Uniplast: Change of name
Uniplast International Inc., USA, supplier of dies and vacuum calibration systems used in vinyl window extrusion, has changed its name to Greiner Extrusion U.S. Inc. — reflecting its link to Austrian parent company, Greiner Extrusionstechnik GmbH as it unifies under a single, global name. Greiner has plants in China, Austria, the United States and the Czech Republic. The company is refining its vision of global manufacturing of what is ultimately a local product that demands local tweaking to get the finished profile correct. Window profiles are challenging to extrude because they have thin walls and a complex shape, with many walls both thick and thin. Most of Greiner’s dies and calibration equipment — lengthy post-extrusion lines that vacuum size and cool the profile — are shipped over from Austria, but must be fine-tuned by hand in Meadville before being installed at a customer’s factory.Uniplast was formed in 1989 as a joint venture between Greiner and Meadville tool and die maker Sipco Inc. Greiner, of Nussbach, Austria, bought out Sipco’s 30 percent share in 2001, and kept the Uniplast name.