Degussa, Engineered Carbons form 50/50 joint venture. (Contracts, Licenses).

The management board of Degussa and the board of directors of Engineered Carbons announced that a 50/50 joint venture combining the North American carbon black businesses of each company began operations April 1. The joint venture operates under the name Degussa Engineered Carbons, LP and is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ. The joint venture serves the rubber and specialty markets with a full range of furnace, thermal and specialty blacks from six U.S. plants previously operated by Degussa and Engineered Carbons. An exclusive arrangement between the joint venture and Degussa, the North American subsidiary of Degussa AG, has also been concluded giving Degussa sales responsibility for the products of the joint venture.

Eagle Elastomer, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, has been awarded exclusive extrusion rights for the DuPont Dow Tracer technology. The proprietary Tracer technology is based on the science of fluorescence and is patented by DuPont Dow Elastomers. During the mixing process, small amounts of special ultraviolet-activated ingredients are homogeneously incorporated into the Viton fluroelastomer compound. When illuminated with a high intensity UV light, the ingredients in Tracer Viton cause the finished parts to fluoresce (glow) a vivid blue for parts that are cured only, and a vivid green for post-cured parts.

Fitz Chem, Elmhurst, IL, a midwest distributor/sales agent of raw materials to the paint, coatings, plastics, rubber, ink and adhesives industries, announced its appointment as distributor of Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals LLC's line of polymer additives. The distribution area will include the states of Illinois, western Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Akron, OH, and Siemens VDO Automotive, Auburn Hills, MI, have developed a software program that can interpret tire and vehicle data together as part of the companies' ongoing relationship. The warning software is said to interpret a multitude of vehicle parameters and calculate a recommended tire pressure based on data such as ambient temperature and pressure, tire load, speed and driving habits. A five-year contract renewal between EMNS, a provider of a supplier quality management service, and Goodyear Tire & Rubber has been announced. Goodyear uses EMNS's GSQA (global supplier quality assurance) service at 80 of its global manufacturing facilities. GSQA is said to provide quality assurance purchasing and production personnel with real-time supplier material quality data from its 1,600+ worldwide direct material suppliers. Goodyear named Fujikura Ltd., based in Tokyo, Japan, as a preferred supplier of sensor microchips for low pressure warning systems. The chips will be used in tires for pressure monitoring warning systems being developed by Goodyear and Siemens VDO Automotive. BMW Group has approved another Goodyear run-flat tire for the North American market. Mini USA, a division of BMW NA, recently chose 17-inch Goodyear Eagle RS-A EMT all-season run-flat tires for the supercharged 163 hp 2002 Mini Cooper S. Manufactured in Fulda, Germany, the tire is V speed-rated for sustained speeds up to 150 mph.

Dow Plastics, Midland, MI, and Solutia, St. Louis, MO, have signed a formal agreement to end the companies' Vydyne nylon resins marketing arrangement which began in January 1999. Under the new agreement, Solutia will resume marketing responsibilities for the molding resins business.