News
  Plant monitoring for managers
  Meeting the new European REACH standard
  Battenfeld on track in global sales
  BPA goes back on the suspect list

Changes
  Movers and shakers in the Plastics industry
Classified Ads
  Job Forum
Events
  Coming Events
Coming Soon From Plastics In Canada Magazine - November
  From Plastics in Canada

News

Plant monitoring for managers
Processors are used to buying software that was developed in Europe or Asia, but a new entry comes from Turkey. Istanbul-based Doruk Otomasyon offers ProManage, a production monitoring program it says is unique in the plastics industry, and it was showing it at the recent Expoplast show in Montreal.
"We don't deal with process data, we just deal with business data," explains general manager Aylin Tülay Özden. "We are selling right now by word of mouth, but we've decided to launch the product in Canada rather than the US market, which is too large to begin with. And we're looking for a partner here who can sell it for us."
Turkey, she adds, has a sizable community of software designers and programmers, so it's not surprising ProManage was developed there. What is different about it is that, rather than collect production data for process improvements, it monitors output, stoppages and their reasons, and other information that a plant manager can use to assess production effectiveness.
"It shows every cycle and every stoppage," she adds, "or if you prefer, it can offer regular sample reports. For stoppages, the operator has to enter a cause – a quality problem, for example, or a need to replenish resin. But it lets the plant manager can find out what has happened during a shift."
In total, ProManage could offer up to 2-million possible combinations of different types of information. More are possible, she says, but not all are meaningful combinations.
"It can change the behaviour of the operators, because everything they do is monitored," she point out. "And there's a fast payback. Typically, there is a five to 10 per cent productivity improvement, which can mean a two months' payback."
www.dorukotomasyon.com

Meeting the new European REACH standard
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) is organising a free webinar to inform Canadian companies about their obligations under the rapidly approaching deadlines related to REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Assessment of Chemicals). REACH is the new European Union directive that affects companies manufacturing chemicals (or products containing chemicals) in Europe or exporting into that market. Any product that may reasonably be expected to release chemicals is subject to REACH.
This webinar will be held this Thursday, November 6, at 12.00 noon EDT. It will feature two speakers in an interactive format, providing participants with the opportunity to have their questions answered. The speakers will be Ms. Anya Oram, head, economic and commercial affairs section, Delegation of the European Commission to Canada; and Ms. Ursula Schliessner, attorney and partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (Brussels)
They will address the particular products that come under REACH; the specifics of the pending December 1, 2008 deadline for REACH pre-registration; the costs involved and how to find proper representation in the European Union. There will be time for questions and answers.
To register for the webinar, you must complete a brief online registration form at:
www.surveymk.com/s.aspx?sm=ipZUwOoOWijy_2fJ_2f6g7TwaA_3d_3d
Once you have registered you will receive further information and instructions by email, including a link to the webinar session itself. Aside from the webinar, DFAIT also maintains a REACH web site at: www.infoexport.gc.ca/ie-en/DisplayDocument.jsp?did=82434

Battenfeld on track in global sales
After the first six months under new ownership, the Austrian injection moulding machine manufacturer Battenfeld is reporting positive results. Following its takeover in April of this year by the Vienna-based Wittmann Group, its total sales figures for 2008 are expected to reach about 110 million Euros.
The service company Battenfeld Service GmbH, which had been operating separately from the main Kottingbrunn facility, was fully reintegrated into Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH in July. This means management of the company's service activities is now once more under one roof. From September 1 onwards, sales and service activities have also been reunited as a single company in Germany, now trading under the name of Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH & Co. KG.
A primary target during the first few months after the takeover was to merge the global sales networks as quickly as possible. This is now essentially completed with the establishment of 16 integrated Wittmann Battenfeld subsidiaries.
In considering the importance of the German market to the company, it has been decided to build a new sales and service subsidiary in the industrial area called Darmcher Grund, close to the present facility in Meinerzhagen. A 15,000 sq-M (3.5-acre) block of land was recently purchased from the municipality of Meinerzhagen. This will have a facility with 8,000 sq M floor space to accommodate offices, a demonstration lab, training facilities and a warehouse. This sales and service centre is expected to open in June 2009.
To reach the targets that have been set, a two-stage implementation process has begun. In the short term, the existing product range, consisting of the hydraulic, all-electric and toggle machine series ranging from five to 650 tons, is being improved with additional performance features and complemented with multicomponent models as well as further application technology options, such as Cellmould or complete IML production lines.
The toggle machine program with clamping forces ranging from 110 to 500 tons has been extended by adding the high-speed model TM Xpress. This new series is destined especially for use in the packaging industry, for IML applications and thinwall parts.
In the medium term, the company is focused on re-entering the large machine sector with clamping forces of up to 1,600 tons. A compact, two-platen clamping unit is being developed, which will be launched at K 2010. Development of a new, cost-optimised all-electric injection moulding machine is also under way, with the first models expected on the market in 2009.
www.wittmann-canada.com

Architect's conception of the new sales and service subsidiary in Meinerzhagen, Germany

BPA goes back on the suspect list
Bisphenol-A, a primary feedstock in polycarbonate and epoxy can linings, has come under fresh attack. The US Food and Drug Administration's ruling that it is safe has been challenged by an independent panel of its scientific advisers. The FDA recently claimed there is no risk from the low doses of BPA from eating foods in containers made with the chemical, but the advisory panel has said otherwise.
The advisers stated the FDA had not considered all the available and credible evidence. This is in line with Canada's own pending ban on polycarbonate for plastic baby bottles.
The advisory group said more studies are needed to determine safe BPA levels. A rapid response from the FDA is therefore unlikely.
www.cfsan.fda.gov

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Changes

Montreal-based Felix Composites, which specialises in elastomeric products, took home one of three Galea Awards for itself at the awards dinner on October 20 This event at Montreal's Hotel Intercontinental, was held in conjunction with Expoplast 2008. Other winners included Cascades Specialised Products Group (Kingsey Falls, Que.) and pipe-and-fittings producer IPEX.
www.cpia.ca

Carlo Gavazzi (Canada) Inc. (Mississauga, Ont.) has appointed John F. Babic sales representative for southwestern Ontario. He will be responsible for the continued expansion of our business in the Southwestern Ontario marketplace. He has over 21 years experience in the electrical control and industrial automation industry, where he has held several technical sales and management positions.
www.GavazziOnline.com

John Babic

Arizona Instrument has moved to a new facility, and launched a new website. It is now at 3375 N. Delaware St., Chandler, Ariz., 85225; tel: 502-470-1414. The website URL is: www.azic.com

Rick Bigham has been named the new product manager – magnetic separation for Bunting Magnetics Co. (Newton, Kan.) He has over 27 years of experience in the automotive, industrial gas, magnetic products and petroleum industries, having joined Bunting Magnetics Co. as international sales manager in 2000.
www.buntingmagnetics.com

The CME Group, which includes the New York and Chicago and mercantile exchanges, starts trading plastics futures this past Monday, November 3. Contracts are for a blow moulding grade of HDPE and three grades of homopolymer.
www.cmegroup.com

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) has named FormaShape, a designer and manufacturer of fibreglass reinforced plastics (FRP) for architectural fascia products, winner of Deloitte's Canadian Innovation Award for Productivity Enhancement. The award was presented to FormaShape, at CME's annual Canadian Innovation Awards held recently in Toronto.
www.formashape.com

Copol International (North Sydney NS) has won its fourth Nova Scotia export achievement award from Nova Scotia Business Inc. The cast unoriented polypropylene (CPP) film producer has 55 employees, and exports about 70 per cent of its output to the US.
www.copolinternational.com

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Classified Ads

Job Forum

Businesses For Sale

Miscellaneous

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Coming Events

2008

November 5: The Basics of Plastics introductory seminar on industry practices and processes. With Paul Waller of The Plastics Touchpoint Group. At the World Trade & Convention Centre, Halifax. (Contact: Nick Passingham at 416-764-1527 or npassingham@plastics.rogers.com).

November 5: Canadian MTDM Federation Safety Group, safety information session. At Best Western-Milton Inn, Milton, Ont. (Contact: Julie McFarlane at 519-653-7265 or info@ctma.ca)

November 5-6: Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo. At the International Centre, Mississauga, Ont. (Contact: Arnie Gess, 403-638-4410 or arnie.gess@cwre.ca).

November 11-14: Iran Plast 2008. The Middle East's largest trade show will be held once again at Tehran Permanent Fair Ground. (Contact: Iran Plast secretariat at 0098-2188511438 or info@Iranplast2008.ir)

November 18-19: Canadian Association of Mold Makers Trade Fair, at Caesar's Windsor. (Contact Diane Deslippe at 519-255-7863, or info@camm.ca).

November 18: One-day seminar on Blown and Cast Film Optimisation and Troubleshooting, sponsored by SPE Ontario and featuring Paul Waller of The Plastics Touchpoint Group. At the Delta Toronto Airport West Hotel. (Contact: Penny Perdis at 416-802-9565 or pennyperdis@sympatico.ca).

December 2: The Basics of Plastics introductory seminar on industry practices and processes. With Paul Waller of The Plastics Touchpoint Group. At the Rogers Inc. campus, Brampton, Ont. (Contact: Nick Passingham at 416-764-1527 or npassingham@plastics.rogers.com).

December 5: SPE Ontario Annual Christmas Gala, at the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre, Mississauga, Ont. (Contact: Penny Perdis at 905-820-5938 or pennyperdis@sympatico.ca)

2009

January 10-13: Arabplast 2009, at Dubai World Trade Centre - Dubai International Exhibition Centre, Dubai, Arabic Emirates. This show features approximately 540 exhibitors, and draws 14,500 visitors. (Contact: Stefan Egge at 416-598-1524, or messduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca).

January 27- 30: Interplastica 2009, at ZAO Expocentr in Krasnaja Presnja, Moscow, Russia. This show features 530 exhibitors, and draws 24,000 visitors. (Contact: Stefan Egge at 416-598-1524, or messduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca).

February 4-9: Plastindia 2009, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This show features 1,300 exhibitors, and draws 80,000 visitors. (Contact: Stefan Egge at 416-598-1524, or messduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca).

May 11-12: 10th International Conference on Wood & Biofibre Plastic Composites, 2009. At Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center, Madison, Wis. (Contact: conferences@forestprod.org)

June 22-26: NPE2009, North America's largest plastics show, held at Chicago's McCormick Place. (Contact: Alan Carter at 202-974-5284 or acarter@plasticsindustry.org)

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Special supplement – Mouldmaking in Canada
Moulding automotive exteriors
Blow moulding report on automation and high volume production
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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