INDUSTRY & BUSINESS current discussion: Should n e w cars with acrylic finishes h e polished? Ulti mately, this is something which will h e determined by t h e owner. Roughly 7(K< of polish or wax jobs are d o n e b y the car owner. T h e outstanding property of the new acrylic lacquers is their resistance to chalking as a result of pigment oxida tion. This occurs when the organic hinder in t h e surface layer of the paint film is broken down and eroded by sun a n d moisture. It takes about 18 months for this process to begin in t h e case of acrylic lacquer; nitrocellulose lacquers often start t h e process in six months to a year. Therefore, there is less need to wax the acrylic finish for 18 m o n t h s . D u Pont says. But traffic film, road haze, a/id scum are external deposits that n e e d atten tion. In many cases, washing the car will remove this matter. Waxing no doubt will continu:», since many owners feel this protects the finish. Du Pont says waxing will do no harm, but there may b e less need for it. Today, virtu ally aii 1959 cars have acrylic lacquer finishes. Nylon fibers and vinyl upholstery are big items in automobiles. This year, some 7 million pounds of nylon fiber will b e used, and three out of four cars produced using woven upholstery will be t r i m m e d in nylon. As for vinyl, con sumption ran about 31 million yards last year, should be about 20f,r higher in 1959. Elsewhere, other fibers are getting into autos, a m o n g t h e m D a cron polyester fiber (for automotive \ r -belts) a n d Teflon fiber (for bear ings).
Hooker Unifies Research Multimillion-dollar technical headquarters centralizes c o m p a n y research activities C E R E M O N I E S last week heralded t h e new look in research at Hooker Chem ical—integration. T h e occasion: dedi cation of its spacious $3.6 million re search center at Grand Island, Ν . Υ. Just a mere stone's throw from Hooker's Niagara Falls headquarters, the n e w center houses all company re search activities—except some scattered divisional technical service and applica tion type work. T h e n e w center brings together five separate fields of investigation formerly carried out on a divisional basis: 22
C&EN
JUNE
8.
1959
• Halogen, halogen organic, a n d sul fur chemistry; a n d caustic-chlorine cell development (Hooker, Niagara Falls, N.Y.). • Polymers and resins, molding com pounds, a n d phenol production and reactions ( Durez, North T o n a w a n d a and Le Roy, X. Y.). • Potash salts a n d trichlorethylene (Niagara Alkali, Niagara Falls, X. Y.). • Organic phosphorus compounds, chlorates, and perchlorates (Oldbury, Niagara Falls, X. Y. ) . • Phosphate salts and esters (Shea, North Adams, Mass. ) . Hooker has a d d e d four companies— Durez Plastics and Chemicals, Niagara Alkali, Oldbury Electro-Chemical, and Shea Chemical—over the years via the merger route. Reason for the research reshuffle: to promote corporate growth, and to serv ice company divisions better. Says Hooker, "Combination of the five labo ratories, with their individual special ties, know-how. a n d interests, has re sulted in cross-fertilization which is yielding highly desirable benefits in the creation of n e w ideas, n e w applications of old ideas, and in t h e removal of established mental ruts. Centralizing these groups into o n e large, integrated group provides the research chemist with more services than could b e af forded b y individual groups." F o r ex ample, facilities include distillation, physical chemistry, instrumental anal ysis, and analytical labs. Prime con tractor for the lab was AVigton-Abbott Corp., Plain-field, X. J. Latest word in industrial research laboratory design a n d perched on a 61-acre site to allow further expansion, the center contains 2 2 large labs. Per sonnel capacity is about 200. T e n t a tive future plans call for duplicate ad ministrative and laboratory wings and an auditorium. Research director C. A. Steigman heads the corporate re search operation. Most pleasantly surprised person a t the tape-cutting ceremonies was Hook er's board chairman, R. Lindley Mur ray, in w h o s e honor the n e w center was dedicated. Murray served as vice pres ident in charge of d e v e l o p m e n t a n d r e search from 1914-1949, was elevated to executive vice president in 1949, president in 1951, a n d b o a r d chairman in 1955. Key speaker, Governor Nel son A. Rockefeller, t o p p e d an impres sive list of dedication guests.
Lithium Corp. Optimistic Sales rising. Profit margins broaden ing. Long teram outlook good. That's w h a t Lithium Corp. of America presi d e n t Herbert W . Rogers h a d t o report t o stockholders a t the a n n u a l meeting. But t h e r e is a cloud o n t h e horizon. F o r next New Year's morning, Rogers will w a k e up t o find his best customer is no longer ira. t h e m a r k e t for lithium hydroxide. Lithium Corp.'s contract with the Alonnic E n e r g y Commission will have run o u t . H o w big an impact will this have? A E C business accounts for about half of LCA's total current business, which racked u p sales of nearly $2.9 million d u r i n g 1959's first quarter. So, Rogers a d m i t s , 1960 "will b e a · belt-tightening year" for them. Sales and earnings will b e d o w n . But Lithium Corp. is hopeful it can m a k e u p for lost government business. Diversification is one m o v e afoot. L C A is studying two chemical firms as pos sible acquisition candidates, also claims t o have several joint v e n t u r e s "with major companies" u n d e r discussion. On the other hand, t h e company's deal to acquire control of American Ice Co. has fallen t h r o u g h , a s L C A has let its option to acquire 60 r /o of American Ice's stock lapse. L C A a n d Delaware Midland Corp., present owner of the stock, could not agree on a price. A s a result, L C A will sell its 13,992-sfrare interest in L I S - Cold Storage t o Ameri can Ice (which ηολν controls U. S. Cold Storage ) for $532,000. LCA can s-ee a b r i g h t future for lithium chemicals. Rogers feels the halt in government purchases "is tem porary," for instance. A n d industrial sales ( u p 25'.\ in this year's first quar ter over a year ago) seem to h a v e a strong future. T h e c o m p a n y is devel o p i n g several new organic a n d inor ganic lithium c o m p o u n d s . O n e of these: «-biityîlithium, a catalyst for polyisoprene ixaà poiybutadiene, as well as a pharmaceutical intermediate. Semicommercial production begins this month. Company researchers also h a v e come u p with a new m e t h o d to make sodium perchlorate; Rogers claims the n e w technique is more efficient and requires less capital investment. For t h e long term outlook, Rogers lias n o t h i n g but confidence. A n L C A sponsored market survey, h e says, shows a market for lithium industrial chemicals "more than three times as large as today within five years."
INDUSTRY & BUSINESS
Source: U. S. Tariff Commission^ * Estimated**
U» S^ Production o f Synthetic O r g a n i c Pesticides
600
(Thousands o£% Pounds}
kSOO
fcv>400
b3QO:\hl' , ν Ί *
y2O0\
>f -ft*
u πυι
1 Λ n a \ c
, au
Λ%
ι.: v-»pCxatiiïg
license. Before a license is issued, A E C says it will settle all safety questions.
Standard Oil (Ohio)
Has a Busy Week During open house celebration a t Sohio's new refinery in Toledo, tractordrawn trailers carry visitors to points of interest. T h e company provided guides for both riders a n d walkers to explain now tue various reuiiery units operate. T h e open house was p a r t of the weeklong ceremony dedicating, the $40 million facility. Sohio says t h e refinery refines and processes t h e equivalent of 300 railroad tank car loads of crude oil daily. That's 60,000 barrels a clay. All processes are hooked together under a centralized control system t o provide straight-through manufacturing. The refinery—Sohio's fifth—produces complex fuels and lubricants for automobiles and aircraft. During dedication week, more than 450 men from the company's marketing department offices throughout Ohio took their firsLt tour of t h e facility. And more than 4000 high school science students m a d e the plant tour as p a r t of their school work. JUNE
8.
1959 C&EN
25
