Omnova enters fluorochemical products agreement with Japanese company

FAIRLAWN, Ohio (July 9)—Omnova Solutions Inc. announced July 5 it has signed an alliance agreement with Daikin Industries Ltd. to jointly develop and commercialize fluorochemical products for surface modification and surfactant applications. The alliance initially will develop new products based on Omnova's PolyFox-brand fluoropolymer technology while leveraging Osaka, Japan-based Daikin's expertise in fluorochemistry and material science, an Omnova release said. Daikin has about a 20-percent share of the world fluorochemicals market, the release said. Omnova has used the PolyFox technology in its dry erasable commercial wallcovering and whiteboard surface products.