Business Roundup

The European Commission carried out unannounced inspections late last month at companies active in the polyurethane foam industry. The commission said it was looking for evidence of price fixing but did not say how long the investigation would last.

Cristal Global will end titanium dioxide production at its Baltimore facility. The plant was idled in March 2009, during the economic downturn, and its long-term outlook remains unfavorable, the company now says. Cristal says it is exploring other manufacturing options for the site.

Eastman Chemical will expand capacity for 1,4-cyclohexane­di­meth­anol (CHDM) at its Kingsport, Tenn., site. The company says the 25% boost will be completed in two phases, the second ending in 2012. CHDM is a monomer used to manufacture specialty copolyesters.

Chemtura’s bankruptcy reorganization plan has been deemed “adequate” by the judge supervising the case. The judge must still approve the plan on Sept. 16, after a shareholder vote, before it can become effective. Meanwhile, Chemtura is moving ahead with plans to raise $1 billion in notes and loans to finance its exit from bankruptcy.

Ashland’s Aqualon Functional Ingredients business will expand capacity at its Hopewell, Va., plant for hydroxypropylcellulose, a pharmaceutical binder and tablet coating ingredient. The company says the two-phase project will add capacity this October and in August 2011.

Dow Chemical’s executive vice president of manufacturing and engineering, Michael R. Gambrell, has been appointed to the Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Council. Gambrell will advise Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke on matters related to the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

Tata Chemicals and Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute will collaborate to develop salinity- and drought-resistant rice varieties. Crops in India, where Tata is a major producer of fertilizers and chemicals, are often exposed to floods and drought or grown on land with high salinity.

Sanofi-Aventis and Scripps Genomic Medicine are joining to advance research on personalized medicine. Under the agreement, Sanofi will fund up to three drug discovery research grants for Scripps investigators. Sanofi will be granted nonexclusive rights to any research tools developed through the grants.