NEWS
US plastics machine deliveries rise 15% year-on-year in Q1
Deliveries of plastics machinery in North America grew by more than 15% in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year, but fell compared to the most recent quarter. An early estimate of deliveries of primary plastics equipment for reporting companies exceeded US$333 million in the first quarter. This was 15.1% higher than the US$290m in Q1 of 2017, but 11.7% lower than the US$378m from Q4 of 2017. “Shipments of plastics machinery tend to be lower in the first quarter relative to other quarters due to seasonality,” said Perc Pineda, chief economist at the association. “Still, the
US economy was off to a good start in the first quarter. Business confidence remains high – helped by corporate tax reform enacted last year. Plastics equipment shipments data are in sync with healthy corporate profits in the manufacturing sector, including the plastics industry.” The delivery value of injection moulding machinery increased nearly 23% in Q1 compared to the fourth quarter of last year, while that of single-screw extruders fell 14.6% during the same period. Twin-screw extruders – including both co-rotating and counter-rotating machines — fell 27.1%.
The US total export value for plastics machinery in the first quarter was US$404m, a 7.7% decrease from the previous quarter, but 6.9% higher than a year ago.
Plastics machinery imports de-
creased 12.8% in the first quarter to nearly US$830m. From the first quarter of last year, machinery imports rose 5.7% (to nearly $785m). The U.S. continues to have a trade deficit in plastics machinery, which was almost $426m in the first quarter – a 17% decrease from the fourth quarter last year, but 4.6% higher than a year ago. �
www.plasticsindustry.org
Wienerberger expands in plastic pipe with acquisition of Norway’s Isoterm
Wienerberger of Austria is to expand its presence in plastic pipes by acquiring Isoterm – a manufacturer of frost-resistant and pre-insu- lated pipes based in Norway. The purchase price has not been revealed. The acquisition is expected to close by the third quarter of this year. Wienerberger already owns Norway-based Pipelife, one of Europe’s largest plastic pipe manu- facturers.
Isoterm has a production site in Ringebu and a sales office in neighbouring Sweden. Its pipes are used for water and waste-water management in remote regions as well as in large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects. The
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in the context of security of supply for remote regions,” said Heimo Scheuch, CEO of Wienerberger. “By acquiring Isoterm we have taken yet another step in driving our plastic pipe busi- ness forward.” The company added that it has set aside €200m (US$234m) for acquisitions in 2018.
Kjell Larsen, Pipelife Frost-resistant pipes are often installed on bridges
company has 35 employees and generated revenues of around €12m (US$14m) in 2017. Pre-insulated pipes can be installed above ground and above the frost line which is the area of the
PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | July/August 2018
ground that freezes in cold temperatures. This results in enormous cost savings in installation work, says the company. “Frost resistance is an
important issue in the Nordic countries, especially
Norway’s CEO, added: “Frost-proof piping systems are a pretty new product area for us, and we will depend on the expertise of Isoterm’s Ringebu employees regard- ing both market and the products – especially in terms of electronics and control.” �
www.wienerberger.com �
www.isoterm.no �
www.pipelife.no
www.pipeandprofile.com
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