3M ACQUIRES VENTURE TAPE

Venture Tape Corp., Rockland, MA, has been acquired by 3M Corp., manufacturer of Scotch®Tape and Post-it®notes with sales of $22.9 billion in 2006. The sale was finalized on October 1, 2007. Neither company disclosed the terms of the buyout.

“We see tremendous opportunities to continue to build our business by drawing on the strength of 3M’s resources and technical capabilities,” said Lew Cohen, president of Venture Tape Corp. “Our customers will continue to receive the same quality products and service Venture Tape has always provided them.”

Venture Tape manufactures a range of tapes used in construction, oil and gas, HVAC, electronics, aerospace, marine, and appliance markets. It also provides specialty industrial tapes for splicing, automotive and automotive aftermarket applications.

For more information, visitwww.venturetape.com.

ASYMTEK WINS 2007 GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR CONFORMAL COATING JET

Asymtek, a leader in coating, dispensing, and jetting technologies, recently received the 2007 Global Technology Award in the Dispensing Equipment category for its SC-400 PreciseCoatTMConformal Coating Jet. The award recognizes the best new innovations in the printed circuit assembly and packaging industries. Sponsored byGlobal SMT & Packagingmagazine, the award was presented at the Productronica trade show in Munich, Germany, on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007. This marked the third consecutive year Asymtek has won the award.

Asymtek’s PreciseCoatTMConformal Coating Jet enables the application of coating materials to highly selective areas and areas not accessible by other applicators, especially on small substrates, devices, or substrates with high-component density where there are tight tolerances between coated and uncoated areas. It’s the only conformal coating delivery system where coating is so accurately controlled that only the part of the device that needs protection is coated and masking surrounding areas is unnecessary. It makes possible conformal coating of electronics to improve reliability of life-saving implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators, protecting electronic circuitry from moisture, dust, and other environmental contaminants, and dampening the effects of mechanical and thermal stresses, vibrations, and electrical noise that can impair device function. This clean process is especially important for manufacturing medical devices.

“We are pleased to have received this award. Asymtek continues to work on innovative coating and dispensing products to offer customers the best technology in addition to the best value over time,” stated John Byers, president, Asymtek.

For more information, visitwww.asymtek.com.

ATLAS MATERIAL TESTING TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES NEW INVESTMENT IN COMPANY

Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC has finalized an agreement to sell a majority stake in the company to Industrial Growth Partners (IGP), a specialized investment firm focused on middle-market industrial manufacturing and manufacturing services businesses. The investment in Atlas will provide additional capital to support the continued rapid growth that the company has experienced in recent years.

IGP, a San Francisco-based firm, invests in leading niche manufacturers of highly engineered products and has significant experience in both test and measurement markets, as well as in facilitating ownership transitions within family-owned businesses.

"We conducted an extensive search to find the right partner for us", says Russell Lane, CEO of Atlas. "Our goal was an investor that will help us continue to invest in new technologies, and develop new products and services for the weather testing market. We are pleased to be associated with IGP."

Over the past eight decades, Atlas has been a leader in the materials testing industry. During that time, the company has grown from a small Chicago-based firm to a global leader through internal growth in its core markets and through partnerships and acquisitions.

"Atlas is an exceptional company that is a leader in its industry," Eric Heglie, Partner of IGP states. "We believe that Atlas has the platform, the people, and the technologies to accelerate its growth trajectory. We are very excited about the opportunities ahead."

Atlas will continue to operate from its many global offices.

For more information, visitwww.atlas-mts.com.

DOW EPOXY COMPLETES SYSTEMS ACQUISITIONS

Dow Epoxy, a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Co. and its affiliates recently announced that it has completed the acquisitions of three epoxy systems formulators – UPPC AG in Germany, and GNS Technologies and POLY-CARB Inc. in the U.S. Dow announced its intention to acquire the three formulators on September 13, pending regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions.

“We are pleased to complete the acquisitions and add such high-performing businesses to our Epoxy Systems portfolio,” said Pepe Carnevale, global business director for Dow Epoxy Systems. “All three companies are leading players in their respective markets, and their vast experience in systems fits well with our rich technology. Bringing those two elements together will enable us to deliver more value to customers, including enhancements to products and services and the development of unique material solutions.”

Dow Epoxy Systems and its affiliates focus on applications in civil engineering and infrastructure, composites, wind energy, and other industries where their unique technologies and systems solutions can offer performance enhancement and differentiation to customers.

“We are pleased to welcome UPPC, GNS and POLY-CARB employees onto the Dow Epoxy Systems team, and look forward to the success we will achieve together,” said Carnevale. “Our immediate goal is to ensure continued excellence in customer service and to begin accelerating product development and other growth activities.”

For more information, visitwww.dowepoxy.com.

MAPEI EMPLOYEES VOLUNTEER AT FRIENDSHIP HOUSE

MAPEI Corp. employees in Garland, TX, are giving back to their community this holiday season by donating their time and effort to Garland’s Friendship House. Three teams of volunteers spent a good part of their time preparing and distributing bags of grocery items for Thanksgiving meals and are now gearing up for gift distribution at Christmas.

The Friendship House served 363 families for the Thanksgiving holiday. MAPEI’s multilingual volunteers helped translate requests for some of Friendship House’s clients, as a large number of the families do not speak English. One of the MAPEI teams also helped collect and organize four truckloads of canned goods from a community school food drive.

“We have had a great time getting to know our neighbors better, and we really appreciate the chance to serve our community,” said Ed Ford, unit manager of MAPEI’s Garland manufacturing plant. MAPEI, a leader in the production of flooring installation systems and accessory products for the construction industry, recently broke ground at the Garland site for an expansion that will double the size of the original plant.

For more information, visitwww.mapei.com.

PPG AEROSPACE EARNS NORTHROP GRUMMAN PLATINUM SOURCE PREFERRED AWARDS

Two application support centers operated by PPG Industries’ aerospace business have earned 2006 Platinum Source Preferred Awards from Northrop Grumman Corp. for consistently delivering top-quality coatings, sealants and other products and services.

PPG’s Atlanta and Los Angeles centers were among 56 honorees selected from more than 1,212 suppliers to Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems sector. PPG’s Los Angeles application support center was one of only 21 suppliers earning the Platinum Source Preferred Award for the second consecutive year.

“Being aligned with a company of the stature of Northrop Grumman is in itself a privilege, and we are proud and honored to be recognized for our efforts to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Dave Morris, PPG vice president for Aerospace Coatings and Sealants. “We believe our integrated approach affords customers strategic value. Our people work hard to ensure Northrop Grumman has quality products and services supplied on time, and our systems optimize their delivery. Receiving this award is confirmation that we’re making a positive difference.”

To earn the Platinum Source Preferred Award, Northrop Grumman suppliers must meet quality, delivery, customer satisfaction and lean process standards in at least 12 consecutive months, and have a process variability reduction program.

For more information, visitwww.ppgaerospace.com.