Packaging Group sells units' assets
TORONTO - Film converter and printer Packaging Group of Toronto auctioned off assets of two subsidiaries.
Packaging Group President Ted Huy said his firm is restructuring, but he would not elaborate on the company's status. KPMG Inc. of Toronto, the estate's monitor, approved the auctions.
Danbury Sales Inc. of Toronto handled the auctions. The first was June 23 at the Toronto facility of J&J Bag. A June 28 auction was held in Delta, British Columbia, where Barrier Packaging Inc.'s equipment was sold.
Phillips' game plan affects 2 Wis. sites
Hudson, WIS. - Phillips Plastics Corp. relocated its magnesium injection molding operation to Eau Claire, Wis. and plans to expand plastics medical component manufacturing in Menomonie, Wis.
Phillips moved thixotropic molding from Menomonie to a dedicated 55,000-square-foot plant, in response to customer interest. The move, completed in May, included a 935-ton JSW press, which the firm said is among the largest production thixotropic molding machines in North America. Other thixotropic equipment includes a 550-ton Husky and two 242-ton JSWs.
Phillips has refined the process for lightweight high-performance applications; it can mold parts weighing 21 grams to 4 pounds.
In Menomonie, Phillips will add 5,400 square feet of Class 10,000 clean room molding space and create another 4,500 square feet of clean room space for assembly.
Hudson-based Phillips has sales of more than $220 million.
Cequent relocating plastics operations
GOSHEN, IND. - Auto accessories maker TriMas Corp. is moving the plastics fabricating unit of its Cequent Towing Products division about 25 miles to consolidate operations.
Cequent already has started the shift from Elkhart, Ind., to nearby Goshen, where it operates a manufacturing center. The move will be complete by Aug. 1, the firm said in a July 5 news release.
Cequent will offer jobs in Goshen to its 12 Elkhart workers affected by the move.
Cequent makes aftermarket accessories that use plastics, including bug deflectors and taillight and tonneau covers.
The shift will allow the firm to eliminate excess manufacturing capacity, said group President Edward Schwartz. Cequent has installed a clean room in Goshen to house the plastics production.
Film maker closes, auctions equipment
INDIANAPOLIS - Sun Packaging Inc. of Indianapolis, a blown film processor, has shut its doors and sold its equipment, said Steve Quale, an employee of auctioneer Tauber-Arons Inc.
Competition from China, consolidation of comparable companies and the rising cost of business forced Sun to close, Quale said.
Tauber-Arons auctioned the equipment June 23.
Sun Packaging President James Rogers did not return phone calls. Quayle said Rogers has retired from the film industry, but intends to stay in the contracting business.
``[Blown film is] going through a lot of consolidation. The person who is just making the garment bag or grocery bag will have trouble competing with China,'' he said.
Quale estimated Sun's equipment at about $350,000.
