership skills.

Since the company gave a wide pay range rather than a specific position that will pay at the high-end range, I suspect the number could be more of a show than reality. The company runs 10 extrusion lines and claimed 2008 sales of about 100 million yuan ($15 million).

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that a Chinese person's annual salary could be just a small part of his/her annual income. Bonuses, allowances and other benefits/perks can easily add up to a couple times of the salary at some Chinese companies and government agencies. At foreign-invested companies, on the other hand, the total income is more in line with the salary. So if you happen to want to find out a Chinese friend's income level (the question "How much money do you make?" is not a social taboo in China), don't just ask about the salary.

One of the 200 million immigrant workers in China has written a book to reflect the life of this special group. Mr. Zhou Shuheng, 31 years of age, spent 17 months on the 450,000-character Chinese-style Peasant Workers.

Zhou referred to his work as a novel. But he admitted that 80 percent of content was based on his own experiences or real stories he had heard.

Zhou became a peasant worker when he was 17. During the next 13 years, he worked many jobs, including plastics factory worker, street vendor, rickshaw cycle rider, building materials salesman, etc.

"I remember, at the plastics factory, I worked 12 hours a day. Monthly salary was 120 yuan (US$17.6). But at the end of the first month, I didn't get a paycheck. Instead I owed the factory 80 yuan (US$11.7)," he told a local newspaper in Fuzhou.

As he wrapped up the book, he started posting some chapters on a Chinese Web site and drew half a million views, as well as many comments. An editor of that Web site decided to help Zhou publish the book. Zhou now is negotiating with several publishers and he expects the book to launch by the end of the year.

How many American companies in the plastics industry have WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) applications that enable easy access to company information from a mobile phone or PDA? A small Chinese company, Anhui Xinli Composites Co. Ltd., has included WAP service as part of its marketing campaign.

Xinli doesn't have its own WAP site per se. Instead, it joined a resin industry WAP site "Anhui Resin Web" that's hosted on China's 12114.org, a mobile messaging domain name directory service platform owned by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Any cell phone user can access "Anhui Resin Web" simply by sending a text message.

Four-year-old Xinli claims annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons of unsaturated polyester resin and 50 million yuan (US$7.3 million) in fixed assets.

On Tuesday November 3, I'll be participating in the China Business Boot Camp in Cleveland. The event is organized by the China Business Network. Its CEO Janet Carmosky is a China veteran and spoke at Plastics News' own China Forum back in 2006.

The panel I'll be moderating features an interesting theme: innovating with trust. In a society where the human factor matters more than systems and rules, nothing can be achieved without trust. Even counterfeiting in China takes a lot of trust. Think about it. A counterfeiter will need trustworthy partners along the entire process of supply, manufacturing and distribution. They have to establish trust with every involved person: factory workers, truck drivers, potential customers, and many more. (Disclaimer: I'm 100 percent supportive of the battle against counterfeiting.)

But innovating in China certainly demands a new level of trust. Still remember the young Chinese worker who committed suicide after a fourth-generation iPhone prototype he was responsible for went missing just a few months ago?

I'll be joined by panelists Mike Maczuzak, founder of industrial design firm SmartShape, Doug Smith, senior vice president of technology at bearings manufacturer Timken, and Allan Goldner, a partner at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP who heads the law firm's China Group.

The conference's full agenda is available online, including two other panels, a three-hour China orientation by Carmosky, a speech by Len Komoroski, President of Cavaliers (which recently sold a minority ownership stake to a Chinese investment group) and Quicken Loans Arena, as well as a dedicated networking session.

Sounds like fun? Then we'll see you there! I'd love to take this opportunity to meet with our readers in the region. The China Business Network is offering Plastics News readers a special 25 percent discount code. I'll be glad to pass it along, if you send me an email.

If you can't make it to the event but hope to have a question addressed, you can send it to me. I may be able to help you get an answer.

Plastics News editor Bob Grace recently interviewed Chinese car designer Mr. Dong Ruifeng (holding his calligraphy work in the photo), who answered the questions in Chinese. In order to benefit our English-speaking readers, I'm posting the transcript of the video interview here. For our Chinese audience, we will be posting a copy of the video interview on the Chinese-language section of the Plastics News China site.

Q: Please introduce yourself and your company.
A: I'm Dong Ruifeng, founder and owner of automotive design firm - Ruifeng Design - in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. We currently have 320 employees.

Q: How many automotive design firms are there in China?
A: About 37.

Q: And the number of independent Chinese automakers?
A: About 13.

Q: I'd like your impressions of how the Chinese plastic and metal industries have changed over the last 10 or 20 years.
A: China's mold and plastics processing industries have been growing with the entire modern manufacturing sector. The growth rate is rather high in China, because manufacturing is essential to making products, no matter the design is independently innovative, jointly owned by Chinese and foreign investors, or copied. These industries have grown to meet global standards. Since automotive manufacturing involves all kinds of materials and technologies, the fast-growing auto industry in China has bolstered the growth of the entire manufacturing sector.

Q: Can you tell me more about your personal background and how you use calligraphy to influence automotive design?
A: I've never had any Western education. I loved painting during elementary school, middle school and high school. I've also been practicing calligraphy since I was 8 years old. The ideas and inspirations I gained from painting and calligraphy are used both intentionally and subconsciously in my car design. I was in the army for four years. After I graduated from college, I was assigned to work for the First Automotive Works (FAW). Because of the partnership between FAW and Audi, I received training at the Audi design center in Germany. That experience benefited my entire career, as I was exposed to the management, design language, and design methods of the world's most advanced auto design center.

Q: Do other Chinese designer do what you do [apply calligraphy to auto design]?
A: Due to the changes over the past few decades in China, you don't see many people practicing Chinese calligraphy any more. Not every designer can do it. If someone with beginner's knowledge of calligraphy talks about integrating the art into design, that would be a joke. You have to reach a certain level to be able to use it freely. So far, I'm not aware of any other designer doing this.

Q: You won an award at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year. Which car was that?
A: I led the design of a super SUV for Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. The design received three awards and rave reviews at the auto show. But the awards are for my client, not me.

Q: Is it a concept car or production vehicle?
A: Concept car.

Q: Can you tell us a couple of brands and models of vehicles that are commercialized with your design?
A: You need to understand the realities in China. Chinese automakers would not reveal contract designers for their cars. It's a fundamental term in the contracts. Therefore I cannot comment on your question.

Q: Finally, can you give me your impressions so far of the Industrial Designers Society of America conference, what value you are getting out from participating in Miami?
A: I'm honored to be here attending the conference. I've met excellent designers from all across America and learned a lot from them. I enjoy the friendly atmosphere at the conference and cherish this trip.

Dow Chemical Co. has become an official and exclusive sponsor in chemical and material sciences for the USA Pavilion of World Expo 2010, to be held May 1 through Oct 31 in Shanghai.

According to the event Web site, Dow will offer sustainable products and solutions for the USA pavilion and other Expo projects and showcase its technologies and products such as insulation products, heat transfer fluid, and water purification systems.

Dow is an exclusive supplier of insulation boards to the Eco-House, a unique zero energy consumption building at the Shanghai Expo's Urban Best Practices Area. The Styrofoam will also be used in France's Rhone-Alpes region pavilion for roofing, basement and floor insulation.

According to Dow's corporate Web site, Dow was the first company to sign a contract with the Chinese government to be a volunteer base for the 2010 Expo Exhibition Center. More than 150 Dow employees will volunteer as information guides, among other positions.

The US government signed the official participation contract on July 10, and the steel structure of the 6,000-square-meter pavilion has been finished. Under the theme "Rise to the Challenge," the USA pavilion will present displays featuring sustainability, teamwork, health and more.

When Switzerland unveiled the model of its national pavilion for World Expo Shanghai, the highlights included the very unique exterior decoration - some call it the "interactive and intelligent facade" - to be made of biodegradable resins extracted from soybeans. But the designer has decided to change the material to polycarbonate and here is why.

Valentin Spiess, CEO of design firm iart interactive explains that after the accidental fire at the CCTV tower, China now is paying special attention to building materials' flame resistant properties. Since the CCTV fire was triggered by fireworks, which will be used at the Shanghai World Expo, all buildings are required to be "absolutely resistant to fire," he told www.swissinfo.ch, a Chinese-language Web site owned by SRG SSR idée suisse. For fire safety purposes, Spiess and his team decided to switch to polycarbonate.

(Rendering image by Swiss Pavilion official site)

The red polycarbonate plates will carry dye-sensitized solar cells that are capable of generating electricity and LED lights. These units, attached to a curtain of woven aluminum, will illuminate whenever triggered by surrounding energy, including camera flash.

The units will be protected by individual, clear housing.

At the 106th biannual China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), the show organizer reported that the $ value of orders for plastics toys increased by 107.5 percent compared to last fall. Toys were exhibited during the second phase of the fair, Oct 23-27.