E.A.T.-Invest Oy takes slice of Triple S ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Injection molder E.A.T.-Invest Oy of Helsinki, Finland, has taken a 5.8 percent ownership stake in Triple S Plastics Inc. of Vicksburg, Mich., for investment purposes.
The Finnish firm began "buying a few shares over the last six to eight months as the stock price has been going up," Phil Weaver, Triple S vice president of marketing and administration, said in a Jan. 19 interview in Anaheim. The holding totals 217,100 shares, according to a Jan. 13 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
E.A.T. and Triple S both make products for cellular telephones, Weaver noted. E.A.T. has no plastics operations in the United States and will have no operational role with Triple S, he said.
Triple S has six plants in Michigan, Texas and New York and does injection molding, prototyping, design, mold making, assembly and finishing. Triple S stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market.
DuPont, Flour to build NG-3 PET plants
WILMINGTON, DEL. — DuPont and Fluor Corp. are partnering to build new PET bottle-resin plants that use DuPont's "next-generation" NG-3 technology.
The Jan. 20 agreement includes licensing, design and construction of the plants, which are expected to have annual capacities of at least 440 million pounds.
DuPont's NG-3 technology is designed to lower capital and operating costs significantly in PET production. DuPont has been operating a pilot plant using NG-3 technology in Old Hickory, Tenn., since 1997, but hasn't yet announced the location of its first full-scale NG-3 PET plant.
The firms said they initially would focus on licensing the new technology in Asia.
Wilmington-based DuPont ranks fourth in North American PET resin production, and is the largest global producer of PET film and nylon resin. Fluor, based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., provides engineering, procurement and construction services.
SPI president search down to 3 finalists
WASHINGTON — The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. has three finalists in its search for a new president.
Two of the candidates are from the resin industry and one has a trade association background, said Harry Ussery, SPI chairman and president of UTI Group in Greenville, S.C. He declined to say if the trade association person is from SPI.
The new president must be approved by SPI's 29-member executive committee. SPI's search committee would like to send one name to the board for a decision at its Feb. 2 meeting, said Robert Ackley, president of Davis-Standard Corp. in Pawcatuck, Conn. Ackley is head of SPI's search committee and vice chairman of the Washington-based trade group.
Ackley and Ussery declined to say more about the candidates.
SPI's previous president, Larry Thomas, retired effective Dec. 31 after 11 years in that job.
CMA opposes BNSF-CN railroad merger
ARLINGTON, VA. — The Chemical Manufacturers Association on Jan. 20 announced that it opposes the merger of the Canadian National and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads.
Arlington-based CMA said it would oppose the deal unless the Surface Transportation Board puts in place some far-reaching conditions that would give alternative rail service to customers served exclusively by BNSF or CN.
If the merger is approved, two-thirds of the chemical facilities on BNSF and CN rail lines would not have alternative rail service, according to CMA. The trade group estimates those firms would have to pay 15-60 percent higher rates.
The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. does not have a formal position on the merger, but is concerned because this deal likely will push further consolidation in the rail industry, said Maureen Healey, senior director of state government relations with Washington-based SPI.
STB will consider the impact of this merger on future mergers, Healey said.
Husky announces employee stock program
BOLTON, ONTARIO — Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. will award shares of its stock to employees for their environmental and community activism.
The Bolton-based injection molding press manufacturer said employees can earn shares by participating in four areas — commuting to work by walking, biking, car pools or public transportation; conserving energy and resources while at work; volunteering for environmental, community or educational causes; and making purchasing decisions that help the environment.
Valerie Chort, Husky's vice president of environment, health and safety, said the company expects to give out 25,000 shares of stock in the first year.
Employees already own about 17 percent of Husky's stock.