AES and LG Chemical Ltd. form strategic alliance.

Advanced Elastomer Systems, L.P., Akron, OH, a worldwide supplier of engineered thermoplastic elastomers, and LG Chemical Ltd., a Korean chemical company, have formed a strategic alliance for the development, manufacture and marketing of existing and new thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs). This alliance will accelerate the growth of the TPV business in Korea and through the Asia/Pacific region. This alliance includes Japan.

Akron Steel Fabricators, Akron, OH, a manufacturer of rubber processing equipment, and A-Z Formen und Maschinenbau GmbH, a manufacturer of rubber extruders, have partnered to offer complete turnkey rubber extrusion and cooling lines to the tire and rubber goods industries. The partnership offers a single source of supply and responsibility for customers with rubber extrusion projects, combining ASF's 30-plus years of experience in the rubber processing field and A-Z Formen's MCTD extruder technology.

H.M. Royal, Trenton, NJ, has been appointed the sole U.S. representative for the Schenectady Chemical line of more than one hundred phenolic resins utilized exclusively in polymer, rubber and adhesive applications. Hyundai Petrochemical appointed H.M. Royal the exclusive U.S. representative for the company's SBR line of rubber products. These SBR products are sold under Hyundai's Seetec brand name.

OMG Americas appointed M.F. Cachat as its exclusive sales agent for the states of Ohio, northern Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia. Cachat will represent OMG America's Driers & Additives Complex metal carboxylates for the paint industry.

Advanced Polymer Alloys, a division of Ferro, Wilmington, DE, has established Ferro's Color Group as the preferred provider for Alcryn MPR color concentrates. Ferro's Color Group offers thousands of colors, including soft pastels, bright neons and metallics.

DSM Elastomers, Geleen, the Netherlands, has selected Eclipse Technical Software Service, a division of Alpha Technologies L.P., to provide a Global Open Software License for its Eclipse LIMS system to support standardization of product testing at DSM Elastomers laboratories around the world.

Montell Polyolefins, Brussels, Belgium has signed an initial agreement with Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea, to establish a polypropylene joint venture company in Korea. Montell will acquire a 50% interest in the polypropylene activities of Daelim (including the polypropylene assets being acquired by Daelim from Hanwha, through a swap of their polypropylene and polyethylene assets). Two plants, one featuring Montell's Spheripol polypropylene process, the other its Spherilene polyethylene technology, have started up in Brazil. Owned by Ipiranga Petroquimica at Triunfo in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the plants are operated under license from Montell.

Ashland Distribution, Dublin, OH, said to be the largest distributor of chemicals and plastics in North America, and e-Chemicals, the on-line chemical marketplace, jointly announced an alliance that includes offering the majority of products distributed by Ashland Distribution's Industrial Chemicals and Solvents Division through www.e-chemicals.com. The terms of the alliance include an undisclosed equity investment by Ashland in e-Chemicals, and a commitment by both parties to engage in joint marketing activities to facilitate adoption of this channel among the targeted customer base.

Cooper Tire & Rubber, Findlay, OH, announced that its Cooper-Standard Automotive group has received in excess of $200 million annualized of new business awards during the past several months for the 2001-2003 model-year vehicles. These programs include platforms for General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford Europe and Volkswagen. GM Truck awarded Cooper-Standard the total vehicle sealing system for its new GMT-355 line of light trucks for model year 2003. GM also awarded Cooper-Standard the total sealing systems for the 2003 Corvette and Cadillac EVOQ. Daimler-Chrysler awarded Cooper-Standard sealing business for the Neon, P.T. Cruiser and Jeep SJ. Ford Europe awarded Cooper-Standard the total weatherstrip sealing systems for its B-car. In addition, Cooper-Standard has earned business for the Volkswagen Polo. A new contract between Cooper-Standard Automotive and the United Steelworkers of America Local 634 was ratified by the union members November 5.

Firestone Building Products, Carmel, IN, reached an exclusive agreement with Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, Atlanta, GA, to produce Firestone 3/8" Dens-Deck.

Fitz Chem, Elmhurst, IL, a midwest distributor/sales agent of raw materials to the paint, coatings, plastics, rubber, ink and adhesives industries, has been appointed distributor for Wacker Polymer Systems in the territory of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, upper peninsula of Michigan and Minnesota. A joint venture between Air Products and Chemicals and Wacker-Chemie GmbH, Wacker Polymer Systems produces and sells a range of binders for the building materials, paint and coatings industries.

Saint-Gobain, Paris, France, a producer of engineered materials, has combined the operations of its wholly owned subsidiary, Norton Performance Plastics, with recently acquired Furon to create a new business unit, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. SGPPL, headquartered in Wayne, NJ, is expected to have annualized sales of about $830 million and employs about 5,400 people worldwide.

Milacron's Plastics Technologies Group has received a series of injection machine orders from Rubbermaid Home Products Division, which comprise the largest piece of business the company has received from a single customer in a two-year period.

Clariant Masterbatches Division, Muttenz, Switzerland, a global supplier of color and additive concentrates, has been selected by Dow Chemical, Midland, MI, as their partner in coloring Questra crystalline polymers. Clariant and Dow have entered into a global agreement for the coloration of Questra polymers to provide optimum color service to both the European and North American marketplaces. Questra, based on metallocene technology from Dow, will be targeting the electrical/electronic, industrial and automotive markets, especially where thin wall and high thermal requirements are needed.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) and the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP) announced a cooperative agreement in the gathering and dissemination of synthetic rubber statistics for the North American synthetic rubber industry. "This cooperative effort will reduce industry costs and promote the efficient collection and dissemination of statistical information," said Donald B. Shea, RMA's president and CEO.

Lord, Cary, NC, has expanded its distributor network to cover the United States and Canada. The Chemlok adhesives network now includes five distributors, including R.D. Abbott, Quadra Chemicals Ltd., Alternative Rubber and Plastics, Chemrep and Lintech International.

Quality registrations

Harwick Standard Distribution, Akron, OH, announced the independent verification of the company's commitment to Responsible Distribution Process standards as established by the National Association of Chemical Distributors. This body of standards has been established by the NACD to promote continuous management improvement in the health, safety and environmental performance of member companies.

Vredestein Rubber Resources B.V., Maastricht, the Netherlands, has been awarded ISO 14001 certification from Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance.