MOUNT OLIVE, NJ - Klaus Peter Lobbe will assume responsibility for BASF AG's newly created Ressort IX, based in Mount Olive, NJ, on March 1, the company announced. BASF's Coatings and North America divisions will become part of Ressort IX. Lobbe has been president of BASF's Coatings division since 1996, and previously was president of the company's Industrial Chemicals division. In another move related to the company's recent realignment program, Jean-Pierre Monteny was named to head the Coatings division, effective Jan. 1. Monteny, a 25-year veteran of the coatings industry, formerly headed BASF's automotive-refinish and industrial coatings businesses. BASF's Ressort VII, headed by Peter Oakley, will relocate its corporate headquarters to Ludwigshafen, Germany, on April 1.