Reichhold opens unsaturated polyester plant in India
RANJANGAON, INDIA (November 10, 2009) -- Materials maker Reichhold Inc. has opened a plant making unsaturated polyester resins in Ranjangaon, India. Reichhold expects the material to be sold into wind
turbines, glass-reinforced pipe, engineering stone, automobiles and other applications.
Air Products opens speciality amines plant in China
NANJING (November 9, 2009) -- Air Products Chemicals Inc. has opened a new speciality amines plant in Nanjing, China, to support local customers in the polyurethane additives and epoxy markets.
Chinese seen as buyers of U.S. auto suppliers
DETROIT (October 27, 2009) -- Chinese automotive suppliers are likely to be buyers of North American parts companies as the industry faces 12 to 18 more months of depressed volumes and tight credit,
said Dietmar Ostermann, a director with the management consultancy PRTM in Addison, Texas.
Sykes named president of Dow Greater China
DETROIT (October 12, 2009) -- Plastics and adhesives supplier Dow Automotive Systems today named Steve Henderson its news president, replacing Peter Sykes, who was named president of Dow Greater
China.
Next big application for automotive plastics: beneath the car
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICH. (October 11, 2009) —- Automakers know that the clock is ticking toward a 2020 deadline to boost fuel economy performance by 10 miles per gallon or more, and they will be
looking at a variety of solutions as time ticks down.
BASF targets China’s automakers for engineering plastics
 Althoff
SHANGHAI (October 6, 2009) -- BASF’s simulation software for testing engineering plastics – Ultrasim – has been available at its Shanghai technical center since 2007, but the company now is
hoping it will catch the attention of China’s domestic automakers. "There is the potential to increase (engineering plastics) by more than five-fold," said Hermann Althoff, group vice president of
BASF Engineering Plastics Asia Pacific.
Global auto suppliers are sourcing more from China
BEIJING (October 6, 2009) -- Although auto industries in North America and Europe are still deep in recession, global suppliers are continuing to ratchet up their sourcing activities in China.
Chrysler replaces paper manuals with plastic DVDs
DETROIT (September 29, 2009) -- Chrysler Group is replacing its traditional owner's manuals with DVDs and an abridged printed guide in an effort to reduce costs and save 930 tons of paper annually.
The searchable DVDs, designed for viewing at home or on some vehicles' entertainment systems, each contain an owner's manual, warranty information, direction for navigation and entertainment systems
and a guide for 24-hour towing assistance.
Opinion: The real M&A work begins at deal’s end
 Sun
At a time when caravans of affluent Chinese buy homes in the U.S. with cash, the nation’s corporate overseas buying spree continues with a new level of global mergers and acquisitions knowledge and
sophistication. Plastics News assistant managing editor Nina Ying Sun analyzes the ongoing deal between Zhongding Sealing Parts Co. Ltd. and Myers Industries Inc.
Tesla turns to metal for sedan
 Dewhurst Photography photo
TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) —- When designers from Tesla Motors Inc. began planning the company’s all electric Roadster, they had to add up the 900-pound weight of its lithium-ion battery
pack with the speed performance of a sports car and ultralow production volumes, and came up with a light-weight car-body equation of carbon-fiber panels.
Fuel economy rules encourage material changes
TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) -- One number is pushing innovation in the North American auto industry: 35.5. That’s the average number of miles per gallon that the passenger vehicle fleet will
have to hit by 2016 according to new rules announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
China's government pledges support for electric vehicles
SHANGHAI (September 15, 2009) -- The Chinese government will help accelerate the development of electric vehicles while continuing to support the improvement of traditional automotive technologies,
said Wan Gang, the Minister of Science and Technology on Sunday at an industry forum.
GM will let suppliers keep more of any cost savings
DETROIT (September 1, 2009) -- The new purchasing chief of General Motors Co., seeking to spark cost-cutting ideas from suppliers, will allow parts makers to pocket a greater share of the savings they
generate.
Michigan eyeing lightweight material
TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. (August 25, 2009) -- The state of Michigan is looking at ways that it can help bring new lightweight composites and other materials to market for the auto industry. The new effort
will take aim at materials being researched at universities, government laboratories and other development groups.
Even after recovery, U.S. auto suppliers may fail
TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. (August 25, 2009) -- Auto sales in the U.S. have finally started moving again, thanks to federal incentives. Even without that funding, carmakers said they are seeing the first
signs of improvement in nearly a year.
Nasdaq-listed ShengdaTech expanding additive plant
SHANGHAI (August 18, 2009) -- Growing demand in China’s construction and auto markets is causing plastic and rubber additive maker ShengdaTech Inc. to open a new facility this month in Zibo,
Shandong province.
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