Chemtura Corporation was a global corporation headquartered in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States, with its other principal executive office in Middlebury, Connecticut. Merged into Lanxess in 2017, the company focused on

specialty chemicals Specialty chemicals (also called specialties or effect chemicals) are particular chemical products that provide a wide variety of effects on which many other industry sectors rely. Some of the categories of speciality chemicals are adhesives, agr ...

for various industrial sectors, and these were transportation (including automotive), energy, and electronics. Chemtura operated

manufacturing plant A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an Industry (manufacturing), industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with Outline of industrial machinery, machinery, where workers manufacturing, manufac ...

s in 11 countries. Its primary markets were industrial manufacturing customers. The corporation employed approximately 2500 people for research, manufacturing, logistics, sales and administration. Operations were located in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In addition, the company had significant joint ventures primarily in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the company's global core segment revenue was $1.61 billion.

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

was Craig A. Rogerson, who was also the president and chairman of the board of Chemtura Corporation. On April 21, 2017, Chemtura was acquired by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

chemical company Lanxess.

History

Founding and early years

Chemtura Corporation was the successor to Crompton & Knowles Corporation, which was incorporated in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1900 and engaged in the manufacture and sale of

beginning in 1954. Crompton & Knowles traces its roots to Crompton Loom Works incorporated in the 1840s.

In the late 1800s,

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

was a leading manufacturing center that attracted inventors and manufacturers. Both William Crompton and Lucius J. Knowles made the city their home and opened their respective loom companies there. Both were the top loom manufacturers in the world. However each company based the method of weaving on a different premise. The companies later merged (in 1879), becoming one entity known as "Crompton & Knowles Loom Works". Still supplying the world market, the new company now applied both theories of weaving. Meanwhile, in 1843 Charles Goodyear formed the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company, Connecticut. A year later he patented the

vulcanization Vulcanization (British English: vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to ...

of rubber. Goodyear's company then became one of nine companies that formed the founding of the

United States Rubber Company Uniroyal, formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical weapons and op ...

in 1892 by Charles R. Flint also in Naugatuck, Connecticut. The rubber company manufactured a large array of products through two

world wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

, the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, and became the

Uniroyal Uniroyal, formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical weapons and op ...

company (Uniroyal Incorporated) in 1961. In 1986, Uniroyal Chemical Company was formed as a subsidiary of Avery Inc. Then, in 1989, Uniroyal Chemical Company Investors Holding bought Uniroyal Chemical Company from Avery and became Uniroyal Chemical Corporation. In 1996, Uniroyal Chemical Corporation went public and merged with Crompton & Knowles. In 1999, Crompton & Knowles merged with Witco Corporation to form Crompton Corporation. In 2005, Crompton acquired Great Lakes Chemical Company, Inc., of West Lafayette, Indiana, to form Chemtura Corporation. Additionally, Great Lakes Chemical Corporation still existed as a subsidiary company of Chemtura. By January 2014 the company had manufactured and marketed a new brominated polymer

flame retardant Flame retardants are a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an combustion, ignition source and pr ...

, replacing the traditional hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) flame retardant.

Acquisitions and DIP (2007–2012)

By the end of January 2007 Chemtura completed stock acquisition and ownership of Kaufman Holdings Corporation with an all-cash transaction. The corporation operated as a debtor-in-possession (DIP) under the protection of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York from 10 March 2009 through 10 November 2010. On September 26, 2012, Chemtura entered into a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) with Solaris ChemTech Industries Limited, an Indian Company, and Avantha Holdings Limited, an Indian Company and the parent company of Solaris ChemTech. As provided in the BTA, Chemtura agreed to purchase from Solaris certain assets used in the manufacture and distribution of bromine and bromine chemicals for cash consideration of $142 million and the assumption of certain liabilities.

Acquisitions and sales (2012–2013)

In April 2013, Chemtura completed the sale of its Antioxidant business to SK Blue Holdings, Ltd, and Addivant USA Holdings Corp. for $97 million, $9 million in preferred stock issued by Addivant and the assumption by SK and Addivant of pension, environmental and other liabilities totaling approximately $91 million. Additionally, Chemtura paid $2 million in cash as part of a pre-closing adjustment. On May 15, 2013, Chemtura purchased the remaining 50% interest in DayStar Materials L.L.C. from its joint venture partner, UP Chemical Company. As a result, DayStar became a consolidated entity. The purchase price was $3 million in cash which approximated the fair value of the remaining share of the assets and liabilities, primarily inventory and fixed assets, as of the purchase date. In addition, Chemtura reimbursed UP Chemical for a $3 million loan they had made to DayStar. In December 2013, Chemtura completed sale of its Consumer Products business, including BioLab Inc. and dedicated manufacturing plants in the United States and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, to KIK Custom Products Inc. for $300 million and the assumption by KIK of pension and other liabilities totaling approximately $8 million.

Recent developments (2014–2017)

On April 16, 2014, Chemtura entered into a "Stock and Asset Purchase Agreement" to sell its Chemtura AgroSolutions business, led by President and GM Nelson Gibson, to Platform Specialty Products Corporation for approximately $1 billion, consisting of $950 million in cash and 2 million shares of Platform's common stock. The sale became final on November 3, 2014. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the company's global core segment revenue was $1.61 billion. On September 25, 2016, Chemtura announced they had accepted an offer from Lanxess AG of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

of 33.50 per share, all cash. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the deal that September, with Chemtura's enterprise value estimated at US$2.7 billion. After US antitrust authorities approved the deal in December 2016, Chemtura shareholders approved the acquisition in February 2017. On April 21, 2017, Chemtura was officially acquired by Lanxess for $2.1 billion in cash. It was the largest acquisition in Lanxess' history, with Lanxess absorbing around 2,500 Chemtura employees at 20 sites in 11 countries.

Products and distribution channels

Chemtura operated in various industries including automotive, construction, electronics, lubricants, packaging, plastics for durable and non-durable goods and transportation Most products were sold to industrial manufacturing customers for use as additives, ingredients or intermediates that add value to their end products. Additionally, the company considered itself a strong competitor in the global market, based on its ranking of its products within given sectors as defined by sector industries and operating segments.

Business segments

The company had two reporting segments: Industrial Performance Products, including the Petroleum Additives and Urethanes businesses; Industrial Engineered Products comprised the Great Lakes Solutions and Organometallic Specialties businesses.

Industrial Performance Products

This segment markets synthetic lubricants and greases, synthetic basestocks, lubricant additives, and urethanes.

Industrial Engineered Products

This segment marketed brominated performance products, flame retardants, fumigants, and organometallics.

Locations and facilities

The company had plants in 11 countries, in locations such as

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. On April 21, 2017, the company's locations were acquired by Lanxess.

Legal

Firemaster 550 is one of Chemtura's brominated flame retardants. It is marketed as a flammability-decreasing additive for

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane term ...

foam used in upholstered furniture. As polyurethane foam ages and breaks down into fine dust, additives like Firemaster 550 can leach out and be absorbed, inhaled, or ingested. In a 2012 investigative series, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' reported that a team of researchers detected harmful effects from Firemaster 550 at levels that were significantly lower than those used in the studies conducted on behalf of Chemtura. In response to the studies linking

s to accumulation in humans and resulting potential harm,

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

proposed a regulation phasing out flame-retardant chemicals in furniture. On January 15, 2013, Chemtura filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court attempting to force the State of California to leave the old standards in place. In that lawsuit, the company alleges that Chemtura would be irreparably harmed if the proposed new regulation were not rescinded. In November 2013, Governor Brown's Office announced publication of the new flammability standards, with mandatory compliance scheduled to begin on January 1, 2015.Press Release, 11/21/2013 Office of the Governor, http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18301 In mid-January 2014, Chemtura filed a lawsuit against the state of California alleging the (California) Bureau of Electronics and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation failed to comply with its legislative mandate by issuing a revised fire safety standard that does not address the risk of ignition from open flame ignition sources. On September 30, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring upholstered furniture labeling indicate whether the product contains toxic flame-retardant chemicals. This labelling requirement has triggered demand for furniture free of flame retardants.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.chemtura.com Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Chemical companies of the United States Defunct textile companies of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 2005 2017 mergers and acquisitions American subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009