“Lubrizol introduced CPVC technology to India more than two decades ago, and since then, we have witnessed strong growth of the market alongside the country’s expanding economy,” said Abhishek Shrivastav, managing director, Lubrizol IMEA. “With the commissioning of this world-class facility in Vilayat, we are strengthening our manufacturing capabilities in India by following a local-for-local approach. This investment underscores our long-term commitment to India by enabling consistent access to high-quality, locally produced materials backed by Lubrizol’s global standards of innovation, reliability, and performance.”

According to APC, the company is implementing Albert’s AI-native operating system for chemistry and materials science to centralize experimental data, capture institutional knowledge, and enable more efficient collaboration across research teams. As the company continues to expand its footprint, the investment supports a more connected and scalable innovation environment.

“Innovation in polymer coatings is driven by the quality of our scientific insight. As our research programs expand, having a structured platform to capture and analyze experimental knowledge allows our team to move faster, build on prior work, and continue advancing the performance of next-generation coating technologies,” said Jeremy Pasatta, vice president of Technology and Process, Advanced Polymer Coatings. “Using Albert’s AI capabilities, we’ve been able to cut development time in half—screening out unnecessary experiments and reaching optimized formulations much faster.”

“Innovative companies like APC demonstrate how structured scientific data and AI-driven tools can transform R&D by empowering scientists with tools that connect experimentation and insight. Organizations can accelerate innovation while leveraging knowledge to drive long-term competitive advantage,” said Nick Talken, CEO, Albert Invent.

The scope of extrusion coatings covered by this PCR is defined as coatings that occur during “the method of manufacturing a metal part, typically aluminum or steel, using an extrusion process.”

The scope of coil coatings covered by this PCR is defined as coatings that are “applied to continuous coil of metal, typically aluminum or steel, that is unwound, cleaned, surface-treated, coated, heat-cured, and rewound in one operation.”

The new PCR for Metal Coil and Extrusion Coatings is available for free download on ACA’s website, /.

PCRs provide an agreed–upon framework for measuring the environmental impacts of a product based on a defined set of criteria, enabling manufacturers to conduct life-cycle assessments (LCAs) of their products in a standardized way, and publish this information in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), if they choose.

PCRs are timely and useful resources given that many sustainability guidelines and green certification programs provide preferential treatment to products with verified EPDs. Additionally, LCA results can be used to demonstrate performance attributes of products, including durability. LCA also provides paint and coating manufacturers with the opportunity to exhibit improvements in resource efficiency across the supply chain.

Notably, the PCR for Metal Coil and Extrusion Coatings specifies that the type of EPD created shall be cradle to grave, requiring the following life cycle stages: Production (A1 to A3); Construction (A4 to A5); Use (B1 to B7); and End-of-Life (C1 to C4). The life cycle stage, Benefits & Loads Beyond System Boundary (Module D), is optional. This PCR requires metal coil and extrusion coatings to be assessed as a product system, as opposed to individual coatings or layers.

In this expanded agreement, Azelis has been appointed to distribute Chemetall’s surface treatment solutions for general industrial applications throughout the region. The partnership for Canada began in November 2025, followed by Mexico in April 2026, and the U.S. agreement in May 2026.

“This expanded partnership with Azelis is an important step in strengthening Chemetall’s position across North America and advancing our long-term growth strategy,” said Karlheinz Zander, BASF’s vice president Surface Treatment North America. “By combining Chemetall’s innovation leadership with Azelis’s market reach, digital capabilities and local technical support, we are creating a more integrated, responsive experience for our customers across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Together, we are well positioned to deliver greater value, accelerate access to our technologies and seamlessly support our customers as their needs evolve.”

According to Todd Cottrell, CEO of Azelis Americas, “This expanded partnership reflects our shared commitment to delivering greater value to customers across North America. By combining Chemetall’s industry-leading surface treatment technologies with Azelis’s technical expertise, local presence, and digital capabilities, we are making it easier for customers to access the solutions, information, and support they need to succeed. Together, we are creating a more connected, efficient, and responsive customer experience that helps drive growth and innovation across the market.”

According to the companies, the ethyl acetate produced by Celanese contains 50% bio-based content, helping to reduce the use of fossil-derived raw materials compared to conventional alternatives. Siegwerk uses the bio-based solvent as a drop-in solution for its existing ink formulations.

“The partnership with Celanese directly aligns with Siegwerk’s SustainUP program, our global sustainable procurement initiative, which is a key pillar of HorizonNOW 2030 – Siegwerk’s overarching sustainability strategy,” said Cathleen Hansohm, Global Supplier Sustainability manager, Siegwerk. “The use of a 50% bio-content ethyl acetate supports our ambition to expand the use of renewable feedstocks in a responsible and scalable way.”

“Collaboration is key to driving meaningful progress toward sustainability,” said Kevin Norfleet, senior director, Sustainability, at Celanese. “By working closely with Siegwerk, Celanese contributes to solutions that reduce the use of fossil resources while maintaining the high performance standards required in demanding applications such as printing inks.”

Through the collaboration,  INX will deploy Albert Invent’s operating system across its R&D organization to capture experimental knowledge, connect workflows across scientific teams, and build the data foundation required to tap into AI-powered discovery capabilities.

“Digital transformation in R&D isn’t just about implementing software. It’s about changing how knowledge flows across an entire organization,” said Mark Hill, senior vice president of R&D at INX. “The team at Albert are partners we can count on, working closely with our scientists to understand our workflows and implement a system that reflects how our teams actually innovate.”

“Modern materials innovation will increasingly depend on turning experimental knowledge into intelligence,” said Nick Talken, CEO of Albert Invent. “By building an AI-ready R&D infrastructure, INX has taken a huge leap forward when it comes to setting industry standards for innovation. We’re thrilled to be working closely with their team to build an internal environment where discovery can essentially accelerate with every experiment.”

According to the companies, OlinHuntsman will deliver to diverse and growing end markets, including automotive, construction and infrastructure, and industrial applications.

“As our industry continues to globalize, we compete more today against countries, than companies, trade policies and global supply chains than ever before,” said Peter Huntsman, chairman, president and CEO of Huntsman. “The opportunities this merger creates enable us to generate greater value for our shareholders, deliver exceptional service and products for our customers and provide greater stability and opportunities for our associates. This merger of equals takes two great companies and creates a much stronger global leader.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Upon closing of the transaction, OlinHuntsman will be headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

“This acquisition is a direct result of listening to our customers,” said Hiroyuki Kayashita, president and COO of Nagase America. “Quality testing and technical support are among the most in-demand services across our customer base. With NCL-A, we can now deliver those capabilities in-house, giving us more opportunity to add value to the coatings industry.”

Under the agreement, Carlyle must divest the global polysulfides business of specialty chemicals company Nouryon, which is part of Carlyle’s investment portfolio.

The conditional agreement is intended to safeguard competition in aerospace sealants and in the market for polysulfides. Polysulfides are essential for manufacturing aerospace sealants.

BASF and Carlyle announced the transaction in October.

The deal values the coatings business at $8.9 billion. The division includes automotive OEM and refinish coatings as well as surface-treatment technologies.

BASF plans to retain a 40% stake in the business.

According to the companies, this expansion builds on their successful collaboration across multiple regions and extending the scope of activities in France beyond life sciences into industrial applications. Customers in the French market will now benefit from access to a wider portfolio supported by Azelis’s local technical and regulatory expertise, particularly in biocides, a highly regulated product category.

“Our collaboration with Azelis continues to deliver strong results across multiple regions,” said Beatriz Cid, senior director of sales EMEA, Paints and Coatings at Arxada. “Expanding into the French industrial market allows us to build on this momentum, reaching manufacturers with our innovative product technologies and solutions, supported by Azelis’s technical expertise and customer relationships.”