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Akzo Nobel third quarter net
income 3 percent down
(European Coatings Flash -
November 04, 2002)
Akzo Nobel, the international pharmaceutical,
coatings and chemicals company, announced a third
quarter net income of EUR 232 million, 3% below
last year. The outlook for 2002 was confirmed.
Fritz Fröhlich, Akzo Nobel's CFO, said: "On
the one hand, the Company had to absorb the
impact of currencies and pension costs. On the
other hand, we were able to grow the sales volume
of all three business groups."
Coatings continued its strong performance with
autonomous sales growth of 4% and an operating
income increase of 5%.
In the third quarter, Coatings achieved
autonomous growth of 4%. Sales decreased 4% due
to weaker currencies. Fröhlich said:
"Results of almost all businesses were up
due to cost savings. The implementation of the
restructuring programs is on schedule. So far the
workforce has been reduced by 700 employees.
Earnings of Decorative Coatings were
significantly up. The industrial activities also
improved, although the business climate remains
weak. Car Refinishes achieved a stable
performance in the face of deteriorating market
conditions. Marine & Protective Coatings
turned in an excellent performance, particularly
in Asia, mainly benefiting from cost
savings."
DuPont reduces about 650
positions
(European Coatings Flash -
November 04, 2002)
As part of its strategy for sustainable growth,
DuPont announced actions that will enhance its
position "as a leader in the highly
competitive global coatings industry".
DuPont Coatings & Color Technologies will
improve the productivity of its global business
units by consolidating some of its assets and
optimizing processes. The DuPont Coatings &
Color Technologies platform includes the
Performance Coatings and the Titanium
Technologies businesses. These actions will
result in the reduction of about 650 positions.
"These difficult but necessary actions will
enable our businesses to improve customer focus
while strengthening our business performance, and
thus contribute more strongly to the company's
goals of sustainable growth," said Edward J.
Donnelly, group vice president - DuPont Coatings
& Color Technologies.
DuPont estimates it will realize annual pretax
savings of about $60 million as a result of these
actions. About one-third of this benefit will be
realized in 2003, with substantially all realized
in 2004.
Fire damages Reichhold plant
(The
Business Journal / www.e-epoxy.com)
Durham-based Reichhold Inc. says that the
Spolchemie plant in Usti nad Labem in the Czech
Republic, where Reichhold's products are
produced, experienced a fire on Nov. 21 at about
9 p.m. Czech time.
The Spolchemie resin plant is a five-story
building in the center of Spolchemie that is used
for manufacturing epoxy resins, unsaturated
polyesters, coating resins and specialty resins.
The plant suffered extensive damage. No injuries
were reported and the appropriate authorities are
accessing the damage and investigating the cause
of the fire. At this time, there are no reports
of any negative environmental impact to the city
of Usti.
Production at the Usti nad Labem site has been
halted. The company says it will continue to
serve its customers by utilizing other Reichhold
global facilities, including its nine sites in
Europe.
Founded in 1927, Reichhold is a subsidiary of
Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, which produces
printing inks and polyester resins.
Henkel Group opens
technology center in Japan
(European Coatings Flash -
November 25,, 2002)
The Henkel Group is investing in the Asian
market: at the end of September 2002, the new
"Henkel Loctite Technology Center Asia
Pacific" was officially opened in Yokohama,
Japan. Over 130 employees are working to ensure
that industrial customers of Henkel Technologies
throughout Asia will be provided with individual,
tailor-made products and systems solutions in the
future. The company not only aims to offer
customer and engineering services in Yokohama,
but also to establish the product development
efforts of Henkel Loctite for the Asian market
there.
Henkel Loctite can exploit the advantages of four
technology centers located in the USA, Germany,
Ireland and Japan. Each has defined priorities in
accordance with specific regional requirements.
"It is particularly important for Henkel
Loctite as a specialist in engineering adhesives
to individually advise and consult its customers
throughout the world. Henkel Loctite was
responsible for the implementation of the project
in Japan," states Heinrich Grün, Corporate
Vice President Loctite Engineering Adhesives of
the Henkel Group. Henkel has invested a total of
23 million euros in the new location.
FSCT Announces Decision to
Hold ICE Every Other Year
The Federation of Societies for Coatings
Technology, citing the results of a survey of
coatings manufacturers and suppliers, announced
that the International Coatings Expo (ICE) will
be held every other year beginning in 2004. The
survey, conducted earlier this year, indicated
that a majority of suppliers felt that an annual
exhibition was too frequent - and costly -
considering the current state of the industry,
the Federation said. The change in show frequency
was approved by the FSCT's board of directors on
Oct. 29 in New Orleans, just before the start of
the 2002 ICE on Oct. 30.
The Federation also announced that Chicago will
become the exclusive site for the ICE, beginning
with the 2004 show. FSCT Executive Vice President
Robert F. Ziegler said the National Paint &
Coatings Association also has agreed to hold its
Annual Meeting in conjunction with the ICE in
Chicago in even-numbered years. With the new ICE
schedule, the event will alternate with the
European Coatings Show, which is held in
odd-number years in Nuremberg, Germany.
In another announcement, the Federation said the
schedule for the 2003 ICE in Philadelphia has
been revised from an original Thursday- Saturday
program to the "more familiar"
Wednesday-Friday arrangement. The event is
scheduled for Nov. 12-14, and will begin with an
afternoon and early-evening schedule on
Wednesday, Nov. 12, in an effort to attract local
manufacturers and technical personnel. The
opening day also will feature a more
"informal" atmosphere and special
events, the FSCT said.
Under the revised ICE schedule, the show will be
held in Chicago on Oct. 27-29 in 2004, Sept.
27-29 in 2006, Oct. 29-31 in 2008, and Sept.
29-Oct. 1, 2110.
While announcing the change in ICE frequency, the
Federation said it plans to launch a new event
for years when the show is not scheduled, and
announced the creation of an "Events
Steering Committee" to direct the
implementation of the revised ICE and an
alternating-year event or series of events.
"The FSCT firmly believes than an event
needs to be held every year to provide a forum
for both suppliers and manufacturers to gather,
discuss, and plan for the future," said Gail
Pollano, the 2001-2002 FSCT president. The
steering committee is headed by chairman F. Louis
Floyd, executive director of PRA Laboratories
Inc., and includes representatives of
manufacturer and
supplier companies.
Pollano said the decision to scale back the
frequency of ICE "recognizes the concerns of
the industry." She said the "challenge
to the Federation is to adjust its operations to
accommodate diminished income, while providing
the same - or increased - benefits to the
industry it serves."
Ziegler said the change in ICE frequency was
approved "overwhelmingly, but not
unanimously" by the Federation board. The
FSCT said industry suppliers - particularly the
major suppliers - have favored a switch to
biennial frequency for several years. But the
recent survey "for the first time
established a growing trend among manufacturers
for a less-frequent ICE."
KW Plastics to launch
recycled and recyclable paints cotainers
http://www.pra.org.uk/publications/newsofthemonth/nom-index.htm
Recycling can be a closed loop, as illustrated by
a new recycled and recyclable paint container to
be launched by KW Plastics at the ICE Show in
October. The all-plastic container, which is
based on old car-battery casings, shampoo or soda
bottles, can itself be recycled at the end of its
life. Other advantages include lack of rusting,
absence of dents and lighter weight. They are,
however, suitable only for latex paints. The new
containers will be distributed by Deeks & Co,
a regional distributor based in Ohio, and will
eventually appear in a range of sizes. (Modern
Paint Coatings, Jul/Aug 2002, 92 (5), 15)
Thin Film Powder
Breakthrough: 14 microns or lower
(Coatings Magazine September
2002)
An Ontario powder manufacturer has
developed a method of creating thin films as low
as 0.5 mils with particle sizes of 14 microns or
lower.
Current thin film powder technology can be
applied as low as 1.5 mils for whites and 4-5
mils for yellows with particle sizes of 25
microns or more. While many companies say they
have thin film powders, John Nother, president
and chief operating officer of Link-Syn
Technologies, London, ON, says current thin film
technology cannot go below 25 microns, although
some are working on particle sizes of 17 microns.
Link-Syn has filed for a patent on the process,
which uses a combination of chemistry and
mechanical mechanisms to achieve the thin film
and low micron size.
The pure resin powders don't contain any fillers,
which sometimes affect weatherability and
durability in formulations. The powders offer
traditional gloss properties, eliminate orange
peel and allow for post-forming of steel in coil
coating applications.
If the company's claims are proven--Link-Syn has
secrecy agreements with several OEM manufacturers
to test the powders--it will be the first company
in the world to have achieved thin films at such
low microns
.John Nother, president and chief operating
officer, won't divulge the secrets behind the
technology, but he does say that Link-Syn has
worked five years on refining the technology in
collaboration with other institutions.
"Everyone has been trying to achieve thin
film powders and we're the first company on the
market that has been successful. Although it's
thin film technology, we use the term high
efficiency powders to differentiate ourselves
from other thin film powders on the market that
have a micron size of 25. We can go below 14
microns."
The thin films that can be achieved using the
technology depend on the colour. For traditional
yellows, Link-Syn can go down as low as 2 mils,
compared to the average thin film yellows, which
are at about 4-5 mils. For traditional blue
whites, the company can achieve thin films of 1
mils compared to the average 3 mils.
Nother stresses that despite the thin film,
performance properties are not compromised.
Indeed, he says that because the powders are pure
resins, properties such as chemical resistance
are enhanced. Nother estimates that finishers can
realize savings of between 30-35 per cent.
"Just on material alone, finishers will see
a 10 per cent reduction in cost. In addition to
that, throughput goes up, shipping costs (of the
powders) go down and recoatability is
improved."
Nother adds that the technology can be used to
formulate all types of powder coatings, including
low temperature and UV cure systems.
BASF sells
industrial-coatings facility
(European Coatings Flash -
November 18, 2002)
BASF Corp. announced the sale of the company's
general industrial coatings manufacturing plant
in Chicopee, MA, to C&C Ventures L.L.C. The
sale includes the site's property, buildings,
production equipment and customer list for
specific products for which C&C Ventures
acquired the proprietary rights. BASF acquired
the site as part of its 2000 purchase of the
Morton industrial coatings business from Rohm and
Haas Co.
BASF said the sale is part of its plan to focus
on coil, extrusion and powder coatings and
certain types of general industrial coatings. The
company continues to manufacture industrial
coatings at sites in Batavia, IL; Decatur, AL;
Morganton, NC; Colton, CA; and Belvidere, NJ.
Brillux launches Non-
Allergeniv SIlicate paint.
http://www.pra.org.uk/publications/newsofthemonth/nom-index.htm
German paint manufacturer Brillux
GmbH has launched a new non-allergenic interior
silicate paint, aimed at Germany's 17-19M allergy
sufferers. The new Elf 1806 paint is formulated
without preservatives, plasticisers and VOCs,
without sacrificing durability. The paint's
anti-allergenic properties have been tested to
standard RWTÜV. (Brillux, Press Release, Sep
2002, 1p)
STANDARDS
http://www.pra.org.uk/publications/newsofthemonth/nom-index.htm
The
following developments have recently occurred in
the field of standards:
BS ISO 15710: 2002: Paint and varnishes -
corrosion testing by alternate
immersion in and removal from a buffered sodium
chloride solution
For further information, please go to: http://www.bsi-global.com
SSPC-PA 7: Issued by SSPC (The
Society for Protective Coatings) this standard
concerns applying thin film coatings to concrete.
SSPC-PA Guide 5: Issued by SSPC (The Society for
Protective Coatings) this is
a revised guide to maintenance coating programs
for steel structures in
atmospheric service.
For further information, please go to: http://www.sspc.org
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