news Mecaplast expands in Portugal
Monaco-headquartered automotive moulder Meca- plast has made several portfolio changes in recent months, acquiring Portuguese car parts maker Arouplás of Mansares and selling its heavy-duty truck business to Germany’s Mutares. Porto-based Arouplás specialises in injection
moulding, assembly, ultrasonic welding and painting for the automotive industry. It employs about 100 people and turns over nearly €10m at its 3,000m2
site, which supplies to
two local PSA operations. Mecaplast will use the
operation to expand its Portuguese supply of large parts and expects to begin
delivery of the first of these dur- ing 2019. Its plan is to expand the location and equip it with around ten injection machines from 1,600-2,000 tonnes. Mecaplast already has two
Portuguese sites through its acquisition of Key Plastics in October last year. Located between Porto and Lisbon, these supply smaller interior
PC glazing breaks into China
The Buick GL8 and GL8 Avenir MPV’s from China’s SAIC General Motors feature the world’s largest injection moulded polycarbonate automotive glazing panels manufactured to date. The new cars feature PC
rear quarter windows measur- ing 1,200mm by 450mm moulded in SABIC’s Lexan PC resin with a Cycoloy PC-ABS blackout area. According to Sabic, the window is 40% (3kg) lighter than a comparable glass alternative. It also features design elements that could not be achieved with
SAIC’s new Buick uses a huge 1,200mm by 420mm PC side window
glass, and offers improved impact resistance. The window is moulded by Ningbo Shentong Auto Decorations, which has set up the first high volume produc-
tion facility for PC glazing in China at Yuyao. Capabilities there include two-component injection compression moulding and flow coating. ❙
www.sabic.com
Motherson sets sights on PKC
Indian automotive components maker Motherson Sumi Systems (MSSL) has an- nounced plans to buy Finland’s PKC Group, a specialist in vehicle wiring harness production, for a total pur- chase price of €571m. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close within Q1.
6 PKC specialises in electri-
cal distribution systems and vehicle electronics for trucks and buses, light and recrea- tional vehicles, construction equipment and agricultural and forestry equipment. It also makes electrical distribution systems for rail applications. It reports sales of around €630m last year.
INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2017 MSSL is a joint venture
between Samvardhana Motherson Group and Sumitomo Wiring Systems of Japan. It said the proposed acquisition would support expanding its presence in the niche market of global wiring harnesses for commercial vehicles. ❙
www.motherson.com
parts for German OEM and Tier 2 customers. The sale of the Mecaplast truck business to Mutares was completed on 23 December. The non-core business had two sites in France that employed 340 people last year and accounted for 4.1% of group sales. ❙
www.mecaplast.com
Optimistic outlook for packaging
According to a survey by Germany’s Plastics Packaging Association (IK), manufacturers of plastic packaging in Germany had a strong 2016 and are expecting further positive economic growth for 2017. Of those questioned in
the first week of January, 70% rated the general economic situation as good while 30% said it was satisfactory (30%). Most of those surveyed were optimistic on turnover and export development for Q1 2017.
One key sector concern
is increasing energy taxes, mainly under Germany’s Renewable Energies Law (EEG) surcharge to finance renewable energy sources which will reach 6.88 cents/ kWh this year. IK said 80% of respondents are planning investments in energy efficiency. ❙
www.kunststoffverpackung.de
www.injectionworld.com
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