Interplast adds lines, hikes BOPP capacity
LOLITA, TEXAS — Inteplast Corp. just added a fifth biaxially oriented polypropylene film line at its Lolita plant and expects to install a sixth by the second quarter.
Officials would not disclose the amount invested, but said capacity with the sixth line will be 240 million pounds per year. They would not explain why the BOPP line only recently began operating, since the firm announced installation of both lines a year ago.
Last year, President John Young said the lines would be added by June 1996 and capacity would be about 360 million pounds per year. The firm planned to invest $80 million in the equipment.
Since then, the firm has reorganized. In February, Homer Hsieh was promoted from general manager to Amtopp Corp. president. Amtopp, an Inteplast unit, serves the flexible food packaging industry.
Inteplast of Livingston, N.J., is a unit of Taipei, Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Corp. It placed 14th in Plastics News' ranking of North American film and sheet manufacturers, with related sales of $259 million for the year ended June 30. The firm has about 2,000 employees at eight plants.
American Materials buys Grafalloay Corp.
LOS ANGELES — American Materials & Technologies Corp. of Los Angeles has entered the market for graphite composite golf shafts by acquiring Grafalloy Corp. of El Cajon, Calif., from private investors.
``This acquisition well positions AMT to participate'' in the projected double-digit growth in the graphite golf shaft market, AMT President Paul Pendorf said of the Feb. 27 purchase.
Grafalloy employs 150, occupies a 20,000-square-foot facility, generates annual sales of about $11 million and has 24 years' experience in developing and manufacturing shafts. Grafalloy President William Gerhart now is also the unit's chief executive officer.
AMT will share the technology of two other units, Culver City Composites Corp. and its recently acquired Carbon Design Partnership Ltd., to expand Grafalloy's market position, Pendorf said.
Separately, AMT reported profit of $934,000 on 1996 sales of $22.4 million, compared to a loss of $1.4 million on 1995 sales of $15.9 million.
Management sales group acquires Scapa units
BLACKBURN, ENGLAND — Industrial materials manufacturer Scapa Group has sold two plastics subsidiaries to a management team for £19 million ($30.8 million).
Blackburn-based Scapa sold Scapa Mouldings Ltd. of Rishton, England, which produces expanded polystyrene used to package appliances, and nylon processor Perseverance Mills Ltd. of Barnsley, England, as noncore businesses.
The two firms have combined net assets of £10.7 ($17.3 million) and profit of £2.9 million ($4.7 million) for the year ended in March 1996. They were purchased in a cash deal by Padiham Group Ltd., a newly formed company with various backers, including the Bank of Scotland.
Allied to triple space in 2nd new expansion
TWIN LAKES, WIS. — Allied Plastics, a Twin Lakes-based thermoformer, plans to add almost 22,000 square feet to its plant and more equipment this spring.
The company, which started in October 1995, has seen continued growth. This is the second expansion in a year.
``We have the capacity, but no room,'' said Allied co-owner Steve Wieder.
He would not disclose the amount invested in the addition. Groundbreaking is scheduled for April or May.
Currently, Allied's 10,000-square-foot plant houses three thermoforming machines. When the expansion is completed in October, the company will add a five-axis computer numerically controlled trimming machine and an 8-foot-by-10-foot twin-sheet thermoforming machine. The firm will add about 10 new employees to the staff of 20.
Allied reported sales of $1.4 million for its first full fiscal year. The company makes deep-draw, heavy-gauge parts for the automotive, recreational and industrial markets.
LDM verifies close of Molmec purchase
AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — LDM Technologies Inc., a large automotive supplier in Auburn Hills, confirmed it has purchased Molmec Inc., a Walled Lake, Mich., supplier of under-the-hood and interior trim components.
The transaction, reported in the Feb. 17 issue of Plastics News, was completed Jan. 22, according to an LDM news release issued last week. The purchase price was not disclosed.
LDM officials said in the release that the deal allows it to strengthen its under-the-hood and functional components business and expand its customer base.