Blaze rips through Grupo Jaguar's plant
ZAPOPAN, MEXICO - Fire swept through an indoor area of major Mexican plastic cutlery and crockery maker Grupo Jaguar's plant in western Mexico on Oct. 26, a company spokeswoman confirmed Oct. 29.
The spokeswoman declined to give any details about casualties to workers or damage to the plant, and no senior manager was immediately available for comment.
However, local news media reported that the fire had been restricted to a roofed area covering 323 square feet and that seven employees had been treated for smoke inhalation.
The plant, which covers almost 22,300 square feet, according to one news report, is in Zapopan, where the company is based.
Pactiv Corp. of Lake Forest, Ill., has owned the company since 2002. Founded in Guadalajara in 1976, Jaguar is a leading producer in Mexico of styrene cups and plastic trays, knives, forks and drinking straws.
CVG acquires Gage Industries division
NEW ALBANY, OHIO - Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. has purchased the fabrication division of Gage Industries Inc. in a $5.3 million deal that CVG said will add another processing method to its capabilities.
Meanwhile, Gage, based in Lake Oswego, Ore., said in an Oct. 31 news release it now will be able to concentrate on its core extrusion and commercial packaging divisions.
The fabrication unit includes injection molding and heavy-gauge twin-sheet thermoforming and has plants in Lake Oswego and Tigard, Ore.
CVG, based in New Albany, already performs rotary thermoforming, injection molding, vacuum forming, reaction injection molding and compression molding. The Gage facilities make cabinets and other interior trim parts for commercial trucks.
``[It] fits very nicely into CVG's strategy to [supply] interior and exterior parts as well as other systems for cab-related products,'' said Jerry Armstrong, president of CVG's Global Truck Division.
CVG makes aluminum and steel cabs and complete cab systems for commercial trucks, farm and construction equipment. It has manufacturing facilities throughout North America as well as Europe, China and Australia.
The companies estimate the former Gage division should post $16 million in sales in 2008, with operating income of about $1 million.
Venezuela prepares for new `revolution'
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY - Petrochemical of Venezuela SA, the Venezuelan national oil firm known as Pequiven, unveiled ambitious plans at K 2007 for a ``petrochemical revolution'' that would create almost 12 billion pounds of new resin capacity by 2013.
The $20 billion, government-funded project would create at least 700,000 new jobs, Pequiven director Francisco Toro said at an Oct. 27 news conference in Dusseldorf. It would include capacities for 5.6 billion pounds of polyethylene, 2.8 billion pounds of polypropylene, 2 billion pounds of PET and almost 900 million pounds of PVC.
Venezuela's current resin output is less than 1.4 billion pounds, but the country has large reserves of crude oil and natural gas, which provide feedstocks for resin production.
ACI purchases competitor Plastics Sales
ST. LOUIS - Distributor and fabricator ACI Plastics Inc. has diversified by acquiring a competitor based in Kansas City, Mo.
ACI of St. Louis bought Plastic Sales & Manufacturing Co. Inc. for undisclosed terms, ACI announced Oct. 12. The deal more than doubles ACI's annual sales to about $20 million and triples its staff level to about 138. ACI plans to keep the Kansas City office open, said ACI President James Conway in an interview.
Among Plastic Sales' strengths is its experience in vacuum forming and skylight fabrication, two new areas for ACI, according to Conway. The two firms dovetail in other areas as well, and the combined companies will be able to offer more than either firm on its own, he said.
Plastic Sales' previous owner, Bill Topplewell, is retiring after owning the company since 1976. ACI successfully bid for the company after Topplewell put it on the market.