Film demand boosts profit for Polyplex
BANGKOK — Polyplex (Thailand) Public Co. Ltd. in Bangkok has seen a surge in demand for polyester films and has been able to increase its selling price more than the raw-material cost increase in the first quarter of this year.
Although prices of purified terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol remained volatile during the quarter, due to the favorable global demand/supply situation, the company said it was able to push sale prices much higher than the increase in raw-material prices, thereby widening the margins.
Along with higher-value-added products bringing in more money, increased sales volumes in Thailand and Turkey have contributed to the higher net profit, said Polyplex.
It had a consolidated exchange gain of about 80 million baht ($2.5 million) during the first quarter as compared to an exchange loss of 28 million baht ($869,565) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The baht appreciation also benefited the company regarding its euro and dollar loans.
The quarter also included sales of cast polypropylene film, which commenced commercial production in March.
The impact of the increase in sales volumes of films — polyester, cast PP and thermal laminated — was partially offset because plants were put offline for maintenance during the quarter.
Polyplex said its net profit rose by 78.5 percent to 412.4 million baht ($12.8 million) for the quarter ended June 30.
Sales revenue increased 14.6 percent to 2.04 billion baht ($74.5 million).
Northeast Mold adds two Arburg presses
GLASTONBURY, CONN. — Custom injection molder Northeast Mold & Plastics Inc. has purchased two Arburg injection molding machines this year, as the company gains new business.
Both presses have clamping forces of 350 tons, according to Lou Gregory, sales and marketing manager for the company in Glastonbury.
One of the presses is an Alldrive all-electric machine. Northeast Mold bought the other press, an Allrounder, for a new project molding a polycarbonate cover, Gregory said.
The dedicated Allrounder is equipped with robotic end-of-arm tooling for that specific job, he said.
Northeast Mold also has beefed up its two-shot molding capability during the last 12 months, buying its fourth two-shot machine, a 220-ton Arburg. The molder now has three 220-ton two-shot machines and one 80-tonner. All four machines have rotary platens.
Gregory said the ability to mold multicomponent parts is keeping Northeast Mold & Plastics busy, running three shifts, seven days a week.
The company has a total of 20 injection molding machines.
Kenson Plastics Inc. invests in tech center
WARRENDALE, PA. — Thermoformer Kenson Plastics Inc. has added a technical center at its headquarters plant in Warrendale.
The center has a four-person engineering staff that works with Kenson Plastics' customers on product design and part development.
The tech center includes three seats of Mastercam X4 computer-aided-design/manufacturing software.
Once the design phase is finished, the engineers follow the work through model-making, tooling and manufacturing. Kenson Plastics has a coordinate-measuring machine and eight computer numerically controlled machines.
The company does both pressure forming and vacuum forming.
Kenson Plastics invested about $50,000 in the tech center and other plant upgrades, according to a company spokeswoman.
PU channelizer posts guide D.C. bicyclists
TACOMA, WASH. — Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., is home to the White House, and sometimes is called “America's Main Street.” It's also a heavily traveled central artery in the nation's capital — and one favored by thousands of bicyclists.
Now, thanks in part to channelizer posts from Pexco LLC's Davidson Traffic division, a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue has dedicated lanes for cycling commuters.
Inaugurated this summer, the bike lanes run down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue from Third Street to 15th Street NW. Each lane is defined by FG 300 Channelizer Posts from Pexco.
The white posts, which also have reflective striping, form a high-visibility barrier between the cycling lanes and the adjacent roadway.
According to Tacoma-based Davidson Traffic, the cloverleaf design of the FG 300 Channelizer Post is durable and rebounds when it is hit by vehicles. The polyurethane material also contributes to a long service life.
Profile, tube and sheet extruder Pexco is based in Atlanta.
Pittsburgh Plastics adds CNC machine
BUTLER, PA. — Pittsburgh Plastics Manufacturing Inc. has added a CNC machine that it said will allow it to produce its own prototype tooling and some production tooling in-house and speed product design for its customers.
The three-axis machine is the first computer numerically controlled machine at the Butler-based molder, said Angela Zona Carr, executive vice president, in a July 20 telephone interview. The company manufactures cushioning products for the medical, foot-care and safety industries.
It works extensively with original equipment manufacturers on new products, but previously had to hand off prototype tooling during the development process to outside toolmakers. With the equipment in-house — along with engineers using computer-aided design, polymer engineers and mechanical engineers — PPM can now respond rapidly to create its own prototype tooling.
The business also can use it to turn out production tooling, depending on the complexity of the part, Zona Carr said.
