Chemical Week articles from January 2008

Chemical Week archives from January 2008

CW75 index 8.
January 28, 2008... CW75 Index * JANUARY 22 230.16 WEEK AGO 255.29 QUARTER AGO 238.01 YEAR AGO 190.79

Are things different this time?(viewpoint)
January 28, 2008... The swoon in global equity prices last week, which hit chemical makers particularly hard, appears to be a rejection of the notion of "decoupling," the idea that faster-growing emerging economies can sustain global growth in the face of a U.S....

Eastman's results increase despite high raw material costs.(Financial report)
January 28, 2008... Eastman Chemical reported net income for the fourth quarter of $98 million ($1.22/share), up 3.3% compared to the year-ago quarter, on sales up 9%, to $1.7 billion. Eastman attributes the increase in earnings to higher selling prices, which...

ConocoPhillips posts sharp decline in chemical earnings.(Financial report)
January 28, 2008... ConocoPhillips' chemical operations, which includes a 50% interest in Chevron Phillips Chemical, reported fourth-quarter income before income taxes of $20 million, compared to $128 million in the year-ago quarter. Including a one-time tax...

ACC calls for industry incentives in U.S. stimulus plan ...(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. government's planned economic stimulus package announced last week should include incentives for energy efficiency, investments in plant equipment, and R&D tax credits, ACC says. ACC recommends including...

... Consolidates service providers.(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... ACC says it has consolidated certain outside service providers, primarily those performing legal and communication services, to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. ACC says it has reduced the number of law firms by 70%, which will result...

Monsanto sells butachlor and alachlor weed control businesses.(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Monsanto says it has entered into agreements to sell its butachlor and alachlor herbicide businesses to Sinochem International Corp. (Shanghai), for an undisclosed sum. Under terms of the agreements, Sinochem will purchase the assets...

DuPont boosts corn seed capacity.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... DuPont says it will invest $13 million to increase corn seed production capacity by 20% at its York, NE facility. The investment includes adding a fifth dryer and doubling the current bulk storage capacity at the York site. DuPont says it...

Oxea boosts oxo alcohols in Texas.(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Oxea (Oberhausen, Germany) says it will boost production capacity of propionaldehyde and n-propanol by 10% at its Bay City, TX facility. The investment amount was not disclosed, but a company representative said it was a "low-capital capacity...

Cabot Micro okays share repurchase.(Cabot Microelectronics )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Cabot Microelectronics says its board of directors has approved a $75 million share repurchase program. Under the program, repurchases will be made "from time to time, depending on market conditions, in open market transactions." The program...

Carmel Olefins acquires PP capacity.(polypropylene)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Carmel Olefins (Haifa, Israel), a 50-50 joint venture of Israel Petrochemical Enterprises and Oil Refineries (ORL; Haifa), and Israel Petrochemical Enterprises (IPE), says it has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Domo's (Gent-Zwijnaarde,...

Evonik boosts [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] expansion.(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Evonik says it has increased capacity at its Barra do Riacho, Brazil hydrogen peroxide ([H.sub.2][O.sub.2]) plant by about 16%, to 70,000 tons/year, through the installation of a proprietary process technology. Evonik says capacity can be...

BASF Plant Science seals China cooperation and license agreement.(National Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BASF says its BASF Plant Science unit and the National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS; Beijing) have entered a biotechnology cooperation and licensing agreement. It is the first such agreement for BASF...

Weak demand dents Sabic's fourth-quarter profits ...(Saudi Basic Industries Corp. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Sabic reported a 12% increase in fourth-quarter 2007 net profits, to SR6.87 billion ($1.8 billion), compared with the fourth quarter of 2006. Sales were not disclosed. The earnings figure includes results from Sabic Innovative Plastics, the...

... Kemira's earnings 'disappoint'.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Kemira says its fourth-quarter earnings "fell far short from expectations," causing full-year 2007 operating profits to fall below the company's previous earnings estimates. Kemira will publish its financial results on February 6. Operating...

Aker Kvaerner to change name to Aker Solutions; appoints new CEO.(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Aker Kvaerner (Oslo), a leading provider of engineering and construction services, technology products, and integrated solutions, will propose to change the company's name to Aker Solutions at its next annual meeting. The company says that...

Ineos plans French PE expansion.(polyethylene)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Ineos is considering expanding high-density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity at Sarralbe, France from 220,000 m.t./ year, to 350,000 m.t./year, says French journal Chimie Pharma Hebdo, citing a report by local authorities confirmed by the...

Korea fines firms for PE price fixing.(polyethylene)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC; Seoul) has slapped combined fines of won54.17 billion ($57 million) on six Korean companies for conspiring to fix prices of low-density polyethylene (PE) and linear low-density PE between 1994 and 2005. The...

Kuraray quits linalool business.(Kuraray Chemical Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Kuraray (Tokyo) says it will cease production of linalool and derivatives, closing facilities at Niigata, Japan at the end of March. "These products have become unprofitable due to remarkable rises of raw material prices and tough...

Chemicals targeted by new EU climate change proposals.(top of the week)
January 28, 2008... The European Commission has announced a sweep of new proposals to reduce global warming gas (GWG) emissions across the European Union (EU), under which the heaviest polluters would bear the biggest financial responsibility. The proposals also...

Gases firms report strong quarter.(top of the week)
January 28, 2008... Industrial gases producers had a strong fourth quarter and beat analysts' earnings estimates. Praxair reported net income up 17%, to $316 million (98 cts/share), on sales up 19%, to $2.5 billion. Energy and manufacturing markets drove sales...

International markets, higher prices drive earnings growth.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Financial report)
January 28, 2008... Most early reporting North American basic and diversified chemical companies posted improved fourth-quarter 2007 profits, despite weak domestic markets. Strong volumes, especially in overseas markets, and improved selling prices lifted...

Praxair expands coating capacity at two sites.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Praxair Surface Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Praxair Surface Technologies (PST; Indianapolis), a wholly owned subsidiary of Praxair, says it will expand capacity for advanced coatings at its Charlotte, NC and Schluechtern, Germany plants. The multimillion-dollar investment will be...

Credit market turmoil hampers Solutia bankruptcy exit.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
January 28, 2008... Solutia says it was not be able to emerge from bankruptcy on January 25 as originally planned because its lenders said they could not arrange the necessary financing package. The lenders cite "continuing conditions in the credit markets,"...

OM Group aims to more than double sales in 2010.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(revenue report)(Financial report)
January 28, 2008... OM Group (OMG) says it will continue I to focus on new product development and "tactical and transformational" acquisitions to reach a 2010 sales growth target of about $2 billion-$4 billion, Stephen Dunmead, v.p. and general...

House committee passes bill to expand chemical security law.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
January 28, 2008... A U.S. House of Representatives panel unanimously passed a bill last week that would make current plant security laws permanent, and add controversial new requirements including the consideration of inherently safer technologies (ISTs). The...

Dow invests in alternative feedstock R&D.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
January 28, 2008... Dow Chemical says it has awarded Cardiff University (Cardiff, UK) and Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) more than $6.4 million in grants to develop technologies to produce chemical intermediates from the "underutilized feedstock"...

Apollo Management to sell some Huntsman businesses?(EUROPE/MIDEAST)
January 28, 2008... Private equity firm Apollo Management (New York), the prospective owner of Huntsman Corp., is considering selling two of Huntsman's businesses, sources tell CW. Apollo is likely to dispose of Tioxide, Huntsman's titanium dioxide (Ti[O.sub.2])...

Bayer fined again for fixing rubber prices.(EUROPE/MIDEAST)
January 28, 2008... The European Commission has fined Bayer and Zeon (Tokyo) a combined 34 million [euro] ($50 million) for conspiring to fix the price of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) between 2000 and 2002. Bayer was fined 28.87 million [euro] and Zeon 5.36...

Mitsubishi ethylene plant remains shut following fatal accident.(ASIA/PACIFIC)(Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.)
January 28, 2008... Mitsubishi Chemical says it has still not identified the cause of a fire that broke out at the company's No. 2 ethylene plant at Kashima, Japan on December 21, 2007, killing four workers. Investigations by the local police and fire...

Borouge scraps propylene and cumene-phenol plans.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Borouge (Abu Dhabi), a 60-40 joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Borealis, has scrapped plans to diversify its portfolio by making new products. The company had been studying the possibility of moving into basic...

LyondellBasell licenses PP technology to PetroChina.(new construction projects)(polypropylene)(PetroChina Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... LyondellBasell says it has agreed to license its Spherizone technology to PetroChina Daqing Refining & Chemical Co. for a 300,000m.t./year polypropylene (PP) plant to be built at Daqing, China. Completion is scheduled for 2010. Spherizone PP...

Toyo lands Indonesian refinery propylene contract.(new construction projects)(Toyo Engineering )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Toyo Engineering says that together with PT Rekayasa Industri, Indonesia's state-owned engineering company, it has received a $300-million, lump sum turnkey contract to build a residue catalytic cracking off-gas-to-propylene plant for...

Shaw supplies two ABS plants to China.(new construction projects)(acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)(Tianjin Dagu Chemical Industry)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... The Shaw Group says it has been awarded a contract to provide technology, engineering, and procurement services for two 200,000-m.t./year acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plants for Tianjin Dagu Chemical Industry at Tianjin, China. Shaw...

BorsodChem speeds MDI expansion plans.(new construction projects)(methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... BorsodChem (Kazincbarcika, Hungary) says it has made "significant advances" in developing methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) manufacturing technologies under an inhouse R&D program, and that the company is ready to start...

BP builds another acetic unit in China; Celanese expands.(new construction projects)(British Petroleum Company PLC)
January 28, 2008... BP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sinopec to invest jointly in a 650,000-m.t./year acetic acid plant at Chongqing, China. The plant will be built by the companies' Yangtze River Acetyls Co. (Yaraco; Chongqing) joint...

Soaps & detergents: producers race to lower costs and go green.(Cover story)
January 28, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pricing pressures, caused mainly by steep rises in costs of energy, transportation, and raw materials, continue to plague the soaps and detergents industry, prompting raw material suppliers to work more closely...

Q&A: Ernie Rosenberg SDA to shift focus to Asia/Pacific.(dialogue with Ernie Rosenberg)(Interview)
January 28, 2008... CW recently conducted an interview with Ernie Rosenberg, SDA president and CEO, who highlighted SDA's 2007 accomplishments and the association's plans for the future. SDA holds it annual meeting at Boca Raton, FL this week. Q. Can you...

Major report forecasts growth in pharma outsourcing.(SERVICES)
January 28, 2008... There will be a significant increase in outsourcing of pharmaceutical services from the U.S. to overseas locations in the year ahead, according to a recently published report by Health Industry Insights, part of market research group IDC...

Merck KGaA buys ionic liquids firm.(M&A)
January 28, 2008... Merck KGaA says it acquired ionic liquids technology company Solvent Innovation (Cologne, Germany) late last year. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Merck has been involved in ionic liquids research for the past five...

New head of BASF custom synthesis.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(appointment of Folker Ruchatz )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BASF says it has appointed Folker Ruchatz head of the company's global custom synthesis business, which forms part of BASF's pharma ingredients and services division. Ruchatz has also been appointed managing...

Akrimax buys plant from Wyeth.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(Akrimax Pharmaceuticals )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Akrimax Pharmaceuticals (Cranford, NJ), a branded pharmaceuticals firm, says it has acquired a drug manufacturing and packaging plant at Rouses Point, NY from Wyeth (Madison, NJ). Financial details were not disclosed.

Minapharm and Artes collaborate.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(Rhein Minapharm Biogenetics partnership with Artes Biotechnology )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Rhein Minapharm Biogenetics (Cairo) says it will collaborate with Artes Biotechnology (Langenfeld, Germany) to jointly develop three therapeutic proteins. Financial details were not disclosed. The firms also will share some manufacturing and...

Suppliers consolidate in rapidly growing sector.(WATER TREATMENT)
January 28, 2008... Consolidation in the $29-billion global water treatment market shows no signs of abating with three deals announced in as many weeks. These deals follow several other acquisitions and supplier investments in the last year in the global...

Danisco to buy U.K. emulsifier maker.(FOOD INGREDIENTS)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Danisco says it has signed an agreement to buy emulsifier producer Abitec (Northampton, U.K.) from Associated British Foods (London). Danisco says the deal is part of a plan to bolster growth in its ingredients business. Financial terms of...

Brenntag scoops up Schoofs.(specialties)(Brenntag acquires Schoofs)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Brenntag says it has acquired specialty chemical distributor Schoofs (Moraga, CA), for an undisclosed sum. Schoofs will join Brenntag Specialties, with its process chemical lines serving the oil and gas industry consolidated into Brenntag's...

Specialty price watch.(specialties)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Rhodia says it will raise prices for hexamethylene di-isocyanate and isophore di-isocyanate monomers and derivatives by 7%-9%, effective February 1 * Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it will raise prices globally for its personal care polymers and...

Chlor-alkali strong in Europe in 2007.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... European chlorine production was 10.61 million tons in 2007, 2.9% higher than the previous year, says Euro Chlor (Brussels). Capacity utilization rates in 2007 averaged 85%, compared with an average of 83% in 2006. Germany remained Europe's...

Study suggests ETBE use to grow.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Ethyl tertiary butyl ether )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) will replace methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as an octane booster in gasoline, says Eldib Engineering and Research (Berkley Heights, NJ). The study suggests that demand for MTBE will decline by more than...

Novapex has nominated a 60 [euro]/ton price increase on acetone across Europe, effective immediately.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)
January 28, 2008... Novapex has nominated a 60[e]/ton price increase on acetone across Europe, effective immediately.

Basell says it will increase polypropylene prices by 2 cts/lb in North America, effective February 1.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)
January 28, 2008... Basell says it will increase polypropylene prices by 2 cts/lb in North America, effective February 1. (basic chemicals & plastics

Dow Chemical says it will raise the off-list price by 3 cts/lb for Isopropanol in North America.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)
January 28, 2008... Dow Chemical says it will raise the off-list price by 3 cts/lb for Isopropanol in North America, effective February 1 or as contracts allow.

Great Salt Lake Minerals says it will raise prices by $120/ton on all shipments for sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer products.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)
January 28, 2008... Great Salt Lake Minerals says it will raise prices by $120/ton on all shipments for sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer products, effective February 11.

Market keeps eye on downstream demand amid recession concerns.(PLASTICS)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... North American commodity resin producers are focused on downstream demand amid concerns that plastics could take a hit if the U.S. economy slides into a recession. The chief concern is that a recession could make consumers price sensitive...

Dow inks deal for Alberta oil sands feedstock.(ETHANE-ETHYLENE)(ow Chemical Co.)(Aux Sable Canada)
January 28, 2008... Dow Chemical and Aux Sable Canada (ASC; Calgary) have entered into an agreement for the sale of ethane and ethylene to Dow from ASC's Heartland Offgas Plant (HOP), which is currently under construction at Fort Saskatchewan, AB. Financial...

CW price report.(COMMENTARY)(Chemical Week)
January 28, 2008... Primary hydrocarbons continued to slide last week, although not as steeply as previous weeks. In the U.S., both ethane and naphtha eased lower by 2 cts/gal, while propane lost 1 ct/gal. Spot ethylene prices lost a penny on easing crude oil...

Senate to take up patent reform legislation.(INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY)
January 28, 2008... The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has passed patent reform legislation and the full Senate may take up the bill as early as next month, sources say. The Senate's bill is similar to legislation passed by the House last September (CW Sept....

U.S. lawmakers probe use of BPA in infant formula containers.(PRODUCT SAFETY)(bisphenol A)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee has asked FDA officials for more information about their decision last November that the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in some canned foods and baby bottles does not warrant regulatory action. The...

Climate worries killed plans for coal-fired plants in 2007.(regulatory)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Environmental groups say concerns about climate change contributed to 59 proposed coal-fired power plants being cancelled or shelved in 2007. The decline in coal-fired power plants concerns the chemical industry because a shift away from...

CW75 stock performance.(Chemical Week)(Statistical table)
January 28, 2008... The CW75 Index fell 9.8% for the week ending January 22. The decline is the biggest one-week drop since the index was launched in January 2003. The CW75's fall was greater than the decline in broader market indexes, including the Morgan...

Meetings.(Calendar)
January 28, 2008... AMERICAS March 1-7 NEW ORLEANS PittCon 2008: 59th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy. Tel: 412 825 3220. www.pittcon.org March 3-5 THE WOODLANDS, TX National Petrochemical and Refiners...

82nd SDA Annual Meeting & Industry Convention.(Soap And Detergent Association)
January 28, 2008... "Going Beyond Green" is the theme of SDA's 82nd Industry Convention. Throughout Convention Week--and throughout 2008--we will showcase how the cleaning products industry and your Association are demonstrating environmental, social and...

SDA in 2007: delivering membership value, industry leadership.(Soap and Detergent Association)
January 28, 2008... With the active support and involvement of many of its members, The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) enjoyed successes on every front in 2007. In legislation, regulation, press coverage and outreach to important constituencies of the...

SDA strengthens in-house technical, advocacy expertise.(SDA ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS)(Soap and Detergent Association)(appointments)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Recent additions to SDA's staff bolstered our regulatory, environmental and advocacy expertise on behalf of our member companies. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dr. Paul DeLeo, Director of Environmental Safety, joined SDA from the U.S. Food...

Florida students teach hand hygiene, garner national award from SDA, CDC.(SDA ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS)
January 28, 2008... The SDA/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national hand hygiene education program, 'Healthy Schools, Healthy People: It's a SNAP," recently honored students at DeLaura Middle School in Satellite Beach, Florida, with the 2007...

SDA report to the membership honored as "Top Internal Publication" by PR News.(SDA ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS)(Soap and Detergent Association)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... SDA's 2006-2007 Report to the, Membership recently won the prestige of the Top Internal Publication" Award in the PR News NonProfit PR Awards competition. SDA and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide accepted the award during a December...

Dow Chemical, P&G, PQ executives welcomed to SDA board in 2007.(SDA IN 2007: COMING ON BOARD)(Procter & Gamble)(Soap and Detergent Association)(appointments)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Executives from Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble and PQ Corporation were elected to The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) Board of Directors throughout 2007 to fill existing vacancies. The recent additions include: * Tony Frencham,...

Lab demand expected to grow despite feedstock pressure, competing products fall short.(MARKET NEWS)(Alkylbenzene)
January 28, 2008... Global demand for LAB will grow at 2.5% per year through 2016, according to a study by chemical consulting firm Colin A. Houston & Associates (CAHA). Growth will be strongest in Eastern Europe, the Mideast, and Africa, averaging 4.4% growth...

BASF launches surfactant system for I&I market.(SUPPLIER UPDATES)(industrial and institutional )(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BASF says it has introduced a new surfactant system pin North America for the industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning products market. The new surfactants line, under the trade name Inoterra, can be used in a...

Cognis' sales, earnings rise across all core business units.(MARKET NEWS)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Cognis reported net income for the first nine months up 16%, to 21 million [euro] ($30.9 million) before special items, on sales up 4%, to 2.65 billion [euro]. Cognis reported an 82-million [euro] loss including special items, compared with...

The three knows of leadership: part one of two.(MARKET NEWS)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... There are thousands of books and articles and over a million items on the web about leadership, so why would we need one more? Because, most people read the books and articles, and then go on about their business, as if nothing ever...

Air Products' Tomadol surfactants: our products, your advantage.(INVESTING IN INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY)(Air Products and Chemicals Inc.)
January 28, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Increasing global demand for environmentally friendly products by consumers and regulators is driving significant reformulation of cleaning products to eliminate nonyl phenol ethoxylates (NPEs), reduce volatile...

Croda tackles pricing pressures, regulatory issues.(SEEKING CLOSER PARTNERSHIPS)
January 28, 2008... The soaps and detergents industry continues to be confronted with high energy, freight, and raw material costs, prompting those on the supplier side to work closer with customers to improve efficiencies and cost savings, suppliers say. The...

P&G announces new leadership appointment.(INVESTING IN INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY)(Patricia A. Woertz)(Procter & Gamble Co.)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Procter & Gamble (P&G) says it has named Patricia A. Woertz to the company's board of directors, effective immediately. Woertz is currently chairman and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland. She has previously held executive positions at Chevron....

Soda ash.
January 28, 2008... PRICES U.S.: $125-$155/ton, fob, 2008 contracts EUROPE: 160 [euro]-185 [euro]/m.t., del, 2007 contracts ASIA: $270-$330/m.t., cfr, spot OUTLOOK Demand in the 47-million m.t. global soda ash market is expected to grow 4%/year...

Demand growth limited in 2008, margins under pressure.(LAB MARKET NEWS)(Brief article)
January 28, 2008... Demand growth for linear alkylbenzene (LAB) and its derivatives is expected to be "pretty limited" this year, with average growth of about 2%, due to the mature markets of North America and Europe, says Mark Quintyn, commercial director at...

SDA highlights 2007 achievements, sees bright outlook for 2008.(Q&A: SDA'S ERNIE ROSENBERG)(Soap And Detergent Association)(Interview)
January 28, 2008... Chemical Week recently conducted an interview with Ernie Rosenberg, SDA president and CEO, who highlighted SDA's 2007 accomplishments and the association's plans for the future. Can you describe what have been SDA's major 2007...

SDA in 2007: the cleaning product industry--front and center.(Soap And Detergent Association)
January 28, 2008... Throughout 2007, SDA offered its members prime networking opportunities and information updates, represented them at industry and educator conferences, and served as the industry's voice to the news media. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SDA...

Emerging strength in 2008?(viewpoint)
January 21, 2008... Efforts by U.S. chemical makers to increase exposure to China and other emerging markets appear to be helping them cope with weakness at home. PPG Industries reported a 30% year-over-year earnings gain last week, and notched 5% volume growth,...

Kraton appoints new CEO.(Kraton Polymers appoints Kevin M. Fogarty)(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... Kraton Polymers has appointed Kevin M. Fogarty as president and CEO. He succeeds George B. Gregory, who has served as Kraton's chief for three and half years. Gregory will continue to serve as an adviser to the company through June 30, Kraton...

Georgia Gulf names CFO.(appointment of Gregory C. Thompson)(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... Georgia Gulf says it has elected Gregory C. Thompson CFO, effective February 29. Thompson is currently senior v.p. and CFO of Invacare (Elyria, OH), a manufacturer of home medical equipment. The company's previous CFO James Matthews took a...

Calgon Carbon restarts plant.(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... Calgon Carbon says it will restart an idle activated carbon plant at Catlettsburg, KY. The company will invest $20 million to start up the 70-million lbs/year unit due onstream in early 2009. "Based on our discussions with approximately 15...

DSM buys resins maker.(DSM acquires Soluol Chemical Company Inc.)(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... DSM says it has acquired high-performance urethane resins producer Soluol (East Providence, RI). Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal includes Soluol's production plant at East Providence, DSM says. Soluol has sales of $20...

Linde upgrades U.S. HCI business.(hydrogen chloride )(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... Linde says it will upgrade its anhydrous hydrogen chloride (HCI) plants at Phoenix and Lovington, NM. The plan includes a 35% capacity expansion at Phoenix, due for completion later this month. Linde has also entered into an agreement to...