news
Asahi Kasei starts to build its new plant in Alabama
Asahi Kasei Plastics North America has officially broken ground for the construction of its new thermoplastics compounding plant in Athens, Alabama. The 30,000 tonnes/ year facility is expected to be fully operational in the first
quarter of 2016. The Athens site will serve
as a production and distribu- tion hub for the company in the southern US, providing service to the region’s automotive industry and other markets such as commercial seating,
pool/spa, and electrical and electronics. “This newest chapter of our North American operations is pivotal for our company,” said John Moyer, president of Asahi Kasei Plastics. “As we continue on our path of growth, being located in the heart of the automotive hub of the south helps us open new doors with our innovative materials.” The Athens plant will
A traditional Japanese kagami biraki ceremony was performed to mark the start of construction
produce the company’s Thermylene PP and Leona PA 66 grades, as well as some other performance com- pounds. Asahi Kasei Plastics already has a 105,000 tonnes/ year compounding facility that is located at Fowlerville in Michigan, USA. ❙
www.asahikaseiplastics.com
Viba France goes into liquidation
The French operation of Italian masterbatch maker Viba has been declared bankrupt and put into liquidation. Located in Forbach, the plant was opened in 2002 and housed at least nine extrusion lines. Following the liquidation
order of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Sarreguemines, an auction of the plant’s equipment is being held on 15 October (see page 71 for details). Viba’s managing director Josep Campasol said that the group’s plants in Italy and Spain are currently still in operation. The company closed a masterbatch plant in Hungary in 2009 ❙
www.vibagroup.com
Treffert commissions new compounding line
Treffert Group has now commissioned its new Coperion Smart series compounding extruder at its plant at Ste- Marie-aux-Chenes in France. The 32-mm screw diameter ZSK 32 Mc18 Smart twin-screw extruder is being mainly used to produce masterbatches for sensitive applications in the medical, pharmaceutical and automotive industries. Heinrich Treffert, chief
executive officer of Treffert SAS and managing shareholder of Treffert GmbH, said: “One of the important features of Coperi- on’s new twin screw extruder is the ease and reliability with which it can be cleaned. The
www.compoundingworld.com
The new compounding line is installed in a separate room to ensure high purity production
new twin-screw extruder also permits rapid changeover from one batch to another and enables us to respond to customer’s wishes more quickly
and flexibly than before.” In addition to the twin-
screw extruder, Coperion supplied the complete strand pelletizing system for the
compounding line through its Coperion Pelletizing Technol- ogy subsidiary. Coperion introduced the Smart series version of the ZSK compounding extruder at the K show last year. Smart models place the screw centre lines just 800 mm from floor level and are designed for simple feeder and peripheral unit access and fast set-up. The company says that Treffert played a role in the development of the new Smart series design “from start to finish”, applying its practical experience as a long-standing user of ZSK technology. ❙
www.treffert.eu ❙
www.coperion.com
October 2014 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 5
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