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IAC's Ryntz to receive SPE Lifetime Achievement Award

Rose Ryntz has been named 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Society of Plastics Engineers' automotive division.Ryntz, vice president of global advanced development and material engineering at Luxembourg-based International Automotive Components Group, will receive the award Nov. 7 during the society's 48th annual Automotive Innovation Awards Gala in Novi, Mich.IAC, a global supplier of automotive components and systems, including instrument panels and center consoles, has North American operational headquarters in Southfield, Mich. Ryntz first joined the company in 2007 as director of advanced engineering, according to her LinkedIn profile."I am very honored to be recognized to receive this very prestigious award and hope it will help to inspire more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing programs and become more involved in their industry," Ryntz said in a statement.The technical specialist and research leader in automotive plastics technology has been part of several game-changing innovations, including the development of damage-resistant fascias, automotive interior skin technologies for use in seamless passenger airbag instrument panels as well as interior and exterior automotive coatings on plastics.Her 30-plus-year career has included stints at Dow Chemical Co., Ford Motor Co., Akzo Nobel NV and Visteon Corp. In 2016, she was featured as one of Plastics News' Women Breaking the MoldE, a program honoring women who are making a difference in the plastics industry. In 2015, she was named one of the Top 100 Leading Women in the North American auto industry by Automotive News, a sister publication of PN.Ryntz holds a doctorate in organic polymer chemistry from the University of Detroit, an MBA in business supply chain from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Wayne State University.

Aeyoung Park 2018-07-26

Big Deals, Frequent Buyers Dominate M&A Market

- In the world of plastics mergers and acquisitions, the first half of 2018 was filled with big deals and frequent buyersOne of the bigger deals was announced in the waning days of 2017 but was completed in early 2018. That's when global investment firm Platinum Equity bought Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. for nearly $4 billion.Platinum Equity, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., was founded in 1995 by billionaire and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores. Husky, based in Bolton, Ontario, had been owned by Boston-based investment firm Berkshire Partners LLC and the private equity arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.Those two investors had purchased Husky, a leading maker of injection molding machinery, robots and hot runner systems, in June 2011 from Toronto-based private equity firm Onex Corp. for $2.1 billion.Westfall Technik Inc. led the ranks of frequent buyers, making five deals in the first half of 2018 after making two in late 2017, shortly after it was formed as a holding company.Chandler, Ariz.-based Westfall in February acquired two California companies,10 Day Parts Inc. of Corona and Elfy's Inc. of Hayward, that offer rapid prototyping and short-run molding for medical, industrial and consumer goods industries.Both companies bring more than 300 new customer relationships to Westfall. Molding Business Services of Florence, Mass., represented 10 Day Parts, formerly known as Advanced Technology Inc., in the sale.Westfall in March then added custom molder AMS Plastics Inc. and AMS's maquiladora Operaciones de Clase Mundial SA de CV to its portfolio. AMS Plastics has its business offices in El Cajon, Calif. The 75,000-square-foot maquiladora is located in an industrial park in the Nueva Tijuana colonia in Tijuana, Mexico.In its fourth first-half deal, Westfall in April acquired injection molder AMA Plastics Inc. of Riverside, Calif. That purchase more than doubled Westfall's volume of injection molding machines. AMA operates 95 presses with clamping forces of 35-720 tons and also does work in multicomponent and vertical molding.Deal No. 5 for Westfall was its acquisition of NPI/Medical of Ansonia, Conn. Westfall bought NPI/Medical, an injection molder and tool builder, from Tonka Bay Equity Partners LLC of Minnetonka, Minn.Westfall "is building up an injection molding platform and in aggregate getting to be decent-sized," said John Hart, managing director with P&M Corporate Finance LLC of Southfield, Mich. Blaige & Co. of Chicago also listed the Westfall transactions among their "headline deals" of the first half.Canadian media and printing conglomerate Transcontinental Inc. made two first-half deals, including its April purchase of flexible packaging giant Coveris Americas for US$1.32 billion. Coveris recorded sales of almost $1 billion last year, making it one of the top 10 converters of flexible packaging and related products in North America.The announcement came less than three weeks after Montreal-based Transcontinental closed on a deal to buy Multifilm Packaging Corp. of Elgin, Ill. Multifilm specializes in piece-wraps and high-barrier flexible packaging for candy, snacks and dry foods markets. Transcontinental now has made seven deals in flexible packaging since it entered the field in 2014.Rick Weil, managing director with Mesirow Financial in Chicago, cited the Transcontinental deals as a good example of a firm moving into a different market."Their legacy is in Canadian commercial printing, but they've now made some big investments in packaging," he said.In another major deal, Novolex, the world's largest plastic bag maker, in May diversified into other plastics products when it bought Waddington Group, a maker of disposable food packaging for bakeries, delis and restaurants, from Newell Brands Inc. for about $2.3 billion.Hartsville, N.C.-based Novolex is owned by investment firm Carlyle Group. The sale marks the first major divestiture by consumer products giant Newell, which is looking to sell a number of businesses — including Rubbermaid — and dramatically remake the company.Novolex "has all the disposables covered now," Blaige & Co. Chairman and CEO Thomas Blaige said. PMCF listed both the Transcontinental and Novolex deals among their "marquee transactions" of the first half.Other makers of multiple first-half deals included Masco Corp. and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Masco picked up a pair of Ohio companies: pipe, profile and tubing extruder Mercury Plastics Inc. of Middlefield and Kichler lighting of Independence. Livonia, Mich.-based Masco is a publicly traded holder of a variety of companies geared toward home repair and construction brands, including KraftMaid and Merillat cabinets.Private investment group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice created a $2.4 billion exterior building products company in January when it bought Ply Gem Holdings Inc. and Atrium Windows & Doors.Based in Cary, N.C., Ply Gem was already the top building products manufacturer, as well as the second-largest extruder, in North America with estimated sales of $1.5 billion, according to Plastics News' latest ranking. Ply Gem produces a variety of siding, windows, patio doors, cellular PVC trim and moldings, roofing, vinyl fences and rails.Established in 1948 and based in Welcome, N.C., Atrium makes vinyl and aluminum doors and windows at its main campus as well as sites in Dallas and London, Ontario. Sales in 2017 generated about $350 million.The Ply Gem deal "wouldn't have happened in an economic downturn, but they're making hay now," Blaige said.Universal Plastics Corp. in June made its fifth deal in recent years, buying custom thermoformer W. Kintz Plastics Inc. of Howes Cave, N.Y. W. Kintz specializes in heavy gauge, vacuum, pressure and twin-sheet thermoforming to make custom plastic parts used in the medical, transportation and other markets.In the final days of 2017, Holyoke, Mass.-based Universal bought blow molder Premium Plastic Solutions LLC of Latrobe, Pa. Premium molds large parts for a range of industries, including medical and lawn and garden equipment. Its previous owners were private equity firms CapitalWorks LLC and Little Mountain Industries Inc., both in Cleveland.Other notable first-half plastics M&A deals included:• The sale of K'Nex Brands, an iconic brand in the plastic construction toy market, to Basic Fun, a Boca Raton, Fla., toy and novelty company with well-known product lines, including Tech 4 Kids and Uncle Milton. K'Nex was negatively impacted by the bankruptcy of major retailer Toys R Us.• In an extreme example of a quick turnaround, Alpharetta, Ga.-based Spectrum Plastics Group purchased Fermatex Vascular Technologies Inc. from Vance Street Capital LLC, which had owned the company for only seven months. Fermatex is a supplier of reinforced medical tubing, catheter subassemblies and specialty extrusions.• In Europe, Bonn, Germany-based blow molding machinery maker Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH was acquired by Plastech Beteiligungs GmbH, an industrial holding company from Vienna. Plastech bought the 79 percent share in Kautex previously held by Berlin investment company Capiton AG, which acquired its interest in the machinery maker in 2013.• Packaging leader Sigma Plastics Group of Lyndhurst, N.J., kept its multiyear acquisition streak alive by purchasing Poly Pak America Inc. of Los Angeles. Poly Pak extrudes, prints and converts heavy-duty outdoor bags as well as mailers and other packaging. Sigma now has made 13 acquisitions since 2009.

Aeyoung Park 2018-07-18

Engel inject 4.0 Forum – the next dimension

Engel held inject 4.0 Forum in Austria Three years ago, with inject 4.0 ENGEL introduced its answer to the challenges of Industry 4.0. In the meantime, the terms smart machine, smart production and smart service have become established throughout the entire plastics industry, and in many areas, the smart factory has arrived in practice. "It is now time for the next step", announces Dr. Stefan Engleder, CEO of the ENGEL Group, at the ENGEL inject 4.0 Forum at the end of June in Linz, Austria. Marketplaces will connect companies along the value chain and generate new products and services for the injection moulding industry. "The digital transformation is guiding inject 4.0 into a new dimension", says Engleder.▲ "The digital transformation is guiding inject 4.0into a new dimension”, says Dr. Stefan Engleder,CEO ENGEL Group.At the event, to which ENGEL has invited a select circle of innovation-driven inject 4.0 users, it once again becomes clear that digitalisation is not an end unto itself. The goal of Industry 4.0 is to utilise the full potential of machines, systems and technologies in order to strengthen competitiveness, operate with more flexibility and securely manage increasing complexity. Transparency and the assistance that builds on it are the keys to more efficiency. "We have already made great strides in this direction", says Stefan Engleder. "However, it has always been clear to us that in terms of Industry 4.0, we were setting out on a long voyage. The goal is known, the way there must be continuously developed, stage by stage, in collaboration with our customers and partners. At this time, we are facing the next big step." Horizontal networking as a goalSo far, the path to the smart factory has been focused on the function-related optimisation of individual value creation stages such as production and sales, and on indirect value creation areas such as maintenance management and quality assurance. To this end, machine and process data are collected and analysed, and the shop floor is vertically linked to the operations management level on the basis of digital twins of the machines and systems. As a rule, the classic IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) platforms for this are proprietary solutions. In practice, however, vertical platform structures are unable to meet the requirements of processing data from various provider systems and correlating these with the data from other companies.The goal of digital transformation is therefore the transition to horizontal platforms that bundle the know-how and offerings of various companies. An open, horizontal networking allows for the cross-functional optimisation of processes along the entire value chain. "The digital transformation is just beginning. We see a great opportunity here. We are inviting our customers and partners to continue actively developing the future of smart production in collaboration with us, and to tailor the new solutions specifically to the requirements of the plastics industry”, says Engleder. "This way, we will all derive the optimum benefit from these newly arising opportunities." Marketplace for the entire value chainThe role model are B2C marketplaces like Amazon or Google. Instead of handling physical assets and their related value creation activities, these companies act as intermediaries between supply and demand, connecting marketplace participants with the help of digital technologies. In order to generate new services, the platforms assemble a multitude of data. The capacity to process and analyse data constitutes the foundation on which to serve customer needs better and in a more targeted fashion.This trend is penetrating into the B2B sector, with the term marketplace also becoming established there. In future, market participants with the same, similar or complementary value streams will communicate through marketplaces, offer their products and technologies there, and include their suppliers as well as their customers in this network. The plastics processor using multiple systems from different providers will find all relevant information in a central location and can use the applications offered – so-called apps – with particular efficiency. "Horizontal networking provides the basis for new business models that supplement our current ones and offer added value to our customers", says Engleder.ADAMOS, for example, offers an industry-specific marketplace of this kind. It is a manufacturer-agnostic, open platform that has been developed specifically for the requirements of machine engineering and its customers, and in which ENGEL also participates.Pilot factory launchingThe Austrian plastics industry is traditionally strong in innovation and is also among the pioneers in terms of digital transformation. It is no coincidence that a pilot factory for interdisciplinary, platform-based cooperation is being created at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. Next year, the LIT Factory, in which, in addition to ENGEL, the companies Borealis, Covestro, Erema, FACC, Greiner, Leistriz, Motan, Siemens and others are participating, will commence operations. "The LIT Factory allows us to test the new possibilities under practical conditions, gather experience together with our partners, continue researching the challenges of horizontal networking, and develop new solutions", states Engleder. One already known challenge is uninterrupted connectivity, for not all participants in the value chain are compatible with each other. "A common marketplace will accelerate the development of standards", says Engleder. "In the long term, we expect that various marketplaces will become networked with each other and allow for the exchange of data between participants." From the production of raw materials to the recycling of plastics products that are no longer needed, the platform of the LIT Factory includes the entire value chain. In this way, horizontal networking is helping to move other urgent future topics forward. One example is the closing of value streams. The Circular Economy requires an even closer cooperation of businesses along the value chain, which can be designed especially easily and efficiently on a marketplace.

관리자 2018-07-09

Haitian Vietnam Open Day

Haitian Vietnam Open DayOn May 29th, Haitian Vietnam celebrated its Open Day in its plant at Binh Duong of Vietnam, which had been attended by more than 300 local customers and guests.The Open Day lasted for one day and started with a welcome address by Mr. Le Andun, the general manager of Haitian Huayuan (Vietnam) Machinery Co., Ltd. In his opening speech, Mr. Le expressed his sincere gratitude to the long-term support and trust from local government, customers and partners. He also reviewed the remarkable development of Haitian International in recent years, the philosophy and value shared by Haitian and the new development in the industry and the company.In the afternoon, Mr. Mei Quanlong, manager of the Application Department of Haitian Huayuan, introduced to the visitors about Haitian’s new development in products and technologies, and Haitian’s approach toward “Industry 4.0” as well, which had all been developed with the target to provide technology to the point, and shared the development status of IMM industry with the guests, combining practical cases to highlight the dramatic changes brought to the company by the upgrade with automated and intelligent production as symbols.During this open house, the visitors were able to witness the new technologies and popular products from Haitian International which can meet the specific demand of the local market in a very good way. They were also offered a chance to see Haitian’s concept for an “Unmanned Factory” with good integration of the novel smart solution offered by Haitian as well.It had been the first time for many visitors to participate into the open house event and they were very curious about the new technologies as well as the smart solutions as demonstrated in the plant of Haitian Vietnam. Many guests spared a long time standing in front of certain machines and was listening very carefully to catch every point about the technical highlights as explained by the local employees from Haitian Vietnam.A Chinese customer who invested into a factory in Vietnam came along to this open house even and he said proudly that “as a Chinese, I have always been a big fan of Chinese products. For instance, I use Huawei mobile phone, Gree air conditioner and so on. For injection molding machines, Haitian has always been my primary choice! Communication with Huayuan Vietnam in past years has been very smooth and I’m so convinced that it is such a first class brand, not only in terms of their production scale, but more importantly, their capability of technical innovation and incredible service throughout the pre-sale and after sale procedures. This open house was so amazing and again convincing for us, which shows the true strength of Haitian in a very positive way!”About Huayuan VietnamCommissioned in 2010, Haitian Huayuan (Vietnam) Machinery Co., Ltd., has witnessed 8 years of steady development. Currently, the company has more than 60 employees, spreading over various regions of Vietnam. The company is located in Binh Duong as its main center, and has further established four sales & service centers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Haiphong and Dong Nai. Every sales & service center has individual service system and spare parts warehouse, so as to provide highly efficient service to customers with high quality.

Aeyoung Park 2018-06-29

Volvo Cars aims for 25 per cent recycled plastics in every new car from 2025

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, today announced its ambition that from 2025, at least 25 per cent of the plastics used in every newly launched Volvo car will be made from recycled material.Volvo Cars also urged auto industry suppliers to work more closely with car makers to develop next generation components that are as sustainable as possible, especially with regards to containing more recycled plastics.To demonstrate the viability of this ambition, the company has unveiled a specially-built version of its XC60 T8 plug-in hybrid SUV that looks identical to the existing model, but has had several of its plastic components replaced with equivalents containing recycled materials.“Volvo Cars is committed to minimising its global environmental footprint,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars. “Environmental care is one of Volvo’s core values and we will continue to find new ways to bring this into our business. This car and our recycled plastics ambition are further examples of that commitment.”The special XC60’s interior has a tunnel console made from renewable fibres and plastics from discarded fishing nets and maritime ropes. On the floor, the carpet contains fibres made from PET plastic bottles and a recycled cotton mix from clothing manufacturers’ offcuts. The seats also use PET fibres from plastic bottles. Used car seats from old Volvo cars were used to create the sound-absorbing material under the car bonnet. “We already work with some great, forward-thinking suppliers when it comes to sustainability,” said Martina Buchhauser, Senior Vice President of Global Procurement at Volvo Cars. “However, we do need increased availability of recycled plastics if we are to make our ambition a reality. That is why we call on even more suppliers and new partners to join us in investing in recycled plastics and to help us realise our ambition.” The recycled-plastics XC60 was revealed at the Ocean Summit during the Gothenburg Volvo Ocean Race stopover. The race’s focus on sustainability centres on a partnership with the United Nations Environment Clean Seas campaign, focussing on the call to action, ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’. “Extensive recycling and reuse of plastic is vital to our efforts to turn the tide on plastic pollution,” said Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment. “Volvo’s move to integrate plastic waste into the design of their next fleet of cars sets a new benchmark that we hope others in the car industry will follow. This is proof that this problem can be solved by design and innovation.” The recycled plastics ambition is the most progressive statement around the use of recycled plastic by any premium automotive manufacturer. It represents another demonstration of Volvo Cars’ commitment towards reducing its impact on the environment across all operations and products. Last month, Volvo Cars committed to eradicate single-use plastics across all its premises and events by the end of 2019. In 2017, the company announced an industry-leading commitment to electrify all new Volvo cars launched after 2019. Last month, Volvo Cars reinforced this strategy, by stating that it aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its global sales by 2025. In terms of operations, Volvo Cars aims to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025. In January this year, the engine plant in Skövde, Sweden, became its first climate-neutral facility.

Aeyoung Park 2018-06-21

Audi to 'significantly reduce' prototyping times with Stratasys 3D printer

German automotive giant Audi AG has adopted full color Stratasys 3D printers, which it will use to prototype taillight covers.In a June 7 news release, 3D printing solutions supplier Stratasys said that the Audi Pre-Series Center, which includes a plastics 3D printing center in Ingolstadt, Germany, will use the multimaterial Stratasys J750 in its design process, to accelerate design verification. The center oversees physical models and prototypes for any brand before a new vehicle goes into production, to evaluate new designs and concepts thoroughly.The use of 3D printers has helped increase speed by removing traditional methods of prototyping, such as molding and milling, to create and replicate new designs. In the case of taillights said Stratasys, the team traditionally used milling or molding to produce individual parts. The main challenge with those production techniques is the multi-colored light housing covers.The individual colored parts must be assembled currently, as they cannot be produced in one piece, making it a time-intensive process. Stratasys, however, claims that the J750 will enable production of “entirely transparent, multi-colored tail light covers in a single print, eliminating the need for its previous multi-step process.”Audi expects to reduce prototyping lead times for the parts by up to 50 percent.Source: Plastics News

Aeyoung Park 2018-06-11

Grand opening of new factory of Haitian Huayuan India

Grand opening of new factory of Haitian Huayuan IndiaOn April 28, 2018, Haitian Huayuan India (“Haitian India”), as the Indian subsidiary of the renowned injection molding machine manufacturer, Haitian International, celebrated the completion of its new manufacturing hall at its site in Kadi, Gujarat, India together with more than 500 guests.The grand opening ceremony has been attended by the governor from Gujarat, India, top management from Haitian International, customers, partners and employees of Haitian India.Established in 2014, Haitian India is a subsidiary wholly owned by Haitian International. It is engaged in production, sale and service for injection molding machines, with its main production plant and sales team located in Kadi, Gujarat. It also operates with branch offices in New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Kalkata, providing spare parts, application and service support in different levels.In order to further expand its production capacity and shorten the delivery time, better serve the local customers, Haitian India started to build its own factory in October 2016.After 19 months of preparation and construction, the new plant has been officially completed in April 2018. With production area of 19,800 sqm, the new plant offers more space for production.The new plant will also offer much more space for machines and spare part stocks, application centers which has functions such as mold testing and training etc. The professional team is consisted of both Chinese and local engineers. With the new site and the professional local team, Haitian India will be able to strengthen its sale and service support to the local customers, with higher efficiency and better quality.In recent years, Haitian International has further enhanced its global network by expanding its overseas production plants and installation of overseas service centers, in an effort to upgrade its service network covering the entire sale activities. Apart from India, Haitian International has established subsidiaries in Brazil, Turkey, Germany, Vietnam, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan, to cover the regional markets and countries nearby, further improving its sales and service capacity and quality.This event marks an important milestone for the team in India. Mr. Zhang Jianfeng, Executive Director of Haitian International and CEO of Haitian Plastics Machinery Group, said: "We will continue to enhance our core competitiveness through innovation in technology, marketing and management, creating even better products, offering even better services and creating higher value for its customers, partners and employees, and provide more employment opportunities in India."Source: CPRJ International

Aeyoung Park 2018-06-05

Eastman marks Tritan anniversary, copolyester expansion

Eastman increases capacity by 25% for glycol-modified PET and PCTG copolyesters▲ Paul Anderson, specialty plastics Americas sales director for Eastman Chemical Co.Eastman Chemical Co. is expanding specialty copolyester production as the firm marks the 10th anniversary of its Tritan-brand copolyester.Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman will increase capacity by 25 percent for glycol-modified PET and PCTG copolyesters at its plant in Kingsport, officials said at a May 8 press event at NPE2018. Those materials are sold under the Eastar, Spectar and Aspira trade names.Eastman's copolyester portfolio "is well-positioned to enhance quality of life around global macrotrends," said Burt Capel, specialty plastics vice president and general manager. He declined to say how much Eastman was investing in the capacity expansion.Tritan has been one of the most successful plastics product launches of the last decade. The material has found uses in many markets, including sports bottles, blender jars, durable housewares and medical devices. Tritan is known for its clarity, durability and chemical resistance.Eastman also confirmed May 8 that it completed an expansion of capacity for the material in Kingsport."The Tritan platform of products continues to see strong global adoption, with an increasing footprint of applications that recognize the robust performance of our polymer," Capel said in a statement."This additional copolyester expansion positions Eastman to meet the increasing demand we're seeing for our copolyester materials around the world."At the event, Courtland Jenkins, specialty plastics business director, said the firm also is seeing growth for MXF-brand copolyesters in medical devices, particularly those that are cleaned repeatedly with chemical solutions.Paul Anderson, specialty plastics Americas sales director, added that new applications are growing for its Treva, Embrace and Eastobond materials.Treva is an engineering bioplastic that has 45 percent biocontent and "is raising the bar for what bioplastics can achieve," Anderson said.Treva has excellent chemical resistance and can compete with polycarbonate and PC/ABS in some applications, he added. Eastabond is finding markets in PET trays and food packaging.Eastman is a global specialty plastics and chemicals firm with annual sales of about $9.5 billion. The firm employs around 14,000 worldwide.

Aeyoung Park 2018-05-10