Plastics News Show Daily - April 4, 2012 - (Page 1)

a crain publication ® Wednesday DAILY Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. April 4, 2012 A Plastics News Global Group newspaper $5 per copy Plastic bans, EPR laws not going away By Mike Verespej PLASTICS NEWS STAFF ORLANDO, FLA. — Bans on plastic bags and takeout polystyrene containers aren’t going to easily go away. In fact, they are only part of a larger effort to get rid of products seen as litter or marine debris, says Laurie Hansen, exec- utive director of the Western Plastics Association. And next on the horizon, she said, are extended producer responsibility laws. “They are all happening because litter is happening and marine debris is happening,” Hansen said during a presentation at the Business of Plastics conference at NPE2012. “Litter and marine debris is the hot button issue on the West Coast. Paper and aluminum sink, but that’s not what’s targeted. It’s what floats, and that’s plastic. “Environmentalists are running with that to enact bans,” said Hansen, who, along with the WPA, is based in Sacramento, Plastics News photo by Michael Marcotte Calif. “And local communities want manufacturers to pay for diversion and recycling. And, if that doesn’t happen, they want to get rid of the product. There are many people who want disposables gone.” Hansen has dealt with plastics industry issues in California as a lobbyist for more than 20 years. “We need to talk as an industry about the issues and what’s going on because there is a place for every type of plastic. We have to explain that to people. We all need to be active, not reactive.” As an example of being proactive, she pointed out how Dart Container Corp. is doing “a great See Proactive, Page 66 SPI targets OEMs with new council By Mike Verespej PLASTICS NEWS STAFF ORLANDO, FLA. — The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. has adopted a new mission statement and is adding a fourth membership council, with an aim at persuading more original equipment manufacturers to join. The new mission statement, which is part of SPI 2020, more pointedly emphasizes that the association is focused on improving the competitiveness and profitability of the industry and delivering the message that the right zero-waste strategy includes plastics products. “Our strategic focus will still revolve about the three pillars we established in 2009 — public policy, communications and market- ing, and trade shows and conference,” President and CEO Bill Carteaux said at SPI’s 75th anniversary luncheon April 3 at NPE2012. “However, we have come up with a new mission statement that we think will really position SPI for the long term, both for the development of this organization and the industry,” he said. “It is part of SPI 2020, our vision for the plastics industry and SPI for the next 10 years.” The new mission statement says that Washington-based SPI will advocate a pro-manufacturing agenda, work to strengthen the competitiveness of the plastics industry and improve profitability of its members and also pursue “zero-waste strategies” See OEMs, Page 66 Balcas adds capabilities with fiberboard systems By Roger Renstrom Augusto Picozza, left, and Michael Paloian judge the IDSA Plastics News Design Awards at NPE2012. Jeff Weber’s Mobilegs plastic and aluminum crutch took top prize and also won an SPI design award. PLASTICS NEWS CORRESPONDENT Mobilegs nabs top design By Rhoda Miel PLASTICS NEWS STAFF ORLANDO, FLA. — A few years ago, Jeff Weber found himself in a hospital emergency room with a broken heel. Like millions of people before him, he was handed a pair of basic crutches. “Within a matter of a few hours, I realized how ill designed they were and how painful they were to use,” he said. “Instead of wood, crutches are now aluminum and foam, but beyond that, nothing has evolved.” So Weber, a Minneapolis-based designer and founder of Studio Weber + Associates, set about making something better. “I had nothing to do but sit on my butt,” he said. The final product he developed, Mobilegs, is a plastic and aluminum crutch that replaces See Designs, Page 66 ORLANDO, FLA. — Balcas Kildare Ltd. ordered a desiccant dryer and material-handling equipment from Conair Group (Booth 3643) for its medium-density fiberboard production in Naas, Ireland. Balcas is investing more than $1 million for several pieces of Conair upsteam and post-extrusion equipment, a single-screw extruder from Milacron LLC (Booth 2803) and surface technology processing capabilities from Eastman Chemical Co. (Booth S230D), said Peter Burton, Balcas production manager. In February, Balcas signed a licensing agreement with Eastman giving Balcas exclusive use of the Eastman Cerfis-brand technology to make molding and trim products in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Eastman of Kingsport, Tenn., began developing the Cerfis technology in 2009. Burton expects the equipment to be delivered in August with upgraded operations starting in September to make internal moldings for the architectural, construction and homebuilding sectors. For two decades, “we were nevSee Balcas, Page 66 Wednesday INSIDE Daily xxx xxx HPM machines back at NPE, made in China. . . . Page 3 Magna puts intuition into car parts . . .xxx . . . . . . . Page 4 .. xxx Maine Plastics: NPE recycling at all-time high . . . Page 8 Page X Check out our online NPE coverage at plasticsnews.com Page X Check out Plastics News’ daily news updates at http://www.plasticsnews.com  http://www.plasticsnews.com http://www.plasticsnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Show Daily - April 4, 2012

Plastics News Show Daily - April 4, 2012

https://www.nxtbookmedia.com