NEWS
Spectrum snaps up Fermatex
US-based medical extrud- er Spectrum Plastics Group has acquired Fermatex Vascular Technologies, a supplier of reinforced medical tubing, catheter sub-assemblies, and speciality extrusions. Fermatex employs
around 100 people at two adjoining buildings – which include certified clean rooms – in New Jersey. It has been owned by Vance Street Capital since 2017, but traces its history back to 1960 – when it was founded as Adam Spence Corporation.
Spectrum says it will
rebrand Fermatex back to Adam Spence, given the wider familiarity of its history and reputation. Neil Shillingford, Spectrum CEO, said: “Our combined operations present exceptional scale and capability to medical device OEMs seeking the proper manufacturing partner for highly special- ised components, catheter delivery systems and sub-assemblies.” The newly acquired facilities will ultimately operate under Spectrum’s speciality technologies platform and work with its Apollo Medical Extrusion Technologies units and brand.
Spectrum has made eight acquisitions over the last four years. �
www.spgindustries.com �
www.fermatex.com
6 A 600m floating pipe will gather waste plastics from the Pacific Ocean
Ocean pollution by plastics has become a hot issue recently, but a huge clean-up project is about to go into operation. Its secret weapon to collect the plastic is…more plastic. Ocean currents have
concentrated waste plastics into five main areas. A project to clear plastics from one the largest such accumulations – dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – is due to begin this summer. The project, called The
Ocean Cleanup (TOC), will use a huge, floating 600m length of plastic pipe – made by Agru – to act as a giant ‘broom’ to trap large pieces of plastic debris. The debris will later be collect- ed, transferred to shore, and recycled. Sales of the
material will help to make the operation self-sustain- ing, says TOC. TOC has already carried
out extensive tests, such as by towing a prototype system out to the clean-up area – which lies off the west coast of America between California and Hawaii. The technology is based
on a large HDPE pipe that floats on the surface of the sea. As it floats, it maintains a slightly curved ‘U’ shape, in which plastic debris will become trapped. Running along the length of the pipe – and just below the surface of the water – is a screen that catches and retains smaller pieces. Sea crea- tures will not get caught up in it, and can swim under- neath. TOC says the screen
can catch plastic particles above 1cm in size. Another critical part of the design is the anchor: this floats around 600m below the surface, which slows the system down as it moves through the water – on the same currents that propel the plastics. This means that floating plastic debris will move faster, and so be captured in the curve of the plastic pipe. Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch
non-profit company behind the project, eventually intends to deploy 60 such systems – each around one mile in length. It says that a full-scale deployment of its system “is estimated to clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years”. �
www.theoceancleanup.com
Wavin expands UK production
Pipe manufacturer Wavin has extended its UK facility in Chippenham, which has created around 50 new jobs. The company, owned by chemicals giant
Mexichem, has opened an 8,000 sq m extension at a cost of around £5.5m (US$7m).
PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | June 2018
It said that the expansion would help the company to “respond to the changing needs of the market and its customers in a more flexible way”. The extension was opened by Mexico’s ambassador to the UK, Julian Ventura. �
www.wavin.com
www.pipeandprofile.com
Extruded PE pipe helps clear plastics pollution from Pacific
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