If you’re planning on going to Paris for the Summer Olympics, first, why? Don’t get me wrong — Paris is my favorite place in the world — but the crowds and prices will be intolerable. If you’re determined to brave the masses and cough up beaucoup bucks for a shoebox-sized hotel room, though, leave your plastic water bottle at home. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has banned single-use plastics from the Olympics. “We…
After two years and an investment of several million euros, Arburg officially re-opened its technology center in Radevormwald, Germany, near Cologne, on June 7. The event was marked by an open house attended by some 250 guests and Arburg leadership, including managing directors Juliane and Michael Hehl. The Arburg Technology Center (ATC) in Radevormwald first opened in 1982 and was the company’s first facility outside of the headquarters in Lossburg,…
Materials supplier Röhm announced today that it has expanded production capacity at its Wallingford, CT, plant. The company, headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, modified and redeployed an existing production line at the Wallingford site to accelerate delivery times and satisfy increasing global demand for its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) products. Röhm’s PMMA products are sold in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Australia under the Plexiglas name and in the Americas under the Acrylite…
A German startup is one step closer to becoming the first company to produce medical-grade elastin on an industrial scale. Matrihealth GmbH reports having successfully completed a seven-figure seed financing round that will go toward the construction of a plant focused on isolating elastin for use in medical device design. Matrihealth was spun off the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (IMWS) in 2022 to provide elastin insulation…
Water filtration company Multipore is marking World Oceans Day on June 8 with a new edition of its free comic book series, Dewey, the Clean Water Superhero. The second issue in the series — The Trash Titan Tumult — follows Dewey and his octopus sidekick, the Aqua Sentinel, “as they embark on a daring mission to thwart the sinister plans of the Waste Wizard and formidable Trash Titan, who threaten our oceans…
Despite a holiday-shortened week because of Memorial Day, completed volumes at the PlasticsExchange again ran above average and Prime prices for both polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) moved higher. Spot railcar supply was a tad disappointing, as there were relatively few end-of-month specials. Demand remained robust as processors sought resin for near-term use and building an inventory buffer since June 1 is the start of hurricane season, reports the PlasticsExchange…
Miniaturization has been an ongoing trend in the medical device space for several years, and a handful of micro-precision molders and contract manufacturers have captured that market on the supply side. Jumping into the fray is an acknowledged master in the development and production of micro parts for audio products, in particular. Knowles Corp. has announced that it will make its precision miniaturization capabilities available to medical device OEMs. To…
Recycling single-use plastic bags is old news to consumers and retailers using store drop-off for high- and low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE) bags and PE films, but we haven’t heard much about recycling reusable shopping bags — until now. A new take-back service from Returnity Innovations, called “In Rotation”, addresses the glut of reusable bags in the marketplace and enables consumers to recycle those bags. The service accepts many types…
Swiss injection molding machine manufacturer Netstal has appointed Nadeem Amin president for the Americas region effective June 1, 2024. A 30-year veteran of the plastics industry, Amin will report directly to Netstal CEO Renzo Davatz at the company’s headquarters in Näfels. Netstal is part of the Krones group. In his new leadership role, Amin is responsible for driving market share expansion throughout the Americas from the Netstal Technical Center located…
Aerospace applications are some of the most demanding in terms of performance and safety requirements. Vaupell, a group company of Japan’s Sumitomo Bakelite, has shown that these requirements need not stand in the way of more sustainable solutions with the development of a polyimide-based (PI) material containing up to 20% post-industrial recycled material. The virgin Ultem PI grade is supplied by Sabic. Vaupell’s R&D and engineering teams have demonstrated the…