Maguire expands sales sites in China
SINGAPORE - Maguire Products Inc.'s Asian subsidiary has opened three new offices in China, where its 2005 sales are promising to triple or even quadruple those of 2004.
Only a year after the auxiliary equipment maker opened a main office in Shanghai, Maguire Asia now provides sales and services in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Suzhou.
``We now have 14 staffers located in the north, east, and south China,'' said Marshal Guo, general manager in Shanghai.
The new Beijing and Guangzhou sites provide sales, technical support, field service, and spare parts. In Shanghai, the firm has installed a laboratory and demonstration facility. The Suzhou office offers sales and service.
``There are many customers in Jiangsu province [where Suzhou is located],'' said Gary Zhou, Suzhou sales manager.
Hubert Nerlich, Maguire Asia's managing director, said the driving force is booming sales for weigh scale blenders, Clear-Vu loading systems, LPD vacuum dryers, color and additive pumps, and other products.
Maguire's Web site will link to its subsidiary's Chinese-language site to be ready by ChinaPlas 2005, being held June 21-24 in Guangzhou. Maguire Asia, headquartered in Singapore, is a fully owned subsidiary of Aston, Pa.-based Maguire Products.
Dickten & Masch deal merges affiliates
NASHOTAH, WIS. - Molder Dickten & Masch LLC has brought two of its sister companies under its roof, buying the plastics operations of Trostel Specialty Elastomers Group and Techniplas Inc.
Private equity firm Everett Smith Group Ltd. has owned all three businesses since October, when it bought Nashotah-based Dickten & Masch. For now, each firm will retain its own name under the deal announced June 13, but Randall Perry, chief executive officer and president of the new Everett Smith Group Plastics Platform, noted that he is seeking the best brand identity and name for the integrated company.
The company will retain plants in Nashotah and Hattiesburg, Miss., operating under Dickten & Masch; the Trostel plant in Lake Geneva, Wis.; and Techniplas' operations in Ankey, Iowa. The consolidated companies have $70 million in annual sales and a workforce of more than 480.
``Our customers will benefit from a wider range of thermoplastic and thermoset solutions, more tool and design capabilities and a broader range of press capacity,'' Doug Lurvey, D&M vice president of sales and marketing, said in a news release.
D&M does injection molding, including two-shot and gas-assist, mold making and thermoset production. Trostel adds microcellular and insert molding, and in-mold decorating. Its cast urethane division was not part of the purchase. Injection molder Techniplas brings a rapid-prototyping unit.
Teknor Apex growing with Asia demand
SINGAPORE - Teknor Apex Co.'s Asian unit, Singapore Polymer Corp., has opened three representative offices in China to meet a surge in demand for its thermoplastic compounds.
The offices, in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, serve Chinese manufacturers in the appliance, automotive, electrical/electronics, medical-device, and wire and cable industries.
``Our business in China really accelerated dramatically since we became part of Teknor Apex,'' said SPC Managing Director Cheah Sin Hua.
Teknor Apex, based in Pawtucket, R.I., made the purchase - its first outside North America - from the Development Bank of Singapore and Norsk Hydro ASA of Oslo, Norway, in 2001.
Singapore-based SPC started in Hong Kong during the mid-1970s and in China during the mid-1980s. Its products included flexible and rigid vinyl, thermoplastic elastomers, black and white masterbatches, filled and reinforced polypropylene, conductive compounds, and additive concentrates.
SPC General Manager Robert Goh said of the new offices: ``Our presence in these key growth regions of the Pearl River Delta and the wider Shanghai region will allow us to expand our customer base.''
