Hong Kong plastics firms report mixed results
Hong Kong (October 27, 2009) -- Hong Kong-based compounder Ngai Hing Hong Co. Ltd. said it is seeing signs of recovery in its Chinese factories, while other plastics firms reporting financial results
recently at the Hong Kong stock market were more cautious.
Sunarrow closes Hungarian manufacturing plant
TOKYO (SEPTEMBER 29, 2009) -- Japanese electronics component moulder Sunarrow has announced the closure of its Hungarian manufacturing plant in Komárom with the loss of 76 jobs. The Tokyo-based
company also operates three Chinese plants in Xiamen, Beijing and Shenzhen, one at Saraburi, Thailand, and four in Japan.
Plastics used in winning designs
DULLES, VA. (August 18, 2009) -- The use of polymer resins helped numerous products — including advanced medical devices, double-color injection molded consumer electronics and an amphibious sport
plane — win 2009 International Design Excellence Awards.
Singapore's Sunningdale reports cautious optimism
SINGAPORE (Aug 18, 2009) -- Sunningdale Tech Ltd said it faces a challenging business environment for the rest of this year though there are signs that the global economic crisis may be bottoming out.
The Singapore-based injection molder and tooling supplier said it remains cautious for the rest of the year.
China’s manufacturers mull ways to boost industry
 Chan
HONG KONG (June 30, 2009) -- Stung by the collapse of their export markets, Chinese manufacturers should not look for that big volume business to return and instead ought to explore new areas such as
manufacturing products targeted at niche markets, using better industrial design and looking inward at Chinese culture for inspiration. That, at least, was some of the advice coming from
manufacturers and industrial designers -- like Eric Chan, a native of Guangdong province and now president of industrial design firm Ecco Design Inc. in New York -- at a Hong Kong forum on
reinvigorating the sagging manufacturing industries in the Pearl River Delta.
Resin makers realizing China’s import potential
 Hanck
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- Just a few years ago, China was mainly a cheap export base, where products were made and sent elsewhere around the world. These days, the reverse is increasingly true:
China’s growing domestic market is attracting more attention, particularly from global resin makers. “There is real demand in the domestic China market,” said Hong Kong-based Philippe Hanck of
DuPont’s engineering polymers unit. He said DuPont has seen a tangible effect from China’s government stimulus spending in automotive, rail, mobile phones and renewable energy.
Ashland Distribution continues to grow in China
GUANGZHOU (May 26, 2009) -- After weathering a difficult first year in China, Ashland Distribution arrived at Chinaplas 2009 last week with a growing list of distribution agreements in the region. In
an economic downturn, a company official said, there are some advantages to being a new arrival.
Underwriters Laboratories buys Bayer plastics testing lab
NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS (April 28, 2009) -- Underwriters Laboratories Inc. has purchased a plastics testing lab in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, from Bayer MaterialScience AG. The deal will allow
Northbrook-based Underwriters Laboratories -- an independent organization that tests more than 19,000 products, components, materials and systems each year -- to expand its services in the plastics
market.
Package thermoformer Prent expands in China, Denmark
 Pregont
JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN (April 21, 2009) -- Packaging thermoformer Prent Corp. is expanding its plant in Shanghai and is building a plant in Holbaek, Denmark. Both projects are scheduled to be finished
within nine months. “We have outgrown our space in China,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Pregont. The expansion into Europe was driven by market conditions, he said. Medical
packaging accounts for more than 50 percent of the company’s sales, followed by electronics packaging. Prent designs and manufacturers blister packs, pressure-formed trays and clamshells.
BASF Vietnam unit to focus on growth opportunities
LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY (April 14, 2009) -- BASF SE has set up a subsidiary in Vietnam. BASF Vietnam Co. Ltd. will target growth industries in Vietnam, including electrical and electronics,
construction, footwear, crop protection, packaging and petrochemicals. BASF has had a presence in Vietnam since 1994 with a representative office, and it has been active in the construction chemicals
business since 2006.
SK Capital Partners to buy Solutia's nylon business
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (April 14, 2009) -- Private equity firm SK Capital Partners LP has bought the integrated nylon business of Solutia Inc. The business being sold includes nylon resin -- sold under
the Vydyne and Ascend trade names -- as well as fiber, feedstocks and compounds.
SPI stimulus brings Nissei back to NPE
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2009) -- In light of current economic conditions, the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. (SPI) has put in place what it calls an “economic stimulus” of financial
incentives designed to lower the overall cost of exhibiting at NPE2009 and to prevent exhibitors from incurring unexpected move-in and move-out costs. The offer already has succeeded in getting
Japanese injection press supplier Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. to reverse its recent decision to drop out of the show.
Plastics Hall of Fame to induct 9 new members at NPE
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (March 17, 2009) -- The Plastics Hall of Fame’s class of 2009 covers a global spectrum of leaders in materials, machinery, screws and packaging. The Hall of Fame will induct the
nine new members June 22 at NPE2009 in Chicago. Check out Plastics News’ full story about the inductees and their accomplishments.
New report looks at recycling data for rigid non-bottles
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (March 17, 2009) -- In another attempt to determine how much of all types of plastics are being recycled in the U.S., the American Chemistry Council has put together its first report
that looks at the extent of rigid non-bottle recycling. The report estimates that 147,400 metric tons of post-consumer rigid plastics were recycled in 2007. However, two-thirds of that material was
exported offshore, mostly to China, leaving only 55,000 metric tons for the U.S. and Canada.
China Array expands medical molding at Hubei plant
WUHAN, HUBEI (March 3, 2009) -- China Array Plastics LLC recently announced that it is adding a new molding cell to its China operation, enabling the company to expand its capabilities in molding
medical and dental devices.The company also molds parts for the aerospace, electronics and food-service and dairy industries.
Two more plastics equipment majors pass on NPE show
 Carteaux
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (March 3, 2009) -- Three high-profile plastics machinery makers have withdrawn from exhibiting at the big U.S. trade show NPE2009 since mid-February. U.S. auxiliary equipment
manufacturer ACS Group on March 2 joined injection press makers Netstal-Maschinen AG and Nissei America Inc. in pulling out of the June 22 to 26 show in Chicago. Now Bill Carteaux, president and
chief executive officer of the show’s organizer, the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., is traveling to Asia and Europe to meet with major exhibitors. Carteaux said that at this stage in the
game the level of cancellations is on a par with NPE2006, with paid exhibit space about the same as it was for the show three years ago, and that SPI continues to book new space weekly.
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