Quebec Molder Buying French Firms

Montreal-based Leader Industries Inc., a molder of proprietary safety eyewear for sports and industry, has announced plans to purchase two French companies. The companies are Lunettes de Protection Essilor SA and Logo Service SA, both located in Paris. Essilor designs, assembles and distributes eyewear in the European market, while Logo does lens cutting and assembly. Leader molds polycarbonate lenses and other components in its 11-press shop. The company plans to mold lenses for Essilor, which currently out sources its molding.

Centre for Manufacturing Training Is Well Equipped

An enhanced training resource for moldmakers and processors has opened at Niagara College (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.). The Centre for Integrated Manufacturing Training and Applied Research (CIMTAR) has five new equipment labs that provide education and training for rapid prototyping, computer-aided engineering, robotic materials handling and computerized integrated manufacturing.

CIMTAR was funded in part by a grant from the provincial Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and by local manufacturers.

Canadian Shipments of Plastics Up in 1999

The Canadian plastics processing industry showed good growth in 1999, according to Faris Shammas, executive director, Ontario region Canadian Plastics Industry Association (Mississauga, Ont.). He estimates shipments of plastics products grew 10 percent to $23.66 billion. He is predicting a six percent increase for 2000.

Mould Source Attracting Attention

Early response to the Canadian Plastics Industry Association’s new Mould Source event has been very strong. Booth allocations began in mid-January. The show will be held April 26 and 27 at the International Centre, Mississauga, Ont.

Way to Go, a partnership between several school boards with alliances to business and industry, has taken the lead for development of the Job/Career Fair at Mould Source. Way to Go’s mission is to create better career options for students and a skilled motivated workforce for business (see Canadian Plastics, January 2000).

Contact T. Sockett at CPIA , 905/678-7405, ext. 283 or e-mail tsockett@cpia.ca for more information.

Unigraphics Opens Canadian Office

CAD software developer Unigraphics Solutions has set up in Mississauga to address “strong, steady” growth in Canada. The new building includes demonstration rooms for Unigraphics, iMAN and Solid Edge, training facilities and extra workstations for customers that want to work on-site. Unigraphics Solutions Canada Inc. is located at 2550 Matheson Blvd. East, Mississauga, Ont. L4W 4Z1.

Tel: 905/212-4502.

Saluting Growth…

Post Meridiem Plastics of Windsor, Ont. has achieved QS 9000-ISO 9002 registration. PM Plastics is a manufacturer of plastic injection molded components and post-mold assembly for both automotive and non-automotive industries. In the last four years the company has grown from a four to a 16-machine operation and added 24,000 sq. ft. of floor space.

Brampton Engineering has added a new CNC machine to its manufacturing facility to meet growing demand for blown film dies and blow molding heads. President Bill Wybenga says the new machine will improve the company’s ability to fill orders.

PEOPLE…

Correction: Ralph Vluggen is the new vice-president and general manager at Clariant Masterbatches Division in Mississauga, Ont. His name was spelled incorrectly in a news item in our December issue.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR…

SAE 2000 World Congress, Mar. 6-9, SME, Detroit, MI (724/772-8516)

SPE Ontario Meeting, Mar. 16, Toronto (905/331-6623)

Moldmaking Technology – MoldMaking 2000, Mar. 21-23, Cleveland, OH (215/230-9556)

CPIA Mould Makers Meeting, Mar. 23, Toronto (905/678-7748)

Structural Plastics 2000, Mar. 26-28, SPI, Vancouver, BC (800/525-3984)

PAC Packaging-Forum-D’Emballage 2000, Mar. 28-30, Montreal (416/490-7844)

CTMA Toronto Meeting, Mar. 30, Toronto (519/653-7265)

CPIA Quebec Gala, Apr. 15, Montreal, (514/499-0500)

Mould Source, Apr. 26-27, CPIA, Mississauga, Ont. (905/678-7405 ext. 283)