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Top Industry News                                   May 29, 2007 Issue

NPCA Seeks Participants for New Chemical Control Strategies Task Force
Recently, NPCA’s board of directors endorsed the formation of a new task force to address the ongoing challenge of emerging chemical control strategies, and NPCA is seeking interested members to participate in the group ... Full story >> 

Akzo Nobel to Acquire Chemcraft, a Major Player in North American Wood Coatings Market
Akzo Nobel, Arnhem, the Netherlands, is to significantly broaden its position in the North American wood coatings market after signing an agreement to acquire Chemcraft Holdings Corporation, North America’s largest privately owned manufacturer of industrial wood coatings ... Full story >>

Chemtura to Sell Organic Peroxides to PERGAN
Chemtura Corp., Middlebury, Conn., has signed a definitive agreement to sell its organic peroxides business to PERGAN GmbH (Germany) in an all-cash transaction for an undisclosed amount ... Full story >> 

Charting The Economy

World Carbon Black Demand to Reach 11 Million Metric Tons In 2011
World carbon black demand is forecast to rise 4.2 percent per year through 2011 to 11 million metric tons, bolstered by a healthy global rubber market over the same period, according to a recent study ...  Full story >> 

The People File

Air Products Announces CEO Succession Plan
Air Products, Lehigh Valley, Pa., announced that John P. Jones, chairman and chief executive officer, will retire as CEO on October 1, 2007, after 35 years with the company ... Full story >>

Lawatsch Named National Accounts Manager for UGL
Bob Connolly, national sales manager for United Gilsonite Laboratories (UGL), Dunmore, Pa., recently announced the appointment of Paul Lawatsch, Victor, N.Y., as national accounts manager ... Full story >>

Pamela Maffei Toolan to Continue as VP of Design With New Parent Company
NexCen Brands, Inc., New York, announced that Pamela Maffei Toolan will remain vice president of design for the Waverly Lifestyle Group ... Full story >>

Business Barometer

Valspar Reports Second-Quarter Results 
The Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, reported its results for the second quarter ended April 27, 2007. Second-quarter sales totaled $808.5 million, a 5.4 percent increase from the second quarter of 2006. Net income for the second quarter was $41.5 million. In 2006, second-quarter earnings were $47.9 million ... Full story >>

Rohm and Haas Says 50% of 2007 R&D Budget Allocated To Sustainability Improvements
Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, said it is allocating $150 million — roughly half of its nearly $300 million 2007 R&D budget — for sustainability efforts, including new product development, energy efficiency and process improvements ... Full story >>

Company Portfolio

BASF Receives European Coatings Award for Water-Based Binder
BASF AG received the 2007 European Coatings Award for its new AQAGloss dispersion-based binder for high-gloss water-based coatings ... Full story >>

Clariant Introduces Powder Coatings Additive
Licocene^® PP 1502 fine grain from Clariant Pigments & Additives Division is a new additive designed to improve the adhesion of silicon-based products on powder coatings ... Full story >>

Powder Coating Research Group Opens Its Doors in Cleveland
The Powder Coating Research Group (PCR), an independent powder coating service enterprise, is up and running ... Full story >>

Bayer Tower to Be Converted Into a Media Façade
Bayer’s high-rise former headquarters building in Leverkusen, Germany, is not to be demolished, but will soon be lighting up the sky in a completely new guise — no longer as an office building but as an ultra-modern media facade ... Full story >>

Ciba and ETH Zurich Win the 2007 Sandmeyer Prize
Ciba and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich have been awarded the Swiss Chemical Society’s prestigious Sandmeyer Prize, reflecting the exemplary collaboration between university and industry ... Full story >>

Association News

Pittsburgh Conference Awards Memorial National College Grants
The Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants program is one aspect of the efforts of the volunteer committee members of the Pittsburgh Conference and its sponsoring societies to support science education. The maximum funding available for each grant was $10,000 ... Full story >>