Precimold buys Engel for insert molding
CANDIAC, QUEBEC - Custom injection molder Precimold Inc. will start its first vertical injection press in December as part of an expansion program.
The Candiac firm will use a 25-ton Engel machine for specialty insert moldiing, including a dental component for a new, undisclosed customer. Daniel Marginson, Precimold general manager, said the press is part of a C$1 million (US$640,000) investment in machinery the company has made in the past 18 months. The press will be Precimold's 25th.
Marginson said his firm recently started running a new, 150-ton, two-color Engel, it expects to use the two-color capability soon as a result of new product development with customers. The press has an optional coinjection head, a 60-millimeter primary screw and a 35mm secondary screw.
In its toolroom, Precimold added two new computer numerically controlled milling machines and a new CNC lathe, and upgraded its CNC programming software.
Precimold's sales were an estimated US$9 million for the fiscal year ended March 31.
Bourbon boosts wire and cable spool biz
BOURBON, IND. - Bourbon Plastics Inc. has purchased a 700-ton injection press from Van Dorn Demag Corp. to mold spools to hold wire and cable.
Spools are a key market for Bourbon Plastics, General Manager David Stackhouse said Sept. 17 at Plastics Encounter Indianapolis, where the Bourbon, Ind.-based firm had an exhibit.
Despite the slow overall economy, Stackhouse said the custom injection molder expects a 12 percent sales increase this year. ``We've taken a cautious approach, and are partnering with our customers to do product development,'' he said.
The firm runs 19 presses, with clamping forces of 35-700 tons.
Kentucky injection molder cuts 100 jobs
KUTTAWA, KY. - A turnaround effort at Diversified Decorative Plastics LLC has cut more than 100 of the 300 jobs at the Kuttawa, Ky., injection molder.
Magna Partners LLC, a turnaround consulting group in Oak Brook, Ill., began working with DDP last month, attempting to realign resources and control costs, Magna President Timothy Czmiel told the Paducah Sun newspaper in a Nov. 6 story. Magna Partners also is working with Modern Plastics Corp. of Benton Harbor, Mich., to improve its operations. Czmiel was not available to discuss details.
The firm specializes in injection molding decorative emblems, with most sales going to the auto industry. An investment group bought the former Shawnee Plastics LLC in 1998 and has upgraded equipment and installed more presses since then.
Industry satisfied with PVC safety report
BETHESDA, MD. - The phthalates industry said it is pleased with a Nov. 8 Consumer Products Safety Commission briefing on PVC toys, but an environmental organization reacted skeptically.
The three commissioners, meeting in Bethesda, heard a staff recommendation against banning PVC in toys for young children, but did not act on the report. Environmental groups had asked for a ban because of concerns about diisononyl phthalate used in PVC toys.
Marian Stanley, manager of the Phthalate Esters Panel in Arlington, Va., said, ``This is very good news.'' She said industry is pleased that the CPSC report answers questions about how long children mouth such toys.
But Tom Natan, research director of the National Environmental Trust in Washington, questioned CPSC research because it was conducted after the toy industry voluntarily removed DINP from some products in 1998. If the commission votes in favor of the staff report, DINP again could be used in soft toys like teethers, he said.
Briefly ...
* Housewares producer Keter Plastics Ltd. has its Karmiel, Israel, plant at full production following a brief shutdown due to a Nov. 7 fire at its adjacent retail store and warehouse. ... Denham Plastics owner and Republican Jeff Denham was locked in a tight race for state Senate at our deadline, narrowly trailing his opponent in a contest that election officials said could take several days to sort out. Denham Plastics is in Salinas, Calif.