Clariant, Sulzbach, Germany, received the "Best Innovator" award in the category "Supporting Factors" for the Clariant Competence Center Micro Reactor Technology (C3-MRT). It is the second consecutive year that the company is a winner of this innovation award, a competition that is jointly held by the management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

Dorsett & Jackson Inc., Los Angeles, announced distribution appointments by Franklin Industrial Minerals, U.S. Silica Co. and Solvay Chemicals Inc. Franklin Industrial Minerals appointed Dorsett & Jackson distributor in California, Nevada and Arizona for alumina trihydrate products. U.S. Silica expanded Dorsett & Jackson's distribution responsibilities to include the SnowTex 45 product line in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. Solvay Chemicals appointed Dorsett & Jackson distributor for specialty products for the coatings and related markets in California. The Solvay products include precipitated calcium carbonates, Socal and Winnofil, precipitated barium compounds, blanc fixe, and HD-80 and nanofine products.

Eckart America L.P., Painesville, OH, has appointed D&F Distributing Inc., Dallas, and Delta Colours, Norcross, GA, distributors in the southwestern and southern United States. D&F Distributing's territory includes Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Delta Colours' territory includes Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Engelhard Corp., Iselin, NJ, received an EPA Presidential "Green Chemistry Challenge Award" for the company's development of its "Rightfit" organic pigments, a line of products based on calcium, strontium and barium rather than heavy metals such as lead, chromium and cadmium.

Gabriel Performance Products, Ashtabula, OH, has appointed Chemcentral Corp., Bedford Park, IL, North American distributor of Gabriel's new GPM-800 mercaptan-based epoxy hardening agent.

LANSCO Colors, Montvale, NJ, appointed P.T. Hutchins Co., Los Angeles, sales agent in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Nevada.

Noveon/Hilton Davis, Cleveland, has appointed Majemac Enterprises Inc., Clearwater, FL, distributor for color dispersions in Florida. Noveon Hilton Davis also appointed S.P. Morell and Co., Armonk, NY, distributor of Noveon Hilton Davis' colorants and pigments products.

Quackenbush Co., Crystal Lake, IL, has appointed The M.F. Cachat Co., Lakewood, OH, sales representative for grinding media in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Cachat also represents Quackenbush in Ohio, Michigan, eastern Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.

The UMR Coatings Institute, Rolla, MO, introduced its new UMR newsletter, which is e-mailed to subscribers free of charge. The newsletter is published approximately 20 times a year. Past issues are available on the website at www.umr.edu/~coatings. To subscribe, e-mail Michael Van De Mark, director, UMR Coatings Institute, at mvandema@umr.edu.