Vredestein, Jakobs Rubber Recycling form joint venture.

Vredestein Rubber Resources has acquired a 60% shareholding in Jakobs Rubber Recycling N.V., based in Lommel, Belgium. The separate activities of Jakobs Rubber Recycling B.V. in Nijnsel, Holland, in transport, processing and trade in rubber buffings will not be affected. For Vredestein, this joint venture extends the product range they offer to the rubber processing industry, and also realizes an upstream integration in raw materials for their reclaiming facility in Maastricht, Holland. The truck tire recycling operation at Lommel will be renamed Vredestein Jakobs N.V. and will fit perfectly into the newly formed Vredestein Rubber Resources group, which includes rubber compounds at Renkum, tire recycling and chemicals in South Africa, with truck tread and butyl reclaims at Maastricht, according to the company.

Witco, Greenwich, CT, plans to construct an oleochemical derivatives facility in Malaysia that will manufacture consumer and functional surfactants for sale and distribution throughout the Asia/Pacific region. The company expects construction to be complete sometime in the third quarter of 1999 and anticipates that the plant will begin operations by the fourth quarter of 1999. Witco has just completed the first year of a three-year restructuring program during which the company is investing more than $600 million in asset consolidation, facility improvements to boost capacity, modernize operations and increase competitiveness, and to fund growth initiatives worldwide.

The first phase of Davis-Standard's 40,000 square foot Pawcatuck, CT manufacturing facility expansion has been completed. Finished in December, 1997, phase one included the addition of approximately 8,000 square feet of expanded assembly and testing areas dedicated to large extrusion systems. The project also included consolidation and expansion of the company's technical center offices to accommodate increased staffing levels. Phase two of the project will include additional office space and the centralization of the company's service, spare parts and aftermarket departments into a new customer service center. The company has also acquired the extruder product line from Bernex-Muller AG of Rorbas, Switzerland. The Muller product line includes single screw extruders ranging in diameters of 35 mm to 120 mm, co-extruders from 25 mm to 40 mm, control systems and feedscrews. The complete line of Muller extruders is being manufactured at ER-WE-PA Davis-Standard GmbH in Erkrath, Germany.

Specialty Minerals, New York, NY, a wholly owned subsidiary of Minerals Technologies, has signed an agreement with Rhodia Limited, a specialty chemicals company, for the purchase of a precipitated calcium carbonate manufacturing facility in Lifford, England, near the city of Birmingham. Rhodia is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Paris-based Rhone-Poulenc Group. The final sale is contingent upon conditions to be met by both parties. The price, to be determined at the time of the sale, is expected to be in the range of $30 million to $35 million. Sales in 1997 were about $18 million. Minerals Technologies has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Oglebay Norton Company of Cleveland, OH for the sale of Minerals Technologies' limestone operation in Port Inland, MI. The price, to be determined at the time of the sale, is exptected to be in the range of $30 million to $35 million, which will be about its net book value.

Clariant Masterbatches Divison, Easton, MD, recently opened a new facility in Dalton, GA. The 24,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility features a manufacturing component which includes single and twin screw extrusion capabilities, as well as a full service laboratory offering quality control, product testing services and application development.

Arizona Chemical, Panama City, FL, has completed a major debottlenecking expansion of its Pensacola, FL plant which produces Nirez terpene phenol resins. Normal inventory levels of all Nirez terpene phenol resins have been established and the sales control program eliminated. Additionally, the company has announced its intention to develop a new line of terpene phenol resins based on d'limonene, which is derived from oranges. The expansion, coupled with recent productivity improvements, is expected to increase production capacity by 20 to 25 percent annually while achieving an overall reduction in air emissions, according to the company.

Adhesive Packaging Specialties, Peabody, MA, has quadrupled its manufacturing facilities space devoted to its TechFilm product line and also signed an international sales distribution agreement with Nichimoly, the automotive and industrial manufacturing division of Osaka Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., to represent APS in sales of TechFilm to Asian markets.

Sterling Technical Fibers Development has moved to new offices. The company's new research office is located in Shelton, CT. Sterling's technical fibers development center is located in Pace, FL.

Federal-Mogul, Southfield, MI, has entered into an agreement to sell its aftermarket operations in Chile to Inversiones Federal, S.A., a Chilean corporation headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The Chilean aftermarket operations included a warehouse distribution center and four retail stores in Santiago. In connection with the sale of this business, Federal-Mogul will also enter into supply and distribution arrangements with the buyer, who distributes various automotive components in Chile.

Computer Associates International, Islandia, NY, has purchased privately-held AI WARE, Beachwood, OH, a developer of intelligent decision support software utilizing artificial intelligence and other advanced computer technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Oil States Industries, Arlington, TX, signed a letter of intent to acquire all the shares of Subsea Ventures, Houston, TX, which would operate as a division of Oil States Industries.