Trump tariff threats, Milacron sale, quality control for bright parts: Machinery Minutes, Feb. 10, 2025

In this episode of Machinery Minutes, senior reporter Bruce Geiselman looks at the potential ramifications of President Trump’s announcement that he planned to enact 25 percent tariffs against goods imported from Canada and Mexico.

Though they are currently on hold, the prospect elicited strong reactions from manufacturers, plastic industry leaders and consultants, both positive and negative. We also share ways you can prepare now for potential shocks if those tariffs do go into effect.

We also discuss Hillenbrand's pending sale of an approximately 51 percent stake in Milacron, an Ohio-headquartered manufacturer of injection molding and extrusion equipment, to an affiliate of Bain Capital; and a new spectrophotometer from Byk-Gardner for quality control of small, bright, glossy parts. 

Transcript

Editor's note: This text has been updated.

Welcome to Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week I share with you three things you need to know in about three minutes. You can read the complete stories on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.

No. 1 – President Trump’s recent announcement that he planned to enact 25 percent tariffs against goods imported from Canada and Mexico, the United States’ closest trading partners, elicited strong reactions from manufacturers, plastic industry leaders and consultants.

Those tariffs have been paused while negotiations between the Trump administration and our neighbors to the north and south continue, but they aren’t off the table. In the meantime, 10 percent tariffs against China have gone into effect.

What impact would tariffs have on the plastics industry and equipment makers – could they hep or hurt those businesses? The Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing staff talked to consultants and some of the businesses that could be affected, and heard a variety of answers, and a lot of uncertainty.

Tariffs would help the companies that produce and source the most domestically, while posing a problem for those with significant import dependence, Harry Moser, the founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, said succinctly. But many of the people PMM staff interviewed shared concerns about the future of their businesses and the economy.

Read plenty of additional comments in our story headlined: “Could Trump tariffs help or hurt plastics businesses?”

Also, check out a second story headlined “Prepare now for potential tariff shocks,” in which consultants Jan Griffiths and Laurie Harbour advise businesses to use the one-month reprieve to talk to their customers, assess their supply chain and develop contingencies. Again, that story is headlined “Prepare now for potential tariff shocks.”

No. 2 – Milacron, an Ohio-headquartered manufacturer of injection molding and extrusion equipment, will have a new majority owner.

An affiliate of Bain Capital will acquire approximately 51 percent of the machinery maker for $287 million. Bain Capital is poised to be a strong partner and help drive Milacron’s next phase of growth, said Kim Ryan, president and CEO of Hillenbrand, which is selling the majority of its holding in Milacron.

Hillenbrand acquired Milacron, along with the Mold-Masters, DME, Tirad and Cimcool brands, in November 2019 in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $2 billion. Hillenbrand still owns Mold-Masters, DME and Tirad; Cimcool was sold in 2020.

Read the story “Hillenbrand sells majority stake in Milacron.”

No. 3 – Byk-Gardner USA has introduced a spectrophotometer made with a small aperture for measuring color uniformity and consistency in small parts.

The spectro2go XS is a hand-held spectrophotometer that provides color measurement with digital standards, even of bright or glossy plastic parts. The spectro2go XS overcomes a challenge that’s

bedeviled the plastics industry for decades — the quality control of fluorescent materials. Also, plastic parts often are too small for accurate measurement by other spectrophotometers.

Learn more by reading “Spectrophotometer handles bright, glossy parts.”

Those are my Top 3 items you need to know for this week. We have a new list every Monday.