TROY, OHIO - Motoman Inc., a robotics manufacturer headquartered in West Carrollton, Ohio, and Stillwater Technologies Inc. have begun building a $20 million manufacturing facility that will create at least 87 jobs in Troy during the next three years. Stillwater, a Troy-based contract tooling and machining company, will manufacture industrial robot parts, positioning equipment, resistance welding com-ponents, tooling programs, and custom fabrications, machining and assembly.
Motoman will manufacture robots and related components, clean room products, and remanufactured robots and will assemble robotic systems.
The two companies are receiving a 100 percent real and tangible personal property tax abatement for 10 years from the city of Troy and a 100 percent, 15-year abatement on real estate taxes.
The state of Ohio also approved job training tax credits.
Motoman is owned by Yaskawa Electric America. With sales of $50 million in 1994, Motoman employs 210 at the West Carrollton location. Stillwater employs 75.
X-Rite Inc. finishes Labsphere purchase
GRANDVILLE, MICH. - X-Rite Inc., a Grandville-based manufacturer of quality-control instruments, has completed its acquisition of North Sutton, N.H.-based Labsphere Inc.
Labsphere makes products that measure color and light through transmission and reflectance technology.
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
X-Rite, which makes equipment for companies in the paint, plastics, textile, packaging, photographic, graphic arts and medical industries, reported sales of $59.5 million in 1994.
Thai firm buys into Philippines PP plant
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Thai Petrochemical Industry Co. Ltd. has acquired a 10 percent equity in the US$130 million, first Philippine petrochemical plant project.
The Bangkok-based company was the latest foreign investor to join in building the polypropylene plant in the Philippines owned by the Manila-based Petrochemicals Corp. of Asia Pacific (Petrocorp) and Albright & Wilson of England, which controls 25.5 percent of the project.
The plant will save the Philippines at least US$105 million worth of imported PP. It is to be completed by July 1996.
AT Plastics adding BICC compounds
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO - AT Plastics Inc. plans to expand its product line for wire and cable insulation and jacketing by adding ethylene-propylene rubber compounds manufactured by BICC Cables Corp. of West Nyack, N.Y.
BICC has been manufacturing the compounds and semi-conductive materials at its Indian-apolis facility for about five years.
AT Plastics will begin selling the compounds in midyear, according to Peter Connelly, AT's marketing manager for wire and cable.
The products will complement AT's ethylene-based polymers for low- and medium-voltage applications.
AT manufactures ethylene copolymers at a facility in Edmonton, Alberta.
The company, headquartered in Brampton, also manufactures industrial films and packaging, Connelly said.
