Canadian recycler to double capacity
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO—The Canadian Polystyrene Recycling Association in Mississauga plans to double its production capacity.
Account manager John Roulston said the CPRA also will add material separation equipment to increase capacity and to reduce operating costs and improve material recovery rates. CPRA handled 14 million pounds of material last year.
``When we finish this project we will have double the production capacity without increases to our plant size or labor force,'' he said.
CPRA was founded in 1989 to recycle post-consumer polystyrene. It now primarily produces polystyrene resins for post-consumer feedstocks.
In 1998 CPRA had US$6.07 million in sales and ranked 72nd in Plastics News' recent ranking of North American recyclers and brokers.
Boss Industries Inc. moves to larger plant
ERIE, PA. — Boss Industries Inc. has relocated to a larger facility and invested $650,000 in new tool-building equipment and technology.
Boss moved at the end of May from Fairview, Pa., to Erie, and installed a new Mitsubishi computer numerically controlled machining center, more CNC and electric discharge machining equipment and updated its software, according to company President Dean Rugare Sr.
The 10-mile move gave Boss 10,000 square feet of space vs. the 1,500 it had in Fairview.
The company, established in March 1997, surpassed $1 million in sales in its first year and is growing rapidly, Rugare said by telephone.
The company's major markets are automotive and medical. It specializes in injection molds, but also builds thermoset, compression and transfer molds.
Rugare said unlike many mold makers, he expects no problems as Boss plans to double its work force to 24. He claimed toolmakers like to work for his company because it uses up-to-date technology, is employee-friendly and offers a lot of overtime. Boss has two twelve-hour shifts a day.
``People are always knocking on our door to work here,'' Rugare said.
Rugare left his sales position at a mold shop, which he declined to identify, to start up his own company.
Dow to manufacture PP in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Dow Chemical Co. is launching production of its Inspire-brand polypropylene resins in South Africa
The Midland, Mich.-based polymer producer, which announced the plan at a customer event in Johannesburg in mid-May, will manufacture the resins through its local subsidiary Sentrachem at its polyolefin complex in Sasolburg.
Sentrachem, which Dow acquired in December 1997, produces 198 million pounds of polypropylene and 352 million pounds of high density polyethylene annually through its Safripol polyolefin division, according to Dow.
The polymers will be marketed by Dow's local sales division Plastomark. In March this year Dow bought Hoechst AG's shares in Safripol and Plastomark, which formerly were joint ventures between Sentrachem and Hoechst's South African subsidiary.
The transition of control at Safripol is expected to be smooth since the technology used by Safripol is already the same that Dow has licensed for its other global operations, according to Ioannis Spanudakis, polypropylene global business director at Dow.
Dow said it will sell the Inspire resins in South Africa and will export resin to other markets.
DSM Engineering selling subsidiary
BERGISCH GLADBACH, GERMANY — DSM Engineering Plastic Products, a division of the Dutch chemicals giant DSM NV, plans to sell German subsidiary Polypenco Kunststofftechnik GmbH to two separate companies.
DSM will sell the machined parts and stock shapes business of Polypenco to Polytron Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co. of Bergisch Gladbach for an undisclosed sum. The unit's 61-strong work force will transfer to Polytron, part of the Henderkott group.
Polypenco also is based in Bergisch Gladbach.
Meanwhile, Polypenco's seals and automotive parts activities will be transferred, with the unit's 59 employees, to Italian-owned Gapi Technische Produkte GmbH of Bad Kreuznach, Germany.
Sittard, Netherlands-based DSM NV announced the sales, and said both deals follow its strategy of concentrating DSM Engineering Plastic Products on core activities.
DSM's Engineering Plastic's main products include stock shapes like plates, rods and tubes made of polymers including polyamide, acetal, polyester and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene.
Briefly...
Injection press builder Arburg GmbH + Co. of Lossburg, Germany, has assumed all the commercial activities for the Smartliner 800 smartcard manufacturing system. Dutch mold maker Axxicon Group NV is no longer involved in the marketing, Arburg said.