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Thomas Swan & Company Ltd of Consett, Co. Durham, manufacturer of speciality chemicals, has introduced a line of Ethyl Silicate 40, an ethyl ester/polysilic acid formulation with paint‐industry applications.

Additions for use in polyurethane coatings. Angus Chemie GmbH has announced the introduction of two new additions to its product line for polyurethane coatings. Zoldine RD‐20 Reactive Diluent is designed to replace higher viscosity polyols in high solids polyurethane coatings. Zoldine MS‐Plus Moisture Scavenger eliminates bubbles, pinholes, downglossing and hazing in polyurethane coatings to allow for fast cure times in all types of weather.

Outlines the main findings of a longitudinal study into the use and application of quality management tools and techniques in a speciality chemicals manufacturer. Finds that the use of a particular tool or technique is related to the stage of development of the organization’s improvement process and, in the early phase of the improvement process, tools and techniques were used in a haphazard manner, which improved with operating experience. Points out that those tools and techniques which were introduced in relation to a defined need were better understood and utilized than those which were applied company‐wide and without a specific use in mind at the time of the training. Highlights the fact that soundly based training delivered by credible trainers is vital to early success in the use of tools and techniques.

This paper investigates manager's use of self‐assessment in diagnostic routines to assist organisations embarking on major organisational change involving the adoption of a managerial innovation.

The illustrative case focuses on the comparative adoption of two assessment tools set within a methodology developed via action research to improve the performance of new process development in the specialty chemical industry.

Features of the case context, such as prior commitment to the methodology, contribute to explaining managerial preferences for the non‐financial diagnostic tool over the financial one.

For practitioners the case illustrates how prior commitment can obscure rational considerations when faced with planning and implementing major change, particularly so when introducing managerial innovations. For academics the case study highlights the potential for fruitful research into the design and use of self‐assessment routines that precede or coincide with the adoption and implementation of such managerial innovations.

The paper focuses on self‐assessment routines constructed to aid chemical firms contemplating the adoption of a major managerial innovation; a methodology that entails a radical approach to designing and developing new manufacturing processes for chemical production.

An informative leaflet on the affect on the new COSHH regulations has been produced by Deb, the leading specialist in skin care, hygiene and cleaning products for industry.

Presents a design method aimed at supporting managers in decisions regarding the (re)design of international manufacturing and logistics structures. The heart of this method consists of analyses to determine the combined impact of changes in the location and annual capacity of a multinational’s manufacturing plants. The proposed design method was applied in five case studies, covering various problem types in the field of international manufacturing and logistics. Reveals that the participating managers appreciated the results obtained by the systematic, mainly quantitative, analyses of variations of both plant location and annual plant capacity. These results provided valuable insights into the participating firms’ sensitivity to international competition. Concludes that the design method is a useful tool to support strategic decision making on international manufacturing and logistics issues.

PMD have appointed David H. Ormerod to the position of printed circuits products manager as part of their marketing organisation.

The Croxton + Garry (C+G) Melton Whiting Plant is the largest calcium carbonate production unit within the Croxton + Garry Group, as well as one of the biggest U.K. producer of this type of mineral. It is the second plant to achieve registration to BS 5750: Part 2:1987 and ISO 9002 — 1987, the internationally recognised standards for quality assurance and control.

Seven years arduous service from fibre glass pump. A Fybroc fibre glass horizontal end suction centrifugal pump, supplied by Alpha Technical Services Limited, has given more than seven years service on a difficult duty at speciality chemicals manufacturers Catomance Limited, Welwyn Garden City. The pump handles an Ester, Pentachlorophenol Laurate, together with acidic water and other corrosive and abrasive by products.

Epoxy resin emulsions are used in water‐based coatings for surface protection of concrete and metal. An unfortunate drawback for most emulsions is their poor freeze‐thaw stability. Epoxy emulsions are indeed unstable below 0°C, ‐5°C or ‐10°C, depending on the type of resin. In this study, other factors capable of influencing the freeze‐thaw behaviour were investigated: e.g. solids content, amount and type of emulsifiers, solvents, protective colloids. Discusses methods for testing the quality of thawed emulsions as well as the physics involved in their destabilization. Freeze‐thaw performance can be improved by different means but mostly not without sacrificing resistance properties of the coating. Therefore, avoiding temperatures below 0°C is still the best advice.