People making headlines

Kerr-McGee Corp. named Tom Adams vice president of Chemicals, with responsibility for all aspects of the company's chemical operations. Adams joined Kerr-McGee more than 20 years ago and was most recently vice president and general manager of Kerr-McGee Chemicals L.L.C.'s Pigment Division. Adams succeeds W. Peter Woodward, who has retired. Adams started his career with Kerr-McGee as a reservoir engineer in the Oil & Gas unit and has held a series of management and executive positions. He was named vice president and general manager of the Pigment Division in May of this year.

Steve Bell has joined Holliday Pigments, a supplier of ultramarine blue pigments, as Sales and Marketing director. Bell was formerly Commercial director at Magna Colours, a specialty colorants supplier to the textile and coatings markets. He also has worked for resin supplier Scott Bader.

Gary Fischer has joined Cook Composites and Polymers (CCP) as director of Sales and Marketing for Coatings Resins. Fischer has more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in the chemical industry, and most recently was a national sales manager for BASF Corp.

Jeffery Hasser has joined Eagle Sales Co., St. Louis, as director of R&D, with responsibility for new-product development and product quality assurance. Ron Burge joined the company as Quality manager, with responsibility for managing and maintaining the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system. Hasser has held various laboratory and administrative positions with U.S. Coatings, Carboline Co. and Flint Ink, and was most recently Technical Service manager at U.S. Coatings. Burge was formerly Quality manager with Reichhold Inc. at the company's Valley Park, MO, site, and also was a research chemist with Baker Petrolite. Eagle Sales is a manufacturer and distributor/sales agent of chemicals, containers and equipment.

Jay Kunick has joined BYK-Gardner USA as Regional Sales manager for Michigan and northern Indiana. Kunick is a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University.

Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, Middleboro, MA, has named David Larson Regional Sales manager. Larson is president of Johnson Instrument Sales Inc., a longtime Brookfield sales-representative firm.

Grace Performance Chemicals named Michael S. Richardson Worldwide Quality Assurance manager for the company's Darex business unit, a manufacturer of can and closure sealants and coatings for the packaged-food and beverage markets. Richardson joined Grace in 1996 as Quality manager, and in 1999 was named Worldwide Quality Assurance manager for the company's Fire Protection business.

Resolution Performance Products L.L.C. has named Layle K. Smith president and chief operating officer. Smith was formerly CEO of NxtPhase Corp., a manufacturer of high-voltage digital optical sensors, relays and recorders. He previously held a number of positions with The Dow Chemical Co., including vice president of the company's global specialty chemicals business.

Degussa named Stefan Uhrlandt director of Technical Marketing for the company's Advanced Fillers & Pigments business unit. He will lead the unit's applied technology operations for specialty silica, matting agents and pigment blacks in the NAFTA region. Uhrlandt joined Degussa in 1995 and has held various technical positions, most recently director, Pilot Plants and Product Development and Technical Market manager, Silica & Silicates. Uhrlandt is the author of a number of technical papers and holds several patents. He received Degussa's Advanced Fillers & Pigment Award in 2000 in recognition of his contributions to the business unit.