Chemical Week articles from March 2008

Chemical Week archives from March 2008

CW unveils sustainable chemistry web presence.(viewpoint)(Chemical Week)(www.chemsustainability.com)
March 24, 2008... CW is pleased to announce the launch of www.chemsustainability.com, an online resource dedicated to providing essential information about the chemical industry and the environment. This extension to chemweek.com has been designed to provide...

R&H ups hydroxyalkyl capacity.(Rohm and Haas Co.)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it has increased capacity of hydroxyalkyl monomers at Laporte, TX by more than 25%. "This enables us to meet our existing merchant and captive business, as well as support new customers and market growth," says Peter...

House bill seeks TSCA change.(Toxic Substances Control Act)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... A bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would amend CPA's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to phase out the use of mercury in the manufacture of chlorine and caustic soda, beginning January 1, 2012. Representatives Jan...

Tronox, Exxaro to expand Ti[O.sub.2].(Exxaro Resources )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Tronox and Exxaro Resources (Pretoria, South Africa) say that their boards have approved a previously announced project to expand titanium dioxide (Ti[O.sub.2]) capacity at their Tiwest joint venture plant at Kwinana, Australia. Capital costs...

Braskem converts MTBE line to ETBE.(methyl tert-butyl ether)(ethyl tert-butyl ether)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Braskem says it will invest R$100 million ($57.9 million) to convert its methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) production lines at Camacari, Brazil into ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) units. The conversion is due for completion in 2009, and will...

NACD: DOT should weigh risk level.(National Association of Chemical Distributors)(Department of Transportation)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD; Alexandria, VA) says that the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) bulk loading and unloading regulations for hazardous...

Koch sues DuPont over Invista dispute.
March 24, 2008... Koch Industries' (Wichita, KS) subsidiary Invista has sued DuPont and is seeking more than $800 million in punitive and compensatory damages for alleged regulatory deficiencies associated with plants included in its $4.2-billion purchase of...

Lubrizol plans $200-million additives expansion.(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Lubrizol says it will invest $200 million during the next 10 years to increase its global additives capacity. The investment includes a new manufacturing plant at Tianjin, China and debottlenecking projects at Bayport and Deer Park, TX as...

Perstorp to acquire Rhodia and LyondellBasell isocyanate businesses.(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Perstorp says it has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy the isocyanate businesses of LyondellBasell and Rhodia. The deal includes Rhodia's aliphatic isocyanates unit, which produces a range of intermediates for industrial paints and...

Honeywell specialty materials CEO to retire.
March 24, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Honeywell says that Nance Dicciani, president and CEO of the company's specialty materials business, will retire on April 14. The company has named Andreas Kramvis, currently president/environmental and combustion...

Sibur picks Ineos technology for PP project.(polypropylene)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Sibur (Moscow), a Gazprom subsidiary, has selected Ineos's Innovene process for a previously announced 200,000-m.t./year polypropylene (PP) plant at the Tomsk, Russia complex of Tomskneftekhim, a subsidiary of Sibur. Financial details were...

DSM reports strong start to 2008; raises earnings estimates.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... DSM says it has made a good start to 2008, because firm demand and pricing strength that emerged in most of the company's markets in fourth-quarter 2007 have been sustained. "DSM's strong market positions have enabled it to increase prices,"...

Incitec Pivot makes an offer to acquire Dyno Nobel.
March 24, 2008... Incitec Pivot (Melbourne), Australia's biggest producer and distributor of fertilizers, has made an offer to acquire explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel (Sydney). The cash-and-shares offer, at an "implied offer price" of A$2.80/share, values...

Clariant announces board appointments; chairman steps down.(appointments)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Clariant says its board will propose to elect Dominik Koechlin, Hariolf Kottmann, and Carlo Soave to the board, at the company's annual meeting on April 10. Clariant, meanwhile, plans to appoint Jurg Witmer chairman and Rudolf Wehrli vice...

Connect Chemicals acquires specialties site in Germany.(Connect Chemicals acquires A&O Imaging Solution )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Connect Chemicals (Ratingen, Germany) says it has acquired the production site of A&O Imaging Solution (Vaihingen, Germany), for an undisclosed amount. The Vaihingen site produces specialty chemicals and pharmaceutical ingredients and...

Fire breaks out at Ineos complex.(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... An ethylene leak caused a major fire at Ineos's Cologne, Germany petrochemical complex on March 17. The leak occurred in the main ethylene pipeline at the complex, Ineos says. A nearby acrylonitrile stock tank also caught fire. About 600...

Ferro sells property rights.(Brix Houwelingen Projecten XVIII)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Ferro has announced a buyer and the selling price for its previously announced sale of certain property rights related to the company's porcelain enamel flit manufacturing facility at Rotterdam. Brix Houwelingen Projecten XVIII (Sliedrecht,...

Linde buys Ineos chlorine unit.(Ineos ChlorVinyls)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Ineos ChlorVinyls, an Ineos subsidiary, says it has agreed to sell its packed chlorine business to Linde's BOC subsidiary, for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes packed chlorine production units at Runcorn, U.K. and associated commercial...

Vopak merges barging units.(Vopak mergers with Interstream Barging )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Vopak says it has agreed to merge its Vopak Barging Europe subsidiary with Interstream Barging (Dordrecht, the Netherlands), an existing petroleum products and chemicals barging joint venture between Vopak and Van der Sluijs Groep...

Solutia exits bankruptcy on stronger footing.(top of the week)
March 24, 2008... Solutia ended a four-year bankruptcy journey late last month, ready to capitalize on a more attractive portfolio and improved capital structure, says chairman and CEO Jeffry Quinn. "Bankruptcy allowed us to do things we would have not been...

ADM charges railroads with fixing fuel surcharges.(top of the week)(Archer Daniels Midland)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has sued five major U.S. railroads charging them with fixing fuel surcharges. The suit alleges that the defendants--BNSF, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern (NS), and Union Pacific...

Monsanto boosts full-year outlook.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
March 24, 2008... Monsanto has raised its second-quarter and full-year outlook, citing accelerated penetration of biotech trait technologies for seeds, and strong demand for Roundup brand and other glyphosate-based herbicides. The company expects...

Sherwin-Williams lowers profits forecast.(business & finance news)(revenue report)(Financial report)
March 24, 2008... Sherwin-Williams (SW) has lowered its first-quarter and full-year earnings forecast and plans to cut jobs, citing lower domestic sales and higher raw material costs. SW lowered its first-quarter earnings forecast to 56 cts-61 cts/share, from...

PolyOne expects sales gains ...(business & finance news)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... PolyOne says it expects first-quarter sales to increase 9%-11%, compared to the year-ago period. Sales from the company's specialty chemicals businesses, which include the recently acquired thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounds producer GLS...

... Adds fifth business unit.(business & finance news)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... PolyOne says it has realigned around five business segments, adding Specialty Engineered Materials to its current four-unit structure. The new segment includes the company's North American engineered materials unit, which was previously part...

CMAI voices measured optimism despite downturn.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Chemical Market Associates Inc.)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... It is "only a matter or time" before the global petrochemical market becomes overwhelmed by new capacity, but the downturn will be "fairly mild and short-lived" compared with previous downturns, says Gary Adams, president of CMAI (Houston),...

R&H and Syngenta firm up crop alliance.(business & finance news)
March 24, 2008... Rohm and Haas (R&H) and Syngenta have finalized an agreement to jointly develop and commercialize R&H's Invinsa crop protection technology, currently under development by R&H's AgroFresh unit. The companies signed a letter of intent for the...

Dow and Arch each boost biocide capacity.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
March 24, 2008... Dow Chemical and Arch Chemicals each I have announced plans to expand their respective biocide businesses. The news follows recent announcements by other suppliers, including Lanxess and International Specialty Products (ISP), of increasing...

Cargill and Materia form specialty chemical company.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Elevance Renewable Sciences )
March 24, 2008... Elevance Renewable Sciences (Lisle, IL), a company based on a collaboration between Cargill and catalyst technology developer Materia (Pasadena, CA), has been formed to produce bio-based specialty chemicals. The company says it will begin to...

Schulman mulls possible sale.(business & finance news)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Schulman says it has hired UBS Investment Bank as its financial adviser to explore alternatives including an acquisition, merger, or sale. The company formed a board committee late last year to decide how it should proceed amid declining...

Rhodia sets its sights on Asia.(EUROPE/MIDEAST)
March 24, 2008... Rhodia says it has completed a portfolio restructuring and has set its sights on Asia, particularly China. Growth options are limited in Europe, but China is expected to become the world's largest chemical market by 2015, says Jean-Pierre...

Wacker posts best ever results; polysilicon is the star performer.(EUROPE/MIDEAST)(Wracker Chemie )(Financial report)
March 24, 2008... Wracker Chemie says its 2007 financial results were the best in the company's history and its polysilicon business, which supplies the semiconductor and solar industries, was the star performer. Wacker's ketene-based custom manufacturing...

German ethylene pipeline project delayed.(business & finance news)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Completion of Ethylene Pipeline South (EPS), a previously announced pipeline across southern Germany that will link Ludwigshafen with Munchsmunster and Burghausen, will be delayed by up to one year from an originally scheduled completion date...

Lenzing's profits rise.(business & finance news)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Lenzing reported 2007 preliminary net income up 33%, to 117.6 million [euro] ($183.8 million), on sales up 21%, to 1.26 [euro] billion. Ebitda rose 35%, to 229.3 million [euro]. Increased volumes and selling prices helped lift profits,...

Chemicals boost Tessenderlo.(business & finance news)(Tessenderlo Chemie S.A. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Tessenderlo Group reported fourth-quarter 2007 operating income of 30.7 million [euro] ($47 million), an 18% increase over the year-ago period. Sales rose 6%, to 599 million [euro]. The company cites gains in its chemicals and specialties...

Siam Cement plans cracker, chlor-alkali JV in Vietnam.(ASIA/PACIFIC)(Vietnam Oil and Gas Group)(joint venture)
March 24, 2008... Siam Cement Group (SCG; Bangkok) says it has signed a joint venture agreement with two Vietnamese companies to build Vietnam's first world-scale petrochemical complex. SCG subsidiaries Vina SCG Chemicals (VSCG Chem; Ho Chi Minh City) and Thai...

IFC to invest in Meghmani's chlor-alkali unit.(business & finance news)(International Finance Corp.)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... International Finance Corp. (IFC; Washington), the World Bank's private investment arm, will invest about $31.5 million in Meghmani Organics Ltd.'s (Ahmedabad, India) previously announced $138-million chlor-alkali plant at Dahej, India,...

Competitive advantages with optimum conditions for growth.(A Chemical Week Custom Publication)
March 24, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Shut-downs are a nightmare for Jan van den Berg. Nothing annoys the Managing Director of SABIC Polyolefine more than an interruption to his business activities.The reason is clear: SABIC, the Saudi Arabian parent...

Borealis announces another major venture in Abu Dhabi.(new construction projects)(Abu Dhabi Investment Council)
March 24, 2008... Borealis and International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC; Abu Dhabi) say they have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Investment Council to prepare for the first phase of a project to develop a "chemicals industrial...

BASF and Sinopec seek approval for Nanjing Petchem expansion.(new construction projects)(China Petroleum and Chemical Corp.)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... BASF and Sinopec have submitted for approval by the Chinese government the technical and commercial feasibility study for a previously announced expansion of the companies' BASF-YPC Co. (BYC) joint venture at Nanjing, China. Completion of the...

Dow expands Netherlands polyols capacity.(new construction projects)
March 24, 2008... Dow Chemical says it has broken ground on a previously announced polyols expansion at Terneuzen, the Netherlands. The company says it is on track to complete the 180,000-m.t./year expansion by mid-2009. Financial details were not disclosed....

La Seda breaks ground on Portuguese PTA plant.(new construction projects)(La Seda de Barcelona S.A.)(purified terephthalic acid )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... La Seda de Barcelona has started construction on a previously announced project to build a 700,000-m.t./year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Sines, Portugal. Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates laid the first stone for the...

Second bioethanol unit planned for Vietnam.(new construction projects)(Petrosetco contract with Bronzeoak Ltd to build a bioethanol plant )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Petrosetco (Ho Chi Mirth City) has signed a preliminary agreement with Bronzeoak Ltd. (Caterham, U.K.) to form a 51-49 joint venture that would build a bioethanol plant in Vietnam's Dung Quat Economic Zone. The plant would cost an estimated...

Global petrochemicals: biding time till capacity surge.(Cover story)
March 24, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Massive capacity additions, mainly in the Mideast as well as Asia/Pacific, are expected to drive industry operating rates lower and depress petrochemical margins by next year, analysts say. Mideast capacity "will...

FDA to establish pharma inspection offices in China.(COUNTERFEIT DRUGS)(Food and Drug Administration)
March 24, 2008... The U.S. FDA has announced that it is taking steps to establish quality inspection offices in China covering foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. The move follows numerous health-related incidents in the U.S. in the last year,...

Nycomed to Shift EU API Production to India.(MANUFACTURE)(tive pharmaceutical ingredients)(European Union)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Pharmaceutical firm Nycomed (Zurich) plans to transfer production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from facilities at Linz, Austria and Singen, Germany to the company's Zydus Nycomed (Mumbai) joint venture during the next 3-4...

New EU testing requirements to slow gum imports from India.(FOOD INGREDIENTS)(European Union)
March 24, 2008... Food ingredient suppliers are keeping a close watch on the European II Commission's proposal to tighten import controls on guar gum from India, a move that will likely result in higher gum prices to offset product testing requirements,...

DSM buys UV-curable coating manufacturer.(DIGEST)(ultraviolet)(DSM Desotech )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... DSM Desotech (Elgin, IL), a unit of DSM, says it has acquired ultraviolet (UV)-curable coating producer Polymeric Processes (Houston), for an undisclosed sum. The deal "accelerates" technology and service efforts of Desotech's UVentionT...

Cloverdale paint inks industrial coatings deal.(DIGEST)(Cloverdale Paint acquired Guertin Coatings Sealants and Polymers )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Cloverdale Paint (Surrey, BC) says it has acquired privately held Guertin Coatings Sealants and Polymers (Winnipeg, MB), for an undisclosed sum. Guertin Coatings produces and distributes adhesives and sealants, liquid and powder industrial...

Adco global seals deal with Dolphin.(DIGEST)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Sealant and coating maker Adco Global says it has acquired Dolphin (Toledo, OH), a supplier of custom-formulated adhesives, sealants, and coatings to equipment managers serving the vehicle transport and farm equipment markets. Financial terms...

Honeywell says it has signed a multi-year contract with specialty chemical producer Gong Myoung Technologies.(Distribution Updates)
March 24, 2008... Honeywell says it has signed a multi-year contract with specialty chemical producer Gong Myoung Technologies (GMT; Daejeon, Korea), under which Honeywell will be the exclusive marketer of GMT's waxes in all markets except South Korea

Nalco says it has expanded an agreement with Evonik's Goldschmidt Industrial Specialties.(Distribution Updates)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... * Nalco says it has expanded an agreement with Evonik's Goldschmidt Industrial Specialties, under which Nalco will be the sole distributor of Evonik's tissue additives in Central and South America.

Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it will raise prices for select binders and additives.(Specialty Price Watch)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it will raise prices for select binders and additives in Europe, the Mideast, Russia, and Turkey by 5%, effective April 15 or as contracts allow

Pilot Chemical says it will boost list and off-list prices for surfactants by 1 ct-18 cts/lb.(Specialty Price Watch)
March 24, 2008... * Pilot Chemical says it will boost list and off-list prices for surfactants by 1 ct-18 cts/lb, effective April 15 or as contracts allow

Dow Chemical says it will increase list and off-list prices of its acrylic emulsion products.(Specialty Price Watch)
March 24, 2008... * Dow Chemical says it will increase list and off-list prices of its acrylic emulsion products by 4 cts/wet pound in North America effective April 1.

Dow shutters EG and plans EO capacity increase in netherlands.(POLYURETHANES)
March 24, 2008... Dow Chemical says it will stop producing ethylene glycol (EG) at its Terneuzen, the Netherlands ethylene oxide (EO)/EG production site by year-end. A plant upgrade scheduled to go online in early 2009 will enable a 22% increase in EO...

Converters shoulder rising costs; demand weakens.(PLASTICS)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Rising feedstock and raw material costs are having a delayed effect on resin demand, i as converters have been unable to pass on the entirety of increasing raw material costs down the chain, says Andrea Borruso, senior consultant, SRI...

Westlake unit plans PVC pipe plant.(basic chemicals & plastics)(North American Pipe Inc.)(polyvinyl chloride )(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... North American Pipe (NAP; Houston), the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe business of Westlake Chemical, says it will invest approximately $30 million to build a new PVC pipe plant at Yucca, AZ. The plant will have initial capacity of 120 million...

Methanex cuts Chilean workforce.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Methanex says it has reduced its workforce in Chile by 39 employees, or 15%. The company's methanol production in Chile has been running at 30% capacity since June of last year because of a lack of natural gas supply from Argentina (CW, Sept....

Olin lifts caustic soda force majeure.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Olin says it has lifted a system-wide force majeure for caustic soda but that it will operate under an order-control program. The company said on February 21 it would supply customers with approximately 70% of contracted volumes, after...

Cristal Global says it has increased the price of titanium dioxide products sold in the Asia/Pacific.(Basic Chemical Price Watch)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Cristal Global says it has increased the price of titanium dioxide products sold in the Asia/Pacific region by $120/m.t., effective April 1 or as contracts allow

Reichhold says it will increase prices on all unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins sold in North America.(Basic Chemical Price Watch)
March 24, 2008... * Reichhold says it will increase prices on all unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins sold in North America by 7 cts/lb, effective April 14.

EO-EG.(product: focus)(Ethylene oxide-ethylene glycol )
March 24, 2008... Prices U.S.: 55 cts/lb del March (fiber-grade) EUROPE: 951 [euro]/m.t. del February (fiber-grade) ASIA: $1,260/ton CFR (contract price) Outlook Ethylene oxide-ethylene glycol (EO-EG) markets are headed for an oversupply...

Cw price report.(COMMENTARY)(Chemical Week)
March 24, 2008... COMMENTARY Spot ethylene on the U.S. Gulf Coast rose 5 cts/lb last week on news of producer operating problems. ChevronPhillips Chemical (CPChem) had to shut its Sweeney, TX complex on March 24 because of a compressor failure. CPChem...

Lawmakers probe alleged industry ties to advisory panels.(INDEPENDENT RESEARCH)
March 24, 2008... PA's dismissal of scientist Deborah Rice from an external peer review panel has sparked a Congressional investigation into the agency's scientific review process and how it applies conflict of interest rules. Rice was fired last year from a...

Congressional investigators fault EPA's methods for library closures.(DATA MANAGEMENT)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... EPA's decision to close some of its library services to meet budgetary goals was made without properly ensuring continued library services to staff and the public, according to a recent report by congressional investigators. A moratorium on...

Washington bans phthalates in toys.(regulatory)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Washington state lawmakers have passed. a bill that would ban cadmium, phthalates, and lead in toys sold in the state beginning in 2009. Governor Chris Gregoire (D.) is expected to sign the bill into law, proponents say. The legislation bans...

Safety Board video probes BP blast.(regulatory)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB; Washington) has released a video detailing the cause of the March 2005 BP Texas City, TX blast that killed 15 and injured 180. The video offers "key safety lessons" and is...

Chemical found in raft of 'organic' products.(HEALTH EFFECTS)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... About 46 of more than 100 personal care products marketed as "natural" or "organic" were tested this year and found to contain 1,4-dioxane, a petroleum-derived contaminant that can potentially cause cancer, says the Organic Consumers...

Coskata makes ethanol from garbage and used tires.(BIOFUELS)
March 24, 2008... Renewable energy technology company Coskata (Warrenville, IL) says it has developed a process to make ethanol from practically any renewable source, including household garbage, plant waste, and used tires. The technology addresses several...

Simple bugs churn out next-gen biofuels.(BIOBUTANOL)
March 24, 2008... Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have genetically engineered e. coli to produce high-octane biofuels, including isobutanol and other branched-chain higher alcohols, from sugar. This is the first time that...

CW75 stock performance.(Chemical Week)(Statistical table)
March 24, 2008... The CW75 Index fell 1% for the week ending March 25, lagging behind broader market indexes. Basic chemical stocks fell 5.3%, while diversified and specialty chemical shares were flat. The tone across the basic chemical sector is "somber"...

Leading indicators.
March 24, 2008... The leading indicator for the chemical industry rose in March after a fairly steep decline in the previous month, analysts say. The indicator was pushed up by a rise in output in the chemical process industries, as well as a small increase in...

Air Products.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... AIR PRODUCTS has elected John E. McGlade chairman of the board. McGlade is president and CEO. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Ashland.(key changes)(appointments)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... ASHLAND has named Vada O. Manager and Mark C. Rohr to its board of directors. Manager is director/ global issues management for Nike. Rohr is president and CEO of Albemarle. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Honeywell.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... HONEYWELL has named David Barker manager/healthcare marketing development, specialty films.

Kemira Oyj.(key changes)(appointment of Jukka Viinanen and Jarmo Vaisanen)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... KEMIRA OYJ has appointed Jukka Viinanen and Jarmo Vaisanen to its board of directors. The company has also named Eeva Salonen executive v.p./human resources and a member of its strategic management board.

Nova Chemicals.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... NOVA CHEMICALS has named Grant Thomson president/olefins and feedstocks.

Cognis.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... COGNIS has made appointments: Simon Poulton, as global product group manager/acrylates; Sophie Barnet, as European product group manager/acrylates; and Juergen Baro as platform leader/radiation curing.

Cereplast.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... CEREPLAST has named Randy Woelfel president and COO.

Omnova Solutions.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... OMNOVA SOLUTIONS has elected Michael J. Merriman to its board of directors. The company has also re-elected Edward P. Campbell and William R. Seelbach.

Sygnis Pharma.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... SYGNIS PHARMA has named Frank Rathgeb chief medical officer and a member of its executive board.

ACC.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... ACC has named Thomas Carter managing director/retail sustainability.

Chemicals Northwest.(key changes)
March 24, 2008... CHEMICALS NORTHWEST has elected Tony Bastock chairman, Mike Armitage deputy chairman, and Jorge Oliveira a member of its board of directors.