The Lubrizol Corp. (Wickliffe, OH) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Noveon International Inc. (Cleveland), a supplier of coatings resins and other specialty chemicals, in a transaction valued at $1.84 billion. The acquisition, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close within three months. The deal would create a company with about $3.2 billion in combined annual sales. Lubrizol says Noveon would become a wholly owned subsidiary following completion of the acquisition.

BASF Coatings (Mount Olive, NJ) says it plans to expand coil-coatings operations in China with the addition of production capabilities in Shanghai. The company currently maintains sales, marketing and technical-service functions in China. In 2003, BASF opened a coil-coatings technical-service laboratory in Shanghai, but coatings products are imported from Germany.

Col-Met Spray Booths (Rockwall, TX) has moved to a state-of-the-art production facility in suburban Dallas. This is the third major expansion for the company. Manufacturing space has increased from 45,000 to 125,000 square feet, and the batch-type powder coating operation will be replaced with an automated conveyor system, allowing productivity to nearly triple for a single shift.