facilities for making dyes andintermediates in Gujarat province.(See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct2008, 6). Kiri Dyes is also keen toexpand its business by acquisitions,both in India and overseas.

Business Line, 1 Sep 2009, 16 (242), 2

Merck acquires Taizhu, Chinesemanufacturer of effect pigments

Merck KGaA has acquired SuzhouTaizhu Technology Development CoLtd, one of the biggest companiesmaking effect pigments companies inChina. Taizhu has 300 employees andreported total sales revenues at morethan €14 M for full-year 2008. Its plantis located at Taicang, 40 km fromShanghai. Merck’s own chemicalssubsidiary has been based inShanghai since 1997. The value ofthe transaction was around €28 M.

According to Merck, China will besecond only to the US as the largesteffect pigments market in the world in2010, so the acquisition is seen asbeing of major strategic importance.

Press Release from: Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Street250, D-64293 Darmstadt, Germany. Website:http://www.merck.de (9 Sep 2009)

Novant appoints Northspec to sellpearlescent & iron oxide pigments

Novant Chemicals (part of the Nobleconglomerate, headquartered in HongKong) has appointed NorthspecChemicals Corp (of Toronto) as itsexclusive distributor for the Canadianmarket in respect of its Sirius range ofpearlescent pigments and for its entirerange of iron oxide pigments, includingthe Ionix range of conventionalsynthetics, the Micronix range ofmicronised pigments, and the Trionixrange of transparent iron oxides.

Coatings World, Jul 2009, 14 (7), 58

Omnova buys Ropaque hollow-spherepigment business from Dow

Omnova Solutions (of Fairlawn, OH)has agreed to buy the Ropaquehollow-sphere pigment business fromDow Chemical, with closure of thetransaction expected towards the endof this year. The value of thetransaction was not revealed. Thedisposal of the Ropaque pigmentbusiness on or before 27 November

2009 was one of the conditionsimposed by the US anti-trustauthorities for approval of Dow’s$18.8 bn acquisition of Rohm & Haas,effective 1 April 2009. Ropaquepigments were developed by Rohm &Haas during the 1980s and they weremarketed as potential TiO2 substitutesin paint, paper and plastics.

Omnova was hived off as aseparate entity by GenCorp Inc(formerly General Tire & RubberCorp) in 1999. It has established areputation for developing emulsionpolymers, speciality chemicals, anddecorative and functional surfaces fora variety of commercial, industrial andresidential end uses.

Press Release from: Dow Chemical Co, 2030 DowCenter, Midland, MI 48674, USA. Website:http://www.dow.com (10 Sep 2009)

Paint Research Association becomespart of Pera Innovation Network

The Paint Research Association(PRA) has been absorbed into thePera Innovation Network (originallyfounded as the ProductionEngineering Research Association).Both the PRA and the PERA are UK-based organisations that wereoriginally founded essentially as tradeassociations funded by membercompanies to collaborate on basicresearch, training and informationmanagement in their respectiveindustries.

The PRA was founded in 1926 andbegan extending its scope beyond theUK in 1977, when it first admitted non-UK companies as members. With MrJohn Bernie as Managing Directorbetween 1986 and 1999, the PRAembarked on organising internationalconferences on themes related to thepaint industry. Thanks mainly to MsHelma Jotischky (Technical Director),the PRA launched the monthlypublication ‘Coatings Comet’ in 1993and it extended its publications rangein August 1999 with the acquisition(from Information Research Ltd) ofanother monthly publication‘European Paint & Resin News’. Bothpublications are still running, with DrGlenda Thisdell as the ManagingEditor. The PRA also maintains alarge database of technical abstractsand archived data on the paintindustry, known as the World SurfaceCoatings Library. In 2005, the PRAmoved its headquarters, technical

training centre and independentlaboratory testing facilities fromTeddington to Hampton, within easyreach of London Heathrow Airport. In2006, Mr Jonathan Bourne becamethe sixth Managing Director of thePRA. The latest extension to thePRA’s services in the field of businessinformation was the acquisition in July2007 of Irfab Consultants. Founded in1971 by Dr Franco Busato and basedin Brussels, Irfab had established anexcellent reputation for multi-clientstudies and proprietary consultancywork in various paint sectors, notablypowder coatings.

The PRA has traditionally beengoverned by representatives from itscorporate members, which includemanufacturers of paints, inks, rawmaterials and intermediates, as wellas product distributors and end-usersof paints and inks. PERA (head-quartered at Melton Mowbray, nearLeicester) describes itself as a“private sector company, working inthe public interest, with a non-profitmission to improve the growth andcompetitiveness of industry andbusiness in Europe.” This missionincludes helping clients to obtain moreeffective skills development andgreater access to global knowledgeand markets.

Pitture & Vernici, May 2009, 56

Rocky Mountains takes control ofTianzhu Tianyan Baryte

Rocky Mountains IndustryDevelopment Co Ltd (of Shenzhen,Guangdong province) has acquired a70% majority stake in TianzhuTianyan Baryte Corp Ltd. The lattercompany has been mining about100,000 tonnes/y of barytes from itsTianzhu mine, near Bandong insoutheastern Guizhou province, and itplans to step up production to 120,000tonnes/y. Tianzhu Tianyan also openeda new barytes mine at Sanjiang inGuangxi province last year.

Industrial Minerals, Sep 2009, (504), 12-13

LEGISLATIONREACH for carbon black

Carbon black has been formallyregistered by the European Chemicals

6 OCTOBER 2009

F O C U S O N P I G M E N T S