FAIRLAWN, OHIO - GenCorp Inc. said it had formed a ``strategic alliance'' with a German structural composites producer which would allow for a wide range of cooperative ventures. GenCorp, based in Fairlawn, said it had formed an alliance with Menzolit-Fibron GmbH, a manufacturer and distributor of glass fiber reinforced plastic components for the automotive and heavy truck industry. Menzolit-Fibron was formed in May when Menzolit GmbH of Kraichtal-Menzingen, Germany, and Fibron GmbH of Bretten, Germany, merged and established its headquarters in Bretten. The firm has plants in Germany, France, Portugal, Turkey and the Slovakian Republic.
GenCorp said its Reinforced Plastics Division, based in Shelbyville, Ind., would work closely with Menzolit-Fibron on technical exchange and licensing, cooperative systems engineering, and the design and manufacturing of composite products. The GenCorp unit makes and distributes fiber-reinforced composites in the North American automotive market.
GenCorp, through its wholly owned subsidiary Henniges GmbH, also manufactures rubber automotive parts in Rehburg, Germany, and Ballina, Ireland.
Chevron to expand ethylene production
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS - Chevron Chemical Co. said it will expand ethylene production capacity in Port Arthur to 1.7 billion pounds a year by the end of 1997.
The plant now produces 1 billion pounds of ethylene a year.
Chevron said it has launched an engineering contract to develop its plans and cost estimates.
The additional capacity will be used as feedstock for derivatives, including polyethylene and other alpha olefins.
Mold Expo show i Mich. rescheduled
NOVI, MICH. - Mold Expo, the canceled mold-making trade show, has been rescheduled for March 19-21 at the Novi Exposition Center in Novi.
``We canceled this year because we were blindsided and found ourselves surrounded by the enemy,'' said George Gignac, president of the show's owner, Mold Expo USA Inc., a subsidiary of Initiative for the Development of International Conferences and Expositions of Montreal.
The show was originally scheduled for Sept. 26-28.
``The show never will be a gigantic event because it is so focused, but it is a response to a real need,'' he said.
The 1996 show will be managed by the Engineering Society of Detroit and held in conjunction with the North American Industrial Expo, a manufacturing supply show, and the Contract Manufacturing Exposition. For information, call (313) 995-4440.
CPI appoints Levesqu as new director
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO - The Canadian Plastics Institute has appointed Andre Levesque director of operations.
Levesque's 30 years of plastics industry experience included management positions with Monsanto Canada Inc. and president of Canadian bottle blow molder Plax Inc. until Plax was bought by Graham Packaging Co. of York, Pa., in 1993.
CPI, based in Mississauga, works with SPI Canada to help Canada's processors keep up with technology trends.
Puget adding on to Ore. molding plant
TUALATIN, ORE. - Custom injection molder Puget Plastics Corp. broke ground three weeks ago on a 45,000-square-foot addition to its Tualatin molding facility. Cost of the expansion is about $3 million, excluding cost of new equipment. When completed, the building will total 120,000 square feet.
Puget also has a facility in Portland, Ore. Mike Treadaway, vice president and general manager for Puget, said the Tualatin plant, built in 1991, has become the larger of the two operations. This is the second expansion for the Tualatin plant.
Plans also call for additional equipment. Six new presses, a combination of Mitsubishi and Toshiba, have been ordered. Puget operates 70 presses - 45 in Tualatin and 25 in Portland - ranging from 28-950 tons of clamping force.
The Tualatin expansion is part of a plan implemented earlier this year when Arctic Slope Regional Corp., a firm representing the business interests of the Inupiat Eskimos, bought the plastics division of Tacoma, Wash.-based Puget Corp.
Puget Plastics was ranked 75th in Plastics News' 1995 injection molder survey with annual sales of $50 million.