PU Division considering split from SPI
WASHINGTON — The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. may lose another of its large business units, the Polyurethane Division.
Prompted in part by resin-company departures from SPI, the division will decide in the next several weeks whether to leave SPI, said Fran Lichtenberg, executive director of the division.
If it leaves, the division is not sure if it would affiliate with the American Plastics Council or go independent, she said. At least 11 large resin suppliers have left SPI in favor of APC, which has taken funding away from SPI business groups and put pressure on them to leave Washington-based SPI.
``It's important to the polyurethane industry to have an association like the Polyurethane Division that includes resin suppliers, formulators and machinery manufacturers, and that can work with processors,'' she said.
Some member companies of the division have approached APC about affiliation, said APC President Ron Yocum. APC staff members are not approaching SPI divisions, he said.
The Polyurethane Division has five staff members and a budget of about $2 million.
An official from Bayer Corp. said the company is considering leaving SPI. Other industry sources said BASF Corp. and Lyondell Chemical Corp. may leave, which would bring the number of APC members that have left SPI to 14. SPI officials said none of the three have said they are leaving.
Bunzl's A&B Plastics acquires Pioneer
RICHMOND, VA. — Bunzl Extrusion Inc. will have a bigger stake in the vinyl fencing industry with its latest acquisition, the Pioneer Plastics Division of Plastics Resources Inc.
Bunzl is the parent company of A&B Plastics Inc., which completed the deal. Terms were not disclosed.
``This strengthens our position in the market. It gives us a more complete line,'' Bunzl President Neil Drozeski said by telephone.
Bunzl plans to move Logan, Utah-based Pioneer's operations to A&B's 130,000-square-foot plant in Union Gap, Wash. There already are 18 extruders in operation at the plant and there is plenty of room for expansion, Drozeski said.
Bunzl Extrusion reported 1997 extrusion sales of $75 million. It ranked No. 31 in Plastics News' survey of North American pipe, profile and tubing extruders. Bunzl Extrusion, previously known as American Filtrona Corp., is a Richmond-based unit of Bunzl plc of London.
Borden to sell stake in AEP Industries
SOUTH HACKENSACK, N.J. — Borden Inc. plans to sell its 33.1 percent interest in film producer AEP Industries Inc. of South Hackensack.
Borden acquired the stake as part of AEP's $280 million purchase of most of Borden's film operations in October 1996. The stake amounts to about 2.4 million shares. AEP filed a registration of the shares June 4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
AEP had sales of $666.6 million and profit of $263,000 for the year ended Oct. 31, down from sales of $709.1 million and profit of $8.6 million for the previous year, according to the firm's registration statement. Borden spokesmen were unavailable to detail why the company wants to sell its AEP stake.
AEP noted that polyethylene and polypropylene industrial films are its largest business, accounting for 27 percent of 1998 sales.
The purchase of Borden's global films business boosted AEP's sales by about $490 million, according to AEP's registration.
J.P. Morgan & Co. will lead the share offering and Lehman Bros. Inc. will co-manage it. AEP shares fell $0.875, to $35.125, the day the company announced the SEC registration.
SME honors Holmes with service award
ST. LOUIS — The Society of Manufacturing Engineers presented its Joseph A. Siegel Service Award to F. Brian Holmes, vice president of operations for Columbia Plastics Ltd. in Surrey, British Columbia, at a June 5 banquet in St. Louis.
The international award recognized Holmes' contributions over 16 years in advancing the society's goals and member involvement and becoming instrumental in forming Greater Vancouver Chapter 381. Columbia Plastics employs 93 and operates 26 presses of 20-550 tons in a 50,000-square-foot facility. The firm principally supplies precision-molded components for electrical and electronics applications.
SME is based in Dearborn, Mich.