key asset for attracting plastics industry capital investment is now in place on Malaysia's east coast. The Kertih Plastics Park (KPP), developed under the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in the state of Terengganu, is the first of its kind in the country. Developers of the park, which is located within the PETRONAS Petroleum Industry Complex (PPIC), hope it will expand employment and entrepreneurship opportunities and create demand for other ancillary services.
      Members of the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) were eyeing – and some even purchasing – properties in the park in the spring, even before the park was officially opened. A key lure is proximity to resin production plants in Kertih, Pahang, Terengganu, and Kuantan, which substantially lowers the cost of transporting that essential plastics component.
      The New Straits Times Business Times reported April 10th that Hi Essence Cable Sdn Bhd, a cable manufacturer, was building a RM50-million (US$15-million) plant at KPP, in Kuala Terengganu, even as the park's infrastructure was being built. Production of cable was forecast to begin in January 2009. The company reportedly has entered into a venture with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), a customer, to research, design and produce PVC, plastic polymer and polyether locally.       According to ECER, KPP's development will be supported by world class research and development (R&D) input from the PETRONAS Polymer Technology Centre (PPTC), a market-driven technology center which will enhance customer technical services and product improvement and development for plastics applications.
      ECER defines the park's objectives as (1) capturing more resource-based value domestically via downstream integration of polymer and related plants within the existing petrochemical complex; (2) ensuring a competitive base for local producers through by tapping into operational and infrastructural synergies at the site, obtaining security of raw materials supply on a just-in-time basis and reaping economies of scale and direct cost savings through access to centralized services, freight savings and so forth; and (3) promoting development of an ECER downstream petrochemical hub by encouraging FDI in higher-end applications and growing the technological skills base.       Plastics production remains robust in Eastern Europe, as the list of projects in the table on illustrates. Global plastics manufacturer Promens, based in Iceland, has begun construction on a new state-of-the-art facility in Nitra, Slovakia, to supply automotive manufacturers with components, parts and systems. The 58,000-sq.-ft. (5,400-sq.-m.) plant will replace an old facility and can be expanded an additional 108,000 sq. ft. (10,100 sq. m.).
      The new plastics molding plant is strategically well located to serve its customers. Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Opel, Skoda, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen, as well as such large tier 1 suppliers as Valeo, FaurEcia and Lear, are all located within an 80-mile (130-km.) radius of Promens Nitra, as well as a number of large tier 2 suppliers. Slovakia is the second fastest-growing auto manufacturing country in Europe, following Germany. Slovakian car production is expected to rise by 500,000 units by the year 2014, and total EU production is expected to exceed 20 million cars annually in the same timeframe. This increase is partially due to the growing demand for cars in new member states that can support production growth by as much as 1.5 million cars.
      Construction of the plant was scheduled to start in August. Promens Nitra employs 70 people, but the number of employees is expected to grow to more than 100 by the time the new plant is fully operational.
      In September 2007, Promens opened a rotational plastics molding plant in Miedzyrzecz, Poland, that is built to Lean Manufacturing Principles. The 107,000-sq.-ft. (10,000-sq.m.) plant, with nine rotational molding machines, supplies automotive customers in Eastern and Western Europe.       Plastics industry investment in the U.S. remains strong, with several areas benefiting from capital investment projects in 2008. These include Thomaston, Ga., where InnoWare Plastics is investing $9.7 million and adding a production line and logistics to its facility. InnoWare makes plastic takeout containers for restaurants. A new rail spur will broaden the plant's functionality, allowing the company to transfer logistics from a facility in Nashville, Tenn., to Thomaston, in Upson County.
      On a larger scale, Cereplast, Inc., a manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics, completed the mechanical installation of the first production line at the company's Seymour, Ind., facility in early August.
      "This completed installation demonstrates the flexible, scalable nature of Cereplast's production technology and the ability of our operations management team to meet aggressive timelines," said Frederic Scheer, chairman and CEO of Cereplast. "I am pleased that we reached this important milestone ahead of schedule." System testing and commissioning over the coming weeks will ready the site for commercial bioresin production before the end of September 2008. The installed production line has a production capacity of 50 million pounds of bioresin annually. It is located on a 63-acre (25.5-hectare) site that is sized for a rapid expansion of up to 500 million pounds per year as early as 2010.
      A logistics processing center at the site allows the company to better serve clients in the Midwest and on the East Coast. When the site reaches full capacity in early 2010, it will employ up to 200 full-time staff and be the world's largest bio-plastic resin production facility.
      "After a long search we decided to settle down in Indiana for this project, in the heart of the Midwest, where we have easy access to our raw materials allowing us to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations by reducing transportation lines," said Scheer at the time of the plant announcement in December 2007. "As our industry grows, we find the need for flexible manufacturing solutions that allow us to meet both the current and future demand for bio-plastics. The new Indiana facility allows us to expand capacity immediately, and will enable us to keep pace with future growth. We have seen a very positive response to the introduction of the Cereplast Hybrids Resins, and we believe they will become mainstream plastics."
      The new facility complements Cereplast's current manufacturing operation in Hawthorne, Calif.