German groups are making headway in developing processes to injection mold plastics with glass.

Kunststoff Institut Lüdenscheid (KIMW) is progressing in its KuGlas (Kunststoff-Glas) project, which it first discussed at its September 2010 innovative surfaces conference.

KIMW sees great potential for avoiding separate joining techniques when producing instrument panel displays for premium cars.

In August 2011, KIMW reported having investigated more than 40 adhesion promoters within the KuGlas project. These resulted in some giving high strength bonding between the glass and the plastics tested: ABS, nylon, polycarbonate, PC/ABS and acrylic. Further work showed glass breakage can be reduced to zero by foam overmolding.

At Fakuma 2011 in Friedrichshafen, KIMW managing director Stefan Schmidt showed European Plastics News overmolded and molded-on KuGlas samples, saying the next stage would be backmolding over entire glass surfaces. This was achieved and at Euromold 2011 KIMW presented the process, stating it had applied for a patent.

Dresden, Germany-based Pentacon came to Fakuma 2011 stating that it has a new patented process for overmolding glass.

It points to challenges of glass brittleness and ±0.2mm tolerance for a 2mm thick pane. Formation of flash due to the glass thickness tolerance can only be avoided with special elastomer elements.

SES Foam and Imperial Sugar Co. are introducing SucraSeal, which they claim is an environmentally friendly, open-cell, Class 1 sucrose-based spray foam insulation.

SucraSeal products meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred program qualifications and their green content has been determined by ASTM D-6886.

The developers say SucraSeal offers an “energy-efficient and sustainable solution for commercial contractors and residential homeowners seeking a greener alternative to petroleum-based insulation products.”

SucraSeal insulation offers high-yield and an R-value of 3.7 per inch, is VOC and formaldehyde free and virtually odorless, according to SES.

“Sucrose is a renewable resource, making it cost-competitive compared to petroleum-based spray foam, said Imperial Sugar CEO John Sheptor. The developers say that even with its sucrose content, SucraSeal has zero food value for rodents or insects.

The Russian polymers market is on the verge of big changes, due to the long-awaited accession of Russia into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

As part of the agreement, within two to three years of accession Russia will reduce import duties on basic polymers from the existing 10 percent to 6.5 percent. However, duties on basic polymers including polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC in 2012 will remain at the current level. PET import duties will be reduced from 5 percent to 4 percent in 2013.

The duty on plasticized and unplasticized PVC will be reduced from 10 percent to 6.5 percent in 2013. In 2015, the same duty cut will apply to polyvinylacetate, copolymers of vinyl acetate and polyurethanes, and in 2016 it will apply to fluoropolymers.

Duties Reduced

Also, between 2014 and 2018 duties on imports of such polymeric products as pipe, film, plates, sheet and packaging are expected to be reduced from the current 10 percent to 6.5 percent.

Russian polymer market experts have divided opinions about the future impact of WTO accession.

Some say a sharp increase in imports will not lead to lower prices, as might be expected, but will instead benefit the profits of sellers. This is what has happened in Georgia and Ukraine, they say.

In addition, it will have a negative impact on domestic production of polymers, the operating costs of which are still high and the quality of which are generally low in comparison with international standards.

Sergei Arbuzov, CEO of Europlastic, one of the largest producers of polymers in Russia and the wider region, says: “At present, only a few Russian polymer producers operate modern and energy efficient production facilities. However the accession into the WTO and the increase of competition will force domestic producers to think about their future. Joining the WTO is a very serious test for both producers and processors.”

But Vsevolod Abramov, chairman of the Russian Association of Plastics Processors, says the reduction of custom duties will not have a negative impact on the market, as illegal imports or currency fluctuations have a much stronger effect on the competitiveness of producers.

According to him, there will not be any significant changes in the market for the next two to three years after the WTO accession. But later, the competitiveness of Russian producers may decline. This will be not only due to an increase of imports, but because of a further increase of production costs, through rises in wages and electricity prices.

On the other hand, the WTO accession is seen by some observers to have benefits for the Russian polymer market, such as increased competition and an improvement in the quality of domestic production.

It might also help accelerate the solution of traditional problems of the industry. Among these are: low levels of per capita consumption of plastic products in Russia (which is three to four times lower than in developed countries); the absence of relevant regulatory and technical documentation, which can stimulate the use of advanced technologies and materials; and a lack of consistent pricing policy between processors and producers of raw materials.

Tamara Khazova, director of Alliance Analyst, a leading Russian consultancy in the field of polymers, says domestic processors have started to diversify into production of siding, roofing, geogrids, non-woven materials, and other products not previously manufactured in Russia.

Some Russian processors have strong positions in market niches, for example BOPP film where domestic production is significantly higher than imports.

Russia’s accession to the WTO is expected to contribute to the further expansion of the domestic range of polymer products and will speed the development of the polymer processing sector. Along with this, it will accelerate the adoption of certain international standards, which regulate the use of polymeric materials in different segments of the Russian production industry.

Reichhold Industries Inc. opened its new manufacturing facility in Tianjin in northern China in December 2011, setting a foothold in the rapidly growing market.

The facility currently has a planned annual production capacity of 38,000 metric tons, with a potential expansion to 60,000 metric tons.

It will produce a full Reichhold composites product line, including unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester resins, gelcoats and bonding pastes. The market applications include wind power, high performance anti-corrosion, marine, high speed train, industrial construction, electronics and electrical industry.

John Gaither, Chairman, president and CEO, said China is the largest composites market in the world and is deeply committed to wind energy.

A Chinese manufacturer of model cars is acquiring the majority share of a local polystyrene plant owned by South Korea’s SK Networks, a move that the company said will help achieve upstream vertical integration.

Xinghui Auto Model Co. Ltd. of Shantou, Guangdong province aims to obtain a 67.4 percent stake in SK Networks PS (Shantou) Co. Ltd. for 215.6 million yuan ($34.1 million) in cash, Xinghui said in a filing. SKN will hold the remaining share. The two parties signed an agreement on Dec 30.

SKN Shantou runs three production lines that total 150,000 metric tons of GPPS and HIPS in annual capacity, serving the toy, stationery and home appliances industries. It reported net profit of 16.5 million yuan ($2.6 million) and sales of 1.1 billion yuan ($174.2 million) during the first 11 months of 2011.

Xinghui hopes to reduce raw material cost and improve competitiveness with the acquisition. Plastic resins represent more than 30 percent of its raw material consumption.

Xinghui recorded profit of 55.84 million yuan ($8.84 millon) on sales of 324 million yuan ($51.3 million) in 2010. It sells toy cars under the Rastar brand in more than 40 countries. Its factory in Shantou employs more than 1,000.

SKN is a subsidiary of Seoul-based global conglomerate SK Group. SKN acquired the Shantou plant in May 2007.

HONG KONG (Jan. 10, 2012) — One of Hong Kong’s largest plastic injection molding companies, Vigor Precision Ltd., is leading an effort with the Hong Kong government to develop what they say will be China’s first locally-owned airline seat manufacturing business.

The project recently unveiled its first seat, for the Airbus A340, and hopes to expand that to seats for Boeing and other commercial jetliners, and to other non-critical aircraft parts, including trolleys, crew seats and toilets, all of which use plastics components.

Vigor is the lead company in the project, which in its research phase has spent HK $11.6 million (US $1.49 million), with 85 percent of that coming from the Hong Kong government.

Hong Kong officials say it is part of their strategy to help small manufacturers beat cheaper competition from mainland China and elsewhere, and move into higher-tech, more profitable markets.

The consortium showed the A340 seats, which it says meet all international aviation industry standards, at a Nov. 14 press conference in Hong Kong.

Airline seats may seem an odd move for a plastics company, but Vigor, which employs 2,000 people and has more than 200 German and Japanese molding machines in three Chinese factories, sees it as a natural evolution.

Each chair has about 30 injection molded plastic parts, although plastic is not the key technology. Instead, Vigor said what will be most valuable is its expertise in precision manufacturing and assembly.

“The seat is not a high-tech product but it is a high-quality product,” said S.W. Wong, who is executive director of both Vigor and the aviation consortium. “You have to pass the [airline industry requirements] from material, from design, from workmanship… It has to be as light as possible but at the same time you have to be as tough as possible.”

The consortium, called Universal Aviation Industrial Ltd., is a partnership of six Hong Kong companies, with Vigor owning 56 percent.

The companies will spend about HK $20 million (US $2.57 million) of their own money to set up manufacturing, beyond the research funding. The companies had significant research help from the Hong Kong Productivity Council.

Universal expects to launch commercial production in 2013 in space at one of Vigor’s injection molding factories in Dongguan, Guangdong province, said Henry H.H. Chan, president of both Vigor and Universal.

The company plans to start small, with aftermarket seats for the A340.

It sees its initial advantage as cost — it expects it can trim 30 percent off the price offered by the European, North American and Japanese suppliers that dominate today, Chan said.

Initial production capacity will be 200 to 500 seats a year, he said. That’s not a huge number, but each pair of economy class airline seats sells for US $10,000, and one business class seat can have a US $35,000 price tag, Chan said.

It will initially focus on replacement seats for low-cost Asian airlines, with plans to broaden to other aircraft beyond the A340 and develop its own seat design capability to target China’s growing market.

Those involved in the project see it as a long-term endeavor, with Wong drawing parallels between Vigor’s history with gears and the aviation venture.

When Vigor started in 1982, precision plastic gear manufacturing was dominated by the Japanese, and there was a lot of skepticism about a new entrant from Hong Kong getting into the toy market, he said.

“At the beginning, McDonalds and Mattel, they didn’t believe that Hong Kong guys could make the gearbox, particularly the small ones, where you have gears like watches,” Wong said. “It took us four or five years to convince them to give us a try.”

But by the 1990s, Vigor was one of the world’s largest suppliers, and has since developed its technology into precision plastic gears for automobiles, electronics, medical and other higher-end markets, Wong said.

Project officials hope that same long-term focus will pay off in aviation.

“It’s a gradual transition,” said Thomas Kwok Keung Lee, an engineer with the HKPC who is advising the seat project. “You start with the aftermarket, you establish a track record and then you can consider the OEM market. Boeing or the other airline companies will not consider you if you don’t have a track record.”

An environmental body hopes that plastic packaging used at the London Olympics that is not recyclable is made from compostable materials.

The United Kingdom’s National Center for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials (NNFCC) has signed up to advise the Olympics Delivery Authority and London Organizing Committee for the games on using renewable packaging throughout the event.

The body is helping to create a supply chain for bio-based packaging at London 2012 and will ensure that materials used comply with European Standard EN13432 – the certification requirement for packaging recovery through composting and biodegradation.

NNFCC said this certification would mean non-reusable, non-recyclable packaging would be suitable for in-vessel composting or anaerobic digestion.

It said it was promoting the U.K. certification scheme for compostable materials through its Renewable Packaging Group “and raising awareness of the benefits offered by more sustainable materials to key players in the packaging supply chain.”

John Williams, NNFCC’s head of materials, said his organization wanted any plastics used at the Olympics that were not recyclable to be made out of certified compostable plastic.

Williams admitted the scale of the venture would be relatively small but added: “2012 is a perfect way to show how waste can be dealt with.”

NNFCC said it was working with a number of retail brands, including McDonald’s, as the London Olympics strives to live up to claims that it will be the greenest games in the event’s history.

Teknor Apex Co. has developed three technologies to bond its Medalist thermoplastic elastomers to traditional connectors.

The new systems make the Medalist MD-500 series a practical alternative to PVC in medical tubing, according to Ellott Pritikin, senior medical market manager. They allow common-size TPE infusion tubing to achieve bonds with a retention force greater than the minimum required by device manufacturers, the Pawtucket, R.I., company says.

The room-temperature cured adhesive is designed for slow setting to allow precise control of assembly. The light-cured adhesive has a higher retention force than for any other commercially available light-cured adhesive, the company claims. The solvent bonding system uses commonly available solvents and can eliminate the need for multilayer extrusion.

Compared with PVC, the Medalist compounds show comparable crystal clarity and mechanical properties, have a similar feel, have similar clamp resilience, resist kinking and necking and are more flexible and less dense. As well, they undergo little color shift on heat aging after exposure to gamma irradiation sterilization.