Coatings World - September 2012

BASF starts production of acrylic dispersions
for coatings in Durban, South Africa

BASF has opened its first production plant for dispersions in South Africa located at Umbogintwini Industrial Complex in Durban. With this new production facility BASF will serve its customers in the fast growing South African and Sub-Saharan African coatings and construction industry with acrylic dispersions based on state-of-the-art technologies. The BASF Group in South Africa supplies the local industries with a wide variety of products and solutions. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, coatings, dispersions, agricultural products to mining and construction chemicals and emission catalysts. The investment into the production plant for dispersions is part of BASF’s commitment to strengthen its presence in Africa and exploit the vast range of opportunities.

board of directors has named Ace’s
COO John Venhuizen his successor. Ef-
fective September 1, 2012, Venhuizen
assumed the role of president, while re-
taining his existing COO duties of Ace
Hardware Corporation. Griffith will
maintain his role as chief executive until
his retirement. When Griffith retires in
2013, he will have served as president,
CEO or COO for more than eight years,
having seen Ace through a period of
dramatic change, growth and financial
success. Venhuizen, 42, brings a wealth
of experience to the position with a ca-
reer already spanning more than 20
years at Ace. Since joining the coopera-
tive in 1992, Venhuizen has served as
COO and as vice president of business
development, retail development, retail
training and international. He has led
many of the major business units
throughout the organization, including
supply chain, category management and
information technology.

Grace breaks ground on
waterproofing products facility
in Ezhou City, China
Grace China Ltd., a subsidiary of W. R.
Grace & Co., broke ground on its new
production facility for waterproofing
products in the central Chinese city of
Ezhou. The planned 11,000 square
meter facility is located on a 60 Chinese
acre site ( 10 U.S. acres) in the Ezhou

Index to Companies
Univar renews distribution
agreement for eco-friendly
acetal solvents with Lambiotte
Univar Inc., a global chemical distributor,
has renewed its long-standing agreement
with Lambiotte & Cie. to distribute the
company’s range of eco-friendly acetals
solvents. The agreement was first signed
in 1995 and covers Belgium, France, Ger-
many, Iberia, Italy, and Luxembourg on
an exclusive basis, and Ireland and the
United Kingdom non-exclusively. Lam-
biotte is one of the world leaders in the
specialized field of acetals synthesis and is
able to produce very low-toxicity solvents,
a large proportion of which are bio-
sourced. Lambiotte’s range of acetals has
a wide variety of applications including in
coatings and adhesives, aerosols, cleaning,
cosmetics and other uses.

ACE Hardware president and CEO to retire March 2013 Ace Hardware president and CEO Ray Griffith has announced his plans to retire from the hardware cooperative on March 31, 2013, and the company’s

This index gives the starting page for a department or feature with a signifi-
cant reference to a manufacturer of paint, coatings, adhesives and sealants.
Subsidiaries are indexed under their own names.