Cognis Poland gains ISO 9001 certification

02-May-2006 - The Polish affiliate of global specialty chemicals supplier Cognis has gained ISO 9001 certification for its quality management systems, after successfully passing an audit of its two sites carried out by the DQS (German Association for the Certification of Management Systems). The certification ...

LANXESS opens compounding plant in China

02-May-2006 - The LANXESS chemical group's Semi-Crystalline Products (SCP) Business Unit has opened its first production site in Asia, located some 120 kilometers northwest of Shanghai. A state-of-the-art compounding plant for the engineering plastics Durethan® (polyamide) and Pocan® (polyester) started ...

Researchers find metal gets stronger with three or more line dislocations

02-May-2006 - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have discovered that three is the magic number when it comes to strengthening metals. Since the Iron Age, metallurgists have known that metals such as steel become stronger and harder the more you hit (or beat) on them. But it wasn't always clear ...

BASF's all-cash bid provides greater value and certainty than Engelhard's proposal

28-Apr-2006 - BASF is considering all its options after Engelhard's Board of Directors rejected an increased cash offer of $38 per share proposed by BASF, as part of a negotiated merger transaction, and elected instead to pursue a partial share buyback plan. Following a preliminary review of Engelhard's ...

More Evidence for "Stripes" in High-Temperature Superconductors

Supports earlier controversial finding, may help explain superconducting mechanism

28-Apr-2006 - An international collaboration including two physicists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory has published additional evidence to support the existence of "stripes" in high-temperature (Tc) superconductors. The report in Nature strengthens earlier claims that such ...

Agrium finalizes $70-million sale of East Dubuque Nitrogen Facility to Rentech

28-Apr-2006 - Agrium Inc. and Rentech, Inc. announced that Rentech has completed the purchase of Royster-Clark Nitrogen, Inc. from Royster-Clark, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Agrium for approximately $70-million. The sale includes the East Dubuque nitrogen facility and associated working capital. The ...

Akzo Nobel expanding coatings activities in the Czech Republic

27-Apr-2006 - Akzo Nobe is continuing to build its position in Central Europe having signed an agreement to acquire Balakom a.s., one of the leading paint companies in the Czech Republic. Based in Opava in the Czech Republic, the purchase of Balakom - which was established in 1907 - will substantially increase ...

NOVA Innovene Announces Polystyrene Price Increase for May

27-Apr-2006 - NOVA Innovene announced a price increase of 70 Euro per metric tonne for all Polystyrene (PS) products effective May 1st, 2006. The price increase is necessary to recover increasing feedstock costs which are being pushed up by record crude oil prices.

Hercules Acquires Remaining Interest in Chinese Joint Venture

27-Apr-2006 - Hercules Incorporated has reached an agreement to acquire the remaining 40% ownership interest of its consolidated joint venture, Shanghai Hercules Chemicals Company LTD. from its partner Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd (China). Effective immediately, Hercules will assume day-to-day ...

Praxair Builds Peak-Shaving Hydrogen Storage System

26-Apr-2006 - Praxair, Inc. is constructing a hydrogen storage facility to enable peak shaving, which will be the first of its kind in the industrial gases industry. Located in Liberty County, Texas, the facility will utilize an underground storage cavern. The peak-shaving system will be integrated with ...