Cooper Tire & Rubber and Pirelli Tyres form alliance.

Cooper Tire & Rubber, Findlay, OH, and Pirelli Tyres, Milan, Italy, have formed a strategic alliance. This venture will combine the best resources from the world's sixth and eighth largest tire companies to improve their competitiveness through a multibrand strategy in the North and South American replacement tire markets. Capitalizing on Cooper's dealer relationships and manufacturing efficiency along with Pirelli's technological capability and expertise in the performance tire arena, the venture will enhance the global position of both companies. Cooper will manage the distribution and sales of all Pirelli passenger and light truck tires in the U.S., Canada and Mexico replacement markets. Pirelli will strengthen its original equipment business due to the addition of new platforms on vehicles destined for the North American market, and in the future expects to begin providing tires directly to original equipment manufacturers in the U.S. Future plans include an agreement for Pirelli to distribute and market Cooper brand tires in South America.

Cooper Tire & Rubber and MacNeal-Schwendler have signed a product and technology agreement to revolutionize tire and automotive rubber product design and development. The multi-million dollar consulting engagement will span approximately 18 months. Through the creation of an advanced tire design and modeling system, Cooper will be able to provide tire and automotive customers with faster delivery of advanced products. Cooper will use MacNeal-Schwendler's current suite of simulation tools, as well as advanced proprietary technology and processes developed with this engagement to shorten the product design cycle, improve product quality and lower costs.

Montell Polyolefins NV and Machino Plastics Ltd. have formed Machino-Montell-India Ltd. (MMI), which will develop, produce and market polyolefins based on advanced materials for customers in India. This company, in which each of the two partners has a 50% interest, has been formed as a result of their alliance, which was announced in July 1997. Products of the new company will include polypropylene-based compounds, advanced materials based on polymers from Montell's proprietary Catalloy process and materials based upon Montell's high melt strength polypropylene resins. MMI will focus on the rapidly expanding advanced materials needs of India's automotive, appliance, industrial and consumer markets.

Montell Polyolefins has sold a license for its Spheripol polypropylene process to Turkmenneftgas State Trade, the largest oil and gas group in the republic of Turkmenistan. Turkmenneftgas State Trade has taken the license through J.G.C., the Japanese engineering company that has been involved as contractor in the implementation of five other Spheripol process plants, all located in Southeast Asia. Turkmenneftgas State Trade will contruct an 80 kt/a Spheripol polypropylene plant in Turkmenbashi.

In February, a joint venture agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the construction of a 255,000 mt low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Kertih, Malaysia, scheduled to come on stream in 2001. It involves a total investment of more than $170 million. The main stakeholders in the joint venture are Petronas, Malaysia (40%) and Polifin Limited, South Africa (40%). The Dutch chemical group DSM holds a stake of 20%.

DSM Engineering Plastics, Sittard, the Netherlands, has reached an agreement with General Electric Plastics, Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands, concerning a takeover of GE's Lomod co-polyester business. Under the terms of the agreement, DSM will continue the Lomod business using Arnitel products while the Lomod grades are taken off the market by GE.

Three producers of specialty chemicals have expanded their agreements with M.F. Cachat, a Cleveland, OH-based distributor and agent. BCS, formerly Holtrachem, has expanded its antimony oxide sales territory with Cachat in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and portions of New York. Omya will expand its sales territory with Cachat to also include the state of Michigan. Cachat will represent Omya and its line of Omyacarb calcium carbonates. U.S. Silica has awarded Cachat expansion territory of its Min-U-Sil and Sil-Co-Sil product lines in the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and portions of Connecticut.

Fourth quarter 1998 financial results

                                Earnings ($)         Sales ($)

Cooper Tire & Rubber             38.1 million    496.2 million
DSM                                66 million      1.6 billion
Federal-Mogul                      29 million      1.5 billion
Goodyear Tire & Rubber          121.5 million      3.2 billion
Minerals Technologies            14.3 million    155.2 million
Rogers                              4 million     53.6 million
Union Carbide                      67 million      1.3 billion
Wynn's International              6.5 million     85.6 million
Year end 1998 financial results

                                 Earnings ($)        Sales ($)

Bridgestone Corp.                 798 million       17 billion
Bridgestone/Firestone             285 million      7.4 billion
Cooper Tire & Rubber              127 million      1.9 billion
Degussa                            55 million      2.1 billion
DSM                               457 million        7 billion
Federal-Mogul                      54 million      4.5 billion
Goodyear Tire & Rubber          682.3 million     12.6 billion
Minerals Technologies            57.2 million    609.2 million
Rogers                           13.8 million    216.6 million
UCB                           BF 9.75 billion    BF 66 billion
Union Carbide                     403 million     5.66 billion
Wynn's International             27.3 million    336.9 million