Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 05, 2005 01:00 AM

Resin hikes hinder some compounding plans

Bill Bregar
Senior Staff Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Manufacturers of compounding extruders said that 2005 was a solid year with broad-based capital investment, but several worry that compounders will get squeezed by resin price-hike shocks and close their wallets in the new year.

    That could happen in an industry whose members buy resin and additives, mix them together and sell them for a markup.

    Dan Mielcarek of Coperion Corp. answered, ``Yes, definitely,'' when asked whether customers postponed orders after two hurricanes roiled a resin market that was already high-priced. But the business is still pretty strong.

    Ramsey, N.J.-based Coperion exceeded its budget projections in 2005, thanks to businesses such as automotive, where growth by Japanese transplants is spurring orders for compounding extruders, said Mielcarek, business manager for chemical technology and food extrusion.

    Uncertainty surrounding resin late in the year has made compounders more cautious, Mielcarek said.

    ``I think the question [for compounders] right now is, are we at a peak and are we going to slide back down? So it's taking that extra month or two before they really pull the trigger. The other side of that coin is, there are people who already have orders they can't process and they want to know why they can't get a machine that week.''

    Several other executives also described such a split-personality market.

    Michael Millsaps has not heard any customers blame high resin prices.

    ``We've seen several projects that are coming to fruition that were kind of on the back burner. So it's been a great year for us,'' said the sales and marketing manager of Steel Works Ltd.'s operation in Edinburgh, Ind.

    But Millsaps called the U.S. economy fickle. ``The last two years have been good, but there's still an air of uncertainty. In this economy, the littlest thing can shake things up,'' he said.

    Millsaps said unrelenting resin prices, combined with smaller lot sizes, have caused compounders to downsize a bit and buy smaller machines. In May, JSW introduced a lower-priced laboratory extruder, the TEX 28V, at the Society of Plastics Engineers' Antec 2005 conference.

    At Farrel Corp., ``We've got a couple of projects that are delayed because of the resin issues, people waiting to see if the prices decline or stabilize,'' said William Flaherty, vice president of sales.

    Ansonia, Conn.-based Farrel has done well selling continuous mixers to blend filled resins. Flaherty said the company also is selling equipment to the automotive weather-sealing market, which is moving to thermoplastic elastomers instead of rubber.

    Charlie Martin, general manager of American Leistritz Extruder Corp., agrees that interest in fillers could help sell twin-screw compounding machines to companies now running single-screw lines. ``If somebody has an unfilled product and they think they can go to 40 percent filled, they've just cut their resin costs by 40 percent,'' he said

    Leistritz of Somerville, N.J., generates most of its sales from ``specialty, valued-added niche markets'' like direct extrusion, foam extrusion and compounding materials for medical devices. That may have insulated the company somewhat from the resin turmoil.

    ``We haven't felt it yet. It's not like people jerked projects out of the pipeline,'' Martin said. ``You've got to see how it shapes up.''

    Century Inc. of Traverse City, Mich., reported that the hurricanes did cause some orders to ``slide'' into next year.

    ``Quite a few projects this year were solid, funded projects in 2005, that have moved to 2006,'' said Bob Urtel, president and chief operating officer.

    Still, Urtel said Century sold machines in all of its major segments this year, including secondary compounding of engineering resins, recycling and wood-plastic composites.

    Century also recently sold its second 12-screw extruder, Urtel said. He would not identify the buyer of the exotic machine, but said the company compounds elastomeric materials. Century has orders pending for two more 12-screw machines, one to another compounder of elastomerics and the other for devolatilization.

    Ed Ford, vice president of Maris America Corp. in Dover, Del., said that after the hurricanes, business did settle down from very strong activity earlier in the year. But he can't blame the hurricanes. ``Nobody has turned around and told me, `Well, we're holding off on this project because of resins,' '' he said.

    Maris, which started U.S. sales in 2001, saw more business from general compounding and masterbatch customers this year. Other markets include hot-melt adhesives and rubber.

    ``This has been a major year for us,'' Ford said. ``Things are definitely getting better than they have in the past.''

    Entek Extruders also has not been hurt by the material volatility, according to Kirk Hanawalt, vice president of sales at the company in Lebanon, Ore. The subject does come up.

    ``It's interesting, because all our customers are complaining about it, but I haven't seen a lot of people holding off on buying,'' he said.

    Hanawalt said the wood-flour market remains solid, for the stronger, major players.

    The general compounding business is buying machines. ``It hasn't reached the pace of the mid- to late-90s. That was the go-go era. But there are applications that people are buying for,'' he said.

    Massillon, Ohio-based NFM Welding Engineers is having a ``banner year,'' said sales engineer Michael McMahon. ``It's been across the board. We've sold machines to color concentrates, to specialty operations. We've sold machines to general compounding. ... We can't point to one area and say this is the strongest segment.''

    McMahon said customers talk a lot about resin prices, but most seem to view new compounding equipment as a long-range investment,

    ``This too will pass, and people realize they need to look long-term,'' he said. ``They're continuing to spend money.''

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Illinois AG sues 14 firms over PFAS contamination
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Illinois AG sues 14 firms over PFAS contamination
    2
    Auto supplier Seoyon E-Hwa to invest $76M, add 740 jobs in Georgia
    3
    Higher sales, lower profit for LyondellBasell
    4
    Slowing demand for thermoformed PET leads to Genpak plant closure
    5
    Top-dollar deals, repeat buyers highlight 2022 M&A
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified