Instaplast installs Battenfeld press
BRANDÃS NAD LABEM, CZECH REPUBLIC - Pipe fittings molder Instaplast Praha AS has installed a new Battenfeld TM 130/750 press at its plant in Brandys nad Labem, where it is based.
The privately run molder, established in 1990, now operates 24 presses, all Battenfelds.
Instaplast produces polypropylene pipe systems and floor and wall heating systems, as well as interior waste-water system, siphons and flexible connection tubes. The firm has seen a big rise in export sales since 1998, from 1.7 million euros ($2.2 million) to 5.4 million euros ($7 million) last year. The Czech molder employs 100.
Owner Petr Rybar said the company is refining an innovative wall heating system using plastics capillary tubing. The product is being demonstrated in an energy-efficient model home.
Faurecia buys stake in molder Euro APS
NANTERRE, FRANCE - French automotive parts manufacturer Groupe Faurecia has strengthened its presence in Eastern Europe to boost its work for France's Renault SA.
Faurecia bought a 50 percent stake in components molder Euro Auto Plastic Systems srl from mold maker Simoldes Plasticos SA of Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal.
Euro APS of Mioveni, Romania, produces instrument and door panels, bumper systems, headliners and acoustic trim for Renault's Dacia plant in Pitesti, Romania.
Nanterre-based Faurecia will manage the Euro APS venture, which is 50 percent owned by car parts maker Ad Plastik-Esop d.o.o. of Solin, Croatia.
``This acquisition enables Faurecia to broaden considerably the scope of its work for the Renault group, particularly for the Dacia Logan,'' Faurecia said in a news release.
Faurecia already supplies complete instrument panels, seating and exhaust systems for the Dacia Logan program in Brazil and in Russia; and instrument panels, bumpers and door panels through the group's joint venture Technoplast.
Polimoon to acquire Russian firm Zavod
OSLO, NORWAY - Polimoon ASA is reinforcing its presence in Eastern Europe with new acquisitions in Slovakia and Russia.
The Oslo-based molder has agreed to purchase Zavod Novoplast LLC, the in-house polyethylene packaging subsidiary of leading Russian perfumery, cosmetics and personal-care product manufacturer JSC Kalina Concern of Yekaterinburg.
Polimoon, also a packaging supplier to rapidly growing Kalina Concern for the past seven years, intends to upgrade and expand capacity at the Novoplast plant in Yekaterinburg. The deal should be completed after regulatory approval early in 2007, according to Polimoon.
``[The takeover] strengthens our relationship with Kalina, allowing us to supply locally in Russia. Secondly, it will be a base where we can develop a manufacturing presence in Russia and take part in a growth market,'' said Polimoon Chief Executive Officer Arne Vraalsen.
In December, Polimoon also announced it has boosted its capacity to serve the fast-expanding automotive sector in Slovakia.
Last year, through its purchase of molder Plastohm SA of Villefranche-sur-Saône, France, Polimoon acquired joint ownership of an electronics and auto parts plant in Nitra, Slovakia. Now the Norwegian group has bought out its Nitra plant Slovakian partner Sluzba to become its 100 percent owner.
Polimoon, which plans to expand the plant's capacity, already has technical molding plants in Finland, Estonia and the Czech Republic.
In a third takeover, Polimoon announced in December it had purchased a 45 percent stake in CD Plast SA of La Roche-sur-Yon, France, with a commitment to acquire full control at a later date. CD employs a skilled workforce, including 25 engineers, and will support Polimoon's component development work.
