Daikin America Inc. has announced plans to make a significant ethylene-perfluoroethylenepropene copolymer (EFEP) capacity expansion at its Decatur, AL, production facility. Engineering for the new unit has begun, and construction will be completed by first quarter 2007.

FOREST PRODUCTS SOCIETY NAMES LEWIS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

The executive board of Forest Products Society, Madison, WI, has named Carol Lewis its new executive vice president. Lewis, who will replace Arthur Brauner on Jan. 1, 2006, brings to the Society more than 15 years of experience in the fields of education and not-for-profit organization management.

For more information, visit http://www.forestprod.org , call (608) 231-1361 or e-mail membership@forestprod.org .

MALVERN MOVES SCHMITT TO BUSINESS LINE MANAGER

Malvern Instruments has announced that Oliver Schmitt will move from Malvern Instruments GmbH in Germany to the company's headquarters in the United Kingdom to assume the role of business line manager, Process Systems. Working as Malvern's Process specialist for Germany, Schmitt has gained extensive knowledge of the Insitec on-line particle size analyzer and its applications, and has worked closely with customers in the development of new working methods, products, and applications.

For more information, visit http://www.malvern.co.uk .

MATERIA FOUNDER & SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR SHARE 2005 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

Materia Inc. has announced that its scientific founder, Prof. Robert H. Grubbs of the California Institute of Technology, and scientific advisor, Prof. Richard R. Schrock of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry with French scientist Yves Chauvin for their contributions in the development of Olefin Metathesis. William F. Carroll Jr., president of the American Chemical Society, responded to the news by stating, "Metathesis reactions are an important tool in the creation of new drugs to fight many of the world's major diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's and AIDS; they are also used to develop herbicides, new polymers and fuels." The Nobel committee added, "This [technology] represents a great step forward for ‘green chemistry,' reducing potentially hazardous waste through smarter production."

PALMER HOLLAND ANNOUNCES KEY APPOINTMENTS

Palmer Holland Inc., North Olmstead, OH, has announced the appointments of Mark Riemann to the position of vice president of Sales, Dave Leiser to vice president of Metalworking and Russ Bachman to the position of Sales manager.

For more information, visit http://www.palmerholland.com .