With 18,600 employees worldwide, Arkema strives to be an industry leader demonstrating growth, performance, innovation and sustainability. Launched on October 1, 2004 as a result of the reorganization of Total's chemicals business, Arkema has grown with the promise of shaping a sustainable future. The world is our inspiration.
The Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company was organized by five Quakers in Philadelphia.
1860
Pennsylvania Salt shipped 500 barrels of oil to London, the first refined petroleum exported from the United States.
1898
Theodore Armstrong, one of the principals of the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, purchased the "Wyandotte" property in Riverview, MI for an operating facility. The 100-acre property contained large salt deposits, estimated as able to supply 180,000 tons a year for 150 years. The first product manufactured at this facility was caustic soda (lye) and chlorine as a byproduct. In addition, salt was also mined and sold to the meatpacking industry.
Pennsylvania Salt opened its caustic soda and liquid chlorine plant in Tacoma, WA.
1940
In Monrovia, CA, Pennsylvania Salt began manufacturing post-harvest agrichemicals. Pennsylvania Salt acquired the Cornwell Heights, PA plant.
A division of the Rohm and Haas Company began manufacturing Plexiglas® acrylic resins in Bristol, PA. (In October 1992, Rohm and Haas and Elf Atochem S.A. became partners in the AtoHaas joint venture for the manufacture of Plexiglas® acrylics. In 1998, Elf Atochem became sole owner of the Plexiglas® business.) Pennsylvania Salt constructed a plant in Portland, OR to produce chlorates and commodity chemicals.
1949
Pennsylvania Salt's new plant in Calvert City, KY was completed and began making hydrofluoric acid.
Pennsylvania Salt began operations in the Houston, TX area.
1953
A plant in Memphis, TN began manufacturing hydrogen peroxide, with a capacity of 14 million pounds per year. (Elf Atochem North America, Inc., purchased the facility from DuPont in 1998).
Pennsylvania Salt's Geneseo, NY facility, currently manufacturing a wide range of organic peroxides, began operations in the Livingston County area of Western New York.
1954
Pennsylvania Salt's Chemical Specialties Division plant opened in Delaware, OH.
1955
Pennsylvania Salt acquired the Index Chemical Company of Houston, the first U.S. company to produce ethyl and methyl mercaptans, as well as other synthetic organic sulfur compounds for commercial sales.
1956
Pennsylvania Salt entered the refrigeration and aerosol propellant fields. Two new Forane® chlorofluorocarbon plants were constructed in Calvert City, KY.
1957
Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company changed its name to Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation. The Sodium Chlorate plant in Portland, OR is expanded. Metals & Thermit Company opened its zircon milling plant in Andrews, SC.
1958
Pennsalt constructed a plant in Portland, OR for production of ammonium perchlorate for solid propellant used in missiles. The company also increased hydrofluoric acid facilities in Calvert City, KY by 50% and began its industrial lubricants operations in Oakville, Ontario.
Metals & Thermit Company opened a plant in Carrollton, KY producing organotin chemicals.
Pennsalt entered the plastics field with development of Kynar® polyvinylidene fluoride resin.
1961
Production facilities for organic sulfur chemicals expanded at Pennsalt's Houston, TX plant.
Pennsalt's technical service laboratories were transferred to King of Prussia, PA with completion of the first unit of a new $9 million Technology Center.
1962
Metals & Thermit changed its name to M&T Chemicals.
1963
Seven buildings at Pennsalt's King of Prussia, PA Technology Center completed. Technical Division transferred operations from Whitemarsh Laboratories.
The Pennsalt declared dividend on common stock for 100th consecutive year.
1965
Pennsalt completed plant for production of Kynar® polyvinylide fluoride resin at Calvert City, KY. Racon, Inc., began refrigerant manufacturing operations in Wichita, KS. (In 1989, Elf Atochem purchased Racon, Inc.).
1966
Two Pennsalt specialty resin units located within the Equistar Chemicals complex in Channelview, TX began production of SMA® resins. (Production of Poly bd® resins began at the same complex in 1971).
1967
Pennsalt acquired R.H. Miller Company, Homer, NY a leading supplier of wire drawing lubricants.
1968
The Rohm and Haas Company began manufacturing Plexiglas® acrylic resins in Louisville, KY. (In October 1992, Rohm and Haas and Elf Atochem S.A. became partners in the AtoHaas joint venture for the manufacture of Plexiglas® acrylics. In 1998, Elf Atochem became sole owner of the Plexiglas® business).
1969
Wallace and Tiernan, Inc., merged into Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation. Corporate name changed to Pennwalt Corporation.
Viking Chemical Company began operation of the epoxidized resin plant in Blooming Prairie, MN. (M&T Chemicals acquired Viking in 1987).
1970
Pennwalt moved its corporate headquarters to a new building at Three Parkway in Philadelphia.
Rilsan Industrial, Inc., a subsidiary of Elf Aquitaine, opened a new plant in Birdsboro, PA for the production of Nylon II.
Pennwalt opened a new plant for production of low-temperature polymerization initiators in Geneseo, NY.
1972
A major expansion of Pennwalt's Houston mercaptan plant was completed.
1974
Pennwalt acquired Ozark-Mahoning, Tulsa, OK the largest producer of fluorspar in the U.S. and manufacturer of fluorine-bearing specialties.
1975
A plant for production of methyl and ethyl mercaptans was completed at Beaumont, TX making Pennwalt the world's leading producer of these chemical intermediates.
The industry's first continuous process for the manufacture of peroxydicarbonates started at Pennwalt's plant in Geneseo, NY.
Pennwalt formed a Thio & Fine Chemicals division in recognition of the growing sales specialization needed to penetrate vital growth markets.
The Rohm and Haas Company began manufacturing Plexiglas® acrylic resins in Kensington, CT. (In October 1992, Rohm and Haas and Elf Atochem S.A. became partners in the AtoHaas joint venture for the manufacture of Plexiglas acrylics. In 1998, Elf Atochem became sole owner of the Plexiglas business).
1977
T Chemicals, Inc., was acquired by Elf Aquitaine.
1978
Pennwalt announced plans for a new 10-million-pound continuous process peroxyester facility at Crosby, TX. The plant was completed in 1979.
New mercaptan plants at Beaumont, TX and at the Pennwalt Holland B.V. subsidiary were completed.
1979
Pennwalt reached billion-dollar sales mark on December 6.
Pennwalt's Geneseo, NY plant expanded, doubling the capacity of retone peroxides used in the manufacture of polyester plastics.
M&T Chemicals, Inc., opened its Mobile, AL plant to manufacture plastic additives.
1984
Elf Aquitaine formed Atochem, Inc., a maker of industrial and specialty chemicals.
1986
Elf Atochem S.A. and Air Liquide S.A. began hydrogen peroxide operations in Becancour, Quebec, Canada as Oxychem Canada, Inc. (In 1998, Elf Atochem Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Elf Atochem North America, Inc., became sole owner of the Becancour plant).
1987
A division of the Rohm and Haas Company began manufacturing Plexiglas® acrylic sheets in Matamoros, Mexico. (In October 1992, Rohm and Haas and Elf Atochem S.A. became partners in the AtoHaas joint venture for the manufacture of Plexiglas® acrylics. In 1998, Elf Atochem became sole owner of the Plexiglas® business).
1988
Centaur Partners attempted a hostile takeover of Pennwalt.
1989
Atochem, Inc. purchased Racon, Inc., operator of a Wichita, KS refrigerants plant.
Elf Aquitaine initiates friendly tender offer for Pennwalt.
Atochem North America, Inc., was formed on December 31 as a result of the merger of Pennwalt Corporation, M&T Chemicals, and Atochem, Inc.
M&T Harshaw was formed as a 60/40 joint venture between Atochem and Englehard Corporation in the metal plating business.
1992
Atochem North America, Inc's name changed to Elf Atochem North America, Inc. AtoHaas was formed as a global joint venture between Elf Atochem S.A. and Rohm and Haas for the production and sale of acrylic and polycarbonate sheet products and acrylic molding resins.
Elf Atochem acquired Englehard's interest in the M&T Harshaw joint venture and Schering's metal plating business. These businesses were combined to form Atotech.
Oxychem Canada, Inc., Elf Atochem's joint venture with Air Liquide at Becancour, Quebec is renamed Chemprox Chemical, Inc.
1993
Elf Atochem North America moved its headquarters from Three Parkway to 900 First Avenue, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406.
Elf Atochem North America completed the multi-purpose unit (MPU) facility at the Crosby, TX plant.
1997
Elf Atochem North America completed construction of its largest plant for the manufacture of Forane® 134a refrigerant in Calvert City, KY.
1998
Elf Atochem S.A. acquired Rohm and Haas' share of AtoHaas. The new division was named Atoglas and continued operations at the Bristol, Kensington, Louisville, and Matamoros plants.
Elf Atochem acquired Air Liquide's share of the hydrogen peroxide joint venture in Becancour, Quebec, Canada. Plant is now totally owned by ATOFINA Canada Inc., a subsidiary of ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc.
TotalFina S.A. acquired 95% of the shares of Elf Aquitaine.
Elf Atochem North America, Inc., announces the creation of ATO Portland.
2000
Totalfina and Elf Aquitaine were reorganized to form TotalFinaElf, the world's fourth largest oil company. The chemical operations were combined to create ATOFINA, and Elf Atochem North America became, ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc. ATOFINA Worldwide is the fifth largest chemical company in the world.
LithChem acquires Ozark-Mahoning Inorganic Fluorine compounds business from ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc.
The Cornwells Heights, PA plant and laboratory closes.
ATOFINA Chemicals organizes Elf Atochem Agrichemicals as independent subsidiary to be named Cerexagri.
Henkel acquires Metals & Aviation, along with the Homer, NY and Delaware, OH plants.
ATOFINA Chemicals suspends operations at Portland plant.
Kaufman Holdings acquires Lubricants Division of ATOFINA Canada.
Grupo Industrial Trebol acquires Ceramic Opacifiers business, along with the Andrews, SC plant.
2003
TotalFinaElf changes its name to Total.
2004
Total announces plan to spinoff Atofina chemical business. Total Unveils new name for Atofina: Arkema.
2005
Total Donates $1 Million to American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina Effort
Altoglas becomes Altuglas® International.
2006
Arkema Inc. announces increased production capacity for its line of Vikoflex® epoxidized oils at its Blooming Prairie, Minnesota facility. Arkema announces $45 million investment for a Fluorochemicals plant at its Calvert City facility in the United States.
2007
Arkema finalizes sale of Cerexagri, which specializes in the formulation and production of plant protection products, to the Indian company United Phosphorus Limited (UPL). Arkema announces the sale to Taminco of its Specialty Amines activity produced in the Riverview (Michigan) facility.
2008
Arkema Inc. Introduces BlocBuilder® RC-50 Reactivity Controller.
Arkema acquires the odorants distribution business of American gas odorant specialist Odor-Tech Inc.
2010
Dow finalizes sale to Arkema of Acrylic Acid, Esters, and Specialty Latex
Arkema's Emulsion systems sees accelerated growth.
2011
Arkema announces a project to build the world's first bio-methionine plant and a thiochemicals platform in Asia.
Arkema introduces sustainable, Bio-Based Plexiglas® Rnew resin for Transparent Disposable Medical Devices.
Arkema acquires Exton based Sartomer as well as Cray Valley and Cook Composites and Polymer Co.
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