Silgan Plastics faces fine after plant injury
SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO — Silgan Plastics Canada Inc. was fined C$55,000 (about US$38,800) for safety violations at its Scarborough, Ontario, plant that occurred before Silgan acquired the blow molding operation.
A worker at the facility was trying to unblock a stretch blow molding machine Oct. 16, 1996, when the injection mold closed and trapped his left arm.
Medical workers at a nearby hospital amputated the worker's arm.
At that time the plant was part of the Rexam Container division of Rexam plc of London. Rexam sold the Scarborough and two other container plants in North America to Silgan Corp. in the spring of 1997.
Silgan Plastics Canada pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that blocks were placed in the injection mold of the machine to prevent mold movement. The inaction violated a section of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act. Justice of the Peace Ian McNish levied the fine at Toronto Provincial Court on March 13.
Emidio Di Meo, Silgan Plastics Canada general manager, declined comment on the fine. The firm's head office is in Mississauga, Ontario.
Eastman relocating tech lab to Singapore
SINGAPORE — Eastman Chemical Co. will shut its coatings and resins technical service laboratory in Osaka, Japan, and relocate the operations to its newly established Asia Pacific Technical Center in Singapore.
Following the closure of the 7-year-old Osaka laboratory in late April, Eastman's Japanese customers will be served by technical service representatives based at Eastman Chemical Japan Ltd. headquartered in Tokyo.
``The technical community in Japan drives much of the technology in Asia, so we intend to maintain a strong relationship through our Tokyo office,'' said Dante Rutstrom, Eastman's director of technology for Asia Pacific.
Rutstrom said the Osaka laboratory was small and located in a residential area unsuitable for laboratory operations. Moving the equipment to the $1.25 million Asia Pacific Technical Center will benefit more scientists and centralize costs.
In Malaysia, the company recently started up its 66.1 million-pound-per-year copolyester plant in Kuantan.
In 1997, Eastman's sales in Asia fell 8 percent from the previous year to just over $500 million, which accounts for about 10 percent of global sales.
