The Coating Wood and Wood Composites conference, which will take place September 25-27, 2005, at the Marriott Charlotte Executive Park, Charlotte, N.C., is specifically designed to explore the changing nature of wood and wood composites, and the coatings used on these materials.

EXEL Industries, a European company, has merged its two U.S. operations under the new name EXEL North America, Inc., responsible for EXEL Industries' Canadian, U.S. and Mexican operations.

During this year's International Metal Decorators Association Annual Convention held on May 19th in Chicago, the winners of the 9th Annual "Excellence in Quality" were announced.

The lingering smell of a recently painted room is a thing of the past with Dunn-Edwards' newest product, Ecoshield™, a line of paint that emits very little odor.

Cytec Surface Specialties, a leading global supplier of resin technology for the coatings and adhesives industries, has completed the renovation of its powder coatings applications lab in Smyrna, Ga.

The NPCA has updated its "Guide to Training Hazardous Materials Employees Involved in Transportation (Fourth Edition)."

An SGM (Shanghai General Motors) Excelle automobile painted with BASF waterborne basecoats has rolled off the General Motors assembly line in Shanghai, marking the first use of waterborne basecoat technology in the history of the Chinese automobile industry.

The Maine legislature is considering a bill that calls for a 25-cent-per-gallon "fee" on paint sold in the state.

The Dow Chemical Co. will further extend part of its polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) operations at its LaPorte, Texas, facility, while the company's new 500-million-lb PMDI facility in Freeport, Texas, continues its startup process.

The Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, a leading coatings manufacturer, has completed the acquisition of Samuel Cabot Inc., a privately owned manufacturer of exterior and interior stains and finishes.