Back on Tour
By Cindy Macdonald
The deluge of news about Web sites has dropped off since the mid-2000 high prompted by NPE, but there's still many new sites and developments to share. Here are some highlights of my latest tours arou...
The deluge of news about Web sites has dropped off since the mid-2000 high prompted by NPE, but there’s still many new sites and developments to share. Here are some highlights of my latest tours around the Internet.
A valuable, expansive list of links is available on the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute Web site. It has many links to international standards organizations and other key sites for exporters.
This site has nothing to do with plastics, but everything to do with your car, where many of us spend a fair portion of our day. Enjoythedrive.com is a consumer-focused Web site of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). For your car office, the site describes a centre console equipped with a notepad, and portable desks that attach to the passenger seat or hook over your steering wheel. There’s also an in-vehicle storage system offered for files and other paperwork.
There’s also a lot of information at Plasticrouting.com. Developed by Onsrud Cutter, the site is designed for plastic fabricators and distributors. It contains a materials database and an extensive list of machining hints.
Waste Management Inc. is running a simple exchange for post industrial plastics and recyclable films.
Slide Products has made it easier to try and buy mold releases, cleaners, rust preventatives, lubricants and more at its newly expanded web site.
I learned many uses for static control products on Simco’s Web site. The manufacturer of industrial static control products now offers on-line purchasing, and has a complete product catalog on-line, tips on the application of static control products and a search function to locate your nearest dealer.
Coming soon: the new PlasticsNet.com
Commerx (1), one of the early dot-com successes in our industry and the founder of PlasticsNet.com (2), has divested itself of the flagship Internet marketplace and is building its business as an e-business integrator instead.
PlasticsNet.com was sold to VerticalNet, Inc. (3) earlier this year. A VerticalNet spokesperson told me the company was planning to unveil a new look for PlasticsNet.com this month. VerticalNet operates over 50 other vertical market Web sites, including one for packaging (4) and another of interest to moldmakers (5). The VerticalNet sites are typically a marketplace format, offering news, buyers’ guides, RFQs, catalogs and product showcases.
