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This site is published by Plastics News, Crain Communications' international newspaper for the plastics industry.
  
Opinion
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.

Opinion: Ambassador Huntsman to rediscover China

Toloken
A face familiar to the plastics industry has become the face of the U.S. government in China. Jon Huntsman Jr., a member of the family that owns part of The Woodlands, Texas-based chemical and plastics supplier Huntsman Corp., arrives in Beijing this month as the new U.S. ambassador. Plastics News staff reporter and Asia bureau chief Steve Toloken wonders what the ambassador sees today as the next phase in the U.S.-China manufacturing relationship.

Opinion: Taking the temperature of the flu scare

Grace
On a trip to Guangzhou to attend this year’s Chinaplas show, Plastics News editor Robert Grace gets a first-hand view of how seriously Chinese officials are taking the H1N1 flu virus -- and how perceptions could impact business. Upon landing in Shanghai, Grace’s flight was boarded by health-care workers who took the temperatures of passengers, checking for anyone who might have a high fever. Similar steps were taken upon entering the Chinaplas show floor. But the show seemed to go on as usual, with its organizer Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. reporting more than 49,000 unique visitors in the first two days.

Opinion: Observations on revisiting China
Peter Mooney, an economist and president of Plastics Custom Research Services, a consulting firm in Advance, North Carolina, recently made his second trip to China. Here Mooney shares his thoughts on China's economic history and its efforts to deal with the global economic recession

Opinion: AIG mess embodies power of emotions


Grace
Plastics News editor and associate publisher Robert Grace discusses how the plastics industry might learn from the public outcry after large sums of bailout money from U.S. taxpayers was given to AIG executives as bonuses. A handful of grass-roots activists can oftentimes wield a mightier sword than big-dollar businesses when it comes to shaping public opinion, as the plastics industry well knows. Grace sites a recent column to a Harvard Business Publishing blog from Rita McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School, titled “AIG: Why the Facts Don’t Matter.” In it, she builds a case for the power of symbolism and emotion.

Defining ‘globalization’: facts, fears, history
Plastics News Asia Bureau chief Steve Toloken hands readers a virtual inkblot test and asks them to define globalization as it relates to the plastics industry. Depending on who you are and where you’re standing, globalization can mean hollowed-out industrial economies competing against low-wage workers in developing countries, or it can mean new opportunities. But before you take the test, read Toloken’s perspective piece as he takes you on a historical tour as part of Plastics News’ 20th anniversary celebration.

Opinion: Executives can learn from Dow chief’s mistake

Loepp
Plastics News’ managing editor Don Loepp says a U.S. television host’s attack of Dow Chemical Co.’s top executive is a bit unfair. The executive made a pretty big blunder, but others might be able to learn from his mistake. And the Dow executive isn’t denying the mistake. He’s making an effort to explain why the change in course is necessary. To see the details and what Loepp has to say, see the full story.

Opinion: Outer space and a look beyond plant closures


Toloken
Plastics News’ Guangzhou-based Asia bureau chief Steve Toloken ponders the implications of three “taikonauts” performing China’s first space walk, making it the third country in the world to do so. While not groundbreaking, Toloken muses, the endeavor is, however, a symbol of China’s technological future.

Design Guide: What can soft or rigid polyurethane do?

Lefteri
In this installment of his Design Guide series, designer and materials specialist Chris Lefteri explores the highly versatile material polyurethane. Polyurethane is a real workhorse in the world of commodity polymers and you probably think that you know everything worth knowing about it, right? Well, it might be time to look again.

Design Guide: Product perception starts on the surface

Lefteri
As part of his Design Guide series, designer and materials specialist Chris Lefteri discusses the importance of a product’s surface. The surface, Lefteri says, is the first point of reference in the all-important image of a product, and it is the primary method of communication. The type of surface chosen by designers provides an opportunity to create a personality, experiences and scenarios.

Opinion: Chinese cultural notes from the outside

Harris
Carlton Harris, president of Asia Tool Source LLC, has been traveling to China since 1989. He’s logged more time in China than in any other nation -- other than in the U.S., of course, which is his home. Throughout these 20 years of travel, he’s been an interested observer of Chinese culture, and he has picked up a few lessons along the way that he would like to share with Plastics News China readers.

Opinion: Recession impacting China´s manufacturers

Sun
The year of 2008 was supposed to be filled with joy and pride for China, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the nation´s economic reform. However, instead, the financial crisis in the West and the resulted global economic downturn is pressuring China -- the world´s factory and powerhouse -- to rescue its export sector and rework its growth strategies.

Opinion: Innovation is the best engine for growth

Grace
A one-day event on innovation in New York City is just what Plastics News editor and associate publisher Robert Grace needed to lift his spirits after all of the bad economic news of late. One speaker after another, Grace writes, provided antidotes to the ailing economy at the Idea Conference, organized by Plastics News sister publications Advertising Age and Creativity. And Grace reports on some of their stories here, in his Grace Notes column.

Opinion: Rivalry growing among Asian trade shows

Toloken
Plastics News Asia bureau chief Steve Toloken recently returned home to Guangzhou from Japan after attending the first-ever pre-show event for the International Plastic Fair. The gathering was arranged for trade press based outside of Japan in an attempt by organizers to attract an international crowd to its November show in Tokyo. The fair is billed as the place where technology-oriented Japanese firms unveil their latest innovations. Toloken says he saw some of that technology, but he was also aware of “the large shadow that China cast in the room.”

Opinion: New manufacturing faces emerge in China

Toloken
A media day at Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in Shenzhen inspired Plastics News Asia bureau chief Steve Toloken to take a look at one of China’s more sophisticated brand owners and contract manufacturers and contrast it with the country’s sweatshop image. Huawei has 12 research and development centers in China and around the world, and it has jointly established research and product development centers with Vodafone, British Telecom, Spanish Telecom, Motorola and others. And Huawei has an advantage, it says.

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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