Monday, 08-Jun-09

Public projects boost China’s wood-plastic industry

Wood-plastic composite products

GUANGZHOU (June 9, 2009) -- Despite the decline of overseas markets, China’s largely export-oriented wood-plastic composite manufacturers continue to expand, thanks to demand from domestic public projects such as post-earthquake reconstruction and China-hosted international events. For instance, Anhui Guofeng Wood-plastic Science & Technology Co. Ltd. confirmed that export demand has been contracting due to the global economic crisis. Meantime, domestic consumers have become more aware of wood-plastic composite materials.

Hisun Biomaterials improves PLA heat resistance

Liang

GUANGZHOU (June 9, 2009) -- Bioplastic maker Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials Co. Ltd. debuted at the Chinaplas show a new grade of polylactic acid (PLA) resin with heat resistance up to 80° C. With special molding techniques, the PLA can even resist temperatures up to 100° C. “We made the improvement in the first quarter,” said Liang Wei, technical director of processing. “We understand that last year, a global industry leader in the U.S. raised PLA’s heat-resistance properties to up to [90° C].”

Joyatech benefits from China’s design push

Liao

XIAMEN, FUJIAN (June 9, 2009) -- Even with all the focus on upgrading its industrial design capabilities, China remains a very different environment for design firms than in the West and other developed economies. Or at least that’s how Liao Ke, the head of design firm Xiamen Joyatech Co. Ltd., sees it. The conventional wisdom is that design can help some of the country’s struggling manufacturers develop more of their own products and move up the value chain, into higher-profit products.

ACS Group unveils global tactics, auxiliary equipment
NEW BERLIN, WISCONSIN (June 9, 2009) -- ACS Group officials said decisions made over the past eight years to invest in international sourcing and expand into new markets have strengthened the auxiliary equipment company to face plummeting North American demand. “It’s been a very, very difficult market,” said Thomas Breslin, president and chief executive officer.

DSM, Mitsubishi swap engineering polymer businesses
HEERLEN, NETHERLANDS (June 9, 2009) -- DSM NV plans to exchange its Xantar polycarbonate business for the nylon operations of Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. in a deal that is scheduled to close by year-end, subject to approvals by external bodies and works councils. Each business involved in the deal has annual sales of about 90 million euros.

Sumitomo Demag dubs German plant all-electric hub
SCHWAIG, GERMANY (June 9, 2009) -- Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH plans to turn its plant in Wiehe, Germany, into a major manufacturing base for all-electric injection molding machines, the company announced. The project is part of a larger investment in its Wiehe and Schwaig, Germany, plants.

Tuesday, 02-Jun-09

China trade group reports on drop in plastic bag use
BEIJING (June 2, 2009) -- One year after China enacted a sweeping law limiting plastic bag use, a Chinese trade association is saying the country’s supermarkets have cut bag use by a large margin, about 66 percent, or by about 40 billion bags a year. But the impact has not been as great in other parts of China’s retail chain.

Monday, 01-Jun-09

Amid global slump, Rhodia debuts nylon at Chinaplas
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- At a news conference held during Chinaplas, Rhodia Polyamide introduced a new nylon 6/6 technology aimed at applications requiring strength and durability -- a move that fits in with the company’s revised strategy in the face of the financial crisis.

Clariant China puts focus on domestic firms
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- With China’s export market shrinking, Clariant (China) Ltd. has felt a squeeze on its business. To counter the effect, Clariant is focused on getting to know its domestic Chinese customers better -- offering environmentally friendly products and exploring new markets as it goes.

Wittmann Battenfeld unveils products at Chinaplas
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- Wittmann Battenfeld arrived at Chinaplas with new products and the largest booth in the history of the firm’s participation in the show.

Sabic slates Shanghai tech center for 2010
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- Sabic Innovative Plastics LP is moving ahead with its plans to establish a new technology center in Shanghai, expected to be ready by the end of next year. The new facility also will serve as the Asia-Pacific headquarters for U.S.-based Sabic Innovative Plastics.

Resin makers realizing China’s import potential

Hanck

GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- Just a few years ago, China was mainly a cheap export base, where products were made and sent elsewhere around the world. These days, the reverse is increasingly true: China’s growing domestic market is attracting more attention, particularly from global resin makers. “There is real demand in the domestic China market,” said Hong Kong-based Philippe Hanck of DuPont’s engineering polymers unit. He said DuPont has seen a tangible effect from China’s government stimulus spending in automotive, rail, mobile phones and renewable energy.

German compounder Akro to expand in Jiangsu
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- While many companies are drawing down production in the face of the global financial crisis, Akro-Plastic GmbH is looking to expand.The engineering plastics compounder and distributor in Niederzissen, Germany, is evaluating locations for a new, bigger manufacturing site in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Bioplastics companies keep a wary eye on oil
GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- A year ago, at the 2008 CMT Bioplastics Markets Conference held in Guangzhou, the rising price of oil was giving the industry a boost. With oil prices heading toward their peak that summer, plastics derived from non-petrochemical sources were becoming cost-competitive. At the 2009 conference, however, the situation had changed, prompting bioplastics companies to pin their hopes on other market drivers.

PolyOne moving ahead with Asia strategy

Ximena

GUANGZHOU (June 2, 2009) -- Despite the economic slowdown, PolyOne Corp. is taking steps to push forward with its previously announced, two-pronged strategy of globalization and specialization by expanding in Asia and extending its portfolio of colorants, additives and various polymer materials. Philippe Ximena, the firm’s Singapore-based general manager for engineered materials in Asia, and other company representatives provided a brief update May 19 at the Chinaplas show in Guangzhou.

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