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October 12, 2008

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S. China plastics firms struggling, but eye modernization

GUANGZHOU (September 30, 2008) -- By some estimates, thousands of factories in the Pearl River Delta manufacturing area between Guangzhou and Hong Kong have closed down, as China kicked in tough new tax and labor laws designed to push local industry to modernize. Plastics News interviewed a number of attendees about the subject at the recent AsiaMold exhibition in Guangzhou, including Alfred Au, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Mold and Die Council. Au said, “I think the challenging time will be the coming year.”

Re-evaluating China, from across the Taiwan strait

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (September 30, 2008) -- With costs quickly climbing across the Taiwan strait, many of the island’s companies are reassessing their relationship with mainland China, a region that is both its biggest market and its fiercest competitor. Plastics News spoke with several Taiwanese firms on the subject at the Taipei Plas show, which was held earlier this month.

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.

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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.

Chunxu molding drums for Olympic Games

Drum and light installation

SHANGHAI (May 27, 2008) -- Filling an upstairs showroom at Shanghai Chunxu Mould Industrial Co. Ltd. is an array of plastic products. From a colorful set of children’s toys to fuel tanks and fenders, the rotational molded goods trace Chunxu’s nearly 15-year rotomolding history. And last year, the company was chosen to supply a series of red drums for a Beijing Olympic installation. After the designs were drawn up, a rotomolder was needed to produce the drums and Chunxu’s name came up. And these aren’t just ordinary drums, they are light fixtures.

China’s rotomolders put their powder to the test
SHANGHAI (April 29, 2008) -- As China’s rotational molders look to move into high-value products, there is a fundamental challenge they first must overcome -- the availability of high-quality raw material. Bruce Muller, a U.S.-based plastics consultant with Plastics Consulting Ltd., offered attendees at the China International Forum for Rotational Molding and Hollow Parts conference a series of tests to ensure the quality of their powder.

China’s rotomolders look to the future
SHANGHAI (April 29, 2008) -- Looking to improve their technology and move into more high-end materials, rotational molders from across China gathered in Shanghai to share information and learn from some of the industry’s best. Chinese operations aiming to move up the value chain, however, are facing a number of difficulties, from a deficit of technology to a lack of reliable, quality raw materials.

Marketing builds profits, expert tells China rotomolders

Johnson

SHANGHAI (April 29, 2008) -- Making money is approached differently in China and the United States, said Russ Johnson, chief executive officer of China Array Plastics LLC. For Chinese rotomolders looking to make a jump to the U.S. market, it takes a change in thinking. Russ Johnson spoke at the recent China International Forum for Rotational Molding and Hollow Parts.

Release agents makers open China facility
SHANGHAI (April 15, 2008) – A U.S. and a German firm have teamed up to serve the rapidly expanding release agents and lubricants market in China. Chem-Trend and Kluber Lubrication will be sharing a new 28,000-square-meter facility in the Qingpu district of Shanghai.

PN Forum speaker offers keys to unlock creativity

Innovation expert Ken Robinson

TAMPA, FLORIDA (April 1, 2008) -- “Innovation” is something every company wants. But not many managers know how to stimulate and nurture it. The key is fostering the imagination and creativity of all employees, according to an expert on the subject, Ken Robinson. Part of the problem is that most of us, from the chief executive officer to the cleaning person, take imagination for granted and “ignore its power,” Robinson said in the keynote speech at the Plastics News Executive Forum in Tampa.

Learning to embrace sustainability

Coleman-Kammula

TAMPA, FLORIDA (April 1, 2008) -- The message is clear: Sustainability is a mainstream issue. Companies that make petroleum-based plastic products should examine how they use energy and design products, Seetha Coleman-Kammula advised those at the Plastics News Executive Forum, held last month in Tampa. Coleman-Kammula, a former executive with Shell Chemical Co. and Basell North America, in 2005 co-founded Simply Sustain LLC, an environmentally focused consulting firm in Delaware.

A primer on supplying the global medical market

Avery

The medical market is not just another market. A whole range of special requirements must be met before a company qualifies to serve as a component supplier to this market. And to make things more interesting, global requirements differ depending on where you intend to set up manufacturing. In Jack Avery’s latest primer, he looks into approaches to entering this potentially lucrative market.

April conferences are first in China for SPI, SPE
SHANGHAI (February 19, 2008) —- Two prominent U.S. plastics industry trade groups — the Society of Plastics Industry Inc. and the Society of Plastics Engineers — both are planning their first conferences in China this spring, in conjunction with the big April 17-20 Chinaplas 2008 trade show in Shanghai.

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