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income rose to $14,518,000 from$12,135,000. The segment’s netsales also dropped to$355,420,000 in the nine monthsended 30 Sep 2009 from$501,819,000. In the nine monthsended 30 Sep 2008, income fellto $20,144,000 from $34,400,000.Sales declined in performancecoatings as a result of lowersales volumes of tile coatings,partially offset by higher salesvolumes of porcelain enamel.Sales increased sequentially forthe second consecutive quarterfrom their trough in 1Q 2009 ascustomer inventory destockingmoderated and end-marketdemand stabilized. Segmentincome increased as a result oflower manufacturing costs andreduced selling, general andadministrative (SG&A) expensethat more than offset the negativeeffects of lower manufacturingvolume.

Ferro Results 3Q 2009, 26 Oct 2009, (FerroCorp, 1000 Lakeside Avenue Cleveland, OH44114 1147, USA, tel: +1 (216)641 8580,website: http://www.ferro.com)

Investments: Caparol opensRussian production and logisticscentre

German Caparol Groupinaugurated a new productionfacility and logistics centre inMalino (near Moscow), Russiaduring Sep 2009. The new facilitywill supply all regions in Russiaand includes a storage complexfor the entire range of products(plaster, adhesives and sealants).The plant will initially manufacture20,000 tonnes/y of products inpowder form and can beexpanded at a later stage.Caparol invested around €14 Min the new facility with the aim tobecome a leading supplier ofpaints, plaster, heat insulationcomposites, coatings, varnishesand building chemicals. The drymixing plant currently employs 32staff in finished goods storage,production and administration.

Farbe und Lack, Nov 2009, 115 (11), 8 (inGerman)

Xiom Corp revises letter of intentto acquire Equisol LLC

Xiom Corp announced that it hasrevised its letter of intent toacquire 100% interest of EquisolLLC, located in WestConshohoken, PA. After duediligence being conducted by itsoutside accounting firm, theparties revised the letter of intentand Xiom will acquire 100% ofthe interests of the members ofEquisol LLC for the issuance of40% of the total issued andoutstanding shares of Xiom Corp.The previous letter of intentanticipated a purchase priceconsisting of the issuance ofshares of common stock of Xiomtotalling 65% of the total issuedand outstanding shares ofcommon stock and $1.5 M incash and a note. The revisedletter of intent states that allproceeds of the $1.5 M raisedare to be used for working capitaland growth of operations as isnot contained in the final drafts ofthe closing documents. Xiom’soriginal shareholders will retain60% of the issued andoutstanding shares of Xiom. Thetransaction is expected to closeshortly. Xiom Corp is atechnology business offeringdelivery of plastic powdercoatings at on-site locationsutilizing the XIOM 1000 System.

Press release from: Xiom Corp, 78 LamarStreet, West Babylon, New York 11704, USA,tel: +1 866 688 9466 or +1 631 643 4400,fax: +1 631 643 4111, website: http://xiom-corp.com (10 Nov 2009)

Dow says its earnings potentialhas doubled

Dow Chemical announced lastweek that it anticipates earningsof $3.50-5.50/share through 2015,about a twofold increase from the2002-2005 downturn whenearnings averaged $2.20/share/y.The company said such growth inearnings will be driven by itsmove towards higher-margindiversified and specialitychemicals businesses, buttressedby its purchase of Rohm andHaas in 2009. Dow expects its

new portfolio to draw in revenuegains of 10%/y. Dow’s earningsshould recover to $4-4.50/sharein 2012. Thomson Reutersprojects Dow’s earnings to reach46 cents/share in 2009, andfurther increase to $1.29/share in2010. Separately, Dow agreed tosell its powder coatings operationsto AkzoNobel. Closing of the dealis anticipated by 2Q 2010. Thepowder coatings businessgenerates sales of €600-700 M/y($885.1 M-$1 bn/y).

Chemical Week, 16 Nov 2009, (Website:http://www.chemweek.com)

Akzo Nobel Performance Coatingsbreakdown

Akzo Nobel is acquiring DowChemical’s powder coating activityfor an undisclosed sum. Dowbought the business from Rohm& Haas at the start of 2009. TheDutch group will strengthen itspresence on the US industrialcoating sector, gaining solvent-free sustainable technology andexpertise. The acquisition offerssignificant potential for costsavings. It is scheduled forcompletion in the 2H of 2009.The powder coating activity hassales of several million dollarsand employs around 700. AkzoNobel’s powder coating activityaccounted for 42% ofPerformance Coating divisionsales in 2008. The business unit’ssales were down 12% in the 3Qof 2009 to €1.03 bn. Salesvolume fell by 11%. A pie chartgives a breakdown of AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatingsbusiness unit turnover bysegment in 2008; industrialfinishes and powder coatings42%, marine and protectivecoatings 30%, car refinishes 20%and packaging coatings 8%.

Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 17 Nov 2009, (486),7 (in French)

AkzoNobel to acquire Dow powdercoatings activities

AkzoNobel is to enhance itsportfolio of sustainable

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technologies after signing anagreement with The Dow ChemicalCo to acquire its powder coatingsactivities. Financial details werenot disclosed. The deal will bringkey technological know-how andsignificant synergy potential toAkzoNobel’s Powder Coatingsbusiness, as well as enhancingthe company’s position in the US.Dow purchased the powdercoating activities earlier this yearas part of its acquisition of Rohm& Haas. This business achievesglobal sales of several hundredM dollars and employs around700 people. Powder coatingsoffer an attractive alternative toliquid coatings due to the factthat they are inherentlysustainable because they containno solvents and have applicationefficiency levels as high as 99%.The transaction is expected toclose during 2Q 2010, subject tocustomary closing conditions,including regulatory approvals.Consultations with employeerepresentatives will be held asand when appropriate.

Press release from: AkzoNobel,Strawinskylaan 2555, PO Box 75730, 1070AS Amsterdam, the Netherlands, tel: +31 20502 7555, fax: +31 20 502 7666, website:http://www.akzonobel.com (12 Nov 2009)

Feature article on InternationalPaint and China’s open door policy

The various applications in Chinaof protective coatings supplied byInternational Paint, the AkzoNobelsubsidiary, are outlined.International Paint is also themarket leader in China for marinecoatings. The historicaldevelopment of cooperation andjoint ventures betweenInternational Paint and Kai LinPaint is described. A marinecoatings joint venture thatcommenced production in Dec1989 will celebrate its 20thanniversary in Dec 2009. Inaddition, production facilities forprotective coatings at Suzhou arebeing expanded. The strength ofthe Chinese economy and theinvolvement of AkzoNobel arecited as the main reasons for thesuccess of International Paint in

the country. Investments byAkzoNobel in China reached€861 M in 2008 and thecompany now employs 6300 atits 25 production sites, R&D andservice centres, and salesnetwork. AkzoNobel at Ningbo isdeveloping a multi-purpose sitevia investment of €250 M.

China Chemical Reporter, 6 Nov 2009, 20(31), 8

€40.6 M European Commissionfine for AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel Nv has been fined€40.6 M by the EU forinvolvement in price agreementsin two separate cartels. BesidesAkzoNobel, 9 companies werefined €173 M. The cartelactivities, which involved pricefixing, market allocation, and thesharing of commercialinformation, took place between1987 and 2000.

Het Financieele Dagblad, 11 Nov 2009,(Website: http://www.fd.nl/) (in Dutch)

AkzoNobel restructures its plasticsbusiness

AkzoNobel aims to bring morestability to its PerformanceCoatings and Specialty Chemicalssegments, as part of arestructuring that will entail theformation of two new businessunits and the consolidation of twoothers. Beginning 1 Jan 2010,the company will form a stand-alone Wood Finishes andAdhesives business and amodified Industrial Coatingsbusiness as well as consolidatingthe Polymer Chemicals into theFunctional Chemicals unit. WoodFinishes and Adhesives will becomposed of the firm’s currentwood finishes and adhesivesoperations while IndustrialCoatings will comprise the currentPackaging Coatings, SpecialtyPlastics and Coil Coatingsactivities. The merger of thePolymer Chemicals andFunctional Chemicals groups isaimed at strengthening and

improving the businesses’ cost-efficiency.

High Performance Plastics, Nov 2009, 12

PPG debuts industrial coatingswebsite

PPG Industries’ industrialcoatings business has launched aWebsite at http://www.ppgindustrialcoatings.com. Thesite showcases PPG’s liquid,powder and electrocoat coatingsas well as its pretreatment andengineered products forautomobile parts and accessories,appliances, consumer electronics,sports equipment, sportswear,heavy-duty equipment and otherapplications. Pittsburgh-basedPPG is a global supplier ofpaints, coatings, optical products,speciality materials, chemicals,glass and fibre glass.

Press release from: PPG Fibre Glass, PPGPlace Pittsburgh, PA 15272, USA, website:http://www.ppg.com (6 Oct 2009)

PPG reports 3Q 2009 financialresults

PPG Industries reported sales of$3.2 bn for 3Q 2009, a decline of24% versus 3Q 2008 including a5% decline resulting from abusiness divestiture in 2008. Thecompany reported net income of$159 M or 96 cents/share in 3Q2009. Adjusted net income was$161 M or 97 cents/share. 3Q2008 sales were $4.2 bn, reportednet income was $117 M or 70cents/share, and adjusted netincome was $227 M or$1.37/share. Performance coatingssegment sales in the 3Q 2009decreased $154 M or 13% versussales in 3Q 2008. IndustrialCoatings segment sales for the3Q 2009 decreased $198 M or19% due primarily to lower year-over-year volumes in theautomotive coatings and industrialcoatings businesses, reflectingthe continued severe declines inglobal demand. Demand in the3Q 2009 however, improved fromthe 1Q 2009 and 2Q 2009.Architectural Coatings – Europe,Middle East and Africa segment