CEO and President appointments

CEO and President appointments

Kootenay Powder Coatings Ltd

The Board of Directors of Kootenay Powder Coating Ltd dba as The KPC Coatings Group have announced significant changes in the business structure and management of the company.

KPC entered into an agreement whereby the Columbia Basin Trust purchased a 25 per cent interest in Tread-Safe Inc., a subsidiary of KPC, for $400,000. Further CBT acquired two royalty interests in Tread-Safe from KPC for $100,000 and the CBT has committed to assist KPC in receiving a $200,000 loan to finance the automation of certain proprietary coating systems that KPC has developed.

Following this financing, the Board of KPC has accepted the resignation of Joy Harper as President of the company, appointed Cliff Harper as CEO and John Kazakoff as President of the Group.

Mr George Mesley, Chairman of KPC, stated, "With the very significant growth KPC is anticipated to experience in 2003, it is time for Mr and Mrs Harper to remove themselves from day to day operations and focus on the overall vision and mission of the business of the group. With the excellent work Mr Kazakoff has done to date as President of Tread-Safe Inc. he is a natural to fill Cliff and Joy's shoes on the operational side of the business."

X-I-M Products Inc.

X-I-M Products Inc., Westlake, OH, has named Juan Jarufe Vice President of research and development, with responsibility for all technical activities including product-line maintenance and new-product development. Jarufe joined X-I-M in 1996 and has 18 years of experience in the coatings industry, the company said. X-I-M is a manufacturer of paint, primers, sealers, specialty coatings, and paint additives for the architectural-coatings and automotive-refinish markets.

Sartomer Co.

Sartomer Co. has promoted Bill Wittig as the Business Manager of the company's Specialty Polymers Group, with responsibility for all business activities of the group. Wittig was formerly Marketing Manager of Monomers and Oligomers. Sartomer's Specialty Polymers Group is a supplier of specialty resins for the coatings, adhesives, graphic-arts, elastomers, and other markets.

Goldschmidt Industrial Chemical Corp.

Goldschmidt Industrial Chemical Corp. has named Leon A. Perez Director of technology and business development, with responsibility for North American strategic marketing, technology management and business development. Perez has held technical and business-management positions in the polymers and coatings industry, the company said. Goldschmidt Industrial Chemical, Essen, Germany, a subsidiary of Degussa AG, is a supplier of catalysts and other specialty chemicals.

Troy Corp.

Troy Corp. has named Geoff Clay Manager, marketing services. Clay joined Troy in 2000 as a marketing analyst, and is responsible for sales and market analysis, external communications and coordination of advertising programs. The company also named Zoya Geller Manager, customer service, and Jessica Ruan customer satisfaction Manager.

Degussa

Degussa has named Florian Kirschner Business Director of the catalysts and initiators business unit's catalysts business in the NAFTA region. Kirschner was formerly general manager for OM Group Inc.'s technical materials line.

Baxenden Chemicals Ltd

Baxenden Chemicals Ltd, Lancashire, UK, has named Mark Garrett Sales Manager(Specials), Steve Winkley Product Manager (Specials Sales), and Rod Bicknell Technical Sales Manager for the Systems business. Tim Hughes, General Manager of the specialty chemicals division, has been named general manager of the applied chemicals division. John Simpson, most recently Sales Manager, has been named general manager of the specialty chemicals division. Baxenden is a supplier of polyurethane intermediates and specialty acrylic resins.

Futura Coatings Inc.

Bruce Ellis has joined Futura Coatings Inc. as National Technical/Sales specialist for the company's pipeline-coatings business, with responsibility for expansion of Futura's pipeline coatings sales and sales network nationwide. Ellis has more than 20 years of experience in the pipeline industry, including coatings sales, project management, marketing, and planning of protection systems.

Dow Chemical Co.

The Dow Chemical Co. has named Thayne Hansen Business Vice President of the UCAR Emulsion Systems business, a supplier of acrylate emulsions for coatings,sealants, adhesives, and textiles. Hansen's experience in the paint and coatings market includes work as market manager for Dow's coatings group in the early 1990s.

Dow also announced that Mark Whiteman, Marketing Manager for CELLOSIZE in North America, will assume responsibility for marketing of METHOCEL Industrial segments, focusing on the paint, building-materials and other industrial markets. Whiteman formerly held positions in manufacturing, distribution operations, customer service, sales, and other operations with Union Carbide Corp.