LOUISVILLE, OHIO - After closing its Spartanburg, S.C., plant last year, rotational molder Trilogy Plastics Inc. of Louisville is nearly tripling the size of its remaining plant. President Stephen Osborn would not say why the 22,000-square-foot Spartanburg plant closed midway through last year, but he did say the two rotomolding machines there were sold with the plant.
As if to offset the closing, Trilogy is adding a 42,000-square- foot building to the existing 24,000-square-foot plant in Louis-ville. Osborn would not disclose the amount invested.
``The new building, which is right around the corner from the one now, is really designed for 96,000 square feet, to grow into in four stages,'' he said.
The staff of 75 also will grow when the company moves into the facility Sept. 1. In addition, a rotomolding machine will be added in October, giving the firm seven.
Trilogy molds low, linear low and high density polyethylene and polypropylene. The company serves the food processing, pallet, consumer products, lawn and garden, electrical, medical waste and point-of-purchase display markets. It reported sales of $4.62 million last year.
Nadel adds new line of cosmetics jars
PORT CHESTER, N.Y. - The growing market for plastic jars to replace glass in the cosmetics industry has led a Port Chester injection molder to a major expansion.
Nadel Industries Inc. will move to an 80,000-square-foot plant in Port Chester this month, from the 15,000-square-foot facility it has occupied for 15 years.
Ric Nadel, vice president, said the company will add five new injection presses to the eight it already operates, including three 450-ton and two 300-ton machines. One machine is a coinjection press, he said.
``We will be making a new line of wide-mouthed PET, thick-walled jars for cosmetic creams and gels,'' he said. ``We will also be expanding our auxiliary services area where we can do hot stamping, [ultraviolet] spray frosting and silk screening.''
The firm also makes a range of cosmetic and personal-care containers ranging from 5-50 milliliters, as well as caps.
The company operates a plant in Kai Ping, China, and a joint venture in Milan, Italy. Both plants outside the United States make and distribute injection molded jars and containers, as well as closures.
Canadian extruder endures flood woes
JONQUIRE, QUEBEC-The northernmost PVC profile extruder in eastern Canada survived a massive flood that devastated many businesses in the Saguenay region.
Extruco Profiles Ltd. had only ``minor problems'' because employees could not get to work for a few days, said Gerald Gravel, vice president and general manager of the Jonquiere custom extruder.
Heavy rains July 19 caused floods that washed out towns, roads and railroad lines in the Saguenay region about 100 miles north of Quebec City. Extruco is in an industrial park that stayed high and dry while neighboring areas were washed downriver.
Gravel said his plant was closed that weekend for equipment changes and could not resume production until the morning of July 23. By the end of that week highways were clear enough for Extruco to receive a raw material shipment from Louisiana, he said in a telephone interview.
Extruco extrudes window profiles for local and eastern Canadian markets. Gravel said his company also is interested in exporting to U.S. markets.
Hull executive's son killed in TWA crash
HATBORO, PA. - A memorial service was held July 27 in Pennsylvania for James R. Hull, 45, a TWA employee on the airline's Flight 800, which exploded in midair off Long Island, N.Y., on July 17, killing all 230 people aboard.
Hull was the son of John L. Hull, vice chairman of Hatboro-based thermoset machinery maker Hull Corp. The elder Hull is chairman of the board of trustees of the Plastics Institute of America and 1995 secretary of the Greer, S.C.-based Plastics Pioneers Association.
According to the elder Hull, James Hull was traveling as a passenger en route to Paris with other members of a TWA flight crew. James Hull leaves a wife, two daughters and two brothers.