news


Assocomaplast: revenues from Italian machinery rises in 2016


Italian manufacturers of plastics machinery saw a small rise in production last year – which coincided with a spike in imports. Trade body Assocomaplast


reported sales of €4.23bn for Italian-made machinery in 2016, a rise of 1.9%. Exports grew by 1.7%, to


reach €2.97bn. These sales account for around 70% of production, and saw rises in extruders (5%), thermoform- ing machinery (10%) and injection moulding machinery (18%), it said. “This is a new historical


record for exports – which are approaching €3 billion,” said Alessandro Grassi, president of Assocomaplast. Overall sales to Europe fell,


due mainly to poor sales to countries outside the European Union. However, there was an increase in sales to Asia – in- cluding Iran and Saudi Arabia. There was also a 45%


increase in sales to India, making it the 11th


largest


export market. Sales to North America


were mixed: while there was a 70% increase in sales to Mexico, those to the USA fell by


Grassi: “This is a new historical record for imports"


11%. There were also declining sales to Russia and Brazil. Italy also saw a 12% rise in


imported machinery, to €850m. This was driven by injection moulding machinery, extruders (both up by 39%) and blow moulding machinery (up 118%). “This confirms signs that the domestic market is regaining altitude after too many years of stagnation,” said Grassi. Expectations for 2017 are


positive, with 43% of respond- ents to an Assocomaplast survey believing that the first half of the year will be an improvement on the second half of 2016. ❙ www.assocomaplast.org


Aluplast grows in US with Chelsea buy


Aluplast of Germany has strengthened its position in the US market, by acquiring PVC profile extruder Chelsea Building Products from private equity firm Graham Partners. Chelsea, established in 1975 and based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designs and extrudes PVC and composite profiles for the North American


building materials market – in- cluding windows, doors, siding and mouldings. It will continue to operate independently. “This partnership, and


Chelsea’s experience and knowledge of the market, will allow us to build a strong platform for substantial growth in the US,” said Dirk Seitz, CEO of Aluplast.


Peter Dewil, president and CEO of Chelsea, added that the takeover would “bring addi- tional technological expertise and research to integrate into current processes”. Graham Partners bought Chelsea from Tessenderlo of Belgium in 2011.


William Timmerman, principal at Graham Partners,


said: “We are pleased with the growth that Chelsea has experienced, and are confident in their continued success under new ownership.” This is the latest expansion by Aluplast – which last year opened a profiles production plant in Vadodara, India. ❙ www.aluplast.net ❙ www.chelseabuildingproducts.com


Croda invests £27m in UK production facility


Speciality chemicals firm Croda International is to invest £27m at its site at Hull in the UK, near doubling existing capacity. The company said the focus will be


on fatty acid amides and slip additives, including Incroslip SL, which the company makes at the UK facility. A spokesperson said the investment “will allow us to meet our customers’


6 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | April 2017


increasing demands in a growing market and to further develop our innovation pipeline”. Croda Polymer Additives also


makes anti-fog, anti-static, anti- scratch, mould release, pigment dispersion, torque release, UV absorption additives and speciality plasticisers. ❙ www.croda.com


www.pipeandprofile.com


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