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Top Industry News                                   May 7, 2007 Issue

Ceres and Rohm and Haas to Study Plant-Based Bioproducts
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Rohm and Haas Company, Spring House, Pa., announced a research collaboration that will work toward producing plant-based alternatives to a petroleum-derived material used in thousands of home and industrial products ... Full story >>

Rohm and Haas to Sell European Auto Coatings Business to Mader
Rohm and Haas Company has signed a definitive agreement to sell its European Automotive Coatings business, Frankfurt, Germany, including its manufacturing site in Strullendorf, Germany, to the Mader Group ... Full story >>

ACCESSA Coatings Solutions and NCP Coatings Align to Form Strategic Partnership
ACCESSA Coatings Solutions, Indianapolis, and NCP Coatings Inc. (NCP), Niles, Mich., have aligned to form a strategic partnership whereby ACCESSA will serve as the sales and distribution partner for NCP’s general industrial and Military CARC product lines ... Full story >>

NexCen Brands Acquires Waverly
NexCen Brands, Inc., New York, has completed its acquisition of the Waverly brand from F. Schumacher & Co. ... Full story >>

The People File

BASF Appoints Exner Business Director for Intermediates
Dr. Herbert Exner is the new business director for Diols and Derivatives in BASF’s Intermediates Regional Business Unit in North America ... Full story >>

SI Group Announces New President 
SI Group, Inc., Schenectady, N.Y.,has appointed Stephen J. Large as its new president and chief operating officer (COO) ... Full story >>

Coatings & Inks Contributed to Cognis’ Significant Sales and Earnings Increase in 2006
Cognis, Monheim, Germany, reports that Functional Products achieved growth of 10.4 percent in 2006, with total sales of 841 million euros. Functional Products business units that performed especially well included Polymers, Coatings & Inks; AgroSolutions; Mining; and the Synthetic Lubricants business. Growth was strongest overall in Asia. In North America, Polymers, Coatings & Inks substantially increased its market share.

Dow UCAR Emulsion Systems Launches Technology for Dirt Pickup Resistance
Dow UCAR Emulsion Systems, Cary, N.C., a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., has launched a new technology platform focused on improving dirt pickup resistance in paint and coatings formulations ...  Full story >>

GM Honors BASF Coatings as 2006 Supplier of the Year
The award recognizes BASF for outstanding performance as a global supplier of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) coatings ... Full story >>

PPG Celebrates 40^th Anniversary of Duranar Coatings With Contest
PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, is inviting architects and glazing contractors to participate in the “Duranar Coatings Hall of Architecture” contest as part of its 40^th anniversary celebration of Duranar coatings ... Full story >>

Nubiola Recognizes Maroon as Distributor of the Year
Nubiola USA, Norcross, Ga., awarded Maroon, Inc., Distributor of the Year in recognition of its outstanding sales performance in 2006 ... Full story >>

Rohm and Haas Powder Coatings Launches Generation II Color Palette
The company recently launched the RTS Gen II color collection following the success of the first generation of Ready to Ship (RTS) products in 2004 ... Full story >> 

ASTM Announces Case Study Competition With Cash Prizes
Papers are now being accepted for the ASTM International 2007 Advantage Award, a case study competition with cash prizes ... Full story >>

NPCA Offers Webinar on Managing in an Inflationary Environment
The National Paint & Coatings Association’s (NPCA) Management Information Committee will present its second seminar in its series of management webinars entitled Managing in an Inflationary Environment, on June 7, from 2:00-3:30 p.m., EST ... Full story >>

e-Training on Coating Film Defects Scheduled for May 15
The first part of an e-training course, Coating Film Defects -- Prevention Through Understanding, takes place on May 15. SpecialChem expert Jochum Beetsma is conducting this advanced-level, two-part course ... Full story >>

Anguil Environmental to Present at Coatings for Plastics
Anguil Environmental Systems will participate in the 10th Annual International Coatings for Plastics Symposium, hosted by Paint & Coatings Industry, June 13-15, 2007, in Chicago ... Full story >>

Mixing for Uniform Batches Offered by Eastern Michigan University
This course meets June 5-6 and October 15-16 at the Student Center on the EMU campus, Ypsilanti, Mich.  The objective of the course is to get more production out of your present mixing equipment ... Full story >>

Nanomaterials Symposium Has Coatings Focus
The Nanomaterials Symposium 2007 being held June 25-27 at the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, will cover applications for coatings, printing inks, pigments, plastics, paper and packaging. For additional details regarding the final program and early bird offers, visit  www.intertechpira.com and click on Nanomaterials on the Events page. Alternatively, e-mail John Buss at john.buss@pira-international.com .