Coatings World - March 2008

naval marine equipment.

“This research contract will allow us to improve many current products and develop several new product concepts,” said Andy Marsh, president of Rolls-Royce U.S. naval operations. “We also intend to work closely with our customers to apply this technology on non-Rolls-Royce equipment. UltraCem is a very exciting and versatile emerging marine coating technology.”

“The global reach of Rolls-Royce and its leadership role in the marine marketplace is a perfect match for our business strategy,” said Tom Dyer, president and COO of UCT Coatings, Inc. “We have jointly begun testing and product application development and hope to capitalize on this effort in the near term.”

ALERIS TO CLOSE ITS
TORONTO COIL COATING FACILTY

Aleris International, Inc. will be permanently close its Toronto, Ontario, Canada coil coating facility. Production will be phased-out during the first quarter of 2008 and the site will be permanently closed shortly thereafter.

The facility, which was acquired by Aleris when it acquired the downstream aluminum business of Corus plc in 2006, employs 64 people and supplies coated aluminum coil for building and construction, transportation, distribution and consumer durables applications. Aleris expects to take a restructuring charge of approximately $5 million to $6 million related to severance, shutdown costs and asset impairment. Production will be transferred to other Aleris facilities in North America.

THERMOLON AND SHINWOO MERGE Thermolon, a supplier of non-stick coatings, has merged with Shinwoo Trading Company, the South Korean company that manufactures the coating. Thermolon coatings are completely PTFE-free and, therefore, no PFOA (sometimes known as C8) is used at any stage during Thermolon’s manufacture.

During the first phase of the new company, a $15 million investment is planned in 2008 to expand further the production capacity of Thermolon.

Both companies will operate under the umbrella of Thermolon Ltd. and all products will be branded as Thermolon.

The company headquarters is located in Busan, South Korea where they will continue to expand their R&D facilities. The commercial and financial center is located in Hong Kong. CW

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