Aerosol production rose 5% in 1984
preparations accounted for a sizable part of the increase. Household products, the second largest category, came to 603 mil Aerosol production in the U.S. rose lion units (25% of the total), up about 5% in 1984, according to the latest 3%. The third-place automotive and annual pressurized product survey industrial products category had a from the Chemical Specialties Man very strong year: Production rose ufacturers Association. At CSMA's 11% to 337 million units, or 14% of midyear meeting in Chicago, sur the 1984 total. Coatings and finishes vey committee chairman Pete Ori, grew a modest 2% to 307 million marketing manager for Seaquist units, or about 13% of the total. Among the other categories, in Valve, revealed that an estimated 2.4 billion container units were sect sprays accounted for 184 mil filled in 1984, compared to 2.28 bil lion units (about 8% of the total), lion units in 1983. For the second up 2%. Food product fillings amount consecutive year, the committee ed to 138 million units (about 6% of notes, output increased for each ma the total), up almost 5%. Animal product fillings fell 16%, but this jor category of aerosol product. The good news was tempered by small category (16 million units) rep the 1984 increase's really being just resented less than 1% of the total. D a return to the 1979 level. It's been up and down for the industry since 1973, when production peaked at 2.9 billion units. Then came a sharp decline—occasioned mostly by con sumer reactions to the ozone-chlorofluorocarbon controversy—to 2.15 Research conducted at Salk Insti billion units in 1977. Two years of tute Biotechnology/Industrial Asso modest recovery (1978 and 1979) ciates Inc. (SIBIA), a biotechnology gave way to another slump—oc affiliate of Phillips Petroleum Co., casioned mostly by general econom has led to a new yeast recombinant ic recession—in which production DNA expression system that is being fell to a 10-year low of only 2.1 licensed by Phillips. The system billion units in 1982. combines a high per-cell level of Personal products remained the gene expression and good control largest product category in 1984, over that level of expression. representing about a third of the The yeast is Pichia past oris. Ac total. An estimated 798 million units cording to David W. Stroman, coor were filled, 7% more than in 1983. dinator of biotechnology licensing Introduction of new mousse hair at Phillips, the company has many years of experience with the yeast as a source of single-cell protein Aerosol production returns and possesses sophisticated highto 1979 level cell-density fermentation technolo Billions of units gy geared to it. 2.5Γ P. pastoris can metabolize metha nol and ethanol. The metabolic path 0 4L way for methanol oxidation involves several enzymes, and the synthesis 2,3 of at least some of these enzymes is I tightly regulated. The first enzyme 2 2V in the pathway is alcohol oxidase. Methanol, either directly or through a metabolite, induces synthesis of 2.1 [ alcohol oxidase and other enzymes by inducing transcription of the 2.0 [ genes that encode the enzymes. η When methanol is the sole carbon oL 1975 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 source for P. pastoris, alcohol oxi Source: Chemical Specialties Manufacturers dase can make up as much as 30% Association of the soluble protein of cells; when
Phillips to license yeast biotechnology system
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grown on ethanol, no alcohol oxi dase is synthesized. Researchers under the direction of Michael M. Harpold, SIBIA di rector of molecular biology and of scientific planning, cloned three methanol-regulated genes from P. pastoris [Molec. & Cell Biol., 5, 1111 (1985)]. In addition to characteriz ing the genes, one of which en codes alcohol oxidase, the research ers identified the genetic elements that control expression of the genes. For the expression vector that is being licensed, Phillips uses the regulatable promoter of the alcohol oxidase gene. A licensee can insert a gene of interest in the system or supply the gene to Phillips/SIBIA to do the requisite genetic engineer ing and receive a transformed yeast ready to produce the desired protein. Because of the use of the strong alcohol oxidase promoter, Stroman says, Phillips has obtained per-cell levels of protein expression compa rable or superior to those of Saccharomyces yeast expression systems, currently the most widely used yeast in biotechnology. The high per-cell level of expression coupled with Phillips' high-cell-density fermen tation technology provides very ef ficient protein synthesis, he adds. Another feature of the system is that maximum expression is ob tained when the yeast is grown on methanol as the sole carbon source. However, for protein products that are toxic to the yeast, the level of expression can be adjusted by grow ing the cells on a mixture of metha nol and ethanol. D
BASF to buy I nniont for $1 billion In a major boost to its coatings busi ness, BASF America will buy Inmont Corp. from United Technologies for $1 billion in cash. Inmont is a major producer of automotive paints and printing and packaging inks. The acquisition is expected to be con cluded in this year's third quarter. With the purchase, the North American unit of West Germany's BASF A.G. will significantly expand its presence in the U.S. paint and coatings market. Inmont, whose May 20, 1985 C&EN 5
News of the Week sales were nearly $1 billion in 1984, is generally considered to be one of the three largest producers of auto finishes along with PPG Industries and Du Pont and the leading producer of inks and container coatings for the printing, publishing, and packaging industries. The deal puts to rest speculation arising in late February from United Technologies' disclosure that it had been approached by parties interested in acquiring the subsidiary. United Technologies acquired Inmont, headquartered in Clifton, N.J., as part of its purchase of Carrier Corp. in 1979. BASF says it does not intend to make any major changes in Inmont's management. "Throughout the course of our meetings with Inmont, we have become increasingly impressed with the quality of the Inmont business and caliber of its management," BASF says. "We would very much like to retain the existing Inmont management in its entirety." Apparently, however, Edward M. Irving, president of Inmont and a senior vice president of United Technologies, will remain with the Hartford, Conn.-based parent company. The acquisition will add to sever-
Inmont at a glance Headquarters: Clifton, N.J. 1984 sales: Nearly $1 billion, about 6% of parent company United Technologies Corp.'s total 1984 sales of $16.5 billion Products: Printing and packaging inks, automotive paints Plants: Anaheim, Calif, (acrylic, alkyd, and phenol-formaldehyde resins, industrial finishes); Cincinnati (acrylic, alkyd, epoxy, and phenol-formaldehyde resins, industrial finishes); Detroit (acrylic, alkyd, and phenol-formaldehyde resins, industrial finishes); Grand Rapids, Mich, (polyurethane surface coating resins, industrial finishes); Greenville, Ohio (acrylic, alkyd, and epoxy resins, emulsions, rosin derivatives, industrial finishes); Hawthorne, N.J. (organic pigments)
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May 20, 1985 C&EN
al product lines already marketed by BASF America, which consists of BASF Wyandotte, Badische Corp., Glasurit America, Fritzsche Dodge & Olcott, and other firms. Glasurit, based in Detroit, produces a line of resins and automotive finishes similar to those produced at several Inmont plants. BASF Wyandotte has a large pigment operation based in Holland, Mich., with manufacturing facilities in Holland, Mich., Huntington, W.Va., and Wyandotte, Mich. Inmont produces organic pigments at its Hawthorne, N.J., facility. BASF America's 1984 sales were $2.4 billion, up 11% from 1983, out of worldwide sales for the BASF Group of $14.2 billion. The largest single element in the North American unit, BASF Wyandotte, posted 1984 sales of nearly $1.2 billion, 12% more than in 1983. Earnings before taxes totaled $34.1 million. In 1984, global BASF Group net income amounted to $315 million.
The acquisition of Inmont is part of a BASF program to expand its presence in the U.S. market. On May 10, the company completed its purchase of Celanese Corp.'s structural composites operations for $135 million. That acquisition included Celanese's carbon fibers division and two subsidiaries, Narmco Materials and Quantum Inc. BASF sees that deal as an important step in the company's long-term plastics strategy"With this acquisition, BASF has especially bought time—the time invested in these units to achieve their high level of know-how, to obtain approvals for specific product applications, and to establish such an enterprise," Hans Albers, BASF chairman, said of the Celanese unit purchase. "We are now therefore positioned on the leading edge of technology in this rapidly developing future-oriented busiD ness.
Government relieved of agent orange payments The seven chemical companies that produced agent orange apparently have lost their lawsuit to force the federal government to share with them the costs of the $180 million fund settled on Vietnam veterans a year ago. Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn has ruled that the government is not legally liable to contribute to the settlement, even though it had requested the production of the Vietnam war defoliant, which was contaminated with dioxin. In his decision, Weinstein said that the Federal Tort Claims Act precludes recovery "in the absence of some form of misfeasance" and that it had not been shown that agent orange caused any injuries to the veterans. The chemical companies—Monsanto, Diamond Shamrock, Dow Chemical, Hercules, Thompson Chemical, TH Agriculture & Nutrition, and Uniroyal—were seeking to have the government contribute to the portion of the fund that will be allocated to the direct claims of the wives and children of the veterans. Under law, the government cannot be held liable for the claims
of the veterans themselves. What share of the total fund would pay for the claims of dependents has not yet been set. In dismissing the suit, Judge Weinstein, though conceding that the government was "within its legal rights in refusing to contribute," added that its "detachment from this aftermath of the Vietnam war may be cruel to the veterans." He warned that the government may be "shortsighted in its refusal to assist contractors who voluntarily produced at government request what amounted to critical war supplies. "Undoubtedly, the U.S. will pay a high price for its present position," the judge said. "In the future many contractors will require indemnification, and increased insurance costs will be added to the price of the goods for government purchases. There will be lingering resentment by veterans and their families who believe that the government let them down." A Dow spokesman said last week that Dow is "assessing the decision for the possibility of appealing it." A spokesman for Monsanto said, "We havçn't made up our minds." D
