Business Roundup

Dow Chemical is undertaking a study to determine the location and size of new cellulose ether production capacity. Dow says the capacity will meet growing demand, particularly from China and South Asia, where it projects the construction industry will expand 7% per year over the next decade.

Dow Corning has entered a long-term agreement to supply electronic-grade silane to Air Products & Chemicals for distribution to makers of flat-panel displays, semiconductors, and photovoltaic cells. In March, Dow Corning opened a silane plant in Thomas Township, Mich.

Vorbeck Materials has raised $10 million in a third round of fund-raising that tapped Black Powder, Fairbridge Venture Partners, and 15 other investors. Vorbeck is developing single-sheet graphene for industries ranging from consumer goods to aerospace.

Sensient Technologies will invest $22 million to expand its digital ink facility in Morges, Switzerland. The Milwaukee-based firm says the project will feature new technology with applications in textile and other industrial inks.

Allylix, a biotech flavor and fragrance firm, has begun commercial-scale production of nootkatone, a terpene that is the predominant flavor of grapefruit. The firm is using 200,000-L tanks to make the precursor product valencene, which is oxidized to nootkatone.

Rhodia and China Rare Metals & Rare Earth will cooperate to develop opportunities in the global rare-earths business. Materials based on rare earths are a major part of Rhodia’s portfolio. China is the main supplier of rare earths to the rest of the world.

Novartis has dedicated a plant in Holly Springs, N.C., that is the first U.S. facility to use cultured animal cells instead of fertilized eggs to manufacture flu vaccines. The facility is part of a 25-year partnership between the company and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Elan Corp. will contribute roughly $4 million to help establish a chair in the business of biotechnology at University College Dublin, in Ireland. The chair, to be funded for at least seven years, will sit at the intersection of the university’s College of Science and its Graduate School of Business.