Henri Politi, president of Protech do Brasil, will retire from his position as of April 30, 2007. According to the company, Politi has been a driving force in the growth of Protech’s South American powder coatings business since its inception in 1999.

International Paint LLC, a division of Akzo Nobel, has hired Randy Bauknecht to serve as senior account executive over protective coatings sales in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas.

PPG Industries' automotive refinish business is launching the MVP Webinar Series, an educational program of online seminars for owners and managers of collision repair shops and their PBE distributors.

A new course approved by the Automotive Management Institute (AMI), and taught by Steve Feltovich, manager of Business Consulting Services, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp., will teach shop owners, production managers and fixed operations managers how to analyze all aspects of the collision repair business while identifying opportunities to make it run more efficiently and more profitably.

FANUC Robotics America, Inc., a supplier of industrial robots, was presented the General Motors 2006 Supplier of the Year award for its overall business performance in providing GM with world-class parts and services.

Waupaca Pallet has been purchased and renamed Alliance Industries by a new management team of second-generation family members. According to the company, the ‘Alliance’ name reflects its business philosophy, as well as a change in business focus and the desire to bring together four separate operations under a single corporate identity.

At the Hanover Trade Fair (Hannover Messe) in Hannover, Germany, April 16-20, 2007, BASF Coatings and its R-M paint brand will present a sustainability project called the “BioConcept Car,” including a first-generation Volkswagen-Beetle and coated parts of a second-generation Ford Mustang.

The national standards body of Russia signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ASTM International on April 4. The MOU provides the Russian Federation access to the full collection of ASTM’s 12,000 standards.

LA-CO® Industries, manufacturer of the Markal® brand, has introduced a 36-page, four-color catalog that is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for its line of high performance industrial markers.

The ULTRASONEX™ Blinding Control System from Rotex, Inc. is designed to reduce blinding and bridging when screening difficult or sticky materials such as powder coatings.