A P P O I N T M E N T S Industrial Finishing Systems announced the addition of Tim Merrifield and Brit Metcalf as regional sales managers.

Linetec h a s n a m e d R o b S e i l s as a

regional manager with its outside sales team.

C o o k s o n E l e c t r o n i c s h a s n a m e d

Huub van Dun president of Enthone Inc.

J i m Soma joins The Magni Group Inc. as n o n a u t o m o t i v e sa les manager ,

and Betsy Richards joins as market- ing coordinator.

M E R G E R S & ACOUISlTIONS Quest Specialty Chemicals acquired Raabe Corp.

EXPANSIONS ResinTech Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of ion exchange resins and activated carbon, has created a new laboratory services division.

CERTIFICATION Medina Plating Corp. operations have been certified to the ISO-TS 16949:2002 Without Design, International Quality Standards.

Pavco Inc. announced the approvals of its HyproBlue/ HyproCoat 320 and HyproBlack/ HyproCoat Black S systems for GMW 4700.

The Aldoa Co. announced the suc- cessful completion of its efforts to renew and recertify the full scope of its quality control, manufacturing, and management programs.

PRICE ADJUSTMENTS Surface Specialties UCB announced a p r i c e i n c r e a s e of 12 c e n t s p e r

pound for all Crylcoat polyester resins, UVECOAT UV curable resins, and Additol additives master batches sold in North and South America for orders shipped on or after Jan. 1, or as contracts allow.

D e m a n d f o r E l e c t r o n i c C h e m i c a l s I n c r e a s e s

U.S. demand for electronic chemi- cals is projected to increase 11% per year to more than $6.3 billion in 2008, led by extraordinary growth in low-k dielectric materials, according to The Freedonia Group (Cleveland). Healthy growth is also expected in higher-value, high-per- formance products.

With the growing importance of higher-value materials, volume growth will be moderate by compari- son, held back by continued emphasis on recycling and a shif~ to production on 300-millimeter wafers that require less material on a per-chip basis, Freedonia said Thermoplastic poly- mers will provide a notable exception, with volume growth expected to more than double that of electronic chemi- cals as a whole.

Demand for electronic chemicals is closely related to production and

technology trends in the electronic components industry. Rapid techno- logical advances will continue to afford some of the greatest opportu- nities for growth, the market ing research firm said. Demand for new materials will experience stellar growth as well. Opportunities will also emerge in existing technologies as chemical compositions are adapted for compatibility purposes.

In printed wiring boards, produc- ers will continue emphasizing advanced manufacturing techniques that enable the production of sophis- ticated, highly integrated and small- er boards, Freedonia said. Chemicals such as newer photoresists and etchants, as well as advanced lami- nates and packaging polymers with the correct mix of enhanced proper- ties and processing characteristics, are expected to benefit.

E P A L o o k s t o I m p r o v e N P D E S P e r m i t P r o g r a m s

The U.S. EPA said it is imple- men t i ng a na t ionwide assess- m e n t to improve the Nat iona l Pollution Discharge El iminat ion Sys tem (NPDES) permi t pro- grams. This a ssessment , Pe rmi t t i ng for E n v i r o n m e n t a l Results (PER), is the result of a

16-month effort by the s ta tes and EPA to eva lua te the man- agement of NPDES programs.

The cu lmina t ion of this effort is documented in the 33 NPDES indiv idua l s ta te profiles, wi th the r ema in ing s ta te profiles expected to leased in early 2005.

IGI , U C T S i g n M a r k e t i n g J o i n t V e n t u r e

IGI, Inc. and Universal Chemical Technologies, Inc. (UCT) agreed to form a sales and marketing joint venture to further develop the mar- ket for UCT's UltraCem metal fin- ishing process technology. The two companies had previously entered into a license agreement for the process and are now joining forces to create the demand in several appli- cations for the finishing process.

IGI is a technology company that will provide a variety of com- patible technologies to UltraCem. "We believe the UltraCem process offers our company a unique position in several markets and allows us to

continue to grow in the specialty product area," said Frank Gerardi, ICGI chairman and CEO. "Our micro encapsulation processes offer the potential to position UltraCem in many interesting markets."

"This expansion of the relation- ship with IGI offers UCT a solid marke t position in the Northeastern U.S.A. for furthering the development of Ul t raCem applications," added Richard Bourret, UCT chairman and CEO. UCT is an international metal fin- ishing technology company tha t develops high value-added engi- neered coatings.

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SFIC Has Big P lans for SURf FIN

SUR/FIN 2005 will be held at the America's Center in St Louis. The conference session will be held June 13 to 16 and the exhibit hall will be open June 14 to 16.

Historical ly sponsored solely by the American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers (AESF), SUR/FIN 2005 will be positioned under the umbrel- la of the Surface Finishing Industry Council (SFIC), which encompasses all three indus t ry associa- t ions--AESF, Metal Finishing Supplier 's Association (MFSA), and Nat ional Association of Metal Finishers (NAMF). The joint collaboration is expected to enhance the quality of the exhibit floor and the conference program.

The conference tracks will feature more than 126 papers and will cover the following topics "Global Economy: Management Challenges for Surface Finishers"; "Global Envi ronmenta l Drivers Demanding Change"; "Airline/Aerospace Surface Finishing Challenges"; and "Emerging Technologies". In addition, the AESF Aerospace/Airline forum and the AESF-U.S. EPA Conference are now part of SUR/FIN.

EPA Del i s ts EGBE as HAP

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently publ ished a notification in the Federal Register announcing it has delisted ethylene glycol monobutyl e ther (EGBE) from the Clean Air Act (CAA) list of hazardous air pollutants (HAP). The move is expected to help paint formulators and end users who are struggling to lower the HAP content of their coatings.

Report: Fine Part ic le Po l lut ion Drops

EGBE will still be counted as a VOC. But EPA said EGBE is no longer subject to CAA's MACT require- ments, nor its residual risk and other requirements. Levels of fine particle pollution, also known as PM 2.5, were the lowest in 2003 since nationwide moni- toting began in 1999, according to a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The improved air quality can be largely attr ibuted to EPA's Acid Rain Program, along with other pro- grams tha t reduced emissions tha t contr ibute to fine particle formation.

"The Particle Pollution Report: Current Unders tand ing of Air Qual i ty and Emissions through 2003" looks at recent and long-term trends in air quality and emissions, explores the character- istics of particle pollution in the United States, and takes a close look at particle pollution in 2003 (the most recent year for which da ta are available).

January 2005 5