Plastics News by the year: 1996

As Plastics News marks its 25th year of publication, we take a year-by-year look back at some of the events, people and curious coincidences that have shown up its its pages. Check back through the end of the year (not including holidays) to follow along. This year: 1996.

January

For the first time, Plastics News offers its readers a chance to get a copy of its processor ranking, available on a floppy disc.

Glass company Guardian Industries Corp. makes its first major move into plastics when it buys 70 percent of Automotive Molding Co., a producer of metalized exterior trim. Guardian's automotive plastics division SRG Global Inc. now ranks as the fourth largest injection molder in North America, with sales of $995 million.

February

The Composites Technology Center at Cerritos College has started a class on Internet programs specifically for workers to learn about the World Wide Web with half-day hands on workshops.

March

H.J. Heinz Co. comes under pressure when a California consumer group says its ketchup bottles are coming up lighter than the weight on the label. The company blames its multilayer PET bottles, saying improper storage may have allowed some of the moisture to leach out.

Visitors to Hoechst Celanese Corp.'s booth at Detroit's Society of Automotive Engineers show get a sample of virtual technology with special helmets that allow them to “ride” a cab through Detroit.

Think the Bacon Bowl was the first out of the bacon gate? An 8-year-old Minnesota girl, working with her father, came up with the Makin Bacon, a plastic dish for microwaving bacon.

April

TriEnda Corp.'s plastic pallets for the Postal Service are so good and last so long, the USPS postpones an order for more, since they don't need to replace them as quickly. Ninety employees are laid off.

May

Metal injection molding is beginning to move from a niche business to a more common one, but it plastics companies say it is too hard to work with compared to plastics.

June

Meet Don Featherstone, the man who sculpted the model for the original pink flamingo lawn ornament working at Union Products in 1957. The company has 250 people working, just making the flamingos. Did Featherstone ever imagine the bird would still be popular? “Of course not. No more than the chicken with a bonnet that I'm sculpting right now is gonna make it.” 

July

Plastics News is seeking nominations for its inaugural Processor of the Year Award.

Johnson Controls Inc. is buying Prince Corp., a “major consolidation” within the auto supply company. The injection molder posted $850 million in sales a year ago and created the first sun visor with a lighted vanity mirror, which appeared on the 1972 Cadillac.

August

Walden Paddlers Inc. of Concord, Mass., enters the kayak market with an industry first: a thermoformed HDPE kayak, which is much cheaper than composite or rotomolded competitors. “Ours is affordable for the kayaker who is interested in cruising or touring, as opposed to the whitewater or deep water paddlers,” the owner says.

BASF is getting out of the video and audio tape business, saying it hasn't had any success reorganizing the operations of the falling sales base.

September

The plastics industry wins in California as the state exempts rigid packaging from a strict new bill requiring recycled content.

The International Association of Skateboard Cos. say an injection molded deck could provide a less expensive option for beginner skateboarders who want to ride without paying big bucks.

October

Fomation Inc. of Milwaukee is suing Scofield Souvenir & Post Card Co. for its duplicate Cheesehead foam hat being sold to fans of the Green Bay Packers.

November

Hasbro Inc. is closing its blow molding shop in New York and moving production to the Texas border. But don't worry. The company adjusted its schedule to ensure that it wouldn't miss crucial Christmas shipments.

December

Plastics News' new “web.watch” column notes new company websites and a “Cool site of the week,” in this case a maker of popular culture items such as rubber chickens and voodoo dolls.'

Brand owners are beginning to seek offshore mold makers. “[OEMs] want their mold makers close to their Asian facilities,” one tooling engineer firm says.

Johnson Controls Inc. is getting out of the bottle and container business, selling those operations to Germany's Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, Europe's largest PET bottle maker.