Originally Published MPMN January/February 2002

INDUSTRY NEWS

In Brief

Klöckner Pentaplast of America Inc. (Gordonsville, VA) has announced the acquisition of Witt Plastics (Greenville, OH), a custom extruder of high-impact polystyrene and polypropylene films....Coated and adhesive product supplier Medco Labs (Cleveland) has formed a consumer products division. The company "intends to develop private-label, joint-venture, and proprietary branded product opportunities...to provide manufacturers with line extensions of existing branded products...with state-of-the-art transdermal technology," says marketing director Elizabeth Littman....NAMSA (Northwood, OH) has acquired Cole Industrial Laboratories LLC (Toledo, OH), which manufactures GroPro Plus growth promotion indicator organisms....Trace Laboratories (Palatine, IL) recently received accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (Frederick, MD) for EMC testing. The company has been shown to be competent to perform a range of EMC tests including radiated and conducted tests, as well as ESD and transient testing....UTI Corp. (Collegeville, PA) has announced its acquisition of Micro-Guide Inc. (Tehachapi, CA), a provider of precision-ground microminiature wire products. This new division will complement the capabilities of another of its companies, Star Guide (Arvada, CO), a supplier of ground and formed wire components....Nellcor (Pleasanton, CA), a division of Tyco Healthcare (Irvine, CA), has extended its partnership with Medical Data Electronics (MDE; Arleta, CA). The agreement allows MDE to integrate Nellcor's pulse oximetry technology into its Escort Prism and Prism SE portable bedside monitors....BP Amoco Polymers Inc. (Alpharetta, GA) is expanding its sulfone polymers plant in Marietta, OH, and its sulfone monomer plant in Augusta, GA....Genencor International Inc. (Rochester, NY) and Dow Corning Corp. (Midland, MI) have announced a strategic alliance to create a new silicone biotechnology platform. The alliance intends to create biologically medicated, silicone-based products for the life sciences and personal-care markets....Compressed-air drying and filtration equipment provider Van Air Inc. (Lake City, PA) has acquired certain assets of LifeStream International Inc. (The Woodlands, TX), a cardiopulmonary products supplier. The Surgimedics division of Van Air will manufacture and sell a line of smoke evacuation systems and filtration accessories for laser and electrosurgical applications....Pemstar Inc. (Rochester, MN) and Given Imaging (Norcross, GA) have expanded their agreements for Pemstar to build and operate production lines for Given Imaging's M2A capsule, which contains a miniaturized video camera. Pemstar will deliver the first semiautomated production line for the M2A.

Katherine Sweeny

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