Layoffs underway at Home Products International
Home Products International – North America Inc. has notified the U.S. Department of Labor that it is laying off 146 workers at two Chicago plants, starting May 20.
Ineos, Barnes Partner to Optimize Molding of Recycled ABS
Two new grades of mechanically recycled ABS, featuring either 50% or 70% recycled content, promise to match the properties of prime materials and are the focus of a partnership intent on optimal molding of the materials. The grades — Terluran ECO GP-22 MR50 and MR70 — from Germany’s Ineos Styrolution are based on post-consumer waste electrical and electronic equipment and will be available in black. The materials are aligned with the…
Materials Supplier Tosaf Completes $2 Million Upgrade
With the addition of a silo system and new extruders, representing a $2 million spend, Tosaf Inc. said that it has completed the current round of capital investments in its Bessemer City, NC, plant. The global developer and manufacturer of additives, compounds, and color and white masterbatches for the plastics industry, thus far, has invested more than $20 million in the US facility. The silos were installed to take advantage…
TotalEnergies, Vanheede Environment Partner to Upscale Manufacture of Circular Polymers
Following on from its announced plan to construct an advanced recycling plant in Texas, TotalEnergies has now entered into a long-term commercial agreement for the supply of post-consumer recycled (PCR) raw material to be used as feedstock in the production of circular polymers for durable applications. The French resin supplier will team up with Belgium’s Vanheede Environment Group to secure a stable supply of PCR raw material from the latter’s…
Bio-Polyolefin Market Set to Grow as Fast as Sugar Cane
Sugar cane can grow to a height of 10 feet in 12 months. Independent research by plastic market and technology expert MLT Analytics (MLTA) indicates that usage of polyethylene and polypropylene derived from renewable resources such as sugar cane, non-edible plants, and biogenic fats and oils has the potential to grow equally fast. Bio-polyethylene market leader Braskem exported almost 150,000 tonnes of bio-PE in 2021, headed by bio-HDPE and bio-LDPDE…
Materials firm Tosaf adds capacity in North Carolina
Israeli materials firm Tosaf Inc. has spent $2 million on a new silo system and two new extrusion lines in Bessemer City, N.C.
Hot Shots—Recognizing Injection Molding Excellence
The Hot Shots injection molded parts competition is returning to Molding 2022 (Nov. 8-10; Charlotte Convention Center), giving molders and their suppliers a platform to showcase their injection chops to the broader molding community. Using a People’s Choice model where Molding attendees can choose the winning component, Hot Shots recognizes accomplishments in two categories: Technical Sophistication and Achievement in Molding Efficiency and/or Economics. In the former category, parts will be…
Seven Up for Induction into Plastics Pioneers Association
The Plastics Pioneers Association inducted seven new members at its recent meeting in San Diego, CA. The new recruits include an expert in additive manufacturing technology and the vice president of a plastics processing firm who began her career at that company as a part-time receptionist. Barbara Jo Arnold-Feret, an expert in 3D printing and additive manufacturing, is currently Key Account Director at Essentium Inc., where she applies her expertise in…
Half of Phillips 66 shareholders urge study on risk of investing in virgin plastic
A little more than half of Phillips 66 Co.’s shareholders want the company to look more deeply at the risks faced by the company’s planned investments in virgin plastic production.
Did I Make a Bad Hiring Mistake?
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…