news news in brief


❙ Trex, the US-based decking and railing producer, has posted a 10% rise in first-quarter sales. The company reported sales of almost $145m for the first quarter of 2017, as well as an 18% rise in profits to almost $28m. This year, the company plans to achieve revenues of $160m in the second quarter, as well as expanding marketing and advertising campaigns. James Cline, CEO, said that production efficiencies helped to boost results in the first quarter. This year, the company expects to raise gross margin to 50%, up from 45% in 2016. www.trex.com


Ply Gem, a US producer of exterior building products, posted a 5% increase in sales for the first quarter of the year, to $430m. This allowed it to cut net loss to less than $4m – down from around $28m in the same period last year. Sales in siding and fencing rose by around 8% for the period, while the windows and doors division grew at 3%. At its full year results, announced in March, the company announced a 7.4% growth in sales for the year (to $1.9bn), while EBITDA rose by nearly 4% to around $45m. Looking ahead to this year, chairman and CEO Gary Robinette said that – taking into account the seasonality of Ply Gem’s business – he expected full year adjusted EBITDA for 2017 to be in the range of $250-265 million. ❙ www.plygem.com


10 The Mount Pleasant plant will be expanded by another 36,000 sq ft this year


news


ContiTech grows one US plant and closes another


ContiTech is to expand one of its US-based hose industrial plants – while closing a second facility. The company will add a further 36,000 sq ft to its plant in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in order to expand production of PVC hose. According to a report in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the investment there is just over $11m, but the


company will also receive a $325,000 loan and $500,000 in tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board – as long as it creates 41 jobs.


At the same time, ContiTech


is to close its plant in Hanni- bal, Missouri – which is around 100 miles away from the Mount Pleasant factory – by the end of the year.


PEA warns over TiO2


A European trade association has issued a warning over the impact of tight supply and rising prices on the continent’s plastics processors. The Polymers for Europe


Alliance (PEA), a sub-division of the European Plastics Converters (EuPC), said parts of the European plastics converting industry were facing a threat from limited supplies of titanium dioxide (TiO2


).


The association said that unplanned maintenance shutdowns were restricting output and driving up prices to uncompetitive levels.


PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | June 2017


A report in the Herald-Whig said that 45 jobs are affected at the Hannibal plant. One option open to employees will be to relocate to Mount Pleasant. Last year, ContiTech


invested more than $7m in the Mount Pleasant plant to expand it by 30,000 sq ft – allowing it to boost capacity by 20%. ❙ www.contitech.us


shortages PEA chairman Ron Marsh


called on producers to “help our plastics converting industry to create a global level playing field to secure the development of our business in Europe”. lThe founding partners of the Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform (PCEP), one of which is EuPC, have agreed a joint mission to increase the reuse and recycling of polyolefin based products and the use of recyclates as raw material. The platform aims to


ensure long-term sustainabil- ity for polyolefins. Initially focussing on polyolefin


packaging, the value chain platform has set two strategic goals covering innovation with circular economy focus and enhanced collection and sorting systems. “This is just the beginning


of an exciting journey,” said Eugenio Longo, chairman of PCEP. “Six working groups have been created to deliver on the mission, and each of those groups are refining their objectives.” It comes at a time when


polymer supply is very tight, he said. ❙ www.plasticsconverters.eu ❙ www.pcep.eu


www.pipeandprofile.com


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