The
last few years have also seen the introduction of “smart” technologies, ones
that have intelligent features – for example color-changing inks and coatings,
which are active rather than passive techniques.
A
couple of months ago, Ford announced that it was closing one of its Cleveland
casting plants and furloughing one of the two famous Cleveland engine plants
for a year.
In
today’s world I think we are sometimes overwhelmed and taken over by the spin
and the buzz words – nano-anything, ‘smart’, sustainability, and of course
‘green’. I am not opposed to these terms – they are good – but I am opposed to
their inaccurate use, to the hype that is sometimes associated and not
warranted, and to their exploitive overuse.
Due to the high chemical
stability, low price, excellent balance of physical properties, possible
recycling, etc., the amount of polypropylene (PP) and thermoplastic olefin
(TPO) consumed by automotive parts, household electrical appliances and the
molded general goods businesses continues to increase.
An increasing number of
manufacturers are making the switch to prepainted metal because of its
aesthetic, cost, performance and environmental benefits.
Kemira
Coatings (Tikkurila), which is responsible for Kemira’s paints and coatings
business, has prepared a merger plan in which Tikkurila Paints Oy and Tikkurila
Coatings Oy will merge into their parent company, Tikkurila Oy.
Syrgis
Performance Products has announced the acquisition of the organic peroxides
business from Norac Inc., a specialty chemical company with annual revenue of
more than $50 million.
H.B.
Fuller Co. has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell the
entire stake in its automotive joint venture to the principal joint venture
partner, EMS CHEMIE Holding AG of Switzerland, for a purchase price of $80
million.
Atlas
Material Testing Technology LLC has finalized an agreement to sell a majority
stake in the company to Industrial Growth Partners (IGP), a specialized
investment firm focused on middle-market industrial manufacturing and
manufacturing services businesses.
TA Instruments Inc. announced the acquisition of
Calorimetry Sciences Corp. (CSC), Lindon, UT, a manufacturer of
microcalorimeters for high-performance heat-flow and heat-capacity measurements
primarily used in the life sciences industry.
Dow
Epoxy, a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Co. (Dow), announced the
signing of definitive agreements to acquire UPPC AG in Germany, and POLY-CARB
Inc. and GNS Technologies in the United States.
Huron
Capital Partners LLC has announced that through its portfolio company, Quest
Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (Quest), it has acquired Zolatone Automotive
(Zolatone).
Specialty chemicals supplier Cognis announced that it
has invited mergers and acquisitions specialist Lincoln International to
conduct a review of the strategic options for its Pulcra Chemicals subsidiary.
In
a continued effort to consolidate its portfolio, LANXESS has divested its
wholly owned subsidiary, Borchers GmbH, located in Langenfeld, Germany, to OM
Group Inc. (OMG) of Cleveland.
The
Dow Chemical Co. announced that it will acquire Danish company Edulan A/S, an
independent polyurethane (PU) systems house specializing in rigid foam and
elastomer technologies.
X-Rite Inc., a provider of color solutions for
measuring, formulating, matching and simulating color, announced that it has
entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Pantone Inc., for $180 million.
Rohm and Haas Company inaugurated its second acrylic
emulsions facility in India, located in the Sriperambudur industrial area of
Tamil Nadu in South India.
The
7th China International Coating, Surface Finishing, Painting &
Electroplating Exhibition was held at Guangzhou International Convention and
Exhibition Center from June 21-23.
Solutia
Inc. has appointed Northspec Chemicals Corp. as its Canadian Specialty
Additives distribution sales representative for Butvar® polyvinyl
butyral (PVB) resins and aqueous dispersions and for Solusolv™ 2075,
an ultra-low VOC coalescing aid. Northspec will stock Butvar PVB resins and
Solusolv 2075 at its warehouse in Toronto.
Thermo
Fisher Scientific Inc. has signed an agreement with Edax, a business unit of
the Ametek Materials Analysis Division, to distribute its Electron Backscatter
Diffraction (EBSD) Systems.
Demand in the United States for color pigments,
including inorganic, organic and specialty types, is forecast to increase 4.4
percent per year to $3.8 billion in 2011.
If
next year’s color palette is any indication, the world is getting smaller.
Global colors are the trend-setting style for 2008 and a top choice, says
architectural paint brand PARA Paints.
RadTech,
the association for ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) curing technology,
has announced a new name for its biannual trade show and conference.
Responding
to demand from international suppliers and investors, LKM-Press Publishing
House has completed a study of the Russian paint industry and the market for
coating materials.
The American Coatings Show (ACS) and Conference, an
all-new exhibition and conference for the coatings industry, will be held June
2-5, 2008, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC.
Akzo
Nobel has been ranked as the chemicals industry leader on the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI), recognizing the company’s ongoing
commitment to improving its social responsibility performance.
BNP Media, the publishing company for PCI Magazine,
has announced the acquisition of the Professional Services Division of Ascend
Media, which includes the Food, Beverage and Packaging Group, and the Gaming
Group of magazines, conferences, websites and events.
Dow Polyurethanes, a business group of The Dow
Chemical Co., will add 130 million pounds, or approximately 59 kilotons per
annum (KTA), of specialty-mix polyols capability at its manufacturing facility
in Freeport, TX.
Dow Polyurethanes, a business group of The Dow
Chemical Company, will move forward with the detailed engineering phase of the
nameplate capacity expansion of its polyols plant in Terneuzen, the
Netherlands.
Eastman
Chemical Middelburg B.V. has installed a new boiler next to its incinerator
with the goal of realizing considerable energy and environmental savings.
Micro C-Series eccentric disc pumps deliver
increased profitability and lower ongoing maintenance costs in the transfer of
fine chemicals due to their sealless technology and gentle handling
capabilities.
The HSXP series Turbo Pump
blade has serrated teeth and also includes alternating fins in the center of
the impeller to help pump the material through the blade.
