Market Snapshot: Building & construction

Last year was tough on the building and construction market, but hope shines eternal, as was evidenced at this year's International Builders Show in Las Vegas, a fitting place for these who continue to bet on a return of the housing market.

Not a year to remember, nor to forget

Exit recession stage left; welcome to a new year.

Market Snapshot: Building & construction

Last year was tough on the building and construction market, but hope shines eternal, as was evidenced at this year's International Builders Show in Las Vegas, a fitting place for these who continue to bet on a return of the housing market.

By Design: Issues facing medical product designers

Few vocations are as rewarding as helping those who are ill, but critical 
know-how must be passed along to each generation.

The use of plastics benefits mankind in countless ways. Many of the most impressive are in the healthcare field, where they increase longevity and enhance the quality of life. There are countless examples of this. One of the most important is the reduction in the spread of infection. Plastic’s ability to reduce cost allowed single-use items to replace devices that were previously cleaned, sterilized, and reused.

An intelligent (and job-saving) approach to automation

Investing in appropriate technology for its automotive customers gave one Midwest molder a cycle-time and cost-cutting edge.

Proper alignment: How to give your molds a long and healthy life

Even considering all the many conditions that impact the life of your mold, the main enemy may be wear caused by differences in mold temperature and/or general mold alignment, and temperature differentials could be a conspirator in this plot.—Karl Szanto and Jerry Seidelman, Tech Mold Inc.

American Tool & Mold expands into LSR

Toolmaker and injection molding company American Tool & Mold Inc. (ATM; Clearwater, FL) has announced plans to enter the liquid silicone rubber (LSR) tooling and molding arena, adding silicone operations in the coming month. The company has already hired Marshall Strang to act as LSR Operations Manager. In this role, Strang will oversee all LSR dealings at ATM, covering everything from assisting with sales quotations, tooling design, mold fabrication, and part production.

A torchbearer’s tale

At 7:45 am on Dec. 28, 2009 in Meaford, ON, Jason Ruby began a 300m run in bone-chilling -8°F temperatures. For someone who runs a few times a week and has a marathon under his belt, this short jog wouldn’t seem particularly noteworthy, but for Ruby, who has worked for Husky Injection Molding Systems (Bolton, ON) for 12 years in its marketing communications department producing video and multimedia, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Educating Congress about manufacturing—and making it personal

When Tim Peterson of Industrial Molds invited the district's Congressional Representative to visit the Rockford, IL company, he didn't expect Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL16) to actually come. But in early February he did, and Peterson is even more convinced than before that this is the right thing to do. Washington, says Peterson, appears to be getting the idea that these jobs are important.