Three expanded polystyrene foam makers are merging to create a network of manufacturing and marketing locations across the western half of the United States and northern Mexico.
ACH Foam Technologies LLC will be the name of the new company formed by the deal, to be completed June 30, the merging companies announced May 16.
Heartland EPS Inc. will contribute its plants in Fond du Lac, Wis.; Washington, Iowa; and Waukegan, Ill. Advance Foam Plastics Inc.'s facilities are in Denver; Murray, Utah; and Sparks, Nev. Contour Products Inc. brings to the table its operations in Newton, Kan., and Kansas City, Kan.
ACH will be based in Denver, with a plant in Tijuana, Mexico.
Each of the merging firms is affiliated with AFM Corp., a Burnsville, Minn., marketing organization. Each sells to a range of markets. Their combination will provide financial strength and opportunities to innovate, the companies said in a news release. Many of their products are sold under the R-Control brand name.
Polypipe invests in large-diameter pipe
GAINESVILLE, TEXAS - Polypipe Inc. of Gainesville is expanding its plant in Fernley, Nev., to make large-diameter pipe for industrial, water, waste water and mining.
Officials announced the move May 12. The firm will complete the expansion in the first half of 2006, Chief Executive Officer David Fordyce said in a May 17 telephone interview. It will add capability to make pipe as large as 54 inches, if not larger.
Fordyce said the capacity addition is not significant but the move will allow for better service, delivery and pricing for large- diameter pipe in Western markets.
``This fits very well into our strategy to grow the business prudently,'' Fordyce said.
Polypipe makes 36-inch pipe at its plant in Erwin, Tenn.; and 54-inch pipe at its Gainesville site. Private equity firm Halifax Group bought Polypipe from Rinker Materials Corp. in January. The firm, with six extrusion plants, makes small- and large-diameter high density and medium density polyethylene pressure pipe.
Desert to auction off blown film lines
PHOENIX - Blown film equipment will be auctioned from Desert Plastics LLC's Phoenix headquarters operation.
Tauber-Arons Inc. of Los Angeles will handle the June 7 auction. Equipment includes eight blown film lines with extruders from 1½-4½ inches, a Sorema reprocessing line and auxiliary equipment.
Desert Plastics officials could not be reached by telephone or e-mail to discuss the firm's status.
Wisconsin Film & Bag Inc. of Shawano, Wis., recently bought the former Desert Plastics film plant in Summit, Miss., from Desert's bank and equity partners. That was the firm's only other production plant, according to its Web site.
In February, Desert, which made packaging film and bags, blamed high resin prices for a halt in production at its two plants.
Justice Department probing PFOA case
WILMINGTON, DEL. - DuPont Co. said May 19 it has been subpoenaed by Department of Justice environmental crime investigators to produce documents related to a chemical used to make fluoropolymers such as Teflon.
The company said it will be ``fully responsive'' to the subpoena related to perfluorooctanoic acid, a chemical that has been the subject of class-action lawsuits and an Environmental Protection Agency probe of its safety.
The Wilmington company said a grand jury for U.S. District Court in Washington issued the subpoena May 17, asking for documents previously given to EPA and for other documents related to PFOA and related chemicals.
Last year EPA said it would seek unspecified fines from DuPont for withholding studies that showed harm from PFOA. DuPont denied the charges, but the two sides reached a tentative settlement and the firm said it has set aside $15 million.
DuPont also settled a class-action lawsuit last year alleging pollution of local water supplies around its Parkersburg, W.Va., fluoropolymer plant.
The subpoena came at the request of the environmental crime unit of the DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division.