Fiberfil buyers form company from brand
STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO - The heritage of the Fiberfil name will stay alive through the sale of that compounding business to newly formed Fiberfil Engineered Plastics Inc. of Stoney Creek.
DSM Engineering Plastics Inc. of Evansville, Ind., sold the business to Fiberfil after deciding to focus on ``core thermoplastic resins'' such as nylon and copolyester elastomers, DSM officials said in a news release. The sale includes a 28,000-square-foot plant in Stoney Creek, as well as customer lists and product formulations. No purchase price was disclosed.
Fiberfil is a new business owned by John Wilkie, Les Kowalski and John Samuels. Wilkie and Kowalski have been with the Fiberfil brand for about 25 years, while Samuels had worked with the business as a consultant.
``The capacity and experience we have made us believe there was an opportunity here,'' Wilkie said by phone. ``Custom compounding is still a big market.''
Fiberfil will continue to make glass-filled and mineral-filled compounds based on PP and nylon for markets including automotive, furniture and appliances. The plant employs 45 and runs four single-screw and one twin-screw extrusion line, with annual capacity of about 33 million pounds.
Wilkie, the firm's president and chief executive officer, said Fiberfill is considering adding an additional twin-screw line in 2007, and may replace a single-screw with a twin-screw during that year as well. In 2005, Fiberfil will post sales of between C$25 million and C$30 million (US$21 million and US$26 million).
The original Fiberfil Corp. was formed in 1952 by Rexford Bradt, a Plastics Hall of Fame member who invented the process of using glass fibers to reinforce thermoplastics. Fiberfil later was owned by several corporate parents before being sold to DSM in 1992.
Husky small presses to be built in China
TORONTO - Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. will build small-tonnage Hylectric and HyPet injection molding presses at its Shanghai, China, facility, where it also makes hot-runner systems.
Husky President and Chief Executive Officer John Galt confirmed the product mandates in a talk at Husky's annual meeting in Toronto on Dec. 8. He also said starting up the Shanghai and recently opened Shenzen operations went smoothly.
Galt said Husky sees China as more than a source of lower-cost equipment. Husky views the country as a growth market that it wants to understand for its long-term participation in the market.
``You can go anywhere for a cheaper shopping basket,'' Galt said. But China has a growing number of consumers and potential employees that the Bolton, Ontario, firm wants to tap, he said.
Husky sales grew 8 percent for its first quarter ended Oct. 31, to US$175.9 million.
