U.S.-based PPG Industries, a global supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass, and fiber glass, has acquired the automotive refinish coatings business of the Bonny Coating-Made Company, based in Guangzhou.

China RuiTai International a producer and distributor of cellulose ether products in China has announced that its production has increased to normal levels following the lifting of energy usage restrictions imposed by the Chinese government to avoid power outages during the second quarter of 2008.

Westlake Chemical Corporation, a Houston-based petrochemical and fabricated products company, has opened an office in Shanghai.

ShengdaTech — a manufacturer of nano precipitated calcium carbonate and coal-based chemical products in Taian City, Shandong Province — has entered into an agreement with the local government to invest in the High-Tech Development Industrial Zone in Zibo, Shandong Province.

GE Energy's gasification technology has been selected for a coal-to-chemical production facility in Tongzi County, Guizhou.

In the United States, the United Steelworkers union joined with a group of manufacturers in applauding U.S. Department of Commerce decisions to impose anti-dumping duties on certain types of nails imported from China and the United Arab Emirates.