Mold-Tech opening 2nd facility in China
FRASER, MICH. - Mold-Tech Worldwide, a division of Standex International Corp., is opening its second mold-texturing plant in China, to meet growing demand for decorative finishes.
The Fraser firm plans to open the 44,000-square-foot facility in May in Suzhou, near Shanghai. Mold-Tech said the plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The company opened a plant in Dongguan, China, in 2003.
Dennis Evans, Mold-Tech business development manager, declined to disclose investment or employment figures for the new plant but said the firm is interested in further investment in China.
``China is receiving a significant amount of attention and capital investment by our division,'' he said. ``Our group is actively considering additional locations within the country.''
The firm has 20 locations: nine in Europe, seven in North America, three in Asia and one in Australia. Mold-Tech textures molds so that finished plastic pieces can take on the look of leather, wood, aluminum or other surfaces.
Screw maker Zeiger expands Ohio plant
CANTON, OHIO - Zeiger Industries Inc., a Canton-based maker of screws, Mallard-brand screw tips and nonreturn valves and other components, is expanding its plant this year.
Zeiger is building a 3,200-square-foot addition to its 8,000-square-foot plant. Construction should be completed this summer.
The expansion will allow Zeiger to add metalworking equipment so it can make larger-diameter, longer hardened-tool screws. The firm will add a new proprietary screw-grinding machine that can make hardened screws faster than Zeiger's current equipment.
Zeiger's last addition came in the mid-1990s, when the company added a small grinding room and made a bigger loading dock to create more room for manufacturing. But when the company began making screws in 2000, Zeiger grew much faster than expected.
Marshall sells unit, forms new business
INDIANAPOLIS - A plastics additives business has changed hands, and another has emerged to take its former place.
Two businessmen bought Polymer Additives Group from R.J. Marshall Co. and renamed it PAG Holding Inc. The new firm, based in Indianapolis, provides inorganic flame retardants and smoke suppressants, and promises to debut a new generation of the products. Partners in PAG are Phil Cook and Larry Musselman; they were part owners of the firm and exercised an option to buy it from partner R.J. Marshall.
In Southfield, Mich., R.J. Marshall formed a new division, Marshall Additive Technologies, to replace the business it sold last month. Marshall Additive also provides inorganic flame retardants and smoke suppressants, and plans to expand its product line with other additives, such as cycle-reducing materials, aramid compounds, cellulose compounds and expanded polyethylene.
Braunform licenses Gram's Spin Stack
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - Braunform GmbH-Plastics and Pharma Technology, a toolmaker in Bahlingen, Germany, that specializes in high-technology injection molds, has taken a license from Gram Technology Inc. of Scottsdale.
Gram's Spin Stack system incorporates in-mold assembly, decorating and coating into multicomponent molding.
Braunform makes a range of molds, from simple, single-face molds to multifunctional stack and spin-stack molds.
Jes Gram, who is president of Gram Technology, said the two companies came across each other through suppliers and customers searching for what he called ``the other piece of the puzzle.''
``Braunform's sizable engineering and manufacturing operation will allow clients to use Gram Technology's concepts without extensive lead times for large programs,'' Gram said.
Braunform has a sales office in Pinellas Park, Fla. Ron Cisliek, vice president of Braunform North America, said the company wants to simplify the process for clients.
Training available in several languages
CHESTER, CONN. - Paulson Training Programs Inc. is going global - offering training in several languages - through a partnership with electronic-learning company SkillSoft plc.
President Scott Paulson and Christine Cross, vice president, said the new InSite360 allows users to access Paulson training products anywhere in the world, at any time.
The ``look'' and the content of InSite360 can be customized to the specific needs of a company - including user interfaces, content and branding.
``It has become obvious that there is a real need for a technically accurate, flexible and easily accessible training solution in multiple languages,'' Paulson said.
The programs are available in English, Spanish and Mandarin. Chester-based Paulson exhibited InSite 360 at Chinaplas 2006, held April 26-29 in Shanghai.
The training is designed for high-level engineers, Cross said. Initially, Paulson is not aiming the courses at hourly workers, although the company plans to expand into that type of global training in the future.
Through the Paulson Web portal, companies can access thousands of technical and management topics such as Paulson's 300-plus hours of technical training on injection molding, extrusion and blow molding; business strategy and operations; desktop computer skills such as Microsoft Office; basic math skills; and finance skills.
The program is Paulson's first Web-based training effort, Scott Paulson said. Paulson's Web site is www.paulsontraining.com.
SkillSoft is based in Nashua, N.H.
Parkinson includes Key Filters products
WOONSOCKET, R.I. - Woonsocket-based Parkinson Technologies Inc., a maker of winding and web-handling equipment that bought the Marshall and Williams film and sheet orientation equipment business in 2000, has launched a new corporate identity.
Parkinson Technologies also owns Key Filters, which makes manual, hydraulic and continuous screen changers for plastics extrusion.
Parkinson Technologies is now the main corporate identity, covering those three technologies. Products from Key Filters now are included under the Parkinson brand.
Briefly ...
* Cannon Group, a Milan, Italy, producer of polyurethane equipment, thermoforming machines and other products, has renamed its unit that covers Russia and all the former Soviet republics Cannon Eurasia.
* Nissei America Inc. of Anaheim, Calif., donated an ES300-25E, an all-electric injection press, to Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pa. Penn College had been using the machine on consignment since 2002, before Nissei donated it to the school's plastics and polymer engineering technology program.
