A compression molder plans to start one of the few business-to-business Web sites covering the plastics composites industry. Kaushal Chokshi, president of molder Kawin International Inc. of Romeoville, Ill., plans to launch a new portal in August targeting thermoset composites.
The site will be rolled out in the United States, but will have some Indian ties. Kawin bought an Internet-based technology company in November in Chokshi's hometown of Baroda, India, near Bombay.
The Indian company, called Kawin Interactive, will develop the portal and program the site, while Kawin's Romeoville headquarters will host the content, Chokshi said. Working from India will help lower the costs of starting the site, he added.
Chokshi said few sites will be as sweeping as Kawin's, to be called compositenet.com. The site will include an area where composite parts and equipment can be bought and an auction area to sell material and equipment. The auction feature will start in November.
Other aspects will include a classified marketplace, a forum to discuss industry issues and an extensive directory linking to composites companies, services and news sections, he said.
"We toyed four to five years back with having a vertical portal," said Chokshi, who bought the domain name then. "We want a site that goes across the board into the entire thermoset area."
The company will start with 15 workers, and plans to double that figure in six to eight months, Chokshi said.
The portal will be free to users but will charge a fee to sponsors and those linking to other Web sites.
Chokshi established Kawin in 1996. The company initially provided thermoset turnkey systems, marketing presses and services to customers. The company started compression molding parts from sheet molding compound last year.
