Albemarle Corp., a Richmond-based
manufacturer of specialty chemicals, increased its
ownership stake in two Chinese joint ventures from
25 percent to 75 percent. Ningbo Jinhai Albemarle Chemical &
Industry Co. and Shanghai Jinhai Albemarle Fine Chemicals
Co. specialize in production of polymer antioxidants
used in the petrochemical industry. The move enhances
Albemarle’s position in growing regional and global
markets for plastics. (PR Newswire)
CRT/tanka, a Richmond public relations and marketing
firm, signed Novation, an Irving, Texas-based health
services contractor, for national public relations services.
Another new client, Pri-Med of Boston, a provider of
continuing education for physicians, signed with CRT/tanaka
for strategic planning. (News release)
Franklin Street Marketing, a Richmond-based marketing
services firm, partnered with Warren Douglas, a Fort
Worth, Texas marketing firm. The move gives Franklin,
which has 20 years of healthcare marketing experience,
access to the Texas hospital market to offer strategic
marketing and creative planning. (News release)
George Mason University, the University
of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia
Tech entered into a program with four historically
black North Carolina colleges to double the number
of minority graduates in science, technology, engineering
and math over the next five years. The colleges will
use a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation
to increase recruiting and retention efforts and share
learning and research practices. The North Carolina
colleges are Bennett College for Women in Greensboro,
Elizabeth City State University, Johnson C. Smith University
in Charlotte and St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh. (Richmond
Times-Dispatch)
Performance Food Group Inc.,
a Richmond-based food distributor, signed an agreement
with O’Charley’s
Inc. to become exclusive distributor for O’Charleys
and Stoney River restaurants. The deal is expected to
bring Performance Food $200 million in annualized revenue. (Business
Wire)
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based
public power provider, made a loan to Snack Alliance
Inc. of Bristol to facilitate expansion of its production
line to manufacture and market a new rice-based chip
product, riceworksTM. The loan is part of
a deal TVA made to provide economic development aid to
the Bristol community after Bristol Virginia Utilities,
a public provider of utility services, agreed to sign
with TVA when its current pact with American Electric
Power expires in January 2008. (News release)
