Japanese venture to open Ohio facility
SIDNEY, OHIO - Hexa Americas Inc., a joint venture owned by three Japanese companies, plans to open an $11 million, 100,000-square-foot compounding facility in Sidney, near Dayton, Ohio.
The plant will employ 28 and serve Tier 1 automobile suppliers.
Hexa is owned by Mitsui & Co. Ltd., compounder Hexa Chemical Co. Ltd. and Technopolymer Co. Ltd., Japan's largest ABS manufacturer.
Hexa Americas will receive tax credits worth $80,902 to create jobs and train employees, according to a news release from Ohio Gov. Bob Taft. The company is required to maintain operations at the site for 10 years.
Mitsui already has a presence in Sidney, where it operates automotive supplier Advanced Composites Inc.
Newcor to expand unit with Mich. grant
CORUNNA, MICH. - Newcor Inc.'s Machine Tool & Gear Inc. plastics and rubber operation will benefit from a $600,000 grant from the state of Michigan to help finance an expansion.
The grant, announced Sept. 13, will go to the city of Corunna to finance an upgrade to the city's water main, which will support a $5.7 million investment by Newcor at the site. The city will contribute another $125,000 toward the project, state officials said in a news release.
The expansion will help create 60 jobs. Newcor already employs 227 in Corunna.
Newcor, based in Royal Oak, Mich., produces a variety of plastic, rubber and metal components for the automotive and agriculture industries.
German supplier opening Mexico plant
MONTERREY, MEXICO - German auto supplier Preh GmbH is moving into North American production with a $10 million, 150-employee manufacturing plant in Monterrey that will house injection molding and other operations.
Preh now has a customer service office in Auburn Hills, Mich., for its auto unit, and a sales office for its electronics division in Lake Zurich, Ill. The Monterrey facility will mark its first production in North America.
The company, based in Bad Neustadt, Germany, specializes in driver control systems such as car audio face plates and knobs and electronic sensors.
``In spite of the current weakness in the car manufacturing economy, we still see significant growth opportunities for Preh's [product] lineup,'' Michael Roesnick, president and chief executive officer, said in a Sept. 15 news release.
Preh had $312 million in sales in 2004, with three-quarters of its sales coming from the auto industry.
Unsaturated polyester prices adjusted
AKRON, OHIO - Plastics News is correcting prices of unsaturated polyester on this week's resin pricing chart.
Prices are being adjusted upward by 30 cents per pound to reflect changes that hit the market in mid-2004. A that time, unsaturated polyester production costs were affected by rising costs for styrene monomer and polyester feedstocks, several buyers said.
Unsaturated polyester makers now are working on increasing prices another 10 percent because of continued high costs, according to industry sources.
Schulman shareholder seeking changes
FAIRLAWN, OHIO - Shareholder Barington Cos. Equity Partners LP is continuing to push for changes at A. Schulman Inc., a major compounder and distributor in Fairlawn.
In recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York-based Barington said it has increased its stake in Schulman from 6 percent to about 8 percent of outstanding stock.
Barington also said Schulman President and Chief Executive Officer Terry Haines has declined to speak to or meet with companies proposing transactions with Schulman.
Barington also has reached an agreement with Phillip Ashkettle, former chief executive officer of M.A. Hanna Co., to serve on Schulman's board if Barington proposes a new slate of directors at Schulman's Dec. 8 annual meeting.