Degussa-Huls acquires carbon black, silicas plants.

Degussa-Huls AG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, has come to an agreement with Nafta Polska and Rafineria Jaslo for the purchase of their rubber carbon black plant and the attached power station at the Jaslo oil refinery in southeast Poland. Both facilities were obtained at a price of 13.5 million DM, and will be taken over by the newly founded 100% Degussa-Huls subsidiary Carbon Black Polska Sp. z o.o., located in Jaslo. Through this purchase, the company expands even further its global position in industrial carbon blacks and is now set to supply the growing Polish market and other East European markets from Jaslo. Degussa-Hills, in a first step, will invest over 10 million DM for the immediate modernization and expansion of the facilities to 25,000 metric tons per year. In a second step, a further capacity expansion to 50,000 metric tons per year is planned. Degussa-Hills AG is also acquiring the silicas manufacturing plants of Oriental Silica Ltd. (OSL) in Maptaphut, Thailand. The facilities are located close to Rayong, about 150 kilometers south of the capital of Bangkok, and have been acquired by United Silica (Siam) Ltd. (USSL), a new company in which Degussa-Hills has a 70% stake. The remaining 30% is held by Oriental Siam Co., Ltd., Bangkok. The Maptaphut plant currently has production capacity of 12,000 tpa silicas and aluminum silicates. Capacity will be expanded at once. The acquisition raises Degussa-Huls' share of the Asian market for precipitated silicas and silicates to 20%.

DuPont, Wilmington, DE, has purchased the technology and product line of TRA Coatings, Cortland, OH, a manufacturer and supplier of mold release agents and anti-friction coatings to rotational and rubber molders. The new business, DuPont Coating and Release Systems, will be formed from the combination of TRA Coatings' technology and products and DuPont's dry film lubricants business.

Cooper Tire & Rubber, Findlay, OH, completed the previously announced acquisition of the automotive fluid handling division of Invensys plc, commonly known as Siebe Automotive, for a purchase price of $244.5 million, which was financed using the company's existing short-term borrowing arrangement. The integration of Siebe with Cooper hose is said to allow the company to provide complete fluid systems to its customers.

O.A. Newton, Bridgeville, DE, maker of material handling systems, has purchased the product line and patents from Ted Key Company of Mineola, TX. The new company, operating as TKC Technologies, LLC, is said to converge the carbon black handling expertise of the Ted Key Company and the material handling systems expertise of O.A. Newton. TKC Technologies, LLC supplies bulk powder handling equipment and related services to the global tire and rubber industry, with a primary focus on carbon black handling.

Yokohama Rubber, Tokyo, Japan, announced that its subsidiary, Yokohama Tyre Vietnam, commenced production and sales of tires for light trucks in December 1999. The company will handle ten tire sizes and plans monthly production of 5,000 units. In fiscal 2000, the company plans to produce a total of 64,000 tires for sale in the Vietnam market.

Smithers Winter Test Center, Raco, MI, a cold-weather automotive proving ground operated by Akron, OH-based Smithers Scientific Services, is implementing a new snow-traction test system for passenger and light truck tires used in severe snow conditions. The computerized system, built from the ground up using the latest technologies in instrumentation, data acquisition and data analysis, has been implemented in response to a new standard for passenger and light-truck tires used in severe snow conditions announced by North American tire manufacturers who are members of the Rubber Manufacturers Association and/or the Rubber Association of Canada. The standard requires that candidate tires be physically tested in snow conditions against an all-season control tire to determine their snow-traction performance. The test procedure involves spinning the tire in the snow under certain precise conditions, and measuring the tire's performance. Tires that pass the new standard test requirements can then be designated for use under severe snow conditions.

Dow Benelux NV, Horgen, Switzerland, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, has purchased Shell Chemicals' industrial and textile lubricants business. Dow acquired the customer base and rights to technology associated with the business. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition gives Dow rights to complementary product and application technology and added market access in the area of polyglycol synthetic lubricant basestocks for industrial and textile applications in Europe.

Amcol International, Arlington Heights, IL, has received a request for additional information from the Federal Trade Commission in connection with the proposed sale of Amcol's absorbent polymers business to BASF AG. The second request extends the FTC's review of the transaction. Regulatory approval on antitrust considerations (competition laws) has been granted in Germany. Amcol remains optimistic that the parties will receive FTC clearance. In addition to U.S. and U.K. regulatory approval, the transaction is subject to approval by Amcol shareholders.

TSI, St. Paul, MN, a producer of noncontact dimensional measurement gauging, has acquired the assets of the noncontact speed and length measurement products of Mesacon GmbH, Dortmund, Germany.

Ticona, Summit, NJ, announced it will add 25 million pounds of Celanese nylon 6/6 compounding capacity during the second half of 2000 at its Bishop, TX plant. Products to be made at the compounding facility include impact-modified, UV-stabilized, glass-filled and glass-mineral-filled nylon 6/6 materials.

Ashland Distribution, Dublin, OH, has formed a division called Service Businesses Division which will be charged with managing and growing businesses that provide a wide range of services to Ashland's customers.

Air Products and Chemicals, Lehigh Valley, PA, has started up its $80 million, 100 million standard-cubic-feet-per-day hydrogen plant in Carson, CA.

Thermacell Technologies, Daytona Beach, FL, announced that its board of directors approved the acquisition of American HealthCare Providers. Under the executed agreement, Thermacell will acquire 100% of the total issued and outstanding shares of American HealthCare Providers in a stock exchange transaction, subject to shareholder approval.

Barry Controls, Brighton, MA, a manufacturer of products that control shock, vibration and noise, has undergone major transformations, innovations and growth in the last six months. Orders for the first quarter are up 44% over the same quarter last year. The company has made major investments in equipment, software and human capital to support this growth. Barry has also developed alliances with global suppliers in Mexico, Taiwan and China, and implemented a world class manufacturing initiative. The company has invested approximately $3 million to purchase new presses and expand its metal prep capacity.

Milacron's Plastics Technologies Group, Batavia, OH, has realigned its businesses to enhance global competitiveness and customer service. The company is ending use of the Cincinnati Milacron brand name and will unite its two best-known brands in injection molding as one, Ferromatik-Milacron, with a regional suffix of North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific or India to identify market centers. The U.S.-based extrusion business becomes ExtrusionTek-Milacron. Uniloy-Milacron will be the flagship for all the company's blow molding machinery, both industrial and packaging.

Third quarter 1999 financial results

                              Earnings ($)            Sales ($)

AirBoss of America             1.8 million         36.6 million
American Biltrite              2.8 million        106.9 million
Cooper Tire & Rubber          34.6 million        531.9 million
DSM                        106 EUR million      1.6 EUR billion
Goodyear Tire & Rubber       109.1 million          3.3 billion
M.A. Hanna                    23.7 million        564.4 million
Minerals Technologies         15.9 million        159.8 million
Rogers                         4.6 million           61 million
Union Carbide                   77 million          1.5 billion
Wynn's International           6.8 million         91.1 million

First nine months 1999 financial results

                              Earnings ($)            Sales ($)

AirBoss of America             5.8 million         90.3 million
American Biltrite              5.6 million          318 million
Cooper Tire & Rubber         103.9 million          1.5 billion
DSM                        290 EUR million      4.5 EUR billion
Goodyear Tire & Rubber       200.3 million          9.3 billion
Minerals Technologies         45.4 million        467.2 million
Rogers                        13.6 million          189 million
Union Carbide                  197 million          4.3 billion
Wynn's International          21.9 million        272.4 million

Fourth quarter 1999 financial results

                         Earnings ($)      Sales ($)

Minerals Technologies    16.8 million    170.3 million
OM Group                 14.5 million      137 million
Solutia                    51 million      736 million
Union Carbide              94 million     1.55 billion
Wynn's International     5.85 million     87.9 million

Year end 1999 financial results

                              Earnings ($)              Sales ($)

Minerals Technologies         97.5 million          637.5 million
OM Group                      55.8 million            507 million
Rhodia                       226.9 million            5.5 billion
Solutia                        246 million           2.83 billion
Union Carbide                  311 million           5.87 billion
Wynn's International          27.7 million          360.3 million
Yokohama Rubber          3.2 billion [yen]    401.2 billion [yen]