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nanotimes

Companies Facts

Net sales for the nine-month period ended Septem- ber 30, 2010 increased 19.5% to $629.1 million, compared with $526.5 million for the 2009 period. Operating profit increased 32.1% over the 2009 period to $57.0 million. Foreign currency translation did not have a material impact on the compara- tive results for the nine-month period. Net working capital increased $35.1 million from December 31, 2009 to $238.8 million at September 30, 2010. The increase in working capital was due to increased sales volumes.

“Overall, it was a good quarter, especially in our Minerals & Materials segment,” said Larry Washow, AMCOL President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our Environmental and Oilfield Services segments were generally in line with our expectations.”

The Board of Directors of AMCOL International has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 a share for the fourth quarter of 2010. The fourth quarter divi- dend is payable on January 12, 2011 to shareholders of record as of December 2, 2010.

Furthermore, the Company announced that Presi- dent, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Lawrence E. Washow, will retire from these positions effective December 31, 2010 following 32 years of distinguis- hed service. AMCOL also announced the promotion of Chief Operating Officer Ryan F. McKendrick to the positions of President and Chief Executive Officer as of January 1, 2011. In addition, AMCOL an- nounced that the Board has elected Mr. McKendrick to the Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2011. Mr. McKendrick will serve as a Class II director and is expected to serve on the Executive Committee. http://www.amcol.com

T

he Swiss Baumer Group, one of the leading glo- bal manufacturers of sensors and sensor systems,

has acquired the majority of Waaree Instruments Ltd., one of India’s leading suppliers of process con- trol instruments. The company is part of the Indian Waaree Group, a family enterprise based in Mum- bai. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Baumer started its Indian business in 2007 with a sales company based in Pune, initially focusing on the factory automation sector with its Sensor Solu- tions, Motion Control and Gluing System activities.

At the VISION exhibition 2010 Baumer introduced its new VeriSens®

vision sensors for faster and simp-

ler quality control. The further enhanced 360° part detection allows for dependable orientation even in case of changing part position. The number of digital outputs increased to five, enabling sorting tasks wi- thout PLC interaction. Illumination, optics and evalu- ation electronics are safely integrated in an industry- standard metal housing with IP 67 protection class. http://www.baumer.com

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he Bayer Group significantly raised sales and underlying earnings in the third quarter of 2010.

Sales of the Bayer Group rose by 16.1% in the third quarter, to EUR8,581 million (Q3 2009: EUR7,392 million). The increase was due especially to the sharp rise in earnings at MaterialScience and also to posi- tive currency effects. Business with high-tech materi- als improved markedly against the prior-year quarter, which was weak due to the economic situation. Sales of MaterialScience were up by 30.8% to EUR2,665 million (Q3 2009: EUR2,038 million), the growth in business being mainly due to significantly higher demand in the main customer industries.

10-10/11 :: October/November 2010