Basell is the world's largest producer of polypropylene and advanced polyolefins and is a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts. The company is a global leader in the development and licensing of polypropylene and polyethylene processes.

Air Products has sold its sodium vinyl sulfonate (SVS) North American distribution activities to Proviron Fine Chemicals NV of Ostend, Belgium. With this acquisition, Proviron reinforces its worldwide sales and marketing activities for SVS. Air Products' decision to exit the SVS business was related to recognition of Proviron's superior position to serve North American SVS customers, allowing Air Products to focus on the growth of its Performance Materials business.

The sale includes Air Products' SVS customer lists but does not directly impact any employees or physical production facilities.

AirQual Corp., Canton, Mass., acquired silver-based antimicrobial technology from DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise. Financial terms were not disclosed. AirQual said the acquisition includes antimicrobial powder technology, patent rights and products, and the transfer of EPA registrations.

The antimicrobial powders acquired by AirQual were formerly marketed under the DuPont MicroFree brand and will be sold under the ACT brand to the paint and coatings, building-materials and other markets.

Akzo Nobel and BASF announced a swap of coatings businesses in transactions that will send BASF's Glasurit Construction coatings business to Akzo Nobel and transfer parts of Akzo Nobel's Car Refinishes business in Europe to BASF. Financial terms were not disclosed, and no manufacturing facilities are included in the deals.

In the transactions, Akzo Nobel will acquire BASF's Wood Construction Business, a supplier of coatings for doors and windows. Production will be transferred from a BASF site in Münster, Germany, to Akzo Nobel's Decorative Coatings site in Cologne, Germany.

BASF will acquire portions of Akzo Nobel's liquid-coatings activities in the agricultural-, construction- and earthmoving equipment segment. The activities are part of Akzo Nobel's Car Refinishes business in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. Production will be transferred to BASF locations from Akzo Nobel's sites in Zona Franca, Spain; Stuttgart, Germany; and Montanaire, France.

Akzo Nobel, Arnhem, The Netherlands, announced an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in the German decorative-paint distribution company Peters in an exchange transaction in which Peters will assume control of the distributor companies Beissel and Kerstin. Akzo Nobel had previously acquired the distributors that will be transferred to Peters.

Akzo Nobel announced an agreement to sell its Ultraviolet/Electron Beam (UV/EB) Resins business to Cray Valley S.A., part of the TOTAL Group of France. Terms were not disclosed. The business operates facilities at Eccles in the U.K. and New Brunswick, N.J.

Cray Valley is the parent company of Sartomer Co., a U.S.-based supplier of oligomers, photoinitiators and other specialty materials.

Akzo Nobel announced plans to sell its Coatings Resins business to Nuplex Industries Ltd. of New Zealand for €110 million, or approximately $137 million. The sale concludes a major portion of the company's plans to divest a number of businesses.

Nuplex Industries, headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, specializes in the production of resins for paint, adhesives, ink, fiberglass, paper, and protective and decorative flooring materials; waterproofing products; and specialized plasters.

The sale includes the entire Coatings Resins business, which also encompasses two consolidated joint ventures in Malaysia and Indonesia, and a non-consolidated joint venture in Thailand. Other key locations are in the United Kingdom and the United States. The business's work force of approximately 850 will transfer to the new ownership.

Akzo Nobel's Decorative Coatings business has initiated the latest phase of its competitive European expansion strategy by signing an agreement to acquire Swiss Lack, Switzerland's leading paint company. The deal - which will see Akzo Nobel become the biggest coatings company in Switzerland - includes taking over the Swiss Lack® portfolio, as well as its large commercial distribution network.

Akzo Nobel is to boost its coatings activities in Germany with the acquisition of the ICI Group's wood finishes business Zweihorn GmbH, which is based in Hilden. The two companies have reached an agreement for Akzo Nobel to acquire all shares in Zweihorn, which has 55 employees and recorded a 2004 turnover of approximately €18 million. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Zweihorn, which focuses mainly on the German market, is active in the development, marketing and sales of industrial interior wood finishes for the professional joinery sector.

ALTANA Chemie AG, the Specialty Chemicals Division of ALTANA AG, is divesting its Austrian subsidiary, Rembrandtin Lack GmbH, Vienna, to EK Mittelstandsfinanzierung AG, the private equity fund of Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG (HypoVereinsbank Group). Rembrandtin, a company within the ALTANA Coatings & Sealants business unit, specializes in industrial coatings and road-marking paints.

With the sale of Rembrandtin, ALTANA Chemie has almost completed its withdrawal from the industrial-coatings business.

ALTANA Chemie AG completed the acquisition of the ECKART group as of October 1, 2005. Within the framework of the transaction, ALTANA Chemie acquired the entire business of the global leading manufacturer of metallic effect pigments for applications in paints and printing inks, plastics and cosmetics, as well as technical applications for a gross purchase price of €630 million ("cash and debt-free" basis). ALTANA Chemie retains all of ECKART's sites and employees. ECKART's name and corporate identity will be maintained; the company will become ALTANA Chemie's fourth division, "Effect Pigments."

International technology group Andritz has signed an agreement to buy the Filtration Business Unit of the international NETZSCH Group, based in Germany. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The NETZSCH Filtration Business Unit supplies different types of dewatering units, in particular filter presses, for solid/liquid separation in industrial and municipal applications. With approximately 270 employees, it achieves annual sales of €35 million.

ANGUS Chemical Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, took responsibility for the product management of UCARLNK XL-29SE crosslinker, a product formerly housed under Dow's Epoxy Products and Intermediates (EP&I) global business unit.

As part of the transition, the UCARLNK product family will be rebranded under the ZOLDINE trademark to align more directly with the ANGUS product portfolio, which includes a range of ZOLDINE oxazolidine crosslinkers. The product specifications will remain unchanged, and the product will continue to be manufactured at Dow's plant in West Virginia.

BASF Corp. has signed a contract with NOF Corp. for BASF to fully acquire the shares in BASF NOF Coatings Company Ltd. (BNC), a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies. Effective April 1, 2005, BASF has operated the company under the name of BASF Coatings Japan Ltd. Financial details were not disclosed.

BASF has acquired Huntsman's global Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) business. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The transaction involves Huntsman transferring its TDI customer list and sales contracts to BASF. The agreement does not include any transfer of manufacturing operations or personnel.

BASF Coatings has signed a contract to acquire the coil coatings business of Rhenania Coatings GmbH from ALTANA Chemie AG, Wesel, Germany, the chemicals division of ALTANA AG. This acquisition further extends BASF's position in the European coil coating market subject to the approval by regulatory authorities.

ALTANA Chemie has now completed the divestment of its industrial coatings activities in the Coatings & Sealants division. Rhenania Coatings is now focusing on specialty coatings and coating problem solutions for the packaging industry, and is well equipped to do so in the future due to the modern production facility at the Grevenbroich plant.

Bayer Group formally announced the launch of a new company, LANXESS Corp., as part of a plan to spin off major portions of Bayer's chemicals and polymer operations, including inorganic-pigments and paint-additives businesses. The new company, created as part of a Bayer Group restructuring, will have annual sales of approximately $7.4 billion.

Borden Chemical, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, and Resolution Performance Products LLC (RPP), Houston, jointly announced plans to merge, together with Resolution Specialty Materials LLC (RSM), Carpentersville, Ill., to form the world's largest producer of thermosetting resins. All three companies are owned by affiliates of the private investment firm Apollo Management, L.P. The new company is named Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc. Hexion Specialty Chemicals is expected to include Bakelite AG, which as previously announced, Borden Chemical has agreed to acquire.

BP is selling Innovene, its olefins, derivatives and refining group, to UK-based INEOS. The $9-billion cash sale, subject to regulatory approvals, includes all of Innovene's manufacturing sites, markets and technologies. The sale is expected to be concluded early in 2006.

Celanese Corp. agreed to acquire Vinamul Polymers, the emulsion polymers business of ICI plc's National Starch and Chemical Co., for $208 million, pending regulatory approvals. The Vinamul Polymers product line includes vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) copolymers, vinyl acetate homopolymers and copolymers, and acrylic and vinyl acrylic emulsions.

Vinamul Polymers operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, the U.K. and the Netherlands. As part of the purchase agreement, National Starch will continue to supply Vinamul Polymers with starch, dextrin and other specialty ingredients. Celanese will supply the Vinamul business with vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) and polyvinyl alcohols (PVOH).

Celanese Emulsions, a division of Celanese Canada, has acquired all of the business interests of Nacan Products Ltd., a subsidiary of National Starch and Chemical Co. The synthetic polymers business in North America and Europe will be integrated into the Celanese Emulsions business. The combined business will be called "Celanese Emulsions."

Although the name of the business has changed, the entire Nacan emulsions product range will maintain the current designations for trade names and product numbering.

CHEMCENTRAL, the world's largest independent distributor of specialty and commodity chemicals, has completed its acquisition of the assets of Solchem Pty., Ltd., New South Wales, Australia. Solchem is a major distributor to the coatings, industrial-cleaners and related industrial-solvent markets. The acquired assets will be operated by CHEMCENTRAL Australia Pty., Ltd.

Chemcraft Holdings Corp. has entered into an agreement with Inchem Holdings International Ltd. The agreement provides Chemcraft with a minority position in Inchem along with an arrangement to exchange product technologies.

Inchem is based in Singapore and has ownership of coating manufacturers in Malaysia, Vietnam and China.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals announced the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent stake in the Daihan Swiss Chemical Corporation in Korea for a consideration of 28.5 billion Korean Won (CHF 30.5 million). The transaction gives Ciba 100 percent of the equity and is subject to the customary regulatory approvals.

Daihan Swiss makes and markets pigments and preparations for the Korean coatings, plastics and ink markets, and exports products globally through Ciba Specialty Chemicals.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals is complementing its range of pigments through the acquisition of the high-reflectance aluminum Metasheen® line from Wolstenholme International Ltd., Blackburn, U.K. The transaction includes the respective manufacturing facilities owned by Wolstenholme. The purchase price is CHF 45 million. The pigments will continue to be marketed under the Metasheen product name.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals and the Liucheng Group have established the joint venture Zhejiang Ruicheng Effect Pigment Co., Ltd. The business activities of China's leading manufacturer and supplier of pearlescent pigments for applications such as coatings, plastics, inks, cosmetics and paper making, Wenzhou Kunwei Pearl Pigment Co. Ltd., affiliated with the Liucheng Group, will be transferred to the joint venture, which includes R&D, production and marketing.

Clariant's Pigments & Additives Division, Sulzbach, Ts., Germany, and Hangzhou Baihe Chemicals Co. Ltd., Zhejiang Province, China, announced that a joint-venture agreement has been signed for the production of high-performance organic pigments in China.

The new production site will be located in Hangzhou, southwest of Shanghai. The pigments produced will be marketed exclusively through the Clariant sales-distribution network.

Consorcio Comex S.A de C.V. (Comex), reported to be Mexico's largest coatings manufacturer, will acquire Professional Paint Inc., the operator of a group of regional architectural-coatings companies in the Western United States and Canada, under a merger agreement announced by Colorado-based Professional Paint.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Professional Paint is owned by the investment firm The Jordan Co. L.P. Professional Paint is the parent company of Frazee Paint, San Diego; Kwal Paint, Denver; Parker Paint, Tacoma, Wash.; Stellar Kwal Paint, Dallas; General Paint, Vancouver, British Columbia; Ideal Paint, Toronto; and Duckback Products, Chico, Calif.

Comex, based in Mexico City, markets products through more than 3,000 stores in Mexico. The company operates four production plants and four distribution centers, and in addition to architectural coatings manufactures industrial and automotive coatings, roof coatings, wood-care products, and aerosols.

Coventry Coatings Corp., Garnerville, N.Y., has acquired North American Technologies, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of industrial coatings and specialty finishes. Coventry Coatings said the acquisition marks a major move into industrial finishes for the company.

Coventry Coatings said it would continue to manufacture North American Technologies' product range, including drum enamels, baking enamels, epoxy coatings, waterborne metal primers and other specialty coatings, with production shifted to Coventry Coatings' facilities in Garnerville.

With the finalization of the Crompton Corp. and Great Lakes Chemical Corp. all-stock merger on July 1, 2005, the combined company became Chemtura Corporation, the fourth largest publicly traded U.S. specialty chemicals company and the world's largest plastics additives company. Chemtura, with combined pro forma 2004 revenues of $3.7 billion and a market capitalization of approximately $3.3 billion, began trading under the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol CEM on July 5, 2005.

Crompton Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Refined Products business to Sun Capital Partners Group Inc. for $80 million, subject to adjustment.

Refined Products is the world's largest dedicated supplier of white oils, petrolatums, microcrystalline waxes and other refined hydrocarbons.

Crystal - PMC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PMC Group Inc., has completed the purchase of the North American Wax Emulsion business, carrying such well-established trademarks as Mobilcer® and Mulrex® from ExxonMobil Oil Corp., Fairfax, Va., and ExxonMobil Mexico S. A. de C. V.

Cytec Industries Inc. has completed its acquisition of UCB's Surface Specialties business. The transaction is valued at $1.797 billion.

UCB now owns approximately 12.5% of the outstanding shares of Cytec, and has entered into a stockholders' agreement that provides for UCB to reduce its stake within five years, and contains other customary terms and conditions.

Cytec has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Surface Specialties Amino Resins business (SSAR) to affiliates of INEOS Group Limited for net cash consideration of €64 million ($78 million at 1.22 U.S. dollars/euro), subject to certain closing adjustments.

The proposed sale is made pursuant to Cytec's commitments under orders by the FTC and the EC to divest SSAR following Cytec's acquisition of the Surface Specialties business earlier in 2005. Net proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt incurred to fund the acquisition of Surface Specialties.

Degussa AG has signed an agreement to acquire Cytec Industries Inc.'s 50-percent holding in CYRO Industries, a joint venture established in 1976 between Degussa and Cytec. The sales price amounts to $95 million (€74 million).

Degussa's methacrylate activities will be combined with CYRO's activities in the Americas following closing, enabling Degussa to consolidate its position as a leading global supplier of methyl methacrylates (MMA), specialty monomers and polymers. The agreement includes four manufacturing facilities in Wallingford, Conn.; Fortier, La.; Osceola, Ark.; and Sanford, Maine; research and development assets; and sales and technical-service locations in North America. The business being acquired includes about 680 CYRO personnel.

Dover Corp., New York, announced that its Dover Resources subsidiary has completed the acquisition of Almatec GmbH, Europe's premier manufacturer of air-operated double-diaphragm pumps. Based in Düsseldorf, Germany, Almatec GmbH will become a subsidiary of Wilden Pump and Engineering, LLC, of Grand Terrace, Calif. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., has completed the acquisition of Pacific Epoxy Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of converted epoxy resins in Korea, from Saehan Industries, Inc. Dow had previously acquired 80 percent of Pacific Epoxy Co., Ltd., in January 2001. The current agreement is for the remaining 20 percent of the company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Dutch chemicals group DSM NV, Amsterdam, will buy U.K.-based specialty chemicals company Avecia's coating resins operation for €515 million ($684 million) as it focuses on high-growth activities.

The deal to acquire NeoResins, on a cash and debt-free basis, is intended to boost DSM's coating resins business as part of DSM's overhaul of its operations, which has included jobs cuts in some areas coupled with acquisitions elsewhere.

Selected assets of the DSM Somos® selective laser sintering business conducted by DSM Desotech Inc. and its DSM Somos subsidiary based in New Castle, Del., have been sold to The Valspar Corp., Minneapolis. The selected assets include the patents and inventory for DSM Desotech's Somos powder product line.

DuPont and the city of Dongying, Shandong Province, the People's Republic of China, have begun talks that could lead to construction of a world-class titanium dioxide plant in the city's Economic Development Zone.

Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, Tenn., completed the sale of certain businesses and product lines of the company's coatings, adhesives, specialty polymers and inks (CASPI) segment to the private investment firm Apollo Management L.P.Apollo said the acquired business will be named Resolution Specialty Materials Inc., and will be based in Houston.

Eric Von Knipe, a California businessman and entrepreneur, has acquired the Morwear paint brand from Smiland Paint Co. and has formed Morwear Manufacturing Inc.

Von Knipe assumed the positions of president and CEO of Morwear Manufacturing, and said existing employees will be retained. The purchase includes Smiland's production plant in Los Angeles.

EXEL Industries, a European company, has merged its two U.S. operations under the new name EXEL North America, Inc., responsible for EXEL Industries' Canadian, U.S. and Mexican operations. The merger brings three finishing and extrusion equipment brands under one company banner: SAMES, REXSON, and KREMLIN.

The merger will optimize the North American administration and logistical functions; enhance manufacturing and R&D; and retain the market-focused sales, marketing and service group.

An employee group has acquired Finishes Unlimited, a manufacturer of waterborne coatings based in Sugar Grove, Ill., from company founders Hank and Zoe Goldshalk. Terms were not disclosed.

Finishes Unlimited, launched in 1970, is a producer of water-reducible air-dry and bake enamel coatings for industrial applications.

GE - Advanced Materials, Silicones acquired a group of high-quality silylated polyurethane resins from Witton Chemicals Ltd., a U.K.-based company, to complement the launch of GE's third generation of SPUR+ prepolymers into the coatings, adhesives and sealants industries. All GE's silylated polyurethanes, including the complementary Witton products that will be offered under GE's SPUR+ trademark, have proven compatibility.

Graco Inc. has purchased from affiliates of PMC Global, Inc., Sun Valley, Calif., the stock of Gusmer Corp., based in Lakewood, N.J. In a related transaction, Graco also acquired the stock of Gusmer Europe S.L., based in Vilanova, Spain.

Gusmer is a leading designer and manufacturer of specialized two-component dispense equipment systems, as well as replacement parts used in the operation of its equipment.

Richard Heisler, president of HEISLER Industries, Inc., has purchased the assets of Pioneer Packaging Machinery, Inc., Pickens, S.C. Pioneer Packaging Machinery has been in business since 1980 solely to service the packaging industry with labeling machinery and support.

HEISLER, which provides container-handling equipment, specializes in the paint, petroleum, ink, food and chemical industries.

Henkel Corp., the U.S.-based affiliate of the Henkel Group of Germany, announced an agreement to acquire Sovereign Specialty Chemicals Inc., an adhesives, sealants and coatings manufacturer based in Chicago, in a transaction valued at $575 million.

Under the agreement, Henkel will acquire all the shares of Sovereign from an investor group led by AEA Investors L.L.C. Following completion, Sovereign will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Henkel.

Hentzen Coatings, Inc., Milwaukee, has purchased BASF's Batavia, Ill., coatings manufacturing site, including its drum and pipe coating business.

Founded in 1923, Hentzen manufactures both liquid and powder coatings for the general industrial, defense and aerospace markets.

Huron Capital Partners L.L.C., a Detroit-based private equity firm, announced the acquisition of Raabe Corp. by Quest Specialty Chemicals, Seabrook, N.H. Raabe, based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., is a major manufacturer of custom-matched touch-up paint and a supplier of private-label aerosol paint-filling services.

Huron Capital Partners, the majority owner of Quest Specialty Chemicals, said the acquisition represents a plan by Quest to acquire companies involved in the specialty-coatings segment. Huron Capital Partners said Raabe would serve as a "platform company in Quest's coatings initiative."

The Hyde Group has acquired Roman Decorating Products Inc., formerly Roman Adhesives, from Prairie Capital, a Chicago-based private equity company. The Hyde Group said the purchase expands its product offerings with wallcovering adhesives, primers and related sundries. The company's product line also includes surface-finishing hand tools and wallcovering application materials.

Roman Decorating is a manufacturer of wallcovering adhesives sold under the Professional™ and Golden Harvest™ brands. At the time of the sale to The Hyde Group, the company was introducing a commercial texture coating and a post-add mildewcide, and had recently signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Fiberlock™ for proprietary products to the paint market.

ICI has agreed to acquire the Celanese emulsion powders business for $25.5 million in cash. The business recorded sales of €32 million and operating profit of €1.9 million in 2004, has about 50 employees, and is based in Frankfurt, Germany. The value of the gross assets being acquired is €11 million.

ICI is one of the world's major specialty products and paints businesses. The Group's four principal activities are National Starch, Quest, Uniqema and ICI Paints, which together account for more than 90% of ICI's sales.

Ideal Manufacturing & Sales Corp., announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, Crystal City, LLC, acquired the assets of Neupak, Inc., from the American Bank of St. Paul, Minn. Neupak, Inc., St. Paul, had used the acquired assets to supply liquid filling equipment, case packers, container de-nesting equipment, robotic palletizers and conveyor systems to the paint and coatings as well as other industries. Ideal will continue to manufacture and sell products formerly offered by Neupak, Inc., as the Neupak Division.

International Specialty Products Inc. (ISP) announced that it has acquired the 1,4-butanediol (BDO) operations of BP Amoco Chemical Co., an indirect subsidiary of BP plc. As part of this acquisition, ISP acquired BP's world-class BDO production facility located within BP's Lima, Ohio, petrochemicals complex.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s private equity arm, JPMorgan Partners, said it would buy PQ Corp., a privately held chemicals company. JPMorgan declined to disclose terms of the deal. PQ's main product is silicates, glassy materials used in highway paint among other uses.

Major Japanese paint manufacturer, Kansai, has initiated the process to hike its equity stake in the second-largest Indian paint company, Goodlass Nerolac, by 15%. Kansai has applied for a green signal from the government to raise its equity holding. Kansai already holds 64.5% in Goodlass Nerolac.

Goodlass Nerolac is the largest player in the booming industrial paints segment, and with close to 45% market share, it dominates that category of paints, which includes automobile paints. In the decorative paints segment, which is a bigger category, it is behind Asian Paints. Unlike other paint companies, Nerolac has an equal mix of decorative and industrial paints.

LANSCO COLORS has acquired International Color & Chemical (ICC), South San Francisco, Calif., for an undisclosed sum of money. LANSCO COLORS is a 75-year-old privately held company with a broad range of organic and inorganic pigments that are sold to the coatings, plastics and ink industries. LANSCO COLORS is the leading supplier of pigments from Asia to the NAFTA market.

ICC is a privately held company with products for the flexographic ink industry.

Lord Corp. has acquired L/T Technologies L.L.C., a joint-venture business of Lord Corp. and Treffert GmbH and Co. L/T Technologies is based in Cary, N.C., near Lord Corp.'s headquarters. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

Lord Corp. said L/T Technologies will remain the exclusive licensee representing North, Central and South America for the Treffert Group and its wood-finishing technology.

L/T Technologies specializes in the manufacture of coatings for printed composite boards, hardwood flooring, linear profiles and door skins, and furniture foils.

Lyondell Chemical Company completed its acquisition of Millennium Chemicals Inc. The transaction creates North America's third-largest independent, publicly traded chemical company. Based on chemical sales, Lyondell is now the world's seventh-largest independent chemical company.

The company will operate as Lyondell Chemical Company with headquarters in Houston. With the completion of the transaction, both Millennium and Equistar Chemicals are now wholly owned subsidiaries of Lyondell.

Malvern Instruments Ltd., a leading supplier of analytical solutions for particle and rheological characterization, and PerkinElmer, Inc., Boston, a leading provider of drug discovery, life-science research and analytical solutions, have announced a collaborative sales agreement that will offer customers in North America a complete solution for their rheology and thermal-analysis needs.

The agreement brings together products from both companies for customers in the area of material characterization. Malvern Instruments provides a full range of rotational and capillary rheometers for rheological testing. PerkinElmer states that it is the leader in high-sensitivity thermal-analysis instrumentation and the only company that offers a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with the ability to perform conventional DSC, modulated-temperature DSC and HyperDSC®.

MeadWestvaco Corporation's Specialty Chemicals Division plans to form a manufacturing and marketing joint venture company with Fujian Shaxian Songchuan Chemical Industry (SSCI). The joint venture will expand SSCI's current output of tall oil derivatives primarily for sale in the Chinese and Asia Pacific markets and will be known as MWV (Shaxian) Pine Chemicals Company Limited.

The new company will be the largest primary processor of crude tall oil in China and is expected to expand tall oil fractionation capacity to supply the developing demand for these products in the Asia Pacific market.

Michelman Inc. acquired the assets of the former joint-venture business Proman Coatings Ltd., including the venture's waterborne coatings technology. Michelman said Proman Coatings would continue as a small-lots agent and distributor for Michelman Performance Coatings in the U.K.

Michelman has acquired the 50% interest in Michelman Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. held by Drex-Chem Industries Pte. Ltd. Michelman Asia-Pacific, which opened in 1997 in Singapore as a 50/50 joint venture between Michelman and Drex-Chem Industries, established a regional manufacturing facility for Michelman performance additives and coatings.

Northwest Coatings LLC, has acquired the stock of Greensboro, N.C.-based Actinic, Inc. Actinic is a leading developer and manufacturer of UV- and EB-curable coatings and adhesives for the graphic arts and industrial markets.

Phoseon Technology has entered into a technology evaluation and development agreement with Spectra to exploit solid-state UV-light sources for the industrial printing market. Based in Lebanon, N.H., Spectra is a leading developer and manufacturer of drop-on-demand (DOD) piezoelectric (PZT) ink-jet heads for the printing of inks and deposition of fluids and materials, with a dominant position in the UV ink-jet market. The agreement allows both parties to explore the possibility of providing Phoseon's patented solid-state UV-light-source technology to the UV ink-jet market for curing in many potential forms.

Pira International, a provider of Ciba® Expert Services, has expanded its global-services offering through the addition of Intertech Corporation's conferences and publications business. The acquisition enables Pira to develop its global information-services offering and to become one of the world's leading providers of technical conferences with more than 60 events held across the United States, Europe and Asia each year.

PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, and Kansai Paint of Japan announced plans to launch an automotive-coatings alliance that will focus on sales to the global OEM market. The joint venture, to be known as PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes (PKAF), has established legal entities in the United States and the U.K., with registration certification initiated in Canada, Mexico, France and Japan.

The North American and European joint ventures will be owned 60% by PPG and 40% by Kansai, with head offices to be based in Troy, Mich., for North America and Birmingham, U.K., for Europe. The joint venture in Japan will be 50% owned by both PPG and Kansai.

The Protech Chemicals Group, based in Montreal, has acquired the Belgium-based powder-coatings manufacturer Oxyplast N.V. Financial terms were not announced.

Oxyplast, launched in the 1960s, is considered a pioneer in the powder-coatings industry, and manufactures and markets products worldwide through a network of 20 licensees.

Protech said it is one of the world's major powder-coatings producers, with four manufacturing facilities and customers worldwide.

Raabe Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quest Specialty Chemicals, Inc., has acquired Foxcolor Inc., located in Oshkosh, Wis. Raabe is a leading manufacturer of branded custom-matched touch-up paint and a provider of private-label aerosol paint-filling services. Raabe's touch-up products consist of ready-to-apply paints that closely match original-equipment coatings and are used to repair the surfaces of industrial and commercial products along all points of the supply chain.

Reichhold's executive management team has reached an agreement with Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc., (DIC) for a management buyout. Reichhold has been the wholly owned subsidiary of DIC since 1987. Under the terms of the agreement, although DIC will retain the Austrian coatings operations, both DIC and Reichhold will be free to continue to independently supply the worldwide coatings markets.

Rockwood Holdings, Inc., has reached an agreement to acquire the rheological additives and carbonless developers businesses of Süd-Chemie AG, Munich, Germany. Sales generated by the Süd-Chemie businesses are approximately $50 million on an annual basis.

Both businesses will be incorporated into Rockwood's Clay Additives business unit, which is part of its Performance Additives segment that includes Southern Clay Products, Inc., Gonzales, Texas, and Rockwood Additives Ltd., Widnes, U.K.

Rockwood Specialties Group Inc.'s Rockwood Pigments (UK) Ltd. subsidiary completed the acquisition of the Pigments and Dispersions business of Johnson Matthey plc for approximately $50 million. The acquired business is a supplier of transparent iron oxide pigments and dispersions, color concentrates and complex inorganic color pigments used in coatings, plastics, building materials and printing ink.

Rockwood's Pigments Division, based in Beltsville, Md., is a major global supplier of synthetic iron oxide pigments used in the coatings, plastics, construction and specialties markets.

The Savogran Co., a producer of paint and varnish removers and cleaning and patching compounds, acquired the assets of SCL Sterling-Clark-Lurton Corp. SCL is a supplier of solvents, thinners, cleaners, glazing compounds and specialty coatings.

Savogran, founded in 1875 and headquartered in Norwood, Mass., is an employee-owned company that manufactures and markets allied paint products for do-it-yourself and professional use.

SDC Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of functional surface technologies, coatings and materials based in Anaheim, Calif., acquired 100 percent of Nippon Arc Co. Ltd. Nippon Arc, based in Anageseki, Japan, was established in 1989 as a joint venture of SDC Technologies and Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd. of Japan.

SDC Technologies is a manufacturer of proprietary, specialty functional coatings systems for application to plastic and other materials.

The Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland, completed the acquisitions of Duron Inc. and Paint Sundry Brands Corp. in separate transactions valued at approximately $625 million, including the assumption of certain financial obligations.

Duron, based in Beltsville, Md., is a major regional coatings manufacturer and retailer serving the professional and do-it-yourself (DIY) markets in the Eastern United States, and operates 230 company-owned stores.

Paint Sundry Brands is a supplier of paintbrushes and applicators sold under the Purdy, Bestt Liebco and other brands.

Sico Inc., Longueuil, Quebec, has sold its 50% stake in the Sico-Becker joint venture business to its European partner, Becker Industrie S.A., in a move Sico said reflects a plan to boost profits and focus on the North American market. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The joint venture was launched in 1998 to develop and sell paint and coatings to the European railway transportation industry.

Sico is reported to be Canada's largest coatings maker, with about 1,000 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The SICPA Group, Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland, acquired the liquid-crystal pigment business of Munich-based Wacker-Chemie GmbH. The purchase includes the know-how for applications in the security printing, engraving, industrial and decoration sectors, along with the accompanying production systems, patent and brand name rights to HELICONE and POLARSHIFT. In addition, the employees of the unit are transferring from WACKER to SICPA. It was agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

The SmithChem Division of Lansco Colors and Jesse S. Young Co., Inc., have merged their two firms into SmithChem & Young LLC. SmithChem is an 85-year-old privately held distributor of raw materials to the coatings, plastics, inks and concrete industries. The Jesse S. Young Co. is a 50-year-old distributor of both raw materials and equipment to the same industries.

Tikkurila Oy, the paint and coatings business of Finland-based Kemira Oyj, announced plans to acquire a 51% stake in Kolorit Paints, based in Kiev, Ukraine. Kolorit manufactures waterborne varnishes and paint, and has annual sales of approximately $2 million (U.S.). The Tikkurila Group is a major coatings producer in Northern and Eastern Europe, with annual sales of €440 million and 2,300 employees. The company operates production facilities in eight countries, and primarily manufactures architectural paints, industrial wood finishes, metal finishes, protective coatings and coil coatings.

A private investment firm has purchased the assets of U.S. Polymers, Inc., and Accurez Corp. U.S. Polymers and Accurez are privately held companies that manufacture and sell specialty resins for use in the coatings, inks, packaging and personal care industries.

The new company name is U.S. Polymers-Accurez LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, completed the purchase of certain assets of the forest-products business of Associated Chemists Inc., including a product line of edgesealers, surface primers, paints and stains, ink, and specialty chemicals used by manufacturers of oriented strand board and other wood products. Terms were not disclosed. Sales of the acquired business in 2003 were approximately $28 million. The purchase also includes a manufacturing facility in Orangeburg, S.C.

The Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, a leading coatings manufacturer, has completed the acquisition of Samuel Cabot Inc., a privately owned manufacturer of premium-quality exterior and interior stains and finishes.

With annual sales of approximately $60 million, Cabot has been family owned since 1877 and is based in Newburyport, Mass. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Valspar is a $2.5-billion global leader in the paint and coatings industry, with a broad range of products including industrial, architectural, packaging, automotive refinish and floor coatings, and specialty polymers and colorants.

Wacker Chemie GmbH announced an agreement to sell its ADDID surface coating additives business to Degussa AG's Oligomers & Silicones business unit. Terms were not disclosed.

Degussa's Tego Coating & Ink Additives business, based in Essen, Germany, assumed exclusive worldwide brand and distribution rights to the ADDID additives business. The products will be marketed under the Tego ADDID brand name.

Zinsser Co. Inc., Somerset, N.J., completed the acquisition of OKON Inc., a company regarded as a pioneer in the development of water-based sealer technology for concrete, masonry and wood.

Based in Denver, the company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Rentech, Inc., a Colorado-based intellectual property company that owns and licenses a proprietary and patented process that converts synthesis gas into liquid fuels.

Zinsser manufactures paint primers, wallcovering installation and removal products, shellac-based wood finishes, and mold- and mildew-resistant coatings.