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In this Edition January 2012 |
LEAD FEATURE |
COMPANY NEWS |
MATERIALS NEWS |
MACHINERY NEWS |
EXHIBITION NEWS |
INJECTION MOULDING ASIA |
RUBBER JOURNAL ASIA |
 ELECTRONIC ISSUE |
PRA January-February 2012 Electronic Issue Now Available |
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Lead Feature Rajoo gets the ball rolling with new machines
Indian extrusion machinery maker Rajoo Engineers will be showing the fruits of its joint venture tie-ups at the upcoming Plastindia show in New Delhi. The Rajkot-based firm has over the past few years tied up with German blown film machine maker Hosokawa Alpine and with Italian machine maker Bausano. |
Company News
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Eastman to push growth in Asia with Solutia purchase
US speciality chemicals firm Eastman Chemical has bought Solutia, a global leader in performance materials and speciality chemicals, for US$4.7 billion, including the assumption of Solutia's debt. Eastman says the addition of Solutia will broaden its reach into Asia Pacific, where it expects to have an annual growth of 10% for the next several years.
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Sabic in Sino alliance for PC plant
Sabic and the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) have tied up to explore new business opportunities, including the building of a 260-kilotonne polycarbonate (PC) plant in Tianjin, which has been approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
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BASF to close down and start new TDI plant
German firm BASF is building a single-train 300,000-tonne/year TDI (toluene diisocyanate) plant and will expand additional plants for its precursors at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. But it will close down its 80,000-tonne/year TDI plant in Schwarzheide when the new one comes on stream to build on production synergies, raw material integration and logistics.
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Keyuan to build ABS plant in China
China's petrochemicals firm Keyuan Petrochemicals plans to start building a 400,000-tonne/year acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plant in Guangxi province, in February.
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Cabot cashes out of mining business
US speciality chemical firm Cabot has closed the sale of its tantalum Supermetals Business to Global Advanced Metals, in line with its transformation to becoming a leader in speciality chemicals and performance materials.
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Panasonic to build Malaysian solar cell plant
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic is building a new US$582 million solar cell factory in Malaysia, to reduce production costs caused by the surging yen. The factory will be capable of generating 300 megawatts of power. The factory, in addition to those owned in Japan, will help Panasonic increase by 50% its annual production to 900 megawatts by 2013.
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In Brief
Window maker goes to IndiaEuropean PVC sheet and window profile producer Profine International Profile Group has expanded its production to India by setting up a facility to open later this year The company, which already has plants in Russia, the Ukraine, China and the US, has been active in the Indian market for five years under the brand name Kömmerling. Profine India will manufacture customised window systems for the domestic market, such as an outward opening and a special sliding system.
BASF in US battery deal
BASF SE is paying US$50 million to buy an equity stake in US-based developer of lithium sulphur batteries Sion Power. Previously, in 2009, BASF Future Business had signed a joint development agreement with Sion Power to help commercialise the company's battery technology in electric and plug-in electric vehicles and in other high-energy applications. The deal is said to complement BASF's own activities in electrolyte formulations and lithium-ion cathode materials development, including its start-up of an advanced cathode materials manufacturing plant in Ohio later this year.
Pigment maker buys product lines
Pigment and chemical dispersions producer Plasticolors has bought several non-urethane pigment dispersion product lines from US firm Milliken. The deal includes pigment dispersions based on nylon, epoxy, unsaturated polyester and similar materials. Production of those materials will be moved from a Milliken plant in Aston to Plasticolors's headquarters in Ohio.
Minth ties up with Tokai
Chinese automotive components maker Minth Group is forming a US$5 million joint venture with Japanese plastic and rubber products maker Tokai Kogyo. To be known as Wuhan Tokai Minth Automotive Parts, the 50:50 joint venture will make plastic and rubber automotive parts and help expand markets, taking advantage of Tokai's global resources and strategic partners.
Indorama enters Indian market
Thailand's largest PET producer Indorama Ventures is entering the Indian market by building a US$700 million integrated purified terephthalic acid, PET resin and polyester staple fibre plant, with a third-party paraxylene producer. An MOU was signed with Indorama Synthetics India to form a joint venture. Details of the capacity and location will be made public once formal negotiations have been completed, the company said.
Materials News
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FDA-compliant resins from South America
Sabic's Innovative Plastics business says its facilities in Campinas, Brazil, and Tortuguitas, Argentina, are now certified to produce US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compliant and biocompatible resins for the fast-growing South American healthcare market to help slash lead times, reduce inventory costs and increase flexibility in material purchasing.
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More light from new PMMA
Altuglas International, a subsidiary of Arkema, has recently developed a new grade of PMMA said to offer improved light transmission and surface properties.
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Cardia adds on bag supply in Chinese cities
Australian bioplastics maker Cardia Bioplastics has garnered three more contracts from China in to provide householders with kitchen waste bags made from its renewable Biohybrid products that contain less oil and have a lower carbon footprint compared to conventional plastics.
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Machinery News
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PTi expands in Asia
US-based sheet extrusion machinery maker Processing Technologies International (PTi) has appointed JK Innotion as its representative in South Korea. JK Innotion will serve as a sales agent for PTi's broad range of monolayer and co-extrusion barrier sheet line systems for the packaging industry.
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Coperion acquires majority stake in PELL-TEC
Coperion has acquired a majority stake in another German firm PELL-TEC Pelletizing Technology, thereby extending its portfolio with the addition of strand pelletising and strengthening its one-stop supply.
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Pellet screening for small spots
Japanese auxiliary equipment maker Kubota has introduced a Super Platon pellet screening system said to be able to detect black spots or off-colour contaminants as small as a tenth of a millimeter in a stream of resin pellets, using four high-resolution sensor cameras.
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In Brief
Blow moulder for auto partItaly-based ST Soffiaggio Tecnica has delivered its ASPI 150 suction blow moulding machine for manufacturing automotive pipes. Delivered to a customer in Spain, the 20 tonne machine has an accumulator head of 2 l and a 70 mm extruder. The company said it will produce under-the-hood duct using DuPont's Hytrel thermoplastic elastomer for a well-known car company, while not naming it.
Exhibition News
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Countdown to PlastMilan
The Italian trade show PlastMilan, to be held from 8-12 May at Fiera Milano, is organised together with the satellite fair Rubber 2012 with the sponsorship of ASSOGOMMA.
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Indian show riles up exhibitors
Even before the Plastindia exhibition, to be held from 1-6 February at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, takes off a "protest email" has been circulating pointing out discriminatory exhibition space allocation to large Indian companies and the 50% higher charge for the exhibition space.
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. Injection Moulding Asia
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New bushings for prototyping
US-based DME has introduced a new D-Max line of single hot sprue bushings, incorporating its standard slip-on, cast-in heaters on the nozzle body to allow for a more uniform heat profile than traditional square coil heaters. The D-Max line is ideal for prototyping and short-run production.
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Mitsui to pump up PP output in Thailand
Japanese resin makers Mitsui Chemicals and affiliate Prime Polymer are expanding capacity for PP compounds in Thailand to meet growing needs of the automotive sector. The companies will add on 18,000 tonnes/year, increasing capacity from 122,000 tonnes/year to 140,000 tonnes/year at the Grand Siam Composites site.
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Wetting eliminates handling problems of TPEs
Two TPE makers, Teknor Apex and Kraiburg, have introduced TPEs with optimum grip even the presence of moisture.
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TPEs allow for overmoulding
Another US company Elastocon has introduced a new line of TPEs for overmoulding onto nylon with added durability and high resistance to scratching and marring.
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Nylon expanded into automotive use
Indian automotive parts supplier Tata Toyo has adopted DuPont's Zytel PLUS nylon for three hot and cold-side charge air coolers used on four vehicles of a major Indian auto OEM across passenger car, UV (Utility Vehicle) and LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle) segment
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In Brief
Husky sells closure operationUS machine maker Husky Injection Molding Systems is selling Injectoplast, the former closure injection moulding operation of KTW Group, to Austrian Alpla Holding, which is part of European rigid packaging maker Alpla-Werke Alwin Lehner. Husky bought KTW in early 2011. At the time of the acquisition, Husky announced that it would be divesting Injectoplast due to potential conflicts with its existing injection moulding customers. The deal is anticipated to close before the end of the first quarter of 2012.
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