CNC programmerkilled at Calif. plant
ONTARIO, CALIF. — A programmer of computer numerically controlled equipment at Ray Products Co. Inc. in Ontario was injured fatally April 15 while performing machining operations, President Bruce Ray said in a telephone interview.
Antonio Mendoza, 28, received severe chest injuries and was taken by ambulance to a Colton, Calif., hospital, where he died. Mendoza worked at Ray Products for 10 years and is survived by his wife and three children.
``Our company is devastated by the loss of Antonio because our employees are like family, and this loss affects us all,'' Ray said in a statement.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating. Spokesman Dean Fryer said a preliminary report indicates a bit came loose or broke and struck the programmer.
Ray Products employs about 65 and operates seven thermoforming lines. Thermoforming accounted for about 87 percent of the firm's $5.7 million dollars in sales for the year ended July 31.
Dayton pursues plan to expand plant
MONROE, OHIO — Vinyl window and door manufacturer Dayton Technologies Inc. is considering a plan to expand its Monroe plant by 102,000 square feet and more than 100 new employees.
Parent company Deceuninck Plastics Industries NV of Hooglede, Belgium, would spend more than $12.5 million to increase the plant's size to handle its growing sales.
Monroe-based Dayton Technologies, which employs 425, is petitioning the city for a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement, which would save the company a total of $1 million.
Dayton's total sales topped $75 million in 1998, a 30 percent increase over 1997 sales figures, said Neil Pemberton, Dayton chief financial officer.
Three UPR suppliers plan price hikes
AKRON, OHIO — Two of North America's largest producers of unsaturated polyester resins have announced price increases.
AOC LLC of Collierville, Tenn., plans to raise UPR prices 2-4 cents per pound starting May 15. In an April 14 news release, the company cited pending price increases on maleic anydride and styrene, major feedstocks for UPR, as well as other business pressures.
Reichhold of Durham, N.C., came out with its own 2-4 cent price increase announcement April 20. Reichhold based its price hike on a rise in the costs of crude oil, logistics, energy and manufacturing.
Together, AOC*and Reichhold account for more than 1 billion pounds of annual capacity for UPR.
Smaller player Cook Composites and Polymers Co. of Kansas City, Mo., is planning to raise prices 2 cents per pound starting June 1, Scott Kaphingst, marketing director for composites, said in an April 22 telephone interview. He said rising costs of styrene and other raw materials prompted Cook's move.
A spokeswoman for Ashland Chemical Co. of Dublin, Ohio, another major UPR supplier, said her company had no pricing announcements.
Peter DePietro, national sales manager for Interplastic Corp. of Minneapolis, said his company had not made a decision on pricing. Officials from the other top UPR maker, McWhorter Technologies Inc. of Carpentersville, Ill., could not be reached for comment.
Core wins SMC deal from Volvo Trucks
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Core Materials Corp. has been awarded a contract worth about $5 million in annual sales with Volvo Trucks North America Corp.
Core Materials, based in Columbus, will make several sheet molding compound parts for Volvo's VN heavy-duty truck models. Those reinforced parts will be used for the trucks' bumpers, air deflectors and other vehicle sections.
The parts will be compression molded at Core Material's plants in Columbus and Gaffney, S.C. Volvo Trucks North America is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C.
Core Materials, a publicly held company, was spun off from Navistar Corp. in 1997. The Volvo contract represents the first major truck manufacturing opportunity since the spinoff, the company said in a news release. Core Materials also makes heavy-truck SMC parts for Navistar and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp.