Ferro acquires Advanced Polymer Compounding.

Ferro, Cleveland, OH, has expanded its compounding product line by acquiring Advanced Polymer Compounding (APC), headquartered near Chicago, IL. APC manufactures Alcryn, a patent protected product line of high performance TPEs developed by DuPont and purchased by APC, and also provides highly engineered plastic compounding services. Ferro is a multinational producer of industrial performance materials, including coatings, colors, ceramics, chemicals and plastics, with operations in 19 countries throughout the world.

Zeon Chemicals L.P., Louisville, KY, has completed its previously announced acquisition of DSM Copolymer's Nysyn NBR business. Under the terms of the contract, Zeon has the exclusive right to purchase NBR products from DSM Copolymer. The manufacture of these products will continue to take place in the DSM Copolymer facility. Zeon is now responsible for worldwide marketing and sales of these products, as well as for customer service and technical service.

Uniroyal Chemical, Middlebury, CT, a subsidiary of Crompton & Knowles, announced that its Gastonia, NC plant will expand Adiprene low-free PPDI (paraphenylene diisocyanate) cast urethanes production to five times current capacity. The expansion is slated for completion by the end of 1999.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Akron, OH, announced a $15 million radial truck tire expansion at its plant in Topeka, KS. The capital investment will increase Goodyear's medium radial truck tire capacity to meet the growing demand for track and trailer tires. The investment will include installing new tire building equipment in Topeka. Goodyear also announced a $57 million radial tire expansion at its Canadian passenger tire plant in Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada. The investment includes both state-of-the-art radial passenger tire building equipment and about 170,000 square feet of new floor space. After construction is complete, the plant will increase production capacity by about 40%, adding about 400 new jobs.

Minnesota Rubber, Minneapolis, MN, the rubber molding division of Quadion, announced that construction of a 50,000 square foot production facility, located in Reynosa, Mexico (ten miles south of McAllen, TX), is now complete. The plant will employ about 100 people by year's end.

Bayer, Pittsburgh, PA, announced an expanded U.S. investment strategy that will exceed the $15 billion mark in the year 2004, expanding its capital and research and development initiatives. To date, Bayer has expended roughly $5.7 billion under its previous strategy, leaving more than $9 billion in investments remaining through the year 2004. Of the remaining $9 billion, $6 billion will be directed toward research and development across all of its businesses. Capital projects across all of Bayer's businesses will receive $3 billion in new investments.

Neville Chemical, Pittsburgh, PA, signed the final papers making Nevcin Polymers, B.V. a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of the company. Nevcin Polymers is located in Uithoorn, the Netherlands. For 39 years, Nevcin Polymers has been a 50/50 joint venture with Neville Chemical and Cindu International, through one of Cindu's affiliated companies.

Minerals Technologies, New York, NY, will construct a merchant manufacturing facility in Brookhaven, MS, for the production of specialty precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). The company will invest approximately $20 million in the facility. Construction will begin in July, and the plant is expected to be in operation during the second quarter of 2000.

R.T. Vanderbilt, Norwalk, CT, will expand its facility in Murray, KY. Vanderbilt will increase its capacity to produce Vanlube and Polyvan petroleum additives by over 10,000 tons.

Maine Rubber International, Westbrook, ME, a manufacturer of industrial tires, plans to acquire two divisions of Cascade. The two divisions are Industrial Tires Division of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and the Kenhar Baseband and Wheel Division located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The combination of these two companies with Maine Rubber International's subsidiary, MaineTire, will be known in the industry as Maine Industrial Tires Limited.

AlliedSignal will expand production of its advanced generations of dimensionally stable polyester (DSP[R]) fibers in Asia to meet an increasing demand for the material in the region's automotive tire industry. The expansion will take place at the company's Kaiping production facility, which is a joint venture between AlliedSignal and China Kaiping Polyester Enterprise. It will include investments in state-of-the-art production equipment to enable the facility to significantly increase its DSP capacity and extend its production from standard polyester fibers to new generation IX30 and IX50 yams possessing higher modulus and dimensional stability.

An affiliate of Mitchell Rubber, Mira Loma, CA, has acquired 100% of GCI, a French manufacturer of compression and injection molded rubber components and a supplier of rubber compounds. The acquisition will add 25% to the Mitchell Group's predicted turnover for 1999 and it is anticipated that GCI will realize a 40-60% increase in turnover within two to three years. Current production for several European OEMs will be moved from California to Lyon, France within the coming months.

GreenMan Technologies, Lynnfield, MA, has acquired two independent tire recycling companies, including Hiawatha Tire Recycling located in Winona, MN, and Frederickson Tire Recycling, located in Northfield, MN. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

AirBoss of America, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Acton International, Acton Vale, Quebec, Canada, a supplier of industrial rubber goods, industrial and commercial rubber footwear and protective rubber military products. The purchase price is approximately $34 million, of which $10.8 million is in equity to be held by the vendors, $4.2 million by way of a five year promissory note and approximately $19 million in cash. AirBoss is near completion of a capacity expansion in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada which will make it North America's second largest independent custom rubber mixer with annual capacity of 180 million pounds. Estimates are that the acquisition will increase sales by more than 30% immediately.

Jamak Fabrication, Weatherford, TX, a manufacturer of silicone, is expanding its presence in the silicone medical products market. A 50,000 square foot expansion at the Weatherford, TX location is almost complete, and includes the Medical Products Manufacturing Division. The expanded product mix will be represented by Jamak HealthCare Technologies.

Lyondell, Newtown Square, PA, has completed a 50% expansion of tripropylene glycol (TPG) production capacity at its Bayport manufacturing facility near Houston, TX. Tripropylene glycol is said to be widely used in radiation-curable coatings, adhesives formulations and urethane elastomers.

Ergon, Jackson, MS, has completed the expansion of its naphthenic base oil production capacity at its Vicksburg, MS refinery. Additionally, Ergon's Newell, WV refinery will complete an expansion of its paraffinic lube base oil capacity by year-end 1999.

NuSil Technology, Carpinteria, CA, has created a new subsidiary, NuSil Technology Ltd., with a manufacturing, development, laboratory and technical support facility in Arklow, Ireland. NuSil Technology develops, manufactures and markets silicone materials for the medical device, aerospace and other high technology industries.

Rogers has opened a second laminate manufacturing plant, located in Ghent, Belgium. The plant complements the manufacturing operations of Rogers' high frequency circuit materials plant in Chandler, AZ, which was also the site of a multi-million dollar capacity expansion in 1998.

Charles Ross & Son's latest facilities expansion has added a 16,000 square foot bay with an overhead clearance of 35 feet at the company's facility in Savannah, GA. The modern facility now has enclosed manufacturing space exceeding 50,000 square feet, enabling the company to receive materials at one end of the building and to ship a completed product at the opposite end.

Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, a manufacturer of viscometers and rheometers, recently dedicated its new 100,000 square foot world headquarters and manufacturing facility in Middleboro, MA.

MacNeill Engineering Worldwide, Marlborough, MA, has expanded its current business offerings to include contract manufacturing. MacNeill Contract Manufacturing will offer businesses in any industry its capabilities, ranging from injection molding to custom insert molding.

Entela, Grand Rapids, MI, has acquired Integrity Design and Test Services, a fully accredited regulatory compliance service provider located in Littleton, MA.

DIEFFENBACHER NORTH America celebrated the grand opening of its hydraulic press systems plant in Twin Oaks Park, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Dieffenbacher offers compression molding presses for the processing of fiber reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset materials, as well as rubber presses for injection molding, compression molding and transfer molding.

Quality registrations

Advanced Material Process, Wayne, MI, has received ISO 9002/QS-9000 registration from Entela.

Alco Plastics, Romeo, MI, has been awarded ISO 9002/ QS-9000 certification from Entela.

Alpha Technology, Howell, MI, has been registered to ISO 9002/QS-9000 by Entela.

Chung Tai Rubber Goods Mfg., Ltd., Taiwan, R.O.C., has received ISO 9002/QS-9000 certification from Entela.

Clariant Masterbatches Division, Easton, MD, announced that eight of its sites have achieved quality registrations, including Clariant, Phoenix, AZ (ISO 9001); Clariant, Additive Masterbatches, Winchester,VA (ISO 9001); Clariant, Albion, MI (QS-9000); Clariant, Performance Plastics, Millington, MD (QS-9000); Clariant (Brazil) S.A., Monte Mot, Sao Paulo, Brazil (ISO 9002); Clariant Masterbatches GmbH & Co. OHG, Dobeln, Germany (ISO 9001); Drycolor AB, Malmo, Sweden (ISO 9001); and Clariant AS (Turkey) [Plastikolor], Sefakoy-Istanbul, Turkey (ISO 9001).

Engineered Polymer Products, Eau Clair, MI, has received ISO 9002/QS-9000 certification from Entela.

Envirotronics, Grand Rapids, MI, has received A2LA accreditation for technical competence in the field of calibration services.

Fremont Plastics, Fremont, OH, has been registered to ISO 9002/QS-9000 by Entela.

Holland Plastics, Grand Haven, MI, has received ISO 9002/QS-9000 certification from Entela.

Johns Manville announced that its Waterville (OH) Engineered Products Plant has been ISO 9002 certified.

Kadon, a manufacturer of structural foam material handling products, has earned ISO 9001 and QS-9000 certification for its Dayton, OH facility.

Minnesota Rubber, the rubber molding division of Minneapolis, MN-based Quadion, has been awarded QS-9000 and ISO 9001 certification.

Royal Plastics, Hudsonville, MI, has received ISO 9001/QS-9000 registration from Entela.

Standards Testing Laboratories, Massillon, OH, has successfully completed the registration process for its ISO 9002 certification.

Triangle Plastics has received ISO 9001 registration from Entela for sites in Winthrop, IA; Cookeville, TN; and Independence, IA.

Vinyl Plastics, Manitowoc, WI, has received ISO 9002/ QS-9000 certification from Entela.