headlines for the month

Borden Chemical Inc., Columbus, OH, recently announced the launch of two joint-venture companies in China to produce formaldehyde, resins and UV-curable materials. The company also said it has opened a regional representative office in Shanghai to manage its expanding business interests in China. Borden said a joint-venture company named Borden UV Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. will manufacture and market UV-curable coatings and adhesives. The second venture, named Asia Dekor (Hong Kong) Borden Chemical Co. Ltd., will build a formaldehyde and derivative-resins plant in Heyuan, China.

Charles Ross and Son Co., Hauppauge, NY, announced the launch of a website focusing on the company's high-shear mixer equipment line. The site is located at www.highshear mixers.com.

Degussa, Frankfurt, Germany, announced a production-capacity increase for AEROSIL special oxides at the company's manufacturing facilities in Rheinfelden, Germany. The expansion comes in response to increased demand for fumed special oxides, which are used in coatings, adhesives and sealants as rheology agents and to improve mechanical properties such as scratch resistance, the company said.

The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI, said it has increased its global propylene glycol production capacity by 14%, to 1.2 billion pounds, in response to supply tightness. Production capacity in Europe has been boosted by 20%, the company said. Dow Chemical in October 2003 instituted order control for propylene glycol in North America, which remains effective through June 30 due to the tight supply situation.

Eliokem, Akron, OH, has appointed GMZ Inc., West Chester, OH, distributor for Pliolite styrene acrylate resins, Plioway vinyl acrylate resins and Pliotec waterborne acrylate copolymers in the southwestern United States. The distribution territory includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

Honeywell Nylon Inc., Hopewell, VA, announced the launch of a website (www.chembuys.com) for the company's Chemical Intermediates Group, offering product-specification literature and material safety data sheets (MSDSs) for the company's cyclohexanone, cyclohexanol and flake or molten caprolactam.

Johnson Polymer L.L.C., Sturtevant, WI, announced a license agreement with Crilen, Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the manufacture of Johnson Polymer's JONCRYL line of emulsion polymers. Johnson Polymer is a supplier of waterborne polymers used in the paint and coatings, graphic-arts, plastics, and related markets.

LANSCO Colors, Warwick, RI, has appointed P.T. Hutchins Inc. sales agent in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Utah and New Mexico. LANSCO is a supplier of color pigments.

Reichhold Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, announced the implementation of a global trade-name standard for the company's product lines for the coatings and graphic-arts markets. The names and chemistry type are: BECKOSOL (solventborne alkyds); KELSOL (waterborne and water-reduced alkyds); AMBERLAC (modified alkyds and copolymers); AROLON (styrenated acrylics, acrylic polyols and solution acrylics); SYNTHEMUL (non-styrenated acrylics); AROPLAZ (polyesters); EPOTUF (epoxies and epoxy curing agents); RESAFEN (phenolics); UROTUF (urethanes); FINE-CLAD (powder-coatings resins); and FINE-TONE (resins for digital printing inks).