At an inauguration ceremony held in early spring in Newport, Del., Ciba Specialty Chemicals reinforced its dedication to the coatings industry in the NAFTA region by opening a new technical center. The center specializes in enhanced effects for coatings, including coloration, stabilization and processing effects. The new laboratories are a key part of a network of Ciba facilities supporting customers and new product developments around the world. The facility consolidates the additives for coatings expertise previously located at Ciba's Tarrytown, N.Y., site with its pigments and EFKA additives expertise located in Newport, Del.

Giordano Righini, global head of business line coatings, says, "The opening of this new facility with state-of-the-art laboratories will allow us to offer our customers further enhanced technical and business support. The coatings laboratories will benefit from synergies resulting from their location on the same site as Ciba Specialty Chemicals' inks and imaging, and colorants for plastics and fiber applications, as well as the Color Services business unit, which offers unique color matching services to the industry."