Jan H. Schut

1 Jan 2007

Your Business Pricing Update - January 2007

The fourth quarter saw a significant drop in prices of commodity thermoplastics such as polyolefins and PET, which largely negated the price increases of the second and third quarters.

Recycling 1 Jan 2007

Global Competition - Extrusion: Imports Threaten Some Films And Maybe Profiles, But Not Sheet

Global competition from lower-cost manufacturers, primarily in Asia, affects individual extrusion markets differently.

Commodity Resins 1 Dec 2006

Pricing Update - December 2006

Prices of commodity resins were falling in October and November.

Film Extrusion 1 Dec 2006

More Filler, Less Resin: Bag Films Load Up to Cut Costs

Filler isn’t a bad word in T-shirt bags and can liners any more.

polyolefins 1 Nov 2006

Pricing Update - November 2006

After a brief surge upward, prices of polyolefins and PVC have softened again.

Postconsumer 1 Nov 2006

Global Company, Local Creativity

Magna International, Inc. may be a global Tier One automotive parts supplier with over 220 manufacturing divisions and more than 82,000 employees, but it doesn’t stifle creativity at the individual plant level.

nanocomposites 1 Nov 2006

Induction Heated Molds Produce Class A Thermoplastic Composites

Though not widely popular, induction heating has long had its advocates as an efficient method of heating plastics molds.

monitoring 1 Oct 2006

Are Networked Process Sensors In Your Future?

The latest fashion in machine controls is to network temperature and pressure sensors with fieldbus protocols for faster, more accurate data acquisition, built-in sensor diagnostics, and better machine uptime.

1 Oct 2006

Composites--Part II: Winds of Change Stir Materials R&D

Part II of our review of the big composites show in Paris focuses on news in materials and reinforcements. They include lighter, stronger reinforcements for large parts such as wind blades and growing inroads by thermoplastics to speed up production.

Commodity Resins 1 Oct 2006

Pricing Update - October 2006

Polyolefin prices rose a bit last month as suppliers implemented summer price increases to make up for higher energy and feedstock prices.

1 Sep 2006

Prices Rise As Leaves Fall

After a mid-summer respite from price increases in commodity resins—with some prices actually declining—processors face rising prices again heading into fall.

1 Sep 2006

Composites: Lightweight Materials Take on Bullets and Bombs

Topping the news from the year’s biggest composites show are PP ballistic panels, “stealth” composites, thermoplastic RTM, new tooling concepts, microwave curing, “instant” SMC, and laser projection for QC and ply layup.