BASF, Mount Olive, NJ, announced plans to idle a major portion of its acrylic monomers production capacity in Freeport, TX, citing economic conditions. The company said it will temporarily close down 150 million pounds of crude acrylic acid capacity and its butyl acrylate plant, effective Jan. 1, 2004. The company said the actions will not affect supply capabilities, which will be met by the company's global acrylic-monomers network.

Charles Ross and Son Co., Hauppauge, NY, announced an expansion of the company's Test and Development Center, located at the company's headquarters complex in Hauppauge. The 7,000-square-foot center houses various models of the company's specialty mixing, blending, drying and dispersion equipment, and ancillary equipment.

The ChemQuest Group Inc., Cincinnati, announced plans for an expansion of its management consulting services into China and Asia Pacific with the opening of an office in China by Jan. 1, 2004. ChemQuest also announced that Robert A. Taylor, former president and general manager of The Sherwin-Williams Co.'s Chemical Coatings Division, would join the company on Nov. 1 and would focus on client strategies for entry into the China and Asia-Pacific markets. Shiv Singh, former Marketing manager for DuPont Automotive Coatings' Australia and Pacific region, will join ChemQuest on Jan. 1 as the firm's regional representative in Asia Pacific.

Degussa's Coatings & Colorants Business Unit, Parsippany, NJ, announced the opening of a new technical-service laboratory at the company's Americana facility, located northwest of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The lab serves Colorants customers in the Mercosur region, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia.

Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, TN, announced the launch of a website offering access to the company's expertise in solvent-related formulation issues. The website, located at www.eastman.performancesolvents.com, connects formulators with online tools that provide technical and regulatory information on solvents and provides information on solvent compatibility with dozens of specific resins.

Lyondell Chemical Co., Houston, recently announced that its ACRYFLOW acrylic polyols have been listed on the U.S. EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory, and said the five polyols in the product line are available in commercial quantities. The polyols are designed to work together in a system called the Resin Management Concept, and allow the formulation of a range of products using the five resins rather than as many as dozens.

PolyOne Corp., Cleveland, a supplier of polymers for plastics and other markets, said it is considering selling three of its "non-core" businesses as part of a "transformation plan" to reduce debt and improve its financial performance. The company said it is weighing the sale of its Elastomers and Performance Additives, Engineered Films and Specialty Resins operations, and will focus more on its plastics compounding, color and additive and distribution businesses.