My old BMW and it’s Painted Plastic Parts

used-car-lot

It had been many years since I had driven a car that was older than 3 years. Being in plastic material sales and in management positions for a number of years, I had company cars that were leased. Basically from 1990 until 2010 I leased 8 different cars on 2 to 3 year leases. Turn and burn, one after another.

In 2010, I was self employed and my finances had taken a hit from starting a company in September of 2008, right before the bottom fell out of the economy. The lease from my 2007 Infinity G35 was coming to an end. I thought about buying the Infiniti instead of turning it in, it had been an excellent car. However I decided to buy a car that I had desired for a while, a BMW 335i. I started hunting for a used one online and finally came across  a three year old example that was the exact car that I wanted at a dealer in San Francisco.

I planned, at the time, to keep the car for 3 to 4 years and then I would trade it in something else. Sometimes life gets in the way of our plans. I still have the car, now almost ten years old. It has been interesting driving a rather complex German car so far out of warranty. I wanted to talk about how it has held up.

Continue reading “My old BMW and it’s Painted Plastic Parts”

News Digest 2/27/2017

20150930-shafer-oldnewsroomtrustmedia-ap

Huntsman reports lower sales, higher profits for 2016

SABIC says that deliveries are improving but some customers disagree

Borealis sees a 10% increase in profits for 2016

Trex decking sees record increases in sales

New cyclo-olefin polymer grades target auto industry

Weekly resin report: Spot resin market cools, as buyers push back on price inflation

BASF sees lower earnings for 2016

PP & PE march into March with higher pricing

 

News Digest 2/20/2017

Citizen Kane

Solvay appoints new president to head up composite materials

Plastic electronics set to revolutionize products

Weekly resin report: Lackluster demand opens gap between buyer and seller price expectations

USI Group claims new cyclic block copolymers offer many advantages

Toyoba turning to foaming to reduce weight of plastic parts for automotive

Ohio recycler closes doors

 

What PEX Tubing and the Microwave Oven have in Common

old-microwave

I have a friend that is in the pipe and pipe fitting business. He distributes copper and steel pipe and fittings for commercial and residential applications. He is convinced that PEX tubing is going to give everyone cancer and advises everyone not to use it. He also thinks that microwave ovens will give you cancer and won’t go near one, much less eat anything that was cooked in one.

If he knew how PEX was made, he’d be even more freaked out.

Continue reading “What PEX Tubing and the Microwave Oven have in Common”