2 molding firms adding jobs in Michigan
GREENVILLE, MICH. — Two injection molders plan to add more than 100 jobs in Greenville, including a company bringing business to the United States from China.
Zero1 LLC of Ada, Mich., has been involved with designing and backing office chairs made in China, but now plans to launch production in Greenville, sharing space at a plant owned by Clarion Technologies Inc.
Clarion, meanwhile, expects to add 43 jobs of its own, in addition to the 90 at Zero1, thanks to additional business, said George Bosianic, Greenville city manager.
The Greenville City Council voted Oct. 6 to approve 12-year tax abatements worth 50 percent of the two companies' local tax bills. The move still requires state approval.
Clarion, based in nearby Grand Rapids, Mich., had estimated annual sales of about $75 million in 2008, down from more than $110 million in 2000, and closed three plants during recent years, but it retained production in Michigan, South Carolina and Mexico. The tax incentives from the local government helped to convince the company to add business in Greenville, Bosianic said.
Buckhorn press operator dies in accident
SPRINGFIELD, MO. — A press operator was crushed to death while repairing a large-tonnage injection molding machine at Buckhorn Inc.'s plant in Springfield.
Police Lt. Kirk Manlove said the accident happened shortly after 10 p.m. Oct. 7 when the victim, Toby Hall, 31, and another worker were repairing a Husky Quadloc Tandem press.
Hall was inside the machine when it was activated, Manlove said in an Oct. 8 telephone interview.
“[Hall] went to get a tool, and the other operator thought he was gone and got the machine operating again. But [Hall] wasn't gone and unfortunately, he was inside and got killed,” Manlove said.
Hall, of Ozark, Mo., had worked at the plant — which makes pallets and collapsible bulk containers — since about 2006, Max Barton, Buckhorn's director of corporate communications, said by phone Oct. 8.
“Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with [Hall's] family,” Barton said. Counseling was being made available to about 160 employees in Springfield, he said. Meanwhile, the accident is under investigation.
The Springfield plant does injection molding and structural foam molding using high density polyethylene resin, Barton said. Information about the total number of presses was unavailable.
According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records, the facility after a late 2008 inspection was cited for three serious violations related to wiring methods, components and materials for general use. Fines totaling $6,750 were issued in those instances, and were settled earlier this year, with Buckhorn paying $3,375.
Buckhorn is based in Milford, Ohio.
Canon buys major Canadian trade shows
TORONTO — Canada's major plastics trade shows have a new owner in Canon Communications LLC of Los Angeles.
Canon announced Oct. 5 that it bought the Plast-Ex, Expoplast and PackEx shows for undisclosed terms. It said it will collocate the Plast-Ex and PackEx shows beginning in 2011. Both shows have been held in Toronto, while Expoplast is based in Montreal.
Plast-Ex was scheduled to be held in May 2010, but its date has been pushed back a year to allow economic conditions to improve and to allow Canon more time to collocate Plast-Ex and PackEx, said Mark Badger, president and CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, which had owned Plast-Ex.
“We are excited about acquiring these respected and well-run shows,” Canon CEO Charles McCurdy said in a news release. “They provide the perfect launch platform for our [collocation] strategy in the Canadian market.”
Plast-Ex has been Canada's major plastics trade show for more than 50 years. Its 2007 edition attracted more than 8,000 delegates who participate in Canada's C$25 billion (US$22.5 billion) plastics sector. Expoplast, also formerly owned by CPIA, has focused on the plastics industry in Quebec. PackEx is the biggest trade show for Canada's C$22 billion (US$19.8 billion) packaging industry. It was owned by Paris-based Comexposium Group and the Packaging Association of Canada.
A Canon spokeswoman said plans for the Expoplast show have not been finalized.
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