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Lonza sells composites
industry news
Economy forces Budd to scale down THE SEVERE downturn in the US economy and the resulting loss of automotive business is forcing The Budd Company to scale down composite operations at its manufacturing facility in Kendalville, Indiana, over the next few years. The plant moulds automotive components such as bonnets, wings and doors from sheet moulding compound (SMC) and currently employs around 465 people. Budd says customers plan to eliminate vehicles which include several of the plant’s major products. The products affected are made for the General Motors Firebird and Camaro, Lincoln Continental and Chrysler Prowler. The car makers have announced that these vehicles will be phased out as they reach the end of their product cycles. Budd says this situation has created excess manufacturing
capacity within its Plastics Division. The company plans to honour existing customer contracts according to schedule, but after completion, it plans to idle the plant until market conditions improve. Budd Plastics Division, with headquarters in Troy, Michigan, operates two SMC facilities and an SMC raw materials plant in Ohio, as well as the Indiana plant. It is one of the largest US suppliers of SMC for Class A body surfaces. Applications include exterior body panels, such as doors and hoods for luxury and sports cars, sport utility vehicles and vans, as well as composite pick-up boxes, and structural and engine components, such as radiator supports and engine valve covers. The Budd Company;
website:
www.buddcompany.com.
Lonza sells composites LONZA Group, based in Switzerland, has agreed in principle to sell its Polymer Intermediates Business to PPM Ventures (PPMV), the private equity arm of Prudential plc, UK. This business produces intermediates such as oxidation catalysts, dibasic acids, anhydrides and their derivatives, plasticizers, resins and compounds. It includes the Lonza Compounds operations in Italy and Germany, which produce sheet and bulk moulding compounds (SMC/BMC), and Lonza Composites Sri which moulds components using these materials.
12
REINFORCEDplastics
March
Lonza Group’s strategy is to focus on the life sciences sector and it previously announced its intention to divest its Polymer Intermediates and Energy businesses. Lonza expects that combined proceeds from the sale of these two units will exceed CHFl billion. The sale does not include Lonza’s isophthalic acid plant in Singapore. The deal is expected to be finalized soon. The Polymer Intermediates business has nine manufacturing facilities in Italy, Germany, the USA, Singapore, and China. Lonza; website: www.lonza. corn.
2002
RSI secures order CANADIAN chemical technology company Resin Systems Inc (RSI) says it has received a purchase order from a US-based construction supply company which has a minimum annual commitment of CAN$SOO 000. The name of the customer has not been disclosed. RSI, based in Edmonton, Alberta, is developing a line of ‘environmentally friendly’ urethane-based resins for composites applications under the Version brand name. This latest deal is the result of a new marketing and sales strategy implemented by RSI in late 2001 to accelerate sales of Version resins for the composites industry. RSI will now manufacture products from its Version resins for select enduser customers. The company is focusing on re-designing and re-engineering components which are currently produced using polyester resins. In order to implement this strategy, RSI is expanding its engineering design and production team, which will be working with
existing and new customers to further promote understanding of Version resins in order to accelerate the production trial process. RSI says it is also finalizing details for the manufacture of products for two other companies, while another US-based company is shipping dies to RSI’s plant in Edmonton for the production of sample parts to be used in four different applications. If the production trials are successful, manufacturing will commence by the end of March. “We need to show the industry that our environmentally friendly line of Version resins will result in products with superior strength and quality characteristics, in addition to being competitively priced, as compared to other available resins,” says Greg Pendura, RSI’s president and chief executive officer. Resin Systems 780-482-l 8755;
Inc;
tel: +l-
953; fax: +I-780-452-
e-mail:
info@resinsystems
inc.com; website: systemsinc.com.
wwwresin
Japanese help with Sonic Cruiser BOEING Commercial Airplanes has signed an agreement with Japan Aircraft Industries (JAI) and Japan Aircraft Development Corp to conduct research and development work on technologies, including composites, for its ‘Sonic Cruiser’ and potentially other new aircraft. Mitsubishi JAI includes Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fuji Heavy Industries. The Japanese companies will help develop carbon fibre composites for the sonic cruiser, which will help
reduce aircraft weight and boost fuel economy. The Sonic Cruiser is a new concept Boeing unveiled last March. It is designed to fly at speeds of up to Mach 0.98 to shorten travel times. It has a radlcal new design that features a large wing placed further back on the fuselage than today’s jetliner designs, and a pair of canards (small, wing-like extensions) near the nose. There are two engines at the rear of the craft. Boeing; boeing.com.
website:
www.
Economy forces Budd to scale down THE SEVERE downturn in the US economy and the resulting loss of automotive business is forcing The Budd Company to scale down composite operations at its manufacturing facility in Kendalville, Indiana, over the next few years. The plant moulds automotive components such as bonnets, wings and doors from sheet moulding compound (SMC) and currently employs around 465 people. Budd says customers plan to eliminate vehicles which include several of the plant’s major products. The products affected are made for the General Motors Firebird and Camaro, Lincoln Continental and Chrysler Prowler. The car makers have announced that these vehicles will be phased out as they reach the end of their product cycles. Budd says this situation has created excess manufacturing
capacity within its Plastics Division. The company plans to honour existing customer contracts according to schedule, but after completion, it plans to idle the plant until market conditions improve. Budd Plastics Division, with headquarters in Troy, Michigan, operates two SMC facilities and an SMC raw materials plant in Ohio, as well as the Indiana plant. It is one of the largest US suppliers of SMC for Class A body surfaces. Applications include exterior body panels, such as doors and hoods for luxury and sports cars, sport utility vehicles and vans, as well as composite pick-up boxes, and structural and engine components, such as radiator supports and engine valve covers. The Budd Company;
website:
www.buddcompany.com.
Lonza sells composites LONZA Group, based in Switzerland, has agreed in principle to sell its Polymer Intermediates Business to PPM Ventures (PPMV), the private equity arm of Prudential plc, UK. This business produces intermediates such as oxidation catalysts, dibasic acids, anhydrides and their derivatives, plasticizers, resins and compounds. It includes the Lonza Compounds operations in Italy and Germany, which produce sheet and bulk moulding compounds (SMC/BMC), and Lonza Composites Sri which moulds components using these materials.
12
REINFORCEDplastics
March
Lonza Group’s strategy is to focus on the life sciences sector and it previously announced its intention to divest its Polymer Intermediates and Energy businesses. Lonza expects that combined proceeds from the sale of these two units will exceed CHFl billion. The sale does not include Lonza’s isophthalic acid plant in Singapore. The deal is expected to be finalized soon. The Polymer Intermediates business has nine manufacturing facilities in Italy, Germany, the USA, Singapore, and China. Lonza; website: www.lonza. corn.
2002
RSI secures order CANADIAN chemical technology company Resin Systems Inc (RSI) says it has received a purchase order from a US-based construction supply company which has a minimum annual commitment of CAN$SOO 000. The name of the customer has not been disclosed. RSI, based in Edmonton, Alberta, is developing a line of ‘environmentally friendly’ urethane-based resins for composites applications under the Version brand name. This latest deal is the result of a new marketing and sales strategy implemented by RSI in late 2001 to accelerate sales of Version resins for the composites industry. RSI will now manufacture products from its Version resins for select enduser customers. The company is focusing on re-designing and re-engineering components which are currently produced using polyester resins. In order to implement this strategy, RSI is expanding its engineering design and production team, which will be working with
existing and new customers to further promote understanding of Version resins in order to accelerate the production trial process. RSI says it is also finalizing details for the manufacture of products for two other companies, while another US-based company is shipping dies to RSI’s plant in Edmonton for the production of sample parts to be used in four different applications. If the production trials are successful, manufacturing will commence by the end of March. “We need to show the industry that our environmentally friendly line of Version resins will result in products with superior strength and quality characteristics, in addition to being competitively priced, as compared to other available resins,” says Greg Pendura, RSI’s president and chief executive officer. Resin Systems 780-482-l 8755;
Inc;
tel: +l-
953; fax: +I-780-452-
e-mail:
info@resinsystems
inc.com; website: systemsinc.com.
wwwresin
Japanese help with Sonic Cruiser BOEING Commercial Airplanes has signed an agreement with Japan Aircraft Industries (JAI) and Japan Aircraft Development Corp to conduct research and development work on technologies, including composites, for its ‘Sonic Cruiser’ and potentially other new aircraft. Mitsubishi JAI includes Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fuji Heavy Industries. The Japanese companies will help develop carbon fibre composites for the sonic cruiser, which will help
reduce aircraft weight and boost fuel economy. The Sonic Cruiser is a new concept Boeing unveiled last March. It is designed to fly at speeds of up to Mach 0.98 to shorten travel times. It has a radlcal new design that features a large wing placed further back on the fuselage than today’s jetliner designs, and a pair of canards (small, wing-like extensions) near the nose. There are two engines at the rear of the craft. Boeing; boeing.com.
website:
www.