Taiwanese alliance develops all-electric press tech
TAIPEI, TAIWAN (August 19, 2008) -- A Taiwanese research alliance has developed technology that it claims puts it on par with high-end all-electric presses at a 30 percent cost savings, compared to
similar Japanese machines. Now the Taiwan Association of the Machinery Industry says it just needs time for its image to grow to become competitive in the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese market, and
then it will expand to Southeast Asia and South America. The technology will debut next month at Taipei Plas. Members of the partnership are press makers Fu Chun Shin Machinery Co. Ltd., Multiplas
Enginery Co. Ltd. and Victor Taichung Machinery Co. Works Ltd.; servomotor supplier Teco Electro Devices Co. Ltd.; and stretch blow molding machine maker Chum Power Machinery Corp.
Husky to emphasize packaging over automotive
BOLTON, ONTARIO (August 12, 2008) -- Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. will reduce its presence in the large-molding-machine market for the automotive sector in favor of building up its core
business of presses for PET preforms and the packaging sector. The decision to de-emphasize large-machine manufacturing reflects differing growth rates in the respective markets.
DC-Mould makes thrifty move from city center
 Zhang
SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG (July 29, 2008) -- Those who fear rising costs across the board in China, here’s a message from on the ground: You can still keep cost relatively low, but it takes effort.
Injection mold maker DC-Mould, for one, is moving its factory location around boomtown Shenzhen to keep the rent low. “The rent at our current location has jumped 40 percent in the past five
years,” said company owner Tony Zhang. After some research, he decided to move the factory a little further away from the city center.
Hard times force U.S. molder Modern to shut doors
BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN (July 29, 2008) -- Modern Plastics Corp., founded in 1937, is closing down -- a victim, company officials said, of the many hardships facing the U.S. plastics industry.
Executives said Modern Plastics got walloped by high costs for resin, utilities, transportation and health care, the inability to pass along price increases, financial turmoil at customers and loss
of work to China and Mexico.
Design Guide: Lord of the Rings and plastics innovation
 Lefteri
Designer and materials specialist Chris Lefteri takes a different tack in his regular Design Guide series of stories. This week, Lefteri explores the manufacturing process of a product whose
beginnings came about on the set of the popular movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Kaynemaile is a product that challenges conventional injection molding to offer
a type of product that is actually hundreds of years old, but until now it has been made very laboriously by hand.
Sipa aims for flexibility in the China market
HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG (July 22, 2008) -- After a whirlwind debut on the Chinese market more than a decade ago, Italian bottle machinery company Sipa SpA has gained a reputation in the region. And with
the help of a new China-made injection press and increasing marketing efforts, it’s a reputation the company is looking to expand.
Chen Hsong reports sluggish fiscal year-end results
HONG KONG (July 22, 2008) – The year-end financial results of China’s second-largest injection molding machine maker may be an indicator into the state of plastics China. The global economic downturn
is putting a chokehold on earnings for Chen Hsong Holdings Ltd. The company pointed to oil prices pushing up costs of commodity resins and the subprime mortgage crisis and economic problems in the
United States as factors in its earnings dropping well below its double-digit increases of previous years. The results suggest that China’s plastics industry is seeing slowing growth and faces
increasing pressure.
International plastics mergers, acquisitions on rise
 Blaige
AKRON, OHIO (July 22, 2008) -- International players are big on the mergers and acquisitions scene this year, and, in certain plastics sectors, that’s likely to pick up. Spurring the activity are, in
part, the weak U.S. dollar and protectionism, as companies in North America and emerging markets compete for global advantage. Several analysts interviewed by Plastics News noted increases in
the numbers of plastics mergers and acquisitions deals in the first half of 2008 versus the same period in 2007. For instance, Tom Blaige, president of Blaige & Co. in Chicago predicts pipe, profile
and tube extrusion mergers and acquisitions will increase by nearly 60 percent, driven primarily by cross-border sales of privately held niche companies.
Has China lost its ‘low-cost workshop’ status?
 Franz
GUANGZHOU (July 15, 2008) -- Many Chinese manufacturing plants are feeling the pinch from rising costs and a stronger Chinese yuan. And some manufacturers are moving work to Vietnam and other cheaper
manufacturing locations. Plastics News interviewed several companies for their take on the situation, including Helmar Franz, executive vice president of Chinese press maker Ningbo Haitian
Group Ltd., who said the situation is complex, with some of the company’s customers greatly impacted by China’s rising costs.
India probes allegation of China injection press dumping
NEW DELHI, INDIA (July 11, 2008) -- India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched an investigation that Chinese companies are dumping injection molding machines into India -- in a sign of
friction between two of the world’s fastest-growing countries for plastics. News of the dumping allegations drew a mixed reaction from machinery and plastics industry officials in India, China and
the United States. And China’s press makers met in Beijing to discuss the charges.
Southco consolidates North American injection molding
CONCORDVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA (July 15, 2008) -- Southco Inc. has finished moving its injection molding operations into its 12,500-square-meter manufacturing campus in Concordville, which the company
called part of its commitment to manufacturing in North America. Southco molds latches, hinges, handles and other fasteners for a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace and medical.
It has other manufacturing locations in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Seongnam-Si, South Korea, as well as in North American and Europe.
Design competition goes international for NPE 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 15, 2008) -- In a break with tradition, the Washington-based Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. (SPI) will make its next design competition an international event and will
add new design categories. The competition will be held in conjunction with NPE 2009, scheduled for June 22 to 26 in Chicago, Illinois. In the past, the National Plastics Design Competition was
mostly restricted to U.S. entries and limited to load-bearing parts, enclosures and structural parts. The upcoming competition will be open to virtually any type of design, including packaging
products, bioplastics, nanocomposites, and products that address energy efficiency and sustainability.
Rosti to open Indian injection molding plant
CHENNAI, INDIA (July 15, 2008) -- Injection molder Rosti Technical Plastics plans to open a new plant in India, further strengthening the Danish group´s commitment to Asia, where it already
operates a facility in China.
Demag’s IntElect press to use Sumitomo electric motors
 Okamura
SCHWAIG, GERMANY (July 15, 2008) -- Demag Plastics Group, which was purchased by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. in March, will use electric motors built by Sumitomo for its IntElect all-electric
injection molding machines. Japanese injection press makers have a strong position in all-electric machines. Sumitomo claims to be one of just two injection press manufacturers in the world that
designs and builds its own electric motors. All-electric presses also are a strength for Sumitomo-Demag, said Demag CEO Tetsuya Okamura.
Engel putting its energy into all-electric presses
 Braig
YORK, PENNSYLVANIA (July 1, 2008) -- Out of the 3,000 injection molding machines annually sold in North America, 44 percent are all-electric presses under 200 tons -- a sizable niche market that Engel
Machinery Inc. is now fully poised to tackle with the introduction of its e-max all-electric injection presses. The North American debut of e-max followed its European introduction at the K show in
October and the Asian roll-out at Chinaplas in Shanghai in April, said Steve Braig, Engel North America president and chief executive officer.
Opinion: Design center gala full of surprises
 Grace
Plastics News editor Robert Grace recently returned from a trip to China where he was a part of the opening ceremonies of the International Design Center, a joint-venture undertaking between
Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design and Zhejiang University. The joint venture has been a year in the making, and the Zhenhai district government of Ningbo city is offering strong
support to help get it kick-started. The aim is to stimulate industrial design and product research and development. Grace shares his observation and experiences of the celebration through the eyes
of a Westerner.
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