Japan’s Sumitomo Heavy Industries is investing EUR20 million in the facilities of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery in Schwaig and Wiehe in Germany. The investment will allow the company to modernise production systems for injection moulding machines.

According to SHI, aside from modernising the facility with new processing machines, the main item in the most recent investment concerns buying back the property and buildings of the sales and works site in Schwaig. Explaining the background to the property buy-back, the company said the previous owner Madison Capital Partners had sold the properties to the real estate company Segro in 2008. Since then, the company has been renting the properties from Segro.

The main Demag facility in Schwaig produces its hydraulic Systec machines and hybrid El-Exis machines.

In 2009, after SHI acquired Demag, the Wiehe facility was expanded to become an international centre for electric machines. Wiehe supplies the IntElect series of electric injection moulding machines to worldwide customers.

Strengthening its presence in Asia, Rosti has established a subsidiary, Rosti Integrated Manufacturing Solutions (IMS), located in Senai in southern Malaysia.

Indian firm Jain Irrigation Systems will invest US$375 million over the next few years to build sustainable agriculture that will improve income of small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

BOPP producer Taghleef Industries has acquired Applied Extrusion Technologies (AET), a US-based manufacturer of specialised BOPP films.

Sabic has shipped its first consignment of ethanolamines and ethoxylates from its manufacturing plant in Jubail, Saudi Kayan, making Saudi Arabia

Rome-based Assobioplastiche and Bangkok-based Thai Bioplastics Industry Association have formed a five-year agreement to carry out R&D of bioplastics.

US-based specialised polymer materials provider PolyOne announced the opening of its innovation centre in Shanghai, China.