Strictly-Extrusion

Goldsmith Agio Helms is pleased to announce that its client, Madison Capital Partners, has acquired German-based Mannesmann Plastics Machinery AG (’MPM’) from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Terms were not disclosed.
The transaction was initiated by a transatlantic team consisting of Goldsmith Agio Helms in the U.S. and Agio International in Europe. Agio International is an exclusive equity based joint venture among Goldsmith Agio Helms and leading independent boutique investment banking firms headquartered in Europe. Jack Helms and David Iverson in the U.S., together with Daniel Confino, head of the London Office of Goldsmith Agio Helms and Chief Executive of Agio International, and Ruggero von Wedel of Agio International member Hauck and Aufhauser, based in Frankfurt, managed the geographic and cultural complexities to achieve success for Madison Capital Partners.
David Iverson of Goldsmith Agio Helms commented, ‘We have successfully completed 9 transactions in the past twelve years on behalf of Madison. Having led Madison’s recent sales of Dynisco, API Heat Transfer Technologies, and Synventive Molding Solutions, we were aware that Madison: (1) was looking for a new project, (2) had compiled a long and distinguished record in the capital equipment industry, particularly in plastics equipment, (3) was becoming increasingly adept at transatlantic and international transactions, and (4) had the capability to add tremendous strategic and financial value to their portfolio investments. In light of this, MPM was identified as an ideal acquisition target for Madison. The Goldsmith Agio Helms transatlantic team approached MPM’s management team and arranged a series of meetings between Madison and MPM management, which ultimately led to the successful negotiation of this transaction.’
‘We have had discussions with five separate manufacturers of injection molding machinery since 1994, however, in each case Madison was not satisfied with the depth and breadth of people, technology and products. With MPM, we are partnering with the greatest plastic machinery manufacturer in the world. It is a perfect match and we credit the entire global team at Goldsmith Agio Helms for making this possible,’ remarked Larry Gies, President and CEO of Madison.
Mannesmann Plastics Machinery AG is the world’s largest manufacturer of machinery for the production of plastics and rubber and the market leader in injection molding machines. Among its best known brand names are Krauss-Maffei, Netstal, Berstorff and Demag Plastics. MPM had sales of approximately EUR 1.3 billion last year.
Madison Capital Partners , a Chicago based investment group, acquires and grows industrial manufacturing companies. Madison has previously financed the growth of 19 very successful multinational corporations.
Goldsmith Agio Helms is a U.S.-based private investment banking firm that provides sophisticated corporate finance advisory and investment banking services to middle market businesses. The firm’s services include mergers and acquisitions, private placements of debt and equity, distressed advisory and restructuring, and financial advisory and opinion services. The firm operates internationally from its offices in Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and London.

After having had an excellent working partnership for many years, Cosmo Films Ltd. and Bruckner have now once again teamed up with one another and have concluded a contract for a new BOPP project. Cosmo Films, one of India’s biggest and most innovative BOPP film producers, operates seven BOPP lines at their production locations in Aurangabad and Baroda (Vadodara).
The majority of their lines exhibit a net film width of merely 4.2m - which according to today’s standards is a relatively low output. The new project will be a very challenging one: a high speed, wide BOPP line resulting in high output. This was one of the main reasons for Cosmo to go with Bruckner again.
Bruckner is very proud and pleased to once again be the partner of Cosmo Films. Hopefully, this will once more prove to be a fruitful cooperation for all parties involved.

Plastic Engineering Associates Licensing, Inc.(’Plastic Engineering’) of Boca Raton, Florida, is pleased to announce it has licensed its Turbo-Screws technology foam screws for foaming Natureworks, LLC’s amorphous polylactic acid polymer (’PLA’) to a North American food packaging company. NatureWorks, LLC, and Plastic Engineering developed the amorphous PLA foam over the past 18 months.

Bill Fogarty, V.P. of Plastic Engineering, commented: ‘This is a major development in foam. With the emphasis on renewable resources, lessening dependence on oil based polymers, and the greening of the plastics industry, we are uniquely poised to provide a biodegradable, compostable foam product for the food packaging industry using Turbo-Screws technology.’

Plastic Engineering is a Florida corporation that holds the exclusive licensing rights to Turbo-Screws foam feed screw technology. Turbo-Screws technology is patented in over 50 countries world-wide. The company has been in business since 1998.

DuPont Engineering Polymers today announced at NPE that it is moving forward with plans to produce a new family of highperformance
thermoplastic resins and elastomer products made with renewable resources.
The new products are DuPont™ Sorona® polymer and DuPont™ Hytrel® made with renewable resources. The key ingredient in Sorona® is Bio-PDO™, which is derived from corn sugar using a patented and proprietary fermentation process. Bio-PDO™ is a replacement for petrochemical based 1,3-propanediol (PDO) and/or 1,4-butanediol (BDO). DuPont™ Hytrel® made with renewable resources will be produced using a new DuPont polyol made with Bio-PDO™ . DuPont™ Sorona® with Bio-PDO™ will be available mid 2007; and DuPont™ Hytrel® with renewable resources will be available 4th quarter 2007.
“With these new products, we will be able to offer our customers the benefits of renewably sourced materials – reduced dependence on petrochemical sourcing and a positive impact on the environmental life cycle of their products.” said Nandan Rao, vice president, global technology for DuPont Performance Materials. In addition to replacing petrochemicals with renewable resources, the manufacturing of Bio-PDO™ requires approximately 40 percent less energy to produce than its petrochemical-based counterpart – saving the equivalent of about 10 million gallons of gasoline per year, based on annual production volumes of 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO™.
“Both of these new products will contribute to our corporate goal of deriving 25 percent of our revenue from non-depletable resources by 2010,” said Rao. The performance and processing characteristics of both Sorona® and Hytrel® made with renewable resources are as good as or better than those of current products made wholly from petrochemicals. “Each of the new polymers based on renewable resources has special performance attributes that may drive choices in some applications,” said Rao.
Among engineering plastics, Sorona® exhibits performance and molding characteristics similar to PBT (polybutylene terephthalate). “In addition to good strength and stiffness, we see improved surface appearance, gloss and good dimensional stability making it very attractive in a range of uses for automotive parts and components, electrical and electronics systems as well as industrial and consumer products,” said Rao.
Preliminary evaluations comparing Hytrel® made with renewable resources to current Hytrel® show improvements in properties, such as temperature range and elastic recovery. Moreover, applications for Hytrel® made with renewable resources are extensive. Examples of major uses include extruded hose and tubing for automotive and other industrial uses, blow molded boots for automotive constant-velocity joints, injection molded parts such as air bag doors and energy dampers.
“Today, many of our customers are looking for high-performance and high quality products that are based on sustainable solutions – from renewable resources to those that offer cradle-to-cradle business propositions,” said Rao. “DuPont Engineering Polymers is aggressively seeking and developing new technologies and manufacturing techniques that offer the benefits of renewable materials to our customers and the entire value chain. Companies with a buying preference for products based on non-petrochemical sources, either because of concerns with raw material availability or because of the societal benefits, will likely be very interested in these developments.”