Acquisitions, expansions.

Du Pont Dow Elastomers, a 50/50 joint venture between Dow Chemical and Du Pont, has officially opened for business. Du Pont Dow Elastomers will locate its global headquarters in Wilmington, DE, and is expected to have worldwide sales in excess of $1 billion in 1996. Du Pont Dow Elastomers unveiled plans for its new manufacturing facility for Nordel EPDM rubber at a groundbreaking ceremony conducted in Plaquemine, LA at the future site of the 200 million pound capacity plant. The state-of-the-art manufacturing plant will deliver new grades of the company's Nordel EPDM in commercial quantities in early 1997. Du Pont Dow Elastomers also announced that it has expanded its line of Engage polyolefin elastomers from 14 to 23 grades. These new products will target applications including crosslinked belts, hoses and cable insulation, extruded profiles and tubing, flexible molded articles, footwear, foams, calendered sheet and impact modification of polypropylene.

The Chemical Division of Goodyear is implementing a significant capacity expansion plan for Wingstay 100. This multi-million dollar program will concern both sites, Niagara Falls (U.S.) and MLPC (France), where the production of Wingstay 100 Will be increased respectively by 25% and 30% by mid-1997.

DMT Engineering has added a 40,000 square foot facility to increase production capacity at its Cleveland, OH facility. The company repairs and refurbishes internal mixers, continuous mixers and various extruders, calenders, presses and mills.

H.W. Wallace & Co. Ltd., a supplier of instruments for testing rubber products, has set up its own sales and any, H.W. Wallace, in Akron, OH.

Union Carbide has completed the purchase of the shares held by Rhoft S.A. of Companhia Alcoolquimica Nacional, a Brazilian producer of vinyl acetate monomer. The completed transaction transfers to Union Carbide approximately 95% of CAN'S outstanding shares and control of its 80,000 metric ton plant in northeastern Brazil.

Capital improvements at the Hercules Jefferson, PA resins plant are said to be a key element of the Resins Division's global hydrocarbon growth strategy and of the $40 million to $50 million the company plans to invest in its hydrocarbon business by the year 2000. Targeted for completion in early 1997, the project will allow Hercules to use the most economical feedstocks to make light-colored, heat-stable resins.

Cober Electronics will move to a new 35,000 square foot manufacturing and test facility in Norwalk, CT. This facility will be devoted to assembling and testing the company's large microwave heating systems, such as vulcanization lines, conveyor ovens and laboratory size industrial microwave ovens.

Mikron Instrument has moved its world headquarters to a larger facility in Oakland, NJ. Mikron is a manufacturer of infrared. sensors, calibration sources and thermal imaging equipment for the industrial marketplace. The new 47,000 square foot facility will include Mikron's engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sales departments, as well as their corporate administration.

Malvern Instruments announced the formation of the Malvern Science and Technology Group. This group is an organization of experienced particle characterization specialists whose mission is to facilitate application support, especially for those involved in method development.

Eastman Chemical Mexicana S.A. de C.V., an affiliate of Eastman Chemical, plans to begin production at its bottle polymer plant in Cosoleacaque, Veracruz, Mexico. The plant will produce polyethylene terephthalate bottle polymer. The plant's annual capacity is 120,000 metric tons. Eastman Chemical announced a major expansion of its plants for oxo aldehydes and derivatives at Texas Eastman Division, Longview, TX. The expansion will provide an additional 147,000 mt per year of oxo aidehydes.

Barnant Co. announced the acquisition of the Manostat Pump Products Division from Bel-Art Products. The Barnant Co., manufacturer of gas and liquid pumps, temperature monitoring and controlling equipment, flow-meters, viscometers, pH products, mixers and a host of laboratory apparatus, will be moving the Manostat pump products into their ISO 9001 facility in Barrington, IL.

UCB inaugurated a third production unit for specialty chemicals on its site in North Augusta, SC, where there are already production units for Radcure resins curable by UV/EBC and for Crylcoat polyester resins.

Betz Laboratories, an international supplier of specialty chemical treatments for industrial water and process systems, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Dearborn business unit of W.R. Grace & Co. for $632 million. The transaction, which was approved by the boards of directors of Betz and Grace, is expected to close in this year's second quarter, subject to customary regulatory approval. The combined companies will have sales of approximately $1.2 billion.

John Browit Plastics Machinery announced the release of multiple web sites on The Plastics Network for the company and four of its divisions. Internet users will now be provided with quick access to the latest in product information and developments for injection molding, thermoforming, granulating, pelletizing, polymer filtration, mold cleaning, recycling, textile winding and remanufacturing services from John Brown.