Cumberland Plastics invests $5.7M in Alabama expansion
Cumberland Plastics Systems is investing $5.7 million to expand its Opelika, Ala., facility by 60,000 square feet to make room for more molding and assembly capacity.
Craftech expects no big changes under private equity ownership
Private equity firm Sage Park Inc. has purchased injection molder Craftech EDM Corp. for undisclosed terms.
Resin Report: Buyers in Holding Pattern, Anticipating Lower Prices
Resin buyers are thankful for lower prices and better availability, but not enough to actually place orders. They only placed truckload orders or none at all the week before Thanksgiving in anticipation of lower prices ahead, reports the PlasticsExchange in its Market Update. Prices for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) commodity grades, while under pressure, mostly held steady early in the week, but all grades then peeled off a penny…
Obituary: Plastics Hall of Famer, Bekum executive Martin Stark
Martin Stark, who retired as chairman of Bekum America earlier this year, played a key role in developing Bekum’s European-style apprenticeship program.
Solvay Launches PPA Grades to Support Sustainable Innovation in E-Mobility
A new generation of Amodel polyphthalamide (PPA) materials from Solvay target high demands of performance and sustainability for advanced electrical and electronic applications in e-mobility. In the Supreme range, Amodel PPA AE 9933 and AE 9950 have been designed for e-motor and inverter busbars operating at 800 volts and higher. They combine best-in-class comparative tracking index (CTI) ratings with high thermal cycle shock resistance from -40 to 150°C. They will…
Attracting More Employees by Knowing the Ones You Have
A recent article headline read: Latest Job Perk: Firms Adopt Automatic Retirement Savings Plans to Attract More Workers. Do such retirement plans attract employees from all demographics and for all positions within your company? I work a lot with entry-level, lower-wage employees and find it helpful to understand their mindsets, habits, and patterns. Many employees from this demographic are living to make it through today and only today. Usually, a…
Graham Partners sells Michigan-based Medbio to undisclosed buyer
Investment firm Graham Partners has sold Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Medbio LLC to an undisclosed buyer. The manufacturer specializes in clean room injection molding processes for medical device, life science and biotechnology components.
Is Racial Bias Present in Medical Device Design?
Is systemic racial bias in medical device design resulting in a disproportionate number of preventable deaths among people of color during the pandemic? UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid has commissioned a review to look into the matter after learning that pulse oximeters, which measure blood oxygen levels, provide less accurate readings for patients with darker skin, reports Reuters. He has reportedly spoken with his US counterpart, Health and Human Services Secretary…
Apple Car is Aiming for 2025 Debut According to Bloomberg
Apple’s will-they-or-won’t-they Titan project to develop an electric car is accelerating, with the goal of building a fully autonomous car without a steering wheel by 2025. That’s according to highly placed sources inside the company who spoke to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple’s project leader Kevin Lynch reportedly decided to go all-in on autonomy rather than launching initially with conventional EV and adding self-driving capability later, Bloomberg reports. The company is…
Rotoplas buys stake in Texas water management firm
Mexico-based Rotoplas sold all its manufacturing assets in the U.S. to Tank Holding Corp. in July 2019 to concentrate, it said, on its e-commerce platform north of the border.