Chemical companies to form e-marketplace

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany (May 17)—Twelve major chemical companies from Europe, the U.S. and Japan will launch an "open and inclusive" business-to-business e-marketplace for the global chemical industry. The marketplace is expected to be operational by the end of the year. The participating companies are Atofina, BASF A.G., Bayer A.G., BP Amoco, Dow Chemical Co., DuPont Co., Mitsui Chemicals, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Rhodia, Rohm and Haas, Sumitomo Chemical and Van Waters & Rogers. The companies have agreed in principle to set up an e-commerce company to focus on transactions, logistics and supply chain management, according to a May 17 joint announcement.