Business Roundup

BOC and Sinopec have formed a joint venture to build a world-scale air separation plant in Shanghai. The facility will serve the Shanghai-area petrochemical industry, complementing a similar joint venture in Nanjing, China.

Lonza Chairman Sergio Marchionne says he will resign following his appointment as CEO of Italian auto producer Fiat. Marchionne joined Lonza in 1994 when it bought the Canadian packaging company he was working for. Last month, Lonza tapped Stefan Borgas as its new CEO.

DSM Biologics has signed an agreement with Genmab to produce commercial quantities of HuMax-CD4, an antibody Genmab is developing for the treatment of T-cell lymphoma. DSM will produce batches of the material in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Rhodia has expanded its capacity to produce the flavor and fragrance building block N,2,3-trimethyl-2-isopropylbutanamide by completing a second production stream in Annan, U.K.

Crompton Corp. has expanded capacity for alkylated diphenylamine antioxidants in Elmira, Ontario, for the third time in less than two years. The company says changing motor oil specifications have spurred strong demand for the product.

Koch Industries subsidiary Flint Hills Resources has closed on its purchase of BP's performance chemicals unit, and Ciba Specialty Chemicals has completed its acquisition of Raisio Chemicals.

Givaudan is transferring flavor compounding from Barneveld, the Netherlands, to sites in Germany and Switzerland. Some 130 jobs will be cut in the move, set to be completed by the end of 2005. Barneveld will remain Givaudan's center for flavor ingredient production.