News
NS resin plant gets the go-ahead
Following a seven-year development and regulatory approvals process, Keltic Petrochemicals Inc. (Halifax) has been given the green light by Nova Scotia's Ministry of the Environment to develop a polyolefin resins plant in Goldboro, NS. It has already received federal government approval.
When built, the facility will have ethylene, polyethylene, propylene and polypropylene plants as well as supporting cogeneration plant and a receiving terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The petrochemical complex will be the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada. Keltic will extract the ethane and the propane from both LNG and natural gas that come on shore at Goldboro. The ethane and propane will be converted into ethylene and propylene and further processed into polyethylene and polypropylene.
Keltic plans annual production capacity of 1,450,000 tonnes.
The company was launched in March 2000 by W. Kevin Dunn, a native Nova Scotian who had spent much of his working life as a businessman in the Calgary area. In September 2006, Keltic finalised an agreement with Maple LNG whereby Maple LNG acquired 100 percent of the LNG portion of the combined petrochemical/LNG project.
The approval is conditional on Keltic meeting conditions set out in 59 recommendations.
It could start up as early as 2011. Keltic earlier indicated it would choose Unipol polyethylene technology for two reactors, each with 770 million pounds of capacity per year.
www.kelticpetrochemicals.ca
Dominion Colour sees management buyout
Kikuchi Color & Chemicals Corp. of Japan is selling its subsidiary, Dominion Colour Corp. (Toronto) to a management team from DCC led by Mike Klein, the company's existing president. The Japanese firm has owned DCC for 18 years.
The transaction, effective March 25, encompasses DCC and all subsidiary companies. No changes in the organisation are planned. Klein, Jack Nelligan, Bob Ralph and Mark Vincent, who will all continue as senior executives of DCC in their current positions, are the other new owners of DCC.
www.dcc.ca
Thermoplastic starch offered for 'green' materials
A Montreal firm is offering a thermoplastic starch-based resin. Cerestech, Inc., has commercially introduced several branded thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends, trademarked under the name Cereloy, that it says can produce cost-effective, high property retention film and injection moulded products with a substantially reduced carbon footprint relative to resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, biodegradable polyester or polylactic acid (PLA).
The company is a technology development and licensing spin-off from the École Polytechnique, the University of Montreal's Engineering School. Large-scale orders and sample sizes are available to converters worldwide according to Dr. Basil Favis, Cerestech founder and chief scientific officer, who says end-use products featuring the materials are already appearing on store shelves.
Cereloy's patented starches derive from corn, wheat and tapioca. The technology, Favis adds, allows for direct substitution of conventional plastics with TPS in large volume applications such as films, bags and injection moulded products. The high performance of the TPS blends in plastic products, he says, has been achieved after several years of fundamental and applied R&D in partnership with commercial processors.
"Never before have we seen products delivering such high performance while offering a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission," Favis states. "The production of pure thermoplastic starch using our approach emits up to 90 percent less greenhouse gases than PE and also has significant advantages in terms of non-renewable energy consumption when compared to other plastics."
www.cerestech.ca
DSM sues 3D Systems over prototyping systems
DSM Desotech Inc. (Elgin, Ill.), which owns DSM Somos, has filed an antitrust and patent infringement lawsuit against 3D Systems Corp. in federal court in Chicago. It alleges that 3D Systems is stifling competition in the stereolithography market for prototype parts.
In the suit, Desotech charges that 3D Systems forces buyers of its stereolithography equipment, and in particular the 3D ViperT Pro SLA, to buy 3D's own resin. Desotech, which makes a liquid photopolymer, says it wants customers to continue having a choice of resins for large-frame systems.
www.dsm.com, www.3dsystems.com
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Changes
American Banknote Corp. has bought Keystone Manufacturing (Plastics) Ltd. (Toronto). The buyer profits from Keystone's position in smart cards, cards with a memory chip or microprocessor embedded in them.
www.americanbanknote.com
Bob Brandt has been named vice president of manufacturing for MEGlobal, a joint venture between Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait. Brandt is currently production leader for Dow's ethylene oxide plant in Plaquemine, La.
www.meglobal.biz
The Organic Specialties Group of Ferro Corp. (Cleveland, Ohio) has restructured its plastics business and combined several sub-business units into the Engineered Polymer Products (EPP) unit. The EPP unit was formed to offer customers a broader product line, manufacturing synergies, simplified sales contacts, and reduced costs.
www.ferro.com
Bunting Magnetics Co. (Newton, Kan.) has bought Magnet Applications Group Ltd. (Berkhamsted, UK). MAGL was founded in 1955 and currently has manufacturing operations in Berkhamsted and Dubois, Pa.. and manufactures and distributes a wide variety of technical bonded magnets, precision magnetic assemblies and complementary magnet products.
www.buntingmagnetics.com, www.magnetapplications.com
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Coming Events
2008
April 10: Basics of Plastics, an introduction to the elements of the plastics industry. At the Rogers campus in Brampton, Ont. (Contact: Edward Mason at 416-764-1514 or edward.mason@plastics.rogers.com)
April 17: One-day seminar on Implementing Scientific Moulding, with Bill Tobin, a joint activity of WJT Associates and SPE Ontario. At the Delta Toronto Airport West Hotel, Mississauga, Ont. (Contact: Paul Waller at 905-738-9742 or paul@plasticstouchpointgroup.com)
April 23-24: Mold Expo 2008 and Conference at Rock Financial Showplace, Novi, Mich. (Contact: 513-527-8800 or info@moldmakingexpo.com)
May 4-7: UV&EB Technology Expo & Conference 2008, at McCormick Place, Chicago. (Contact: Mickey Fortune at 240-497-1243 or mickey@radtech.org).
May 12-13: Tenth International Conference on Progress in Biofibre Plastic Composites. At the Toronto Airport Renaissance Hotel. (Contact: Guida Williamson at 519-249-0545 or www.biocomposites-toronto.com)
May 22: The Plast-Ex Summit 2008 is a look at the urgent issues facing the plastics industry in Canada. Co-sponsored by Plastics in Canada magazine and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. At the Rogers Center, Toronto. (Contact: Nick Passingham at 416-764-1527 or nick.passingham@plastics.rogers.com).
May 22: Plastic Film Manufacturers Association of Canada, 27th annual golf tournament. At Richmond Hill Gold Club. (Contact: Marilyne Berman, 905-678-7748 or mberman@cpia.ca).
May 26 - 29: Aseanplas 2008 incorporating Aseanrubber 2008, Southeast Asia's main international trade fair for plastics and rubber. At Singapore Expo. (Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America at 312-781-5180 or info@mdna.com).
June 5: Canadian Plastics Pioneers 12th annual reunion and citation awards dinner. At the Donalda Club, Don Mills, Ont. (Contact: Tom Thomas at 416-498-4016 or tom.thomas@rogers.com)
June 16: Windsor Chapter of CAMM dinner meeting. (Contact: Diane Deslippe at 519 255-7863 or info@camm.ca). 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 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)
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 22-23: 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) TOP
Coming Soon From Plastics In Canada Magazine - June issue
Precision Parts - Moulding to Tight Specifications
Extrusion Report - Innovations in Blown Film
Spotlight on Granulators and Shredders
Product Review of Printing & Decorating
Product Review of Welding Systems
Raw Materials Report
Processor Profile
Closing: May 21, 2008
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