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A. Schulman unveils new manufacturing plant for plastic additives
STRATEGIES
A. Schulman unveils new manufacturing plant for plastic additives
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kron-headquartered A. Schulman Inc reports that it has started up a new manufacturing plant in the city. The facility expands the company’s production capacity for its Polybatch® high-performance additive business in North America, aimed at the film and packaging markets. The firm received financial incentives from the City of Akron, Summit County and the State of Ohio. The plant will initially provide approximately 20 new jobs in the area. The plant is at the site of A. Schulman’s existing distribution warehouse in Akron, where the company’s first plant was located when it opened in 1929. The facility features two new production lines, a research and development laboratory, and pilot lines for threelayer blown and cast films for product evaluation and development programmes with customers. The state-of-the-art extrusion lines incorporate Schulmandeveloped designs to capitalize on technical innovations made by its European and Mexican operations, the company says. The Polybatch product line consists of specialized additives for BOPP film, polyethylene film, extrusion, injection moulding and thermoforming applications, primarily geared to the packaging market. The additives enhance the performance of customers’ products with features such as antimicrobial, antifogging and antistatic properties, as well as surface modification for slip and antiblocking. In addition, leading-edge advancements are expanding the Polybatch product line to offer additive solutions addressing environmental concerns in packaging applications, the company says. According to Schulman, it is a leader in the film and packaging markets in Europe and Mexico and seeks to model its US operations after the successes it has achieved in those regions. ‘Our vision is to become the leading global supplier of polymer additives and colour concentrates. This major investment – particularly in today’s unstable economic environment – underscores our commitment to growth and providing new product innovations and process support to our customers’, says Joseph M. Gingo, the firm’s chairman, president and CEO.
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Additives for Polymers
The company employs about 2200 people and has 16 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Revenues for its fiscal year ended 31 August 2008 were US$1.98 billion, up 11% on the previous year. Annual net income was $18.0 million, down from $22.6 million in fiscal 2007. Contact: A. Schulman, Inc, Akron, OH, USA. Tel: +1 330 666 3751, Web: www.aschulman.com
Songwon secures European supply with new Antwerp warehouse
S
outh Korea’s Songwon Industrial Co has established dedicated extensive warehousing facilities and a packaging line in Antwerp, Belgium, in order to further its strategy of providing best-in-class logistic solutions for its customers. The company says the location was selected as Antwerp is ‘one of the most important distribution points in Europe’. Songwon already has dedicated warehousing for customers throughout North America as well as Central and South America. Working together with Antwerp Distribution & Products Operations, an expert with more than 20 years’ experience in integrated distribution systems for the chemical industry, Songwon has secured a dedicated packaging line and inventory space to meet customers’ current requirements with an option to extend this to meet future growth, not only for solid products but also for liquid materials, an area of expertise for the Antwerp-based company. Songwon says this initiative allows it to effectively manage not only production planning and supply but also the increasingly important role of logistics, helping to contain rising costs as well as having a positive environmental impact. ‘Adding warehouse and packaging capacity in Antwerp was a logical step in order to maintain our leadership position and continue to meet our commitments to supply chain security for our European customers’, says Dieter Morath, executive VP EMEA. Customers can rely on Songwon to deliver the volumes they require with the option of just-in-time supply, he adds. ‘We will continue to match our extensive product
May 2009
A. Schulman unveils new manufacturing plant for plastic additives
A
kron-headquartered A. Schulman Inc reports that it has started up a new manufacturing plant in the city. The facility expands the company’s production capacity for its Polybatch® high-performance additive business in North America, aimed at the film and packaging markets. The firm received financial incentives from the City of Akron, Summit County and the State of Ohio. The plant will initially provide approximately 20 new jobs in the area. The plant is at the site of A. Schulman’s existing distribution warehouse in Akron, where the company’s first plant was located when it opened in 1929. The facility features two new production lines, a research and development laboratory, and pilot lines for threelayer blown and cast films for product evaluation and development programmes with customers. The state-of-the-art extrusion lines incorporate Schulmandeveloped designs to capitalize on technical innovations made by its European and Mexican operations, the company says. The Polybatch product line consists of specialized additives for BOPP film, polyethylene film, extrusion, injection moulding and thermoforming applications, primarily geared to the packaging market. The additives enhance the performance of customers’ products with features such as antimicrobial, antifogging and antistatic properties, as well as surface modification for slip and antiblocking. In addition, leading-edge advancements are expanding the Polybatch product line to offer additive solutions addressing environmental concerns in packaging applications, the company says. According to Schulman, it is a leader in the film and packaging markets in Europe and Mexico and seeks to model its US operations after the successes it has achieved in those regions. ‘Our vision is to become the leading global supplier of polymer additives and colour concentrates. This major investment – particularly in today’s unstable economic environment – underscores our commitment to growth and providing new product innovations and process support to our customers’, says Joseph M. Gingo, the firm’s chairman, president and CEO.
8
Additives for Polymers
The company employs about 2200 people and has 16 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Revenues for its fiscal year ended 31 August 2008 were US$1.98 billion, up 11% on the previous year. Annual net income was $18.0 million, down from $22.6 million in fiscal 2007. Contact: A. Schulman, Inc, Akron, OH, USA. Tel: +1 330 666 3751, Web: www.aschulman.com
Songwon secures European supply with new Antwerp warehouse
S
outh Korea’s Songwon Industrial Co has established dedicated extensive warehousing facilities and a packaging line in Antwerp, Belgium, in order to further its strategy of providing best-in-class logistic solutions for its customers. The company says the location was selected as Antwerp is ‘one of the most important distribution points in Europe’. Songwon already has dedicated warehousing for customers throughout North America as well as Central and South America. Working together with Antwerp Distribution & Products Operations, an expert with more than 20 years’ experience in integrated distribution systems for the chemical industry, Songwon has secured a dedicated packaging line and inventory space to meet customers’ current requirements with an option to extend this to meet future growth, not only for solid products but also for liquid materials, an area of expertise for the Antwerp-based company. Songwon says this initiative allows it to effectively manage not only production planning and supply but also the increasingly important role of logistics, helping to contain rising costs as well as having a positive environmental impact. ‘Adding warehouse and packaging capacity in Antwerp was a logical step in order to maintain our leadership position and continue to meet our commitments to supply chain security for our European customers’, says Dieter Morath, executive VP EMEA. Customers can rely on Songwon to deliver the volumes they require with the option of just-in-time supply, he adds. ‘We will continue to match our extensive product
May 2009