Business Roundup

Chemtura will increase capacity 25% for the industrial lubricant additive calcium sulfonate at its West Hill, Ontario, site by the end of November. The firm also plans a multistage capacity increase for high-viscosity polyalphaolefins, which are gear and engine oil additives, in Elmira, Ontario. It will complete the first stage by the end of June.

Kumho Tires has broken ground on an R&D center in Young-In, South Korea. The $67 million facility, including chemistry labs and tire compound testing equipment, is slated for completion by the end of 2009. As part of an overall strategy to bolster R&D, Kumho plans to double its global research staff to 1,200 employees by 2015.

Albemarle has acquired a 75% stake in Weifang Sinobrom Import & Export, a Chinese distributor of bromine derivatives based in the coastal province of Shandong. Sinobrom recently won the rights to exclusively represent Shandong Weitai Fine Chemical, a producer of bromine derivatives.

Solvay has joined Capricorn Cleantech Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in clean technology companies across Europe. Solvay says participation will advance its strategy of fostering new business opportunities in sustainable technologies.

Quaker Chemical will spend close to $20 million to triple capacity at its Middletown, Ohio, facility, where it makes fluids for steelmaking, hydraulics, and industrial cleaning. Quaker says it will move all products made at its Detroit plant to Middletown, with the exception of metalworking fluids.

Rockwood Holdings, a specialty chemical producer, has appointed Nance Dicciani to its board of directors effective June 1. Dicciani is the former CEO of Honeywell International's specialty materials business. Before that she was senior vice president and European regional director for specialty chemicals at Rohm and Haas.

Air Products & Chemicals has purchased Goar, Allison & Assoc., an engineering firm specializing in sulfur recovery for the energy industry. Air Products says the business complements its operations in gas processing and refining and helps it pursue the emerging gasification market.

The European Commission has launched a new online database of more than 15,000 ingredients approved for use in cosmetics and toiletries. Called CosIng, the database replaces a list that, according to the commission, was one of the most consulted documents on the website of the EC's Enterprise Directorate.

BASF and Abu Dhabi's Kanoo Group are forming a urethanes joint venture owned 51% by Kanoo and 49% by BASF's Elastogran subsidiary. The venture will acquire the Abu Dhabi urethanes business Multi Chemical from Al Hamid Group for an undisclosed price. It will also build a urethane systems house in Dubai Industrial City by 2010.