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The Polyplastics Group, a global supplier of engineering thermoplastics, has introduced an approach for using less heat-resistant plastics for battery electric vehicle (BEV) cooling components. Polyplastics sees strong potential for plastics such as polyacetal (POM) and polypropylene (PP) for the production of EV cooling components. Internal combustion engine (ICE) automobiles use a long-life coolant (LLC) that is primarily made of ethylene glycol. The coolant in engines is typically maintained at…

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited 3M for two willful safety violations and has penalized the company $312,518, the agency announced in a news release dated Nov. 7, 2023. OSHA said it began an investigation of “one of the world’s best-known manufacturing companies” after it reported the death in May 2023 of a 57-year-old employee who had worked at the Prairie du Chien, WI, plant…

Auto shows have been in decline since before the Covid pandemic, and the Tokyo Motor Show was a particularly hard-hit example. By 2019, that show had shrunk in size and relevance, and relocated from its spacious former home at the Makahuri Messe conference center to the smaller Tokyo Big Sight venue. That show featured 192 companies from across the industry. Now, the recast 2023 Japan Mobility Show, also at Tokyo…

If you’re interested in an informative and fast read on the subject of flexible packaging, this is for you — an all-in-one location for a steady stream of curated news and developments in this dynamic market for the month of October. These include pouches, bags, films, and other types of flexible packaging sourced from supplier breakthroughs, brand launches, and other advances of interest. The content is selected from Tweets by stakeholders in the flexible packaging supply…

20/20 Custom Molded Plastics LLC announced that it is laying off 93 workers at its Bluffton, IN, facility. The company, which has its headquarters in Holiday City, OH, notified the state of Indiana of the layoffs via a letter in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). The letter was undated but local media outlets reported that it was sent late last week. In the letter, the…

The winners of this year’s Thermoforming Conference Parts Competition were crowned late last month in Cleveland during a gala organized by the Thermoforming Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). We previously profiled the recipients of gold awards in medical-related projects in “Medical Applications Strike Gold in Thermoforming Awards.” In this slide show, we feature the other thermoformers that took home the gold. Competition chair Travis Kieffer applauded in a…

In response to growing demand for safe and effective adhesives for medical wearables, Henkel has developed a medical-grade light-cure adhesive that meets the US FDA and European Union’s Medical Device Regulation recommendations regarding the use of carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) ingredients. It is formulated without isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) or other known skin-sensitizing monomers and has been tested according to the ISO 10993 standard, designed to identify biological…

Spot resin trading ticked up last week, but it still fell short of the fervent pace seen during the first half of October, reports the PlasticsExhange in its Market Update. Material availability improved a little and some special month-end opportunities were sufficient to trim back prices at the PlasticsExchange trading desk by as much as a penny for some polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) grades. Demand has been robust throughout…