News
US machinery shipments growing again
Energy usage and auxiliary equipment
Changes
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Events
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Coming Soon From Plastics In Canada Magazine - September
From Plastics in Canada
News
US machinery shipments growing again
US manufacturers and importers of plastics machinery shipped $227-million worth of primary machinery (excluding components and auxiliary equipment) in the first
quarter of 2008. The latest equipment statistics released by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) show this four percent increase over what was shipped in the first quarter of 2007, and eight percent higher than the $210-million shipped in the last quarter.
Economist Bill Wood, who provided the analysis for SPI's report, forecasts that 2008 should be "a flat year in total investment for new industrial equipment when compared with 2007," and that investment in industrial equipment "should rebound late this year and through 2009."
According to Wood, the high costs of resins and energy continue to hinder the ability of plastics processors to invest in new equipment. "Compounding this problem, total demand for plastics products remains hindered by the sharp declines in both residential construction activity and domestic auto production," he said.
The number of injection moulding machines decreased four percent from the number shipped in the first quarter last year, and was 11 percent less than the number shipped last quarter.
There were 25 new blow moulding units shipped in the first quarter of 2008, two more than in the first quarter of 2007. The shipment dollar value for these machines was 66 percent higher than the amount shipped in the first quarter of 2007.
The number of single and twin screw extruders decreased 14 percent from the number shipped in the first quarter of 2007, but was three percent more than the number shipped in the fourth quarter of 2007.
New bookings for plastics auxiliary equipment were unchanged in the first quarter of 2008 from the amount booked in the first quarter of 2007 ($83.3-million), and were three percent higher than the amount booked in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The report was compiled by VERIS Consulting, LLC, and the analysis of the aggregate data was completed by Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc., a supplier of market analyses and forecasts for the plastics industry.
www.plasticsindustry.org
Energy usage and auxiliary equipment
Energy efficiency in processing machinery is a hot topic these days, but the concept is often vaguely defined. Michael Wittmann, general manager of auxiliary equipment producer the Wittmann Group is suggesting it's time for standardised measurements.
"We have developed a method of measuring energy on our dryers, and we are interested in how the market will accept it," he says. "If someone else says, 'We have a better idea,' fine. But let's all apply the same standard of measurement.
"Clothes dryers have standardised measurement. Refrigerators are the same. Why not resin dryers?"
For its test purposes, the company specified an ambient temperature range of 27 to 38 deg. C and an ambient dew point between 20 and 24 deg. Cdp. Wittmann says both of these are representative of actual production conditions that could exist anywhere in the world.
"The ambient moisture is more important for energy consumption than ambient temperature," he says. "In order to compare between the different sizes of dryers, we needed to find one common property relative to the dryer size. Air flow was selected as it is based on the dryer size and was specifically determined by the measurement of the actual mass flow of air. Then, simply put, we defined the actual energy rating as the basic energy consumption per mass flow of air."
Once tested, every Wittmann dryer model will be labeled with a green Energy Sticker showing the measured test result in terms of kWh per unit weight of dry air. The program will later be extended to other types of auxiliary equipment.
www.wittmann-canada.com
Wittmann's Energy Sticker will go onto all the company's dryers.
LAST CHANCE TO UPDATE!
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Changes
Milacron Inc. is moving its headquarters out of Cincinnati to office space at its main production facility in Afton, Ohio, near Batavia. About 60 employees are affected in a staged move to be completed this fall. The move coincides with the impending end of a 10-year lease on its existing offices.
www.milacron.com
Austrian-based Engel reports it now has almost 25 percent of the European market for injection moulding machines. Engel is constructing a new technology centre at its global HQ in Schwertberg, Austria, through 2009, and also increasing production capacities for larger machines by building a new machine hall in St. Valentin, Austria. The assembly area of the duo dual-plate machine series will be enlarged by 60,000 sq ft, so that the total capacity in St. Valentin will be 680,000 sq ft. A new plant for the production facilities in Kaplice in the Czech Republic is also being built.
www.engelglobal.com
Method Products, Inc. (San Francisco, Cal.) has converted three of its US product lines to 100 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET bottles from Amcor PET Packaging. The conversions, which affect 28, 25 and 12-oz bottles, are believed to be the first completely PCR applications in the US for household cleaning products. The company had previously used virgin PET resin for these bottles.
www.methodhome.com
Wood-plastic composites extruder Brite Manufacturing (Bolton, Ont.) and automotive moulder and Tri-Star Plastics Corp. (Mississauga, Ont.) have stopped operations. Brite, which opened in the 1970s, is looking for a buyer, and Tri-Star, which began injection moulding in 1993, will auction its assets next week.
www.britemfg.com, www.tstar.com
The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (Washington, DC) is promoting Melissa Hockstad to vice-president of its Material Suppliers Council. SPI is the major trade association of the plastics She joined SPI in June 2006 as senior technical director, new and existing technologies. Lynne Harris, SPI's senior vice-president and chief science and technology officer, who also previously served as vice-president of the Materials Suppliers Council, will continue his oversight of all polymer chemistry and plastics-related science issues and technical activities.
www.plasticsindustry.org
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Coming Events
2008
June 20: SPE Ontario golf tournament, at Station Creek Golf Course. (Contact: Andrew Marshall at 416-781-5286 or amarshall@ontor.com).
June 20-21: International Association of Plastics Distribution Canadian conference. At Marriott Niagara Falls Hotel. (Contact:
913-345-1005
or iapd@iapd.org)
August 28: Canadian Plastics Industry Association's annual golf classic, at Cardinal Golf Club, Kettleby, Ont. (Contact Erin Cimino at 905-678-7748 or ecimino@cpia.ca).
September 4: Canadian Plastics Pioneers Eighth Annual Golf Tournament, at Richmond Hill Golf Club, Richmond Hill, Ont. (Contact: Peter Stephen at 905-940-5577 or pstephen@stephensales.com)
September 23-25: Canadian Manufacturing Week, at the International Centre, Mississauga, Ont. (Contact: 888-322-7333 or www.sme.org)
September 30-October 2: Interplas 2008, Britain's national plastics show, at the Birmingham NEC, UK. (Contact: Graham Earl at
020-8910-7890
or graham.earl@reedexpo.co.uk).
October 7-10: Ausplas 2008, Australia 's leading plastics show. At Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre. (Contact: Robert Damcevski, 61-3-9699-4699 or rob@exhibitionmanagement.com). October 20-21: Expoplast 2008, Quebec's triennial plastics show, at the Palais de Congres in Montreal. (Contact: Tom Sockett at 905-678-7748 or tsockett@cpia.ca)
October 22: APAC international business development conference, at the Palais de Congres in Montreal. (Contact: Tom Sockett at 905-678-7748 or tsockett@cpia.ca)
October 22-23: Rotoplas '08, the international rotational moulding event, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill. (Contact: Maria at 630-578-3266 x225, or mariap@cmservnet.com)
November 5-6: Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo. At the International Centre, Mississauga, Ont. (Contact: Arnie Gess, 403-638-4410 or arnie.gess@cwre.ca). TOP
Coming Soon From Plastics In Canada Magazine - September issue:
Special supplement – Expoplast 2008 show preview
Plastics in automotive safety systems
Measuring – what's happening in monitoring size, colour, dimensions and efficiency
Product Spotlight on Controls
Blow moulding report – New machine designs for blow moulding
Raw materials report – Innovations in resin technology, fillers and additives
Troubleshooting – Our regular look at what can go wrong, and how to be sure it doesn't
Processor profile – A visit to an innovative moulder, extruder or other manufacturer of finished plastic items
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