R&M Plastics moves to new Ontario site
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO — R&M Plastics Products Ltd. is relocating from Brampton to Barrie, Ontario, by July.
The injection molder and extruder will lease a 40,000-square-foot building that currently is being renovated to the private firm's specifications. It is about the same size as the building R&M is vacating.
“Our lease is up,” said R&M President Bob Ritchie. “Barrie has good infrastructure and transportation [logistics], a good employee base and an attractive cost for our facility.”
R&M does a mix of proprietary and custom work. It runs five injection presses with clamps ranging from 80-250 tons, and 12 single-screw, 21/2-inch extrusion lines, Ritchie said in a telephone interview. With its high number of extrusion lines, R&M can readily change resins with little downtime. Ritchie said R&M processes a range of engineering and commodity resins.
Ritchie did not disclose sales figures, but he noted that the company exports more product than it sells in the Canadian market. Among its proprietary products are yellow markers for electricity poles and dock bumpers.
R3 seeks permission for Ind. operation
INDIANAPOLIS — The state of Indiana has opened a public comment process on a proposed new sheet molding compound operation for molding and coating for R3 Composites Corp. in Grabill, Ind.
Officials for R3, based in Muscatine, Iowa, declined to comment on the plans until next month, but paperwork filed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said the company plans a new operation in Grabill.
Public comments are being accepted until May 22, and Indianapolis-based IDEM will then decide whether to approve an operating permit.
Firm buying stake in Plastics Exchange
CHICAGO — Chicago investment company Q Lotus Holdings Inc. is acquiring a minority stake in resin trading firm The Plastics Exchange through a letter of intent to loan the company up to $25 million.
“After 10 years of organizing and developing spot resin markets, this will provide additional capital needed to expand,” TPE CEO Michael Greenberg said by phone May 4.
The funding will allow Chicago-based TPE to expand into resin markets in Europe and Asia, hire additional staff and hold more resin inventory, added Greenberg, who founded TPE in 2000. He will remain the firm's majority owner.
Q Lotus' interest in TPE “comes down to the fact that [Greenberg] has found a way for brokers and buyers to communicate with each other in a way they wouldn't have been able to do otherwise,” said Brad Friedman, assistant vice president.
TPE offers trading in prime and off-grade resins in several formats, including railcars and packaged truckloads. The firm acts as a clearinghouse to complete trades — and handles credit and logistics — but does not consider itself a broker, officials said in a May 3 news release.
Bayer, Chery to study lightweight vehicles
WUHU, CHINA — Hoping to promote lightweight and more energy-efficient automobiles in China's rapidly expanding market, Germany's Bayer MaterialScience AG and local carmaker Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. have agreed to set up a joint research and development laboratory.
In an April 8 statement announcing the collaboration, the companies said they would jointly do research, apply for patents and promote technologies in areas such as polyurethane composites, polycarbonate glazing, new energy battery housing, noise-reduction and sound-absorption materials.
While they did not provide details, the companies described it as a “comprehensive partnership” to promote innovation in materials and mass production of energy-efficient cars.
“The joint lab plays an important role in the two companies' long-term cooperation,” said Lu Jianhui, vice president and director for Chery. “It will create a new platform for the companies to promote lightweight autos in China.”
Bayer said it has set up a showroom in Chery's central research institute, and it plans to hold technical seminars at Chery, which is based in Wuhu.
Bayer MaterialScience is based in Leverkusen.