ST. PAUL, MINN. - Interplastic Corp., a St. Paul-based manufacturer and distributor of resins and composites, has acquired Northwest Fibr-Glass Supply Inc. Financial details were undisclosed.
Minneapolis-based Northwest Fibr-Glass, which has been in operation since 1957, distributes a full line of resins, vinyl esters, gel coats, reinforcements and catalysts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North and South Dakota.
Northwest Fibr-Glass will be operated as a division of Interplastic Distribution Group, headquartered in San Antonio.
Agreement opens up foamed TPEs market
LEOMINSTER, MASS. - DSM Thermoplastic Elastomers BV of Urmond, the Netherlands, recently signed a global agreement with Gebr. Happich GmbH of Wuppertal, Germany, that opens the U.S. market to foamed thermoplastic elastomers.
Using a specially formulated Sarlink grade, a closed-cell product with smooth skin can be produced via extrusion or injection molding technology. The developed technology is expected to be used in automotive door and window seal applications.
DSM, a sister company of DSM Thermoplastic Elastomers Inc. of Leominster, and Happich have applied for patents on the processing technique and the composition.
AlliedSignal unit installs equipment
MORRISTOWN, N.J. - AlliedSignal Performance Additives recently completed installation of manufacturing and finishing equipment at its Orange, Texas, plant.
The plant produces oxidized, low-molecular-weight polyethylene. Finishing equipment expansion will allow the unit to offer oxidized low density PE pastilles, besides the prilled and atom forms now available.
AlliedSignal Inc., parent company of Performance Additives, is based in Morristown.
DuPont partnership buys Univex share
WILMINGTON, DEL. - DuPont and Alpek SA de CV, a subsidiary of Alfa SA de CV of Mexico, has formed a partnership to buy 51 percent of Univex, a major supplier of caprolactam to the Mexican market.
Univex, owned by Celanese de Mexico, produces 165 million pounds annually of caprolactam, a key raw material in the manufacture of nylon 6. The assets purchased include about 15 million pounds of nylon 6 filament capacity and 45 million pounds of nylon 6 capacity at the Celmex site in Ocotl n, Mexico.
Gary Pfeiffer, vice president and general manager at DuPont Nylon North America, said the acquisition creates opportunities for DuPont in the Mexican nylon market as a result of NAFTA and the anticipated Mexican economic recovery. Both nylon 6,6 and nylon 6 are used in textile, industrial and flooring applications.
DuPont is headquartered in Wilmington.
Mannesmann adds Krauss-Maffei stock
DUSSELDORF, GERMANY - Mannesmann AG has acquired Diehl GmbH & Co.'s 25 percent interest in Krauss-Maffei AG.
Mannesmann of Dusseldorf increases its stake in its defense and plastics subsidiary to 97 percent. Financial details were undisclosed.
In the first nine months, Krauss-Maffei had new orders of 2.4 billion deutsche marks, ($3.4 billion), up 4 percent from a year earlier. Sales climbed 21 percent to DM1.1 billion, ($1.5 billion), according to Mannesmann.
Diehl GmbH & Co. is based in Nuremberg, Germany.
Shell expects to have plant rebuilt in March
BELPRE, OHIO - Shell Chemical Co. plans to complete by March the rebuilding of its thermoplastic elastomer plant in Belpre-a portion of which was destroyed in a May 1994 explosion and fire.
Construction is halfway complete on the plant's K-1 unit, which manufactures Kraton G, SBS polymers and SIS polymers.
The blast killed three workers and shut down four of five departments at the plant, including the K-1. About a month after the blast, Shell restarted all operations damaged at the facility except the K-1.
The new K-1 unit will have the same capacity as the previous unit, more than 100 million pounds annually, the firm said.
A Shell spokeswoman would not reveal how much the explosion cost the chemical company in terms of damages and lost revenues.
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Tex America Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., has been named U.S. and Canadian representative of Fiborsin slr of Dairgo, Italy. Fiborsin makes equipment used to manufacture net-type products directly from extrusion.
Lenox Polymers Ltd. of Port Huron, Mich., announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lenox Resources Ltd., has signed a licensing agreement with Polymer Systems International to develop and market new Lenox polymer products.
Bayer Corp. of Pittsburgh will discontinue older grades of FR1439, FR1440 and FR1441, effective Dec. 31. The consolidation of the Bayblend polycarbonate/ABS resins is a result of the introduction of its bromine- and chlorine-free, flame-retardant grades FR90 and FR110.
John Brown Plastics Machinery's Epco Division in Fremont, Ohio, appointed sales representatives: Jack Chomicz Associates of Mystic, Conn.; Canfield Plastic Equipment Sales of Franklin, N.C.; Plasquip Sales Co. of Webster, N.Y.; and Dallas Machine Sales of Memphis, Tenn. They will represent Epco's remanufacturing and conversion services for injection molding machines. Jackson Machinery Inc. of Port Washington, Wis., and Blow Molding Automation Specialists of Cincinnati will represent Epco's remanufacturing and conversion services of blow molding machines.
Alpha/Owens-Corning of Collierville, Tenn., announced it has opened an international export office in Miami dealing with unsaturated polyesters and vinyl esters. ... Century Mold Co. Inc. of Shelbyville, Tenn., has received the Supplier Excellence Award from Calsonic North America for the third consecutive year. ... Bayer Corp.'s Makrolon polycarbonate manufacturing unit in Baytown, Texas, has received Ford Motor Co.'s Q1 Award. Bayer is headquartered in Pittsburgh. ... AlliedSignal Inc. of Morristown, N.J., has attained the S-B Power Tool Co.'s Hallmark Supplier status in recognition of its consistent quality performance and delivery.
