Modern Plastics Worldwide - October 2007 - dae uptlax

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(Ningbo, China), acquired a 91% interest in Zhafir Plastics
Machinery GmbH (Ebermannsdorf, Germany), a company it
helped form in 2006 that is expected to soon start assembly of
high-end, all-electric injection molding machinery. The firm
will exhibit at the K Show in October (Stand 15A57). The purchase
set Haitian back by €6,569,440.
According to a mandatory stock exchange report filed by
Haitian, Zhang Jianming and Zhang Jianfeng, both executive
directors at Haitian as well as founders, sold their respective
60% and 20% shares in Zhafir to Haitian. Helmar Franz, managing
director of Zhafir, sold 11% of his stake and continues to
hold 9%. Zhang Jianming is also Haitian’s CEO.
Franz is the former CEO at Demag Plastics Group; he left
DPG in March 2005, and in January 2006 joined the board of
directors at Ningbo Haitian. Haitian is paying for the Zhafir
purchase with the help of a €6.57 million loan from Zhang Jianming.
The official buyer of Zhafir is Sunnew Investments Ltd., a
100% subsidiary of Haitian based in the British Virgin Islands.
According to Haitian, the acquisition will give it better access
to German molding machinery technology. Zhafir has started
construction of a facility in Germany to assemble its machines.
Coating most everything,
and uniformly, too
A new pilot coating line at the Ludwigshafen plant of plastics supplier
BASF is based on the Steron process developed by entrepreneur
inventor Philipp Schaefer, co-founder of Helcor Leder-Tec
(Helen, Germany), a leather design firm. The process coats a wide
range of carriers including fleece fabrics, woven fabrics, and
leather, as well as wood or plastics. The result: Different materials
bear an optically uniform design. Finishes can be glossy or matte,
smooth or rough, and are said to be economical even for small volumes,
as matrix materials can be routinely changed.
Steron coating starts with an aqueous formulation of pigmented
polyurethanes sprayed upon a silicon matrix. Most of
the water evaporates, leaving a thin membrane with microfine
pores. While still on the matrix, the membrane is then adhered
to the carrier and the finished product lifted from the matrix.
Crown buys into Gienkee plastics
center in Shanghai
Underwater pelletizing system supplier Crown Machine Division
Inc. (Addison, IL) has opened a new sales office in Shanghai—Crown
China Ltd.—to exploit overall plastics growth in
China using its patented technology to focus on hard-toprocess
materials like thermoplastic elastomers, thermoplastic
polyurethane, and rigid polyvinyl chloride.
In addition, Crown foresees potential partners and joint
ventures with Chinese extrusion companies interested in entering
the North American market. The office will be part of the
Gienkee Plas Center, which serves as a ‘mini-mall’ of sorts for
plastics suppliers, with tenants including Demag Plastics
Group, EAS, Haitian, Spirex, Matsui, Männer, Avalon, Frigel,
Wittmann, and Star.
14 OCTOBER 2007 • MODERN PLASTICS WORLDWIDE modplas.com