BASF posted very strong earnings in the second quarter of 2005. Sales rose 14 percent to €10.6 billion compared with the second quarter of 2004; income from operations (EBIT) before special items climbed 31 percent to €1.7 billion. Cumulative sales in the first half of 2005 amounted to €20.7 billion, or almost 13 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. In the first half, BASF increased EBIT before special items by 32 percent to €3.2 billion compared with 2004.

Noveon has started up of its new TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) plant near Shanghai, China.

Graco Inc., Minneapolis/Minnesota, USA is to consolidate its Gusmer spray equipment business into its Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, South Dakota operations.

Degussa AG, Düsseldorf, Germany, is to take over worldwide sales and technical service activities for triethylene diamine (TEDA) polyurethane foam catalysts produced by BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Efforts in Europe and North America to establish new disposal routes for polyurethane waste will feature prominently at the Polyurethanes 2005 Technical Conference & Trade Fair, according to event sponsor the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry (API) Arlington/Virginia, USA.

From I & J Fisnar, Fair Lawn, NJ, USA, there are new gantry-cartesian dispensing robots available with working areas up to 32” x 24” and high speed movement up to 800 mm/sec.