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INDUSTRY & BUSINESS

New Brake Fluid Laws? CSMA submits "mode! law** a* New York hearings to re­quire SAE specs

ME QUESTION of "safe" automobile brake fluids arose again for state gov­ernment consideration a week ago as New York's Joint Legislative Commit­tee on Traffic Violations held a public hearing on Long Island at Nassau County's historic Old Courthouse in Garden City* State Senator Edward J. Speno, new chairman of the continuing body, received briefs from representa­tives of Chemical Specialties Manufac­turers' Association and Consumers* Union, describing the need for a law to require **heavy duty" labeling on brake fluids.

CSMA's A. A. Mulligan points out that 2 million gallons annually of brake fluid (out of 10 million produced) is not "heavy-duty"—minimum boiling point 300° F. or higher. Today's heavy, powerful cars, he says, generate much more heat in braking systems he-cause of higher speeds and smaller wheels. Acceptable level, according to Mulligan, can be SAE 70-R1 grade (a heavy-duty fluid compounded for "aver­age" conditions), but SAE 70-R3—with

imtim broiling point of -37<5 ** F.—is now recommended.

Speno questions whether it is neces­sary to put such a law in the books, whether it would be enforceable. Area involved is replacement sales—all do­mestic car makers already use SAE 70-R1 or 70-R3 fluids as "original equipment." With 14 other states al­ready having passed such legislation, however, h e promises full considera­tion. Next hearing will be Oct. 17 in Albanv.

^ Chemical Specialties/ New York, an affiliate of Syntex Corp., will change its name to Synfex Chemical Co., Inc. The change is in name only; all policies and personnel of the pharmaceutical firm continue as before.

• Diamond Alkali completes plans for a chemical research center near Paines-viile, Ohio. Cost: about $2.5 million.

• Atlas Powder completes a $4 million

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expansion and modernization program a t its explosives plant near Joplin, Mo . New construction includes uni ts for pro­duc ing ammonium nitrate, nitro­glycerin, and nitric acid.

• Stauffer Chemical begins to build a plant a t Richmond, ('alii., that will pro­duce Eptam selective herbicide. Stauf­fer expects to have the multimtllion pound facility on stream by January 1939.

• Air Reduction starts construction of a 20 million pound-a-year polyvinyl al­cohol resin plant (C&EN, June 9, page 19) a t Calvert Gt\% Ky., and a support­ing pilot plant at Bound Brook, X. J. Both projects will cost over $12 million and are expected to b e on stream by early 1960.

• Pacific Coast Bo rax , division of United States Borax & Chemical, will increase boric acid production at Wil­mington, Calif., to meet increased de­mand by many industries and to supply imminent requirements of boron fuel manufacturers.

Financial · · · • In te rna t iona l Mine ra l s ' earnings dropped to $2.09 a share in its fiscal year ended June 3 0 , down from $2.81 iii Î1SC2I IQoT. Ssld? were off about â r ^ to $103.7 million. Sales were hit by the general downturn in over-all busi­ness early this year. Lower potash shipments and narrower profit margins on fertilizers resulting from price com­petition also affected earnings.

• Vick Chemical 's sales topped $100 million for the first time in its latest fiscal year, hitting $107.0 million for a 1 3 % gain over the previous year. Earnings for the year ended June 30 did better yet, climbing 287r to $10.0 million. Sales of ethical and veterinary drugs ($44.7 million) and proprietary drugs ($42.5 million ) were higher. But sales of chemicals and plastics ($13.4 million) were off about 5 % ; cosmetic sales ( $6.5 million ) held level with last year.

• W. R. Grace ' s earnings jumped to 85 cents a share in t h e first half of 1958 from $1.77 in the like period of last year. Sales were off A7c to $220.2 mil­lion. Higher depreciation and start-up expenses were one cause of reduced earnings; provision of a reserve for

foreign exchange losses was another. Chemical business was generally good. with the Cryovac, Grace Chemical, and Dewey and Aliny divisions all showing higher profits. However. Grace's new high-density polyethylene unit inclined a substantial loss during its first six months of operation, although sales of polyethylene have improved in recent months, the company claims.

• Thiokol Chemical is raising about $11.5 million for expansion needs. It has given present stockholders riglits to buy an additional 106,669 shares att $12 a share. Proceeds from the stock offer­ing will be added to $7 million obtained from the private sale of 15-year notes. The new capital will he used in eovmeo tion with Thiokol's $6 million program of capital outlays for 1958-59, a s well as to repay part of the company's $9.8 million of short-term debt .

• Lithium Corp. of America stock is now traded on the American Stocl< Ex­change. Ticker symbol for the n e w list­ing: LCA. The stock also has been listed on the Pacific Coast Exchange.

• Q u a k e r Oats has increased its quar­terly dividend 5 cents to 50 cents a share with the payment for Oct , 20. The company reports record sales of S314.5 million—up AeA— for the year ended June 30. Earnings jumped to $3.22 a common share from 63.00 the year before. "We're off to a pretty good start in the new fiscal year," com­pany spokesmen add.

• Witco Chemical reports a gain I n net income for the half-year ended June 30 but lower sales than during t h e like period last year. Earnings came to $1.26 per share—including 28 cents from cash distributed by an associated company but excluding 45 cents of special nonrecurring profit—compared with $1.05 for the first half of 1957. Volume was down SrA to $18.3 million for the period.

• S t anda rd Oil (Inch) paid a 35 cent-a-share dividend to stockholders this month, marking its 250th payment in. its 69 year history. I t lias distributed about $1.5 billion in dividends all told, the company*-figures. And one share of stock bought for $1500 at the start of 1912 (when Indiana Standard be­came an independent organization) would have grown to 1800 shares to­day worth about $87,000 and h a v e re­turned about $83,000 in dividends* company statisticians calculate.

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