April 2021

Plastics Technology

A bioplastic plant to be built in Uusikaupunki, Finland, will be piloted on an industrial scale to produce what is said to be the world’s first process to product compostable bioplastic from food and feed production side streams. Four collaborating Finnish companies—Finnfoam Oy, Brightplus Oy, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Nordic Soya, have jointly explored the potential of soy molasses, i.e. soy processing side stream, as a raw material of the future.

Plastics Technology

The launch of a new recycled material made from ocean bound plastic which has been recovered from ocean-feeding waterways and inland areas within a 50-kilometer radius of the ocean, has been launched by Houston-based SABIC, which appears to be at the forefront of such a launch. The ocean bound material is mechanically recycled and can be converted into components for new consumer goods and electronics applications, such as TV remote controls and electronic razors.

Plastics Technology

In a Starting Up report last August, Honeywell Performance Materials & Technologies announced the debut of its Aclar Edge bottles offering glass-like clarity, high purity and chemical resistance, and moisture barrier on par with glass. This was the first application of Honeywell’s Aclar PCTFE resin in blow molding, rather than film. The bottles, extrusion blow molded for Honeywell by outside partners, consist of PCTFE, adhesive, and an outer structural layer of PET or polycarbonate.

Plastics Technology

A new family of scratch resistant PP compounds focused on complex interior automotive applications has been developed by Sweden’s specialty compounder Polykemi AB (U.S. office in Evansville, Ind.) and its fully-owned subsidiary Rondo Plast AB, a provider of quality assured and recycled plastics based on PP, ABS, PBT, nylon 66, and PC/ABS.

Nexen Tire America announced since 2000, the company has manufactured more than 500 million tires without a single recall. Nexen Tire has implemented precision tire-manufacturing guidelines throughout its four tire manufacturing plants across the globe – two in the South Korean cities of Yangsan and Changnyeong, one in Qingdao, China, and its newest plant in Zatech, Czech Republic — ensuring all tires meet the company’s strict global manufacturing standards.

Traction News

Technology that allows motorists to use a smartphone camera to determine tread depth is set to revolutionize tire management and make our roads safer. E-Solution Professionals (ESP) has developed the Monocular Tread Depth Reader, which uses artificial intelligence to calculate tread depth from an image taken with a single-lens camera.

Solutions to a big problem may be found in tiny things, such as barriers using nanotechnology or miniscule magnetics, or even in common materials such as wood.

Paul Tan’s Automotive News

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company recently announced that it would buy the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in a deal valued at USD2.5 billion (around RM10.3 billion), which is expected to completely in the second half of 2021. Upon the closing of the transaction, Goodyear will own approximately 84% of the combined company, with Cooper holding the remaining 16% of equity.

Manila Bulletin

It is dubbed as the “plastic water bottle” of the pandemic. Those face masks, a “must” these days, are set to become the looming environment crisis that we would face. Though light as a feather (at least four grams each), millions of face masks are discarded each day, some even thrown on the road, flushed in toilets, or discarded by the river—one can imagine the mountain of trash filling up garbage trucks and landfills.

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s IntElect 1000 kN injection molding machine is at the core of a fully digitized manufacturing cell producing test specimens for product development and research involving thermoplastic polymers and compounds.

Manila Bulletin

The Board of Investments (BOI), the Philippines’ premier investment promotion agency, said more projects in the pipeline such as motorcycle engine assembly project, data centers and IT infrastructure network, advanced metal/plastic packaging manufacturing facility, modern textile assembly are expected to materialize with the signing into law the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.

Shanghai Daily

China’S top two state-owned chemical firms, China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) and Sinochem Group will be merged into one ultra-large entity directly supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The two companies will undertake a joint restructuring, becoming subsidiaries of a new holding company wholly owned by the SASAC, the Sinochem Group said.

South China Morning Post

Chinese scientists have begun laboratory tests to see if radiation can be used to kill the coronavirus in the cold food chain, according to an official announcement released on Saturday.

New Straits Times

George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd (GKent) is branching out into glove manufacturing after agreeing to buy a major stake in Dynacare Sdn Bhd.

BusinessWorld

Hong Kong on Wednesday temporarily suspended coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations using two batches of the treatment developed by Pfizer and BioNTech citing defective packaging, but the government said manufacturers indicated they had no reason to believe safety was at risk, and the move was merely a preventative measure.

New Straits Times

Malaysia’s rubber glove industry is expected to generate RM38 billion from exports this year, higher than the RM35.3 billion posted in 2020, according to Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma).

Channel News Asia

Malaysia, the world’s biggest rubber gloves manufacturer, is racing to increase production to close a supply gap caused by the coronavirus pandemic that it warns could last until into 2023. The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma) said on Monday (Mar 15) the …

The Manila Times

Tens of thousands of Myanmar workers have gone on strike over the past two months, hoping that economic paralysis will force the hand of the wealthy generals who ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. Bank employees, doctors, engineers, customs officers, dockers, railway staff and textile workers have all downed tools as part of a civil disobedience movement.

BusinessWorld

The Philippines recycled about 28% of the key plastics resins in 2019, a World Bank study showed. THE PHILIPPINE economy is losing up to $890 million a year due to what is described as a “market failure” in plastic waste recycling efforts, a new World Bank Group (WB) country study showed. “Only 22% of the total material value of plastics ($246 million/year) is currently unlocked.

Manila Bulletin

Using sophisticated green technology, state researchers have converted plant-based raw material and its waste by-products into valuable and renewable polyols and polyurethanes (PU) “for commercial applications”, the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) has disclosed.

VnExpress

After weathering repeated storms, central Vietnam latex farmers have lost out to market turbulence, and are chopping down their rubber trees.

New Straits Times

World Gloves International Group City and Development Hub (WGC) will invest RM100 million to build a glove manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Kuantan, Pahang.