Fla. firm to replace its extrusion lines
SANDERSON, FLA. - Sanderson Pipe Corp. will begin replacing all of its extrusion lines this month at its plant in Sanderson.
The machinery upgrade will require a four-day shutdown from July 28-31, as electrical workers upgrade the building's infrastructure. The purpose of the upgrade is to deliver adequate power to new Cincinnati Milacron extruders, controller Tom Hiday said in a July 10 telephone interview.
The equipment will increase the company's throughput by 10-15 percent, he said.
``The newer equipment has strong demands for electricity,'' he said. ``It's just a four-day shutdown because we're expanding.''
Sanderson Pipe also is building a new plant in Clarksville, Tenn. That plant, which will start with four or five extrusion lines from Milacron, is expected to be operational by December. The plant will cost about $25 million.
Missouri City, Texas-based Reliance Industries Inc. is supplying the upstream blending equipment to the Florida and Tennessee facilities, said Reliance President Dev Desai.
President Barry King had said the company was looking at proposals for a 150,000-square-foot plant or a 190,000-square-foot plant in Clarksville.
King also owns Houston-based PVC pipe extruder Texas United Pipe Inc.
Fiber King machine erects, packs RPCs
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - Australian packaging machine manufacturer Fiber King Pty. Ltd. will export a machine to build and collapse returnable plastic crates as soon as it adapts its machine to process those made by Chep Pty. Ltd.
Chep, owned by Sydney-based Brambles Ltd., has pooling services for returnable plastic crates in 44 countries.
Brisbane-based Fiber King's RPC Erector automatically erects and collapses RPCs used for fresh fruit and vegetables. The machine's potential markets include crates for meat and dairy products and dry goods.
Fiber King signed a A$7 million (US$6.14 million) contract in February with Australian supermarket chain Coles Ltd., headquartered in Melbourne, to supply machines that process Coles' own RPCs, which are different from Chep's.
Fiber King Chief Executive Officer Earle Roberts said rival supermarket chain Woolworths Ltd., based in Sydney, uses Chep pallets, so a new machine is being developed that can process both Coles and Chep RPCs.
He added that Fiber King will start exporting to the U.S. in 2008.
Roberts said the environmental benefits of RPCs have created a higher demand for RPCs than cardboard packaging and automating the erection process results in large costs savings for businesses.
Wavin abandons deal for Greek company
ZWOLLE, NETHERLANDS - A bid by leading European pipe producer Wavin NV to extend its regional coverage through acquisition failed after its deal to buy pipe producer Aristovoulos G. Petzetakis SA of Glyfada, Greece, fell through.
In January, the boards of Wavin and Petzetakis reached a memorandum of understanding on terms and conditions for the takeover. But since then, creditors of the Greek firm's indebted parent, Petzetakis Group, were unable to agree on a group financial recovery program.
``In the past five months, the debt providers of Petzetakis have not reached a consensus on the financial restructuring of the Petzetakis group, which is necessary to proceed with the intended agreement [with Wavin],'' Wavin reported in a news release.
Because of that, added Wavin, the parties ``decided to end the acquisition process.''
Zwolle-based Wavin said in September that it planned to purchase the struggling Greek group's plastics pipe and fittings business for 60 million euros ($78 million).
Pacor Inc. installs new Schwab press
CINNAMINSON, N.J. - Pacor Inc., a fabricator and distributor of insulation products, recently installed a Schwab model BP-150 full-head hydraulic press with die shuttle for use in cutting insulation.
The hydraulic press has a movable and fixed head. It has an effective cutting range of 78 inches by 39 inches deep, with a 75-inch-wide belt. It is able to handle more layers of insulation and increases productivity, the company said.
Cinnaminson-based Pacor works with materials such as asbestos substitutes, mineral wool, fiberglass blankets and boards, foams and expanded polystyrene. It fabricates custom products for industrial and commercial markets.