IMPORTANT DATES …
Canadian Plastics
The next meeting of the Mould Makers Council of CPIA has been moved to April 18, and will consist of a dinner meeting and tour of Magna International's training facility. The meeting was originally sc...
The next meeting of the Mould Makers Council of CPIA has been moved to April 18, and will consist of a dinner meeting and tour of Magna International’s training facility. The meeting was originally scheduled for May.
CPIA holds its annual gala in Toronto on May 25.
Call 905/678-7748 for information on either of these events.
AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLER INVESTMENT DECLINES IN CANADA
The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) reports that automotive assemblers invested less in Canada in 1999 than during the previous year, and that Canada’s share of world investment has declined.
APMA says major automotive assemblers announced $23.9 billion worth of new investments throughout the entire year of 1999 (a 20 percent decline form 1998’s level of $29.7 billion). The decline likely reflects the sales slow down in some areas of South America, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe; concerns about excess capacity; and ongoing merger and joint venture activities which allow for some rationalization of existing assembly facilities, reports the group.
At the end of 1999, Canada continued to rank 8th overall for investments in comparison with all other countries. Total investment for the year was $809 million, which accounts for 3.4 percent of the worldwide investment volume for the year. In comparison, in 1998 Canada attracted $1.3 billion, and held 4.5 percent of the worldwide investment volume.
SECOND PILOT PLANT PLANNED FOR SARNIA
NOVA Chemicals is adding a second polyethylene pilot plant for its gas phase solution process in the Sarnia, Ontario area.
Design work on the new pilot plant is well under way, with construction beginning around August 2000. Completion of the pilot plant is set for 2001.
The company announced plans to invest $15.6 million (Cdn.) in the gas phase pilot plant. The plant will complement the existing solution pilot plant at the St. Clair River site in Corunna.
The new plant will enable NOVA Chemicals to continue to utilize the potential of its new polyethylene technology advancements.
IPL SECURES CONTAINER CONTRACT
Pep Boys, a retail and service chain serving the automotive aftermarket, has selected IPL Flap-Nest plastic containers for use in its new distribution centre. The initial order is for 45,000 containers for the Chester, NY centre.
Flap-Nest containers are a proprietary product of injection molder IPL Inc. (St. Damien, Que.) They are multi-functional, attached lid, nestable plastic totes designed for distribution of retail goods, including grocery dry goods, perishables, hardware, and clothing.
Pep Boys chose the Flap-Nest for a number of reasons including features that improve the life of the tote, the variety of sizes, and the consistency of footprint among sizes, said David Schneider, director of industrial engineering at Pep Boys.
The IPL containers have no metal or fiberglass hinge rods which renders the containers 100 percent metal detector compatible, a critical feature for many food applications.
