Dow Advanced Materials, a division of The Dow Chemical Co., has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam for the production of acrylic and styrene-acrylic polymers used in the paint, coatings, construction, packaging, home and personal care industries.

Hall Technologies Inc., St. Louis, MO, has acquired Sexton & Co. Inc., Cincinnati, OH.

BASF has appointed Michael McHenry as Vice President, Resins and Additives, in North America. He will be based in Wyandotte, MI.

Demand for BASF’s products continued to be high in the third quarter of 2010. The company reported that there was hardly any sign of the usual seasonal slowdown and the capacity utilization rate was high.

Evonik Cyro LLC has donated $3,300 to the Junior Auxiliary of Osceola, a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of the area’s children through service and educational projects.

ULSAN, Korea – Songwon Industrial Co. Ltd. announced the expansion of its antioxidants capacity from 55,000 tons to 70,000 tons. The expanded capacity will be on stream as of August

PPG Industries’ automotive coatings business last Friday hosted and sponsored two assembly presentations of “Captain Green’s Time Machine” by Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburgh at Hatherly Elementary School in Sterling Heights, MI.

Gaco Western, manufacturer of technologically advanced elastomeric coatings and polyurethane spray foam for the construction and waterproofing industries, has appointed Eric Peterson as its new Chief Financial Officer.

Evonik Degussa Corp. announced the appointment of Bonnie Tully as Vice President and Site Manager for the company’s Mobile, AL, operations, effective March 1, 2011.

LANXESS Corp., a leading specialty chemicals company with North American headquarters in Pittsburgh, won a Communitas Award for its work around World Environment Day to educate Pittsburgh’s youth about global water issues.