Strictly-Extrusion

ENTEK Extruders announced today that it will open an office in Singapore to better service its customers in Asia. ENTEK Extruders, headquartered in Lebanon, Oregon, USA, currently has salesoffices in North America and the United Kingdom as well as manufacturer’s sales agents worldwide. The new office is just one part of ENTEK’s expansion plan for 2003. ‘Our customers today operate on a global basis. In order to support those customers it’s necessary for ENTEK to be a global supplier’, says Larry Keith, President of ENTEK.

The Singapore facility, scheduled to open on May 15, 2003, will include office and warehouse space and will rapidly develop a comprehensive range of spare parts, including screw elements, barrels and shafts, for ENTEK, Leistritz®, W&P® (Coperion) and Berstorff® extruders.

A team of highly experienced technical engineers will staff the office and provide support to customers. Tay Hwa Beng (’Hwa Tay’) holds a BS & MS in Mechanical Engineering. Tan Kok Seng (’Jonathan Tan’) has a diploma in manufacturing, specializing in CNC Programming with a focus on extrusion technology. Executive Assistant, Shirlee Ng will run the office. National Plastics Expo attendees are invited to meet Hwa Tay, Jonathan and the rest of the ENTEK team at booth 7543.

Shrink films made using a special grade of Topas cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) from Ticona in Summit, N.J., are said to outperform all other shrink-sleeve label films in terms of shrink ratio and other properties. Shrink films of PETG, PVC, or OPP have been widely adopted for full-body shrink sleeves that enhance the visual impact of blow molded bottles.
Topas COC shrink films provide up to 90% shrink ratio over a temperature range of 149 to 320 F. High shrink ratio ensures that labels shrink tightly and penetrate into deep indentations in odd-shaped bottles. COC films also resist undesirable shrinkage during high-temperature steam sterilization of blown bottles. The shrink ratio of COC films can be tailored through blending with PP or by making multi-layer versions using COC as the core layer. Ticona’s COC reportedly offers excellent printability and high clarity. COC labels are said to be easy to separate from recycled PET bottles by air separation or flotation. Tel: (800) 833-4882, www.ticona.com

Twenty-four speakers will discuss the latest technology and market opportunities for long-fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites at a conference scheduled for July 1-2 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Wolfsburg, Germany. The automotive-oriented conference is sponsored by the European Alliance for Thermoplastic Composites (EATC), a working group of a German association for composites technology known as AVK-TV. The meeting will feature speakers from independent processors such as Rieter Automotive AG, Quadrant Plastic Composites AG, Menzolit-Fibron GmbH, Seeber Systemstechnik KG, Johnson Controls Interiors GmbH, and Rangerplast SpA. Other speakers come from automotive firms like DaimlerChrysler AG, Volkswagen AG, and Porsche AG and from materials and equipment suppliers and technology institutes like Dow Automotive, Dieffenbacher, Ticona, BP/Amoco Fabrics, Saint-Gobain Vetrotex Reinforcement, and the Fraunhofer-Institut ICT. Until June 12, registration fee is 300 euros plus VAT. For more information on the “Long-Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites” conference, call +49 69-250 919 or e-mail info@avk-tv.de .

British Vita has strengthened its position in the polyethylene and polypropylene sheet market with the acquisition of trade and assets of the Sheet Extrusion Division of Crown Genera, Belgium. The deal covers two sheet lines which will be absorbed into British Vita’s existing sheet making network. One will go to a German site and one to the UK, where Vita has plants at Newbridge, in Scotland, Widnes and Redhill.
British Vita is already the largest thermoplastics sheet maker in Europe.

Extrusion Dies Industries LLC has been purchased by a management-led team from U.S. Bank for undisclosed terms. Timothy Callahan, EDI president and chief executive officer, said the May 30 deal will help it focus on innovation and customer service. U.S. Bank bought EDI eight months ago.

Deceuninck NV has extended its process range with the acquisition of a controlling interest in thermoplastic elastomer seal extruder Detajoint NV of Dottignies. Belgium-based Deceuninck, a global leader in PVC window and door profile extrusion, has bought a 75 percent stake in Detajoint, which makes three-layer extruded weatherproof seals.

Because of concerns over Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Chinaplas 2003 has been rescheduled for December 4-7. The event, originally to have taken place Sept. 9-12, still will be held at the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing. The World Health Organization is recommending that travelers postpone trips to a number of locations in China, including Beijing.