Ameron International Corp. and PPG Industries Inc. announced an agreement under which Ameron has been appointed a worldwide distributor of PPG's PITT-CHAR XP fire-protective coatings.

Akzo Nobel announced the formal opening of the company's first decorative-coatings production plant in Russia, in a move the company said reflects its plan to tap the "huge potential" of the Russian market.

M.A.B. Paints, Broomall, PA, marked a manufacturing milestone recently when the billionth can of M.A.B. paint rolled off the line at the company's southwest Philadelphia plant.

PPG Industries Inc. said it has developed high-temperature powder coatings that offer superior durability in prolonged exposure to temperatures of up to 600 deg F.

ICI plc Chief Executive Brendan O'Neill told company shareholders that the company continues to set a long-term target of 5-7% annual growth, based on organic growth of 4-5% per year and 1-2% growth from "small bolt-on acquisitions, assuming we find the right opportunities to genuinely add value."

Joseph Benga, senior Research associate for PPG Industries Inc.'s Analytical Services Group and regarded as one of the industry's foremost authorities on coatings test methods, died suddenly May 31 at his home in Allison Park, PA. He was 48.

PPG Industries Inc. announced a $2.7 billion agreement in what is being called one of the largest asbestos settlements in U.S. corporate history, involving products made by the company's affiliate business, Pittsburgh Corning.

The NPCA is asking coatings manufacturers to submit comments to the U.S. EPA on its proposed National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Miscellaneous Organic processes, commonly referred to as the MON.

DSM Desotech Inc. announced the start-up of operations at a new production facility for UV-cure coating materials and other specialty products in Stanley, NC.

DuPont White Pigment & Mineral Products, the world's biggest supplier of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments, announced a change in the business's name to DuPont Titanium Technologies.