Thermoforming

Frimo Inc. is opening a new $5 million technology center within its North American headquarters in Wixom, MI, with that site joining four such facilities in Europe. Fully operational in September, the tech center will feature tooling and production facilities for a range of polyurethane-based processes used for automotive interior products like instrument panels, door trim, consoles, headliners, seats, headrests and more.

Roger Kipp, VP of marketing and engineering at McClarin Plastics Inc., a heavy-gauge thermoforming and fiberglass molding company in Hanover, PA, has been named the Thermoformer of the Year by the SPE Thermoforming Div. Kipp's passion, contributions, and innovations for the plastics industry began in 1967 while a partner in the family's nonferrous foundry in Cincinnati, OH with his father and brother.

Although polystyrene (PS) has traditionally been the most widely used polymer in the thermoforming industry, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a popular choice for cold drink cups and deli containers, PP is rapidly gaining ground. This paper works to explain the advantages of the material, the challenges to forming it, and offers some proven solutions.

With the retirement of their father, Barry Shepherd, brothers Todd and Mark Shepherd took over responsibility for daily operations at Shepherd Thermoforming (Brampton, ON). Todd, the company’s president, has worked for the company for 23 of its 25-year history, and shared with us some lessons learned during that time, plus some thoughts for the future.

Thermoforming processors of large automotive or industrial parts who are keen to knock metal off its perch have a new tool to work with as the Penn Fibre division of Ensinger has expanded its product range, adding long-glass-fiber-reinforced polyolefin sheet to its quiver.

Thin-walled packaging processors attending the big plastics trade show this autumn, the K in Düsseldorf, Germany, will want to take a look at what thermoforming machine manufacturer Kiefel has done with its Speedformer KMD80.

Officials at the Brückner Group (Siegsdorf, Germany), made up of tenter frame and cast polypropylene (CPP) equipment producer Brückner Maschinenbau, service affiliate Brückner Servtec, and thermoforming machinery manufacturer Kiefel, say they have the money and the will to make acquisitions that will allow the company to offer a wider range of products in the future to help overcome some of the cyclical nature of its main business areas.

Associated Packaging Technologies Inc., which claims to be the world's leading processor of crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (CPET) trays, has been scooped up by Sonoco, one of the world's largest packaging processors. Sonoco paid about $120 million all-cash for APT, a price that includes the cost of paying off various obligations of APT.

Rigid plastics packaging processor Tech II will be the first in the U.S.—and only the second in the world—to use inmold labeling in decoration of a commercial thermoformed part. According to the supplier of the automation system, Hekuma, the demand for this technology is set to escalate.