ORANGEBURG, S.C. - Zeus Industrial Products Inc. is producing fluoropolymer tubing at a new plant in Gaston, S.C. The 47,000-square-foot plant is Zeus' fifth for tubing extrusion, said spokesman Ed Braga. Together those sites, which include two plants in Orangeburg and two more in Raritan, N.J., give Zeus more than 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space, Braga said.
The Gaston facility, which employs more than 50, opened in January. Braga would not disclose the operation's capacity for extruded tubing. But by year's end, Zeus plans to create a total of 150 jobs at the plant, he said. Zeus now employs about 400.
The private company, based in Orangeburg, built the plant ``to meet growing demand for our [custom and standard] products,'' including polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyetheretherketone and polyethylene tubing and profiles, he said. It sells to the aerospace, automotive, medical, electronics and chemicals markets.
The Gaston plant also has a 3,000-square-foot clean room.
Braga would not disclose sales figures.
Price increases planned for polyester
ST. PAUL, MINN. - Two divisions of Interplastic Corp. announced April 12 a price increase for polyester resins.
Citing raw material price increases, the Silmar and Commercial Resins divisions said they will increase prices 2-3 cents a pound, effective April 27. The Silmar division is in Fort Wright, Ky., and the Commercial division is in St. Paul.
Last week, Ashland Chemical Co. and Reichhold Chemicals Inc. announced increases of 2-3 cents per pound for unsaturated polyester resins. Both cited raw material price hikes.
Alpha/Owens-Corning in Collierville, Tenn., said it has not decided yet whether to raise prices.
International Polymers gets new owner
ALLENTOWN, PA. - By May 1, International Polymers Corp. will be under new ownership. An outside group of investors is purchasing the company for an undisclosed amount of money.
International Polymers, an Allentown-based compounder, will continue to make the same products for its current customers. According to Blair Manning, plant manager and vice president, the company also would like to get into more engineering-grade materials, and will expand and improve its product lines.
IPC has been approved for $2 million in tax-exempt state economic development fund financing. It will use the funds to renovate the facility and to upgrade and purchase equipment.
IPC's 160,000-square-foot plant is on 14 acres and has six lines. The firm plans to add two compounding extruding lines by the end of the year. All 35 employees will be retained, and the firm would like to be up to 50 employees by the end of the year.
Nissei, Lemelson reach settlement
RENO, NEV. - Nissei America Inc. has reached a settlement with inventor Jerome Lemelson, who then dismissed his 5-year-old patent infringement lawsuit against Nissei.
Beginning in 1990, Lemelson roiled the plastics machinery industry by claiming that patents he held cover parts of the injection molding process, including computer control. Lemelson threatened to sue injection press manufacturers if they did not sign licensing agreements with him. More than 20 machine makers agreed to sign.
But in 1991, Lemelson sued Nissei, one of the firms that refused to negotiate, in U.S. District Court in Reno. Nissei of Anaheim, Calif., said Lemelson dismissed his complaint March 15. Nissei, in a statement issued April 4, denied infringing on any of the four patents involved and contended they were invalid and unenforceable.
Nissei officials declined to reveal terms of the confidential settlement. Asked whether the settlement included a licensing agreement with Lemelson, Nissei declined comment.
Lemelson's lawyers could not be reached for comment.
SPI to hold Fla. summit in September
WASHINGTON - Banking on the success of similar events in the North, the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. will hold its first Florida Plastics Summit, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Orlando.
SPI estimates the number of plastics companies in Florida at more than 1,000. Topics will include energy costs, worker training and retention, and the environment.
The first SPI plastics summit was in Ohio in 1994. A second Ohio Plastics Summit will be April 30 in Columbus.
The Florida event is sponsored by Washington-based SPI; the Florida Plastics Industry Council, a state-based network of plastics companies; the Society of Plastics Engineers; the American Plastics Council; and Enterprise Florida, a business-promoting rm of the Florida state government, among others.