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Dow steers course towards specialities
F O C U S
O N
POWDER
Dow steers course towards specialities
Industrialex acquires Coloradobased Compass
Dow Chemical is in the process of transforming itself into a speciality chemicals group following the acquisition of Rohm and Haas. It aims to have 69% of its turnover from performance products. Dow is particularly interested in Rohm and Haas’ electronic materials and coatings. These two business units had sales of $3.8 bn in 2007. Dow estimates that it will make synergistic savings of at least $800 M over a 2-year period. A new performance product business will be managed from Rohm and Haas’ current headquarters in Philadelphia.
Compass Industrial Coatings, a Colorado-based provider of powder, liquid coating and printing services, has been purchased by US firm Industrialex Manufacturing Corp. Compass logged in sales of $1.4 M in 2007.
Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 15 Jul 2008, (431), 1 (in French)
China earthquake halts paint production The 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit the Sichuan Province of China caused the closure of Akzo Nobel’s powder coatings facility and BASF’s concrete chemicals facility, both in Chengdu. In addition, the earthquake caused two chemical plants in Shifang to collapse, triggering an ammonia leak. Other companies opted to stop production for safety reasons. APCJ, Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, Jun 2008, 21 (3), 8
PPG sells automotive glazing activities PPG has sold the majority of its automotive glazing activity to the investment fund KKR for $330 M. This will allow PPG to focus on its coating and speciality chemicals business. The automotive activity employs 4400 people in the US and Canada at 9 sites. The transfer should be completed in 3Q 2008. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 15 Jul 2008, (431), 9 (in French)
SEPTEMBER 2008
European Paint and Resin News, Jun 2008, 46 (6), 7
Jotun shifting powder wing to Pune Paints manufacturer Jotun India Pvt Ltd (Jotun), of Jotun Group, plans to shift its entire powder paint manufacturing division, which manufactures 10,000 tonnes of powder, from Daman to Pune facility, located at Rajnangaon set up at an investment of $25 M. Two lines have been set up in the Pune facility and two more would be shifted out of Daman by end Aug 2008. The commercial production at the Rajnangaon facility began in Jun 2008 and has an installed capacity of 50 M lt of wet paint. The company expects to achieve 100% capacity utilisation by 2013. Jotun, which has 104 operational outlets, plans to add another 30 outlets mainly in the States of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. Business Line, 22 Jul 2008, 15 (203), 3
General meeting of the Federation des Industries des Peintures, Encres, Couleurs, Colles et Adhesifs Some aspects of the General meeting of the Federation des Industries des Peintures, Encres, Couleurs, Colles et Adhesifs (FIPEC) are discussed. Economies in particular countries and in broad terms are considered. It is expected that the market for nanomaterials will grow by 10 times in several years. PPG, USA, has developed its Ceramic Clear using
C OAT I N G S nanotechnology. STO, Germany, has developed its Lotus insulating coating for facades, also using nanotechnology. Double Liaison, Jul 2008, 3 (563), 16-20 (in French)
Rohm and Haas to fund two research projects NaturalNano Inc, manufacturer of advanced nano-materials, announced collaboration with Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas company, leader in speciality materials, to probe the possibility of developing polymers with enhanced properties. Rohm and Haas is giving financial support for two research projects of patented processes of ‘NaturalNano’ with halloysite natural tubes (HNT) to make stronger, lighter and more flexible products. As per NaturalNano, these projects will enlarge the usage of its Pleximer product by enhancing the properties of new polymer systems for use in a range of products including adhesives, coatings, electronics and packaging. By adding HNT to these polymers, NaturalNano and Rohm and Haas will be able to supply the market with advanced materials that could perk up the performance of products used by packaging and building material industries. Chemical Engineering World, Jun 2008, 43 (6), 32
Price and volume increases for AkzoNobel divisions in 2Q 2008 In 2Q 2008 AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings division recorded a 4% price increase and a 3% growth in volume, whereas its Speciality Chemicals division reported an 8% increase in prices and a 5% growth in volume. For Decorative Paints there was a 1% volume growth but no price increase. AkzoNobel believes that high raw material prices will continue in 2009. Het Financieele Dagblad, 29 Jul 2008, (Website: http://www.fd.nl/) (in Dutch)
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O N
POWDER
Dow steers course towards specialities
Industrialex acquires Coloradobased Compass
Dow Chemical is in the process of transforming itself into a speciality chemicals group following the acquisition of Rohm and Haas. It aims to have 69% of its turnover from performance products. Dow is particularly interested in Rohm and Haas’ electronic materials and coatings. These two business units had sales of $3.8 bn in 2007. Dow estimates that it will make synergistic savings of at least $800 M over a 2-year period. A new performance product business will be managed from Rohm and Haas’ current headquarters in Philadelphia.
Compass Industrial Coatings, a Colorado-based provider of powder, liquid coating and printing services, has been purchased by US firm Industrialex Manufacturing Corp. Compass logged in sales of $1.4 M in 2007.
Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 15 Jul 2008, (431), 1 (in French)
China earthquake halts paint production The 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit the Sichuan Province of China caused the closure of Akzo Nobel’s powder coatings facility and BASF’s concrete chemicals facility, both in Chengdu. In addition, the earthquake caused two chemical plants in Shifang to collapse, triggering an ammonia leak. Other companies opted to stop production for safety reasons. APCJ, Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, Jun 2008, 21 (3), 8
PPG sells automotive glazing activities PPG has sold the majority of its automotive glazing activity to the investment fund KKR for $330 M. This will allow PPG to focus on its coating and speciality chemicals business. The automotive activity employs 4400 people in the US and Canada at 9 sites. The transfer should be completed in 3Q 2008. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 15 Jul 2008, (431), 9 (in French)
SEPTEMBER 2008
European Paint and Resin News, Jun 2008, 46 (6), 7
Jotun shifting powder wing to Pune Paints manufacturer Jotun India Pvt Ltd (Jotun), of Jotun Group, plans to shift its entire powder paint manufacturing division, which manufactures 10,000 tonnes of powder, from Daman to Pune facility, located at Rajnangaon set up at an investment of $25 M. Two lines have been set up in the Pune facility and two more would be shifted out of Daman by end Aug 2008. The commercial production at the Rajnangaon facility began in Jun 2008 and has an installed capacity of 50 M lt of wet paint. The company expects to achieve 100% capacity utilisation by 2013. Jotun, which has 104 operational outlets, plans to add another 30 outlets mainly in the States of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. Business Line, 22 Jul 2008, 15 (203), 3
General meeting of the Federation des Industries des Peintures, Encres, Couleurs, Colles et Adhesifs Some aspects of the General meeting of the Federation des Industries des Peintures, Encres, Couleurs, Colles et Adhesifs (FIPEC) are discussed. Economies in particular countries and in broad terms are considered. It is expected that the market for nanomaterials will grow by 10 times in several years. PPG, USA, has developed its Ceramic Clear using
C OAT I N G S nanotechnology. STO, Germany, has developed its Lotus insulating coating for facades, also using nanotechnology. Double Liaison, Jul 2008, 3 (563), 16-20 (in French)
Rohm and Haas to fund two research projects NaturalNano Inc, manufacturer of advanced nano-materials, announced collaboration with Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas company, leader in speciality materials, to probe the possibility of developing polymers with enhanced properties. Rohm and Haas is giving financial support for two research projects of patented processes of ‘NaturalNano’ with halloysite natural tubes (HNT) to make stronger, lighter and more flexible products. As per NaturalNano, these projects will enlarge the usage of its Pleximer product by enhancing the properties of new polymer systems for use in a range of products including adhesives, coatings, electronics and packaging. By adding HNT to these polymers, NaturalNano and Rohm and Haas will be able to supply the market with advanced materials that could perk up the performance of products used by packaging and building material industries. Chemical Engineering World, Jun 2008, 43 (6), 32
Price and volume increases for AkzoNobel divisions in 2Q 2008 In 2Q 2008 AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings division recorded a 4% price increase and a 3% growth in volume, whereas its Speciality Chemicals division reported an 8% increase in prices and a 5% growth in volume. For Decorative Paints there was a 1% volume growth but no price increase. AkzoNobel believes that high raw material prices will continue in 2009. Het Financieele Dagblad, 29 Jul 2008, (Website: http://www.fd.nl/) (in Dutch)
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