2013-14 Meetings
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May 22, 2013 3:15 pm
Breaking ground: HSM executives (from left) Cam McLaughlin, Buster Mann, Bobby Bush, Dave Colburn, Dwayne Welch, Lee Lunsford and Conway Wilson at the site of the manufacturer’s new foam lab in Conover, N.C.
Industry supplier HSM (formerly Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.) broke ground April 19 on a 10,000-square-foot foam formulation plant in Conover, N.C., not far from their headquarters in Hickory, N.C.
The $1.5 million facility is being added to HSM’s Conover foam complex and enhances the company’s ability to formulate foams—incorporating new pilot lines and improving testing capabilities, the company said.
“This groundbreaking and the construction that begins today is a tangible illustration of the increased emphasis HSM is placing on research and innovation as the company moves forward,” said Dave Colburn, president and chief executive officer. “It also supports the transition currently under way at HSM, from being a components supplier to a global manufacturer of integrated solutions and components, and demonstrates the company’s continued investment in people, facilities and technologies that is so critical to our success.”
http://bedtimesmagazine.com/2013/05/hsm-builds-new-foam-pouring-facility/
Era Polymers is pleased to announce that the
company has strengthened its presence in the polyurethane systems
industry, following the acquisition of the Ariel Industries Pty Ltd
business.
Ariel Industries has developed an impressive reputation as a developer,
manufacturer and supplier of formulated polyurethane systems, tailoring
products to meet stringent market requirements. Ariel Industries’
success has resulted from a dedicated team of people who will continue
to deliver product quality, customer service and technical support to
its customers from the company’s current location in Melbourne,
Australia. The Ariel Industries’ product portfolio includes rigid and
flexible polyurethane foam systems, as well as specialised polyurethane
elastomer systems, which make this company an excellent fit into the Era
Polymers family.
Era Polymers is a privately owned business which has been manufacturing
polyurethane intermediates for 27 years, supplying products to more than
70 countries worldwide. With three state of the art manufacturing sites
across Sydney, Auckland and now Melbourne, supported by a team of
industrial chemists located at the company’s dedicated R&D Centre,
ensures that Era Polymers will remain a key supplier to the global
market for Polyurethane systems into the future. In addition to rigid
and flexible polyurethane foams, Era Polymers has an extensive product
portfolio which includes a diverse range of cast elastomer prepolymers,
spray polyurethane products, sprayable polyurea, rubber binders, timber
floor coatings as well as ancillary products and polyurethane dispensing
equipment.
http://www.pudaily.com/News/NewsView.aspx?nid=38474
SustainableBusiness.com News
Imagine looking into a landfill (or incinerator) - what would you see?
Tons and tons of still-useful stuff that could be recycled into new
products (creating lots of jobs too). What a waste - and a huge expense -
to throw so much away.
Connecticut is taking action on one problem product - mattresses. The
state just passed the first producer responsibility law for mattresses
in the US, which now puts the onus of responsibility on manufacturers.
Manufacturers will have to both finance and manage the collection and recycling of old mattresses.
Under the law, manufacturers will set up an organization that collects
mattresses and recycles them at no cost to municipalities. Each
manufacturer will pay into the program to fund the organization. That
fee, of course, will pass to customers when they buy new mattresses at
retail stores.
The law was written with input from the industry's trade association and
could become a model for other states. The nonprofit Product
Stewardship Institute worked with all the stakeholders to get support
for the bill.
About 175,000 mattresses are thrown away in Connecticut each year and
are mostly sent to other states to be dumped in landfills or
incinerated. By shifting the burden to manufacturers, local governments
will save about $1.3 million and the economy will benefit from
new recycling opportunities for businesses.
About 95% of the materials in a mattress are recyclable, such as steel, cotton and foam.
"Communities statewide stand to save more than $1.2 million from present
disposal costs borne by taxpayers. A cooperative and shared cost for
end-of-life management of mattresses lightens the taxpayer burden and
also transforms mattresses into feedstock for Connecticut's two mattress
recycling facilities," notes Marilynn Cruz-Aponte, assistant director
of Hartford's Department of Public Works.
The law passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature.
The Product Stewardship Institute is working on this at a national
level. Last year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed state
and federal producer responsibility legislation for mattresses as an
effective way to cut the costs of mattress disposal for municipalities,
create local recycling jobs and encourage other recycling opportunities
that this untapped waste stream offers.
Similar legislation is moving forward in California.
Read about the status of producer responsibility laws in the US:
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
As air travelers become inured to baggage fees, airlines are betting they’ll accept additional extra charges.
In fact, 2012 was a record year for extra-fee revenues: U.S. airlines raked in a staggering $6.03 billion in baggage and reservation-change fees, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And it’s likely they will climb even higher in 2013. “We’re going to see more and more higher fees and new categories of fees,” says George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchdog.com.
Delta outpaced both its legacy rivals and smaller carriers in baggage-fee revenue, chalking up a jaw-dropping $866 million. United took second place at $706 million. (Delta merged with Northwest Airlines, and United merged with Continental.) American, still without a merger partner at the dance, racked up $557 million. Its suitor, U.S. Airways, came in fourth with $516 million — together, they would have left their counterparts in the dust at $1.07 billion.
As for cancellation fees, Delta again took the top spot, collecting $778 million in 2012, while United pocketed $661 million. American added $518 million to its top line as U.S. Airways brought in $298 million.
And those figures are only going to swell. In what FareCompare.com chief executive Rick Seaney calls “the worst fee ever,” cancellation charges already have risen: United last month upped its change fees to $200 from $150. As is typical of the herd mentality of the airline industry, American, Delta and U.S. Airways followed suit.
That basically renders some tickets unchangeable. If you bought a one-way discount ticket for $200 and wanted to change your flight, it would cost you another $200. Hobica thinks the change-fee hike isn’t targeted at discount leisure travelers but at business travelers who carriers hope will opt for the more pricey nonrefundable tickets. If the difference between the refundable and the nonrefundable fee is $300 but a change fee is $200 on a nonrefundable ticket, “business travelers might be more apt to choose the nonrefundable fee from the beginning,” he says.
Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines has introduced new charges that it hopes other carriers will follow, thereby decreeing an industrywide acceptance that travelers just have to, well, accept. So far, however, the legacy carriers are standing still.
Beginning this summer, Frontier will require passengers who bought tickets through a third party to pay carry-on baggage fees of up to $100. That’s right, for carry-on bags. The goal here is for travelers to bypass discount online providers like Expedia, Kayak or Hotwire, not to mention travel agents, in favor of Frontier’s own booking site.
The FCC is expected to approve a proposal that could speed up airplane Internet speeds. Photo: AP
If you buy the carry-on choice in advance, it will cost you $25. But it doubles to $50 if you pay at the counter or at an airport kiosk. It doubles again to $100 if you purchase it at the gate. But buy your tickets at FlyFrontier.com and the carry-on bag is included in the airfare.
Frontier also said it will begin charging $1.99 for coffee, tea, soda and juice on all flights. It’s unclear if taxes will be charged.
Frontier, which is transforming itself into what it calls the “ultra low-cost” carrier, is following the lead of Allegiant and Spirit airlines. Those carriers offer bargain-basement tickets for flights, but tack on exorbitant fees for everything else. Frontier’s carry-on bag charges, however, are steeper than Allegiant and Spirit.
Airline experts expect the carriers to again up their baggage fees, but at this point most are a standard $25 for the first bag. It’s the second bag that will cost you much more, depending on where you’re going, according to AirfareWatchdog.com.
For a thorough rundown of baggage fees by carrier, see AirfareWatchdog’s baggage-fee chart.)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-ready-to-pay-more-to-fly-2013-05-20?link=sfmw
Chemtura Announces Expansion of Its Urethanes Business into High-Performance Thermoplastic Polyurethane Products
5/15/2013 11:00:00 PM - Article #50429 PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Chemtura Corporation (NYSE/EuroNext Paris: CHMT), a world leader in hot-cast urethane pre-polymers, today announced the launch of its thermoplastic polyurethane product line under the Ultralast™ brand. “The unique formulation of our Ultralast Thermoplastic Urethanes allows plastic manufacturers to achieve superior performance by utilizing Chemtura's cast urethanes technology”
“The unique formulation of our Ultralast Thermoplastic Urethanes allows plastic manufacturers to achieve superior performance by utilizing Chemtura's cast urethanes technology,” said Matthew Hellstern, president and general manager of the Urethanes business.
Ultralast products are based on Chemtura's proprietary low free (LF) technology, which helps to eliminate undesired reactions. This well-defined polymer structure results in improved properties and easier processing. Chemtura's leadership in cast urethanes, with more than 300 prepolymer products under the Adiprene® / Vibrathane® / Duracast® brands, has allowed it to leverage its cutting-edge urethane technologies in designing its Ultralast products.
“We are proud of this addition to our urethanes portfolio, which signifies a commitment to innovation that allows our customers to be more successful in their industries,” Hellstern said.
Ultralast Thermoplastic Urethanes are commercially available in North America through Chemtura's current urethanes sales (www.chemtura-ultralast.com) and channel partner Adiprene Direct (www.adiprenedirect.com). More information is also available by contacting Ultralast customer service (ultralast@chemtura.com).
http://www.mfrtech.com/articles/50429.html
By Casey Sullivan
Wed May 15, 2013 9:55pm EDT
(Reuters) - A federal judge in Kansas City, Kansas, ordered Dow Chemical Co on Wednesday to pay $1.2 billion in a price-fixing case involving chemicals used to make foam products in cars, furniture and packaging, according to court documents.
Dow was one of several chemical company defendants named in a 2005 class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to fix urethane chemical prices, but it was the only defendant not to settle.
In January, Dow went to trial in Kansas City and in February a federal jury rendered a $400 million verdict against the chemical company after finding that it conspired to fix prices of urethane.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum denied Dow's request to overturn that verdict and the $400 million in damages were tripled under U.S. antitrust law, bringing Dow's overall payment to $1.2 billion.
David Bernick, an attorney for Dow, said he would appeal the judgment, saying the statistical formula used by an expert to calculate the price-fixing was not reliable.
"Dow looks forward to pursuing these and other grounds for reversal in its appeal," a Dow spokesman said in a news release. "Dow has always denied plaintiffs' allegations of price fixing."
Joe Goldberg, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was pleased with the judgment.
"The jury found the conspiracy caused approximately $400 million in damages to thousands of businesses around the United States," said Goldberg.
Other defendants in the case have settled. In 2006 Bayer AG agreed to pay $55 million. In 2011 Huntsman International LLC agreed to pay $33 million and BASF Corp agreed to pay $51 million. In settling, none of the companies admitted any wrongdoing.
The case is In Re Urethane Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Kansas, 04-md-01616.
(Reporting By Casey Sullivan; Editing by Bill Trott)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/us-dowchemical-urethane-judgment-idUSBRE94F03R20130516?source=email_rt_mc_body
Flame retardant nanocoating is safer and 'greener' |
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| (Nanowerk News) Amid concerns over the potential health effects of existing flame retardants for home furniture, fabrics and other material, scientists are reporting development of an “exceptionally” effective new retardant that appears safer and more environmentally friendly. | |
 Scientists have developed an “exceptionally” effective new retardant that appears safer and more environmentally friendly — ideal for the polyurethane foam in couches and bedding that causes many fire deaths. Their report on the first-of-its-kind coating, ideal for the polyurethane foam in couches and bedding that causes many fire deaths, appears in ACS Macro Letters ("Exceptionally Flame Retardant Sulfur-Based Multilayer Nanocoating for Polyurethane Prepared from Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Solutions"). Jaime Grunlan and colleagues explain that upholstery furniture and mattresses are the items that ignite in about 17,000 fires each year, causing more than 870 deaths, thousands of injuries and millions of dollars in property loss. Since the polyurethane foam in these items is highly flammable, consumer protection agencies have issued stringent safety standards to reduce flammability. But health and environmental concerns exist over some of the traditional flame retardants that manufacturers add to meet those standards. Grunlan’s team thus set out to develop safer, more environmentally benign flame retardants. |
