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Tax credit gives boost to thriving window industry
LAS VEGAS (Feb. 9, 1 p.m. ET)  — Unlike other building industry segments that still face a great deal of uncertainty about what 2010 will bring, many window makers are looking forward to a second straight year of increased sales or improved market share — thanks to a surge in business triggered by the $1,500 tax credit in last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. February 9, 2010
Alternative-decking makers ready to grow
LAS VEGAS (Feb. 9, 12:55 pm. ET)  — Usually, companies try to out-top each other. But in the fiercely competitive alternative-decking market, companies that make wood-plastic composites, cellular PVC and decking from other materials are now trying to out-cap each other. February 9, 2010
Poor economy can't squelch new products
LAS VEGAS (Feb. 9, 12:30 p.m. ET)  — You might think that the struggling economy and the still-depressed housing market would deter companies from trying to carve a new niche in the already-crowded decking and siding industries or from introducing products made with new materials and processes. But that’s not the case. February 9, 2010
Paper shredder maker using bioplastics
DONGGUAN, CHINA (Feb. 5, 12:50 p.m. ET) -- Office equipment maker Intek America Inc., which last year launched a program to make some of its paper shredders carbon neutral, is hoping a partnership with Taiwanese bioplastics compounder Minima Technology Co. Ltd. will help it “green” its material choices. February 5, 2010
Two states prepare to regulate BPA
MADISON, WIS. (Jan. 27, 4:45 p.m. ET) -- Washington and Wisconsin are one step closer to becoming the third and fourth U.S. states to ban the use of bisphenol A in baby bottles and food and drink containers. The two new proposed bans, which are expected to be approved and signed into law, come less than two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration reversed its long-held stance that BPA is safe for food contact applications. January 27, 2010
Firms find higher-than-expected costs in China's interior
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Jan. 22, 11:15 a.m. ET) -- While some smaller foreign manufacturers in China have built factories in interior regions as a lower-cost escape from coastal cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen, the reality of those moves has not always matched their expectations. Those mismatched expectations have included unexpectedly high labor rates or more difficulty with logistics or supply chains inland, prompting some firms to say they’re not sure they’d make the same decision again. January 22, 2010
Toymakers explore China's growing domestic market
HONG KONG (Jan. 19, 1:45 p.m. ET) -- With China’s economy growing, some overseas plastic toy makers are starting to seriously explore the country’s expanding but sometimes challenging domestic market. January 19, 2010
Toy show exhibit results in yo-yo logo tiff
HONG KONG (Jan. 15, 12:45 p.m. ET) -- The Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, Asia’s largest toy exhibition, is the place where the factories of China meet the Western companies filling up their retail shelves. It’s also a place where China and the West confront sometimes very different ideas about intellectual property, as American plastic yo-yo maker Duncan Toys Co. recently learned first-hand. January 15, 2010
Governments urge keeping focus on toy safety
HONG KONG (Jan. 13, 1:55 p.m. ET) -- Chinese factories make more than 70 percent of the world’s toys, so top toy safety regulators in America and Europe came to the Hong Kong Toy Fair recently with a message -- don't step back from the recent focus on safety. January 13, 2010
Housewares on hold for 2010
RYE, N.Y. (Jan. 11, 11:30 a.m. ET) -- With consumers cutting back in 2009, housewares manufacturers are waiting to see if a bump in spending in the end of the year will help boost their business or if flat sales will be the “new up.” About 63 percent of housewares makers told the International Housewares Association in September that they expected flat or slightly higher sales to finish out the year and were waiting to see if new orders would push business forward beyond that. January 11, 2010
Consumers like their phones mobile, smart
MENLO PARK, CALIF. (Jan. 11, 11:25 a.m. ET) -- Technology advances, additional delivery methods and data-service demands bode well for plastics processors working on mobile telecommunications devices — while the market appears to be rebounding from a slow 2009. January 11, 2010
Plastics' share shrinks with size of computers
EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. (Jan. 11, 11:15 a.m. ET) -- Computers keep getting smaller and smaller. The desktop platform “will struggle to compete against a [notebook] platform whose mobility and performance continue to increase,” said Matthew Wilkin, iSuppli Corp.’s principal analyst for computer platforms research. January 11, 2010
Office furniture bouncing back
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH (Jan. 11, 11 a.m. ET) -- Think about the future for the office furniture industry as being a bit like office water-cooler gossip — there are a lot of small signs that something is about to happen, but few people are willing to go on the record and say just what that may be. At least this time, the signs are pointing toward the beginning of a recovery for an industry that saw production fall by more than 30 percent in 2009. January 11, 2010
Demand may lift appliances market
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (Jan. 11, 10:45 a.m. ET) -- After years of continuous decline, the U.S. major home appliances industry is likely to finally see a silver lining in 2010, thanks to the rise of consumer confidence, the recovering housing market and, notably, the start of a long-expected federal incentive program, among other factors. January 11, 2010
Electronic gizmos highlight plastics at CES
LAS VEGAS (Jan. 8, 11 a.m. ET) -- Electronic gadgets introduced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are getting attention for their materials, and not just the software. At least two major introductions at the Jan. 7-10 event noted plastics used in upcoming products: Plastic Logic Ltd.' s electronic reader Que, and Sony Electronics Inc.'s Eco Edition version of its W series Vaio laptop. January 8, 2010

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