NEWS
Mitsui to make TPOs in US
Mitsui Chemicals is to set up a new facility for its Milastomer brand of thermoplastic olefin elasto- mers at the plant of its majority-owned US subsidiary, Advanced Composites, in Ohio in the US. It will have a capacity of 6,000 tonnes/yr and should commence production in October. Milastomer combines low density, light weight and good mouldability, according to Mitsui Chemicals, which markets them as an alternative to PVC and vulcanised rubber. Applications include automotive, weather strips, air bag covers and steering bellows, as well as tooth- brushes and golf club grips.
Advanced Composites, in which Mitsui Chemical has a 58.9% stake, will handle production of the Milastomer products, with Mitsui Chemicals America taking charge of sales. �
www.mitsuichemicals.com
Italy sets machinery record
Amaplast, the trade associa- tion for Italian manufactur- ers of plastics and rubber processing machinery, equipment and moulds, has announced a record 2017 result for the industry. Production for the year
rose by 10% to €4.67bn, while exports were 12% up to €3.31bn, imports were 14% up to €970m and the trade balance improved by 11% to €2.34bn, it said. “The order portfolio horizon for Italian manufac- turers has been consider- ably extended,” said Amaplast president, Alessandro Grassi. “Many companies are able to plan production at least to the end of the year and there are quite a few that are actually having difficulty keeping up with customer
Top 10 export markets for Italian machinery (%) Country Germany USA
France Poland Spain
Mexico China
+19.7 +20.4 +21.5 -3.7
+8.1 -16.7 -2.5
Czech Republic UK
Romania Others
requests.” Among the strongest
growing export markets were Germany and France, which were both 20% up on 2016. Romania saw explo- sive growth and moved into the top ten export markets. Asia was less impressive,
+25.9 +1.1
1,467 Source: Amaplast
however, with modest growth in the Middle East, India and China alike. Sales to the US were 30% up but Mexico fell back by 20% after a similar-scale boom in 2016. Brazilian sales were 40% up. �
www.amaplast.org.it/
Masterbatchers mark 20 years
Germany’s masterbatch industry association (Masterbatch Verband) marked its 20th anniversary on 6 March in Frankfurt with a special meeting at which invited speakers – including association chairman Martin Fabian, Prof Dr-Ing Martin Bastian from SKZ
and Dr Andreas Weber from Alpla Werke – spoke about the history and future outlook for masterbatch and the plastics industry. The association now comprises 22 member companies. �
www.masterbatchverband.de
Consent Plastic installs MRS extrusion line
Dubai-based Consent Plastic, a producer of strapping tapes, has installed a new line based around a Gneuss MRS (Multi Rotation System) extruder for manufacturing PET strapping tapes from 100% non-dried post-consumer bottle, preform and trapping flake. The company said the investment was spurred by its desire to avoid time and energy-intensive drying and crystallisation of PET flake. The new
14 COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2018
line reduces energy use by 25%. It also produces better quality tape. The MRS extruder features a large
central screw located in a cylinder with eight smaller satellite screws. These are driven by a ring gear and rotate in the opposite direction and around the central screw. This arrangement is said to provide a high surface exchange area, making it particularly effective for removing volatile contamination. �
www.gneuss.de
www.compoundingworld.com
+68.6 +11.8
14.5 8.3 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.1 3.8 3.6 2.9
44.4
2017 sales (€m) Rise/fall (%) % of total 481 276 160 159 148 143 134 127 119 96
PHOTO: GNEUSS/CONSENT PLASTIC
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94
