The developer of injection moulded structural electronics (IMSE) solutions TactoTek has opened sales and business development operations in Mexico with representatives in Monterrey and San Luis Potosí. The Finnish company is partnering with the Prolamsa Group to develop the Mexico IMSE market. Taktotek sees the trend that for many global OEMs, operations in Mexico are evolving from being primarily a manufacturing destination, to including product design and engineering.

Kuraray Co., Ltd., PTT Global Chemical Public Company Ltd., and Sumitomo Corporation have announced their decision to establish a JV in Thailand for the production of butadiene derivatives. With Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate (Map Ta Phut Complex), Rayong in Thailand, as the candidate of the production site, the JV is scheduled to manufacture and sell high heat resistant polyamide-9T (PA9T) and hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBC). The name of the JV will be Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. Kuraray holds a majority share of 53.3 %, while PTT and Sumitomo hold minority shares of 33.4 % and 13.3 % respectively.

Already for the seventh time Desma Schuhmaschinen GmbH invites to its house fair on Wednesday, 19 September and Thursday, 20 September 2018. Every two years, international shoe manufacturers and suppliers meet up at the headquarters of the shoe machinery manufacturer in Achim near Bremen, Germany.

Lubrizol, a Berkshire Hathaway company, celebrated its 90th anniversary on 28 July 2018. The company was founded in Cleveland in 1928, moving to Lake County in 1931. The original Wickliffe location remains the site of Lubrizol's world headquarters. Lake County is also home to Lubrizol's Painesville facility. Lubrizol owns and operates 60 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. The company has approximately 8,700 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2017 were USD 6.3 billion.

Davis-Standard will be offering its extrusion seminar “The Basics of Plastics Extrusion” on 9 – 10 October 2018 at its headquarters in Pawcatuck, CT, USA. The two-day class covers the fundamentals of plastics extrusion as well as the composition and properties of various polymers and the mechanics of essential downstream processes. Seminar topics include extruder components, temperature control, maintenance and screw design.

Lanxess announced that it plans to sell its remaining 50 % stake in Arlanxeo to its joint venture partner Saudi Aramco. The two companies, that founded Arlanxeo in 2016 as a 50:50 joint venture for synthetic rubber, signed a respective agreement on 8 August 2018.

Rogers Corporation announced the acquisition of Griswold LLC, a manufacturer of custom-engineered cellular rubber and microcellular polyurethane foams, based in Moosup, CT, USA. The transaction closed on 6 July 2018. Financial details were not disclosed.

Invista announced that it has begun work to bring its latest adiponitrile (ADN) technology to China to meet the strong, local demand for the intermediate chemical, which is used to make nylon 6,6, fibres and other speciality materials such as hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) for polyurethane paints, coatings, and epoxy curing agents. According to the company, engineering for a minimum 300,000 t/y plant is underway at an estimated investment in excess of USD 1 billion. Construction start is targeted for 2020 and production would begin in 2023.

The 19th edition of the tyre design and tyre manufacturing exhibition and conference Tire Technology Expo will take place from 5 – 7 March 2019 on the exhibition grounds of Deutsche Messe AG in Hanover, Germany. The exhibition offers a technology showcase with exhibits of equipment and materials covering the complete spectrum of the tyre manufacturing process.

Sika has agreed to acquire Polypag, a Swiss-based manufacturer and developer of polyurethane foam systems, from FLM Holding AG. Financial details were not disclosed. In 2017, Polypag recorded annual sales of approximately CHF 40 million (~ EUR 34.7 million) with a workforce of 120 employees. The company was founded in Altstätten, Switzerland, in 1980. The acquisition encompasses Polypag’s headquarters along with the production site in Altstätten, a research and development centre in Canton Appenzell, and a production site at Landsberg am Lech, Germany. The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities.