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Hidden rules, as defined by author and speaker Ruby Payne, are the unspoken rules of a group. Sports have hidden rules, as do religion, work, and economic class. Employees bring to work the hidden rules with which they were raised; these hidden rules often arise from the economic environment in which an employee lives. From a business perspective: If you dress sloppily as an employee, then I make a judgment…

Injection molder Viking Plastics is adding capacity to satisfy customer demand from the automotive, appliance, and construction markets and to further its continuous improvement efforts. Since the start of the year, the company has ordered eight new injection molding machines, ranging in size from 197 to 618 tons, along with a host of auxiliary equipment for the new presses. Several new employees have been hired to support the company’s growth.…

Photo Credit: Polymertal Ltd. In late April, I reported on a partnership between UBQ Materials, an Isreali climate tech developer of advanced materials made from unsorted household waste. with compounder Teknor Apex to include UBQ’s sustainable plastic substitute in the latter’s latest line of sustainable TPEs. A globally patented sustainable plastic substitute, the UBQ material is  converted entirely from unsorted municipal solid waste, including all organics and non-recyclable plastics, that have…

High-voltage components are usually exposed to significant and repetitive temperature fluctuations, which normally lead to strong discoloration in conventional polyamides (PAs). In contrast, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) largely guarantees color stability, especially for the in-demand orange color (RAL 2003) desired by automakers, with no apparent color fluctuations or yellowing during heat aging. With its latest offering, however, BASF is expanding its portfolio of flame-retardant engineering plastics for the e-mobility market and…