corporate changes

By Staff -- Purchasing, 9/7/2000

The Dow Chemical Co., Mid-land, Mich., will increase its production of polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) by 550 million pounds, effective in the year 2004. The capacity will be added as part of two initiatives: the construction of a grass roots plant located in the U.S. Gulf Coast region and a significant upgrade at the company's current polymeric MDI facility in La Porte, Texas, according to a company source. Although dollar figures have not been finalized, the potential investment to complete the two projects would be in excess of $325 million.

GE Silicones, a Waterford, N.Y.-based division of GE Plastics, has purchased American Silicones Inc. (ASI). The business will be aligned with the company's compounding operations located in California. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

DSM Corp., based in Heerlen, The Netherlands, has announced that it will acquire the pharmaceutical business of Catalytica Inc., based in Mountainview, Calif. After the completion of the acquisition, which is expected before the end of this year,-the deal is still subject to the approval of shareholders as well as governmental antitrust regulations-Catalytica Pharmaceuticals will operate under the name DSM Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, and will continue to be based in Mountainview, Calif.

LaRoche Industries Inc., Atlanta, Ga., has temporarily idled its Gramercy, La.-based hydrochlorofluorocarbon 141b production facility. Rising raw material costs, depressed market prices and reduced sales volumes are the deciding factors for the shutdown, which will last until market conditions improve, according to a company source. Last year, the facility experienced a one-month forced outage due to an explosion at an adjacent facility.

P.W. Eagle Inc., a manufacturer of pipe, fittings and tubing based in Minneapolis, Minn., has completed its acquisition of its 41,000 square-foot polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Ariz. The facility was acquired from Uponor ETI, another pipe manufacturer based in Conroe, Texas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition brings P.W. Eagle's total number of manufacturing plants to nine.

Sovereign Specialty Chemicals Inc., Chicago, Ill., has acquired the overprint coating product line from Aurachem Inc., in Harrison, N.J. Sovereign is a developer, marketer and distributor of high-performance specialty adhesives, sealants and coatings.

LNP Engineering Plastics, Exton, Pa., has named CC & P Engineering Polymers, Portland, Ore., its Pacific Northwest representative of engineering thermoplastic compounds, including Thermocomp, Lubricomp, Stat-Kon, Verton and Colorcomp product lines.