A publication of the European Plastics Distributors Association
Issue 22 | February 2007 | www.epda.com
In this issue
Please send this newsletter
to your colleagues.
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2007 ANNUAL
CONFERENCE IN TORINO, ITALY |
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EPDA members are invited to submit news on their company and products for publication in EPDA’s E-Update newsletter. News may be submitted in any language, to be translated by EPDA staff, and may include photographs. Please e-mail news (in a Microsoft Word document or as text in an e-mail) to epda@epda.com. Please note that submissions may be edited for length and clarity. QUINN PLASTICS CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY
OF BARCELONA PLANT The Barcelona branch of Quinn Plastics was initially founded under the name of Critesa, S.A, by a local young entrepreneur, Rafael Farriols Calvo. In May 2004, Quinn Plastics acquired the company’s growing plastics factory in Barcelona. Since then, the Barcelona plant has become a successful component in the company, becoming one of Europe’s leading plastics manufacturers. Judith Sanz, country manager of Quinn Plastics, Spain, commented, “The ceremony was for the anniversary, but it was also a celebration of the great success of the Quinn Plastics brand.” For more information, visit www.quinn-plastics.com. PRESENTATION
OF THE QUADRANT AWARD 2007 This scientific award — with a prize of EUR 15.000 — was won by Woo Soo Kim of Korea, who wrote his thesis at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea, and is now pursuing post-doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
The international invitation to submit entries for the award was addressed to graduates who had written a doctoral thesis in the subject field of “materials and processes related to engineering and high-performance plastics and composites” between 1 August 2005, and 31 October 2006. A letter of recommendation from the professor supervising the thesis was necessary for each application. For more information, please visit www.quadrantplastics.com. |
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Articles reporting on plastic
products are prepared from information furnished by NEW ESD PLASTICS PREVENT EXPLOSIONS AND PROTECT
ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS Areas especially sensitive to explosions, as well as specific construction parts must be protected against static charges that might cause ignition or damage. Electrostatic discharge plastics are characterised by their lowered electrical resistance and are thus capable of electrostatic discharge or are even conductive. Consequently, these materials offer enormous benefits for the manufacture, transport, storage and packaging of electronic components. RÖCHLING Sustaplast has extended its product assortment by three new modifications and now offers five ESD-types, including SUSTAMID 6G ESD 60 and SUSTARIN C ESD 60 (both conductive and capable of electrostatic discharges), SUSTAMID 6G ESD 90 and SUSTARIN C ESD 90 (capable of electrostatic discharges) and SUSTAMID 6 ESD 60 (conductive). More information on ESD plastics is available in the latest edition of SUSTAnews at www.sustaplast.de. GEVACRIL® ACRYLIC CHRISTMAS TREE SHINES
AT THE VICTORIAANDALBERTMUSEUM
The tree was constructed by a mirrored base, two 4.8 m tall mirrored screens and four transparent acrylic screens linked together with a stainless steel bracket system. The plastic mirrors are reflecting the rear of tree and the combination of the spectacular lighting, graphics and angled acrylic sheets give multiple views of the tree inside. For more information, visit www.gevacril.com. PERSPEX® FROST IS A SWEET SUCCESS Fabricated and installed by local Dubai fabricators and craftsman and designed by UK company Kensington Design, the chocolate P-O-S dispenser uses Perspex® Frost in 5 mm thick Aurora Violet — a perfect match for the globally recognised corporate colour of the Cadbury brand. For more information, visit www.lucitesolutions.com. |
| NEWS from the Industry |
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POLYMER DEMAND IN CHINA
China has also benefited from huge investments by overseas processors looking to exploit China’s lower wage costs and improve profit, but also to participate in China’s economic growth. Production has moved from within Asia, North America and particularly from Europe where labour costs are high. Current examples of this trend include automotive, suppliers like MGI Coutier and electronics manufacturer Flextronics who have opened a number of moulding operations in China. The geographic distribution of plastics processing and more specifically of the injection moulding industry is very uneven with most companies located in the coastal regions of the South East, mainly in the Guangdong, Zhejiangs, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. For more information, visit Applied Market Information’s web site at www.amiplastics.com. |
| Industry Events |
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For a list of all events, please visit www.epda.com/industry.cfm FOOD CONTACT POLYMERS
2007 JEC 2007 EPDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE K 2007 |
The
second prize of EUR 7.000 went to American entrant Kirt Page, from
the University of Southern Mississippi, USA, who is currently engaged
in National Research Council post-doctoral studies at the National
Institute of Standards and
Most
plastics are known to be electric insulators; this makes them
susceptible to static charging due to friction. Every year,
the uncontrolled static discharge can cause millions in losses
in businesses. Particularly hard-hit are the microelectronics
and explosion protection areas.
This
year, British designer Jasper Conran produced a truly inspiring
design concept for the Christmas tree display. The project was
realised by Abbey Distribution, using GEVACRIL® ACRYLIC’s
high-quality items. The spectacular 20-foot-tall tree is surrounded
by a colossal hexagonal plastic screen laced with Jasper’s
signature frosted Chinoiserie print in white ink and overlaid on
black vinyl. Infused with 1.000 sparkling “tear drops” of
GEVACRIL®’s acrylic balls and illuminated by 2,000 dazzling
lights, the tree creates the illusion of a glistening, enchanted
winter forest.
Travellers
browsing at Dubai airport’s busy Duty Free shopping area
may well need a sweet treat to keep them going. They need look
no further than the perfectly positioned Cadbury chocolate dispenser,
made using Perspex® Frost acrylic sheet.
Injection
moulding is one of its most dynamic sectors, accounting for 30
percent of this polymer demand and enjoying growth rates of about
8 percent a year. Injection moulding accounts for about 70 percent
of the total number of plastics processors in China, but this is
a highly fragmented industry and includes a large number of small
private and state owned companies. It is also a feature of the
Chinese processing industry that a number of the larger groups
are involved in a wide variety of plastics processing activities,
such as Baoshuo Group and Anhui Guofeng Group. |
Copyright 2007 |
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