Rhodia nixes NPE plans

Saying it wants to focus its resources on product development and customer support, Rhodia Engineering Plastics Corp. (Farmington Hills, MI) has decided to cancel its plans to exhibit at NPE, a North American plastics exhibition planned for June. The cancellation came as a surprise; early last week Rhodia was still proceeding with plans to conduct pre-NPE press briefings.
According to a company spokesman, the decision came after a final-hour evaluation of the costs versus benefits of exhibiting at NPE. The decision makes Rhodia the latest of a number of materials suppliers which have chosen to sit out this year’s NPE.
“The fact is there has been little or no growth in polyamide sales on a global basis,” said the Rhodia spokesman. “NPE is very expensive and we’ve decided that the current market situation demands that Rhodia focus its resources on enhancing value to our customers.”
The company says the decision does not reflect a lack of commitment to the North American market, where it reports a 50% growth in sales over the last 12 months. The company reports it will be introducing a number of new products to the North American market over the next six months.
NPE runs from June 23-27 at McCormick Place in Chicago. For details, check www.npe.org.