A publication of the European Plastics Distributors Association
Issue 16 | August 2006 | www.epda.com
In this issue
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| MESSAGE
FROM THE PRESIDENT I would like to take a moment to respond to the recent European Commission ruling to fine three large acrylic manufacturers for their part in a price-fixing cartel. Please be assured that the EPDA Board of Directors is aware of the situation and plans to discuss the ruling and its consequences at our upcoming board meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, August 24 and 25. If you would like to share your comments or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail them to me at bryan.heath@roberthorne.co.uk. For more information on the ruling, please click here. Thank you. Yours sincerely,
Bryan Heath PLEASE ADD EPDA TO YOUR
COMPANY NEWSLETTER LIST |
| 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. PALRAM SECURES WINS BOTH HOME AND AWAY The resulting product has been well received by the print community with customers and, most recently, judges of the Plastics Industry Awards, having commended PALRAM for its very professional and creative approach to meeting the needs of customers and raising brand awareness through its “just add colour” marketing campaign. Upon receiving the award, Gary Henton, sales and marketing manager for PALRAM Europe, acknowledged the truism that a company is only as good as the people in it. Henton explained that “the company’s approach has been as much about creativity as capital, with a sense of urgency about the place that has helped realise all our objectives.” For more information, please visit www.palram.com. |
| Articles reporting on plastic
products are prepared from information furnished by PERSPEX ADDS LIGHT TO YOUR LIFE These unusual and ultra-modern lights use the form and shape of a lamp, combined with a strong and simple geometric design, to create a range of lights that define today’s contemporary style of simple clean lines. To add depth and choice to the range, the simple elegant designs are enhanced by engraving the clear Perspex® to give added interest to the light which provides the additional function of allowing the light to diffuse through the shade for a soft, almost gentle effect. To give a more traditional look, some designers use engraving to create the impression of lace or embroidery. This effect is in perfect harmony with the overall style of these distinctive lights, which make clever use of the superb clarity and excellent light diffusion inherent in Perspex® acrylic. The edges of the Perspex are polished to allow reflected light to create a halo of light along the edge. For more information, visit www.lucitesolutions.com. NEW WEAR MATERIAL BASED ON CAST POLYAMIDE Additionally, the tendency for the stick-slip effect is reduced to a minimum. The homogeneously distributed additives and lubricants in Lubramid® 600 T ensure that the self-lubricating effect and the sliding properties are maintained at a constant level throughout the life of the product. Complementary to this is the basis of PA 6 G, which guarantees an excellent wear rate and good machining of the material. For more information, visit www.licharz.de. GEVACRIL® ACRYLICS USED IN INNOVATIVE
GATE CONSTRUCTION The transportable gate construction is made of acrylic tubes (1 metre length, 60-80 mm diameter) and is connected by elastic connecting elements, making the gate easily transportable. Due to the transparency of the acrylic tubes, the inside elements are perfectly visible, which means the gate’s construction provides interesting decorative details. GEVACRIL® ACRYLICS is proud to have sponsored such an innovative idea. The gate will be exhibited at an architecture contest at the Bauhaus-University of Weimar by the end of the year. More information is available at www.gevacril.com. |
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| NEWS from the Industry |
| GE
BAYER SILICONES APPOINTS GOLNAR MOTAHARIPOUR AS PRESIDENT AND CEO Prior to her current appointment, Motaharipour was vice president for GE Plastics Europe, Middle East, Africa based in Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands. Previously, she spent almost three years with GE Consumer Products (GECP), where she served as president and CEO of GECP Europe and president and CEO of GE Lighting Europe based in Budapest, Hungary. Before joining GECP, Motaharipour spent seven years with GE Plastics Europe, holding positions as general manager, structured products, automotive marketing director, high performance product manager and automotive interiors manager. Before joining GE in 1993, Motaharipour spent five years with Rohm & Haas, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of specialty chemicals, serving as European marketing manager for Rohm & Haas Performance Plastics in Antwerp, Belgium, and European market development manager for Rohm & Haas Specialty Chemicals, based in Frankfurt and Paris. For more information, visit www.ge.com/advancedmaterials. |
| FROM THE IAPD MAGAZINE |
| ARE
VERY NARROW AISLES APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR OPERATION? Conventional fork trucks require aisles of 12 to 15 feet (3.656 to 4.572 metres), depending on wheel configuration, driver position and capacity. Any aisle width under 9 feet 6 inches (2.896 metres) is regarded by the lift truck industry as a “narrow aisle.” Reducing the rack storage spacing to less than 8 feet (2.438 metres) is considered a “very narrow aisle” (VNA) layout. Analyzed strictly on the basis of minimizing space, VNA will always optimize the utilization of space. In the real world, however, cramming the maximum inventory into the tightest configuration can be inefficient, especially for a specialties distributor where frontal positions are more important than pallet loads. Unlike plumbing distributors, electrical wholesalers or office supplies dealers, plastics specialties warehouses live by the number of stock keeping units (SKUs) in inventory. It is not unusual for a multiline distributor to store over 50,000 SKUs to meet customer demand. Each and every item must be available for immediate picking. There is usually plenty of time to stock the materials, but shipment must be made on a timely basis, or for immediate “will call” pick up. There are many ways to meet these varying needs, using mezzanines, horizontal or vertical carousels, or with narrow aisles. Analyzed solely on the basis of available fronts, versus the square footage required for the storage unit and aisle, VNA is a viable alternative. There is more to this article. To view it in its entirety, please go to http://www.theiapdmagazine.com/pdf/magazine-archives/274.pdf. |
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| Industry Events |
| For a list of all events, please visit www.epda.com/industry.cfm 50TH IAPD ANNUAL CONVENTION NANOEUROPE 2006 PLASTICS DESIGN AND MOULDING 2006 PLASTICS ADDITIVES AND COMPOUNDING CONFERENCE
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PLASTICO is a new and inspired collection of decorative interior
lights created by Czech designer Katarina Fulínová,
using clear Perspex® from Lucite® acrylic sheet.
Licharz GmbH’s Lubramid® 600 T is a cast polyamide with
special additives and solid lubricants. The additives and solid
lubricants used were chosen carefully and are mixed in the proper
ratios to attain an exceptionally low coefficient of friction of
only 0,15. 
The excellent quality of GEVACRIL® ACRYLICS cast acrylic tubes
has inspired architects as the perfect material for their innovative
gate construction. GEVACRIL® ACRYLICS materials were chosen
due to their extraordinary combination of maximum stability with
minimum weight, as well as the modern appearance.  |
Copyright 2006 |
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