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August 28, 2008

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Sato unit buys AZ Electronic´s parts business
TOKYO (August 19, 2008) – Tokyo-based PBI Advanced Materials Co. Ltd. has expanded by purchasing the polybenzimidazole parts business of AZ Electronic Materials (Japan) KK. The business includes plants making parts, stock shapes, compounds and coatings. PBI Advanced Materials is part of Sato Group, a Japanese maker of parts for office automation, automotive and household appliances.

Recycler MBA may expand in U.K. or China

Biddle

RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA (August 12, 2008) -- The United Kingdom and China were mentioned as possible locations for a plant that will recover plastic resin from end-of-life durable goods. MBA Polymers Inc. and European Metal Recycling Ltd. (EMR) are looking for a site for their joint venture and could reach a decision by the end of August or September.

Electronics trends power materials choices

Yoshida

PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS (August 5, 2008) -- To gain a competitive edge in today’s global electronics market, molders need to watch the latest consumer trends and take advantage of new material applications. That’s according to Hiroshi Yoshida, global market director for electronics at Sabic Innovative Plastics. At present, the three major trends for the electronics market include miniaturization, design and eco, he pointed out in a recent telephone interview.

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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.

Foamex reduces debt, lays out growth plans

Foamex´s “green” foam chair

LINWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA (July 29, 2008) -- After Foamex International Inc.’s stockholders meetings this month, the company’s top executive released the company’s growth plans and outlined key product launches for the electronics, medical, and industrial markets, including the launch of several sustainable specialty foam products for home furnishings. In addition, the foamer will further expand its footprint in Asia.

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.

Rosti to open Indian injection molding plant
CHENNAI, INDIA (July 15, 2008) -- Injection molder Rosti Technical Plastics plans to open a new plant in India, further strengthening the Danish group´s commitment to Asia, where it already operates a facility in China.

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.

Polyplex eyes N. America for future PET film plant
BANGKOK, THAILAND (June 24, 2008) -- Polyplex Group, the world’s fourth-largest maker of thin PET film, is seriously considering its first production facility in North America, probably in Mexico. “Our basic strategy is to go nearer to our customers,” Rohit Vashistha told Plastics News at the Plastics in Packaging Conference 2008 in Bangkok. “We located in Turkey to better service the market requirements in Europe. Likewise, as of now anyway, we do not have any manufacturing of our own [in North America].” Vashistha is head of sales and marketing for the Polyplex (Thailand) Public Co. Ltd. subsidiary, which is publicly traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Polyplex Group is based in Noida, India.

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.

BASF wagers materials R&D will keep it atop its game
SHANGHAI (May 13, 2008) -- BASF AG is emphasizing a coordinated research and development (R&D) effort to stay ahead in the wide-open China market, according to executives at the German chemicals and plastics company. At a media brief last month before the Chinaplas show and executive said the country market for engineering plastics is growing, especially in the automotive and electrical and electronics fields.

Dow unveils ABS alternative for electronics, appliances
SHANGHAI (May 13, 2008) -- Dow Chemical Co. is introducing a styrene and butadiene-based copolymer it said is targeted as an ABS replacement in consumer electronics and home appliances. In an interview at the Chinaplas trade show in Shanghai, Dow officials said the new copolymer will be made in Thailand, but, if needed, the company would add production in Hong Kong.

Design savvy helps LG Electronics grow

Designer Kim Jin

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (May 13, 2008) -- South Korean conglomerate LG Electronics was not exactly a household name in the world of mobile phones 10 years ago, but today it has vaulted to become one of the world’s five biggest. Plastics News caught up with one of LG’s design gurus, Kim Jin, vice president and director of its corporate design center, in the company’s Seoul offices to talk about what it’s looking for in new materials and to get insights into what it thinks makes for the next hot consumer product.

Mexican executive explores business prospects in China

Plastics beauty products entrepreneur Munir Tager.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (April 15, 2008) -- Mexican plastics beauty products entrepreneur Munir Tager is flying this month to China to establish an injection and blow molding operation that will make the same beauty accessories as his company in Mexico. In addition, the new company will launch a line of electronics accessories and is looking into opportunities with Promotional Partners Worldwide, a Chinese company that Tager said is the world´s largest producer of promotional materials.

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