W. R. Grace and Company

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

W. R. Grace and Company NYSE: GRA is a conglomerate founded in 1854 by William Russell Grace (1832-1904). Their self-description is "a premier global specialty chemicals and materials company."

Some subsidiaries and their products include:

Grace Davison [1]
- industrial catalysts, such as Raney nickel.
- silica products
Grace Performance Chemicals [2]
- Grace Construction Products [3]
  - concrete admixtures, fibers, and grinding aids
  - concrete pigments
  - air and vapor barriers
  - fireproofing materials
  - bituminous, structural, waterproofing membranes (such as Roofing Underlayments [[4]]) and waterproofing materials
- Darex [5]
  - coatings, closures and sealants for soft drink cans and canned foods

It bought control of Miller Brewing in 1966; and in 1969 sold it to Philip Morris for $130 million.

Although W. R. Grace commissioned the Grace Building in New York City, built in 1971, the company no longer has any offices occupying it.

[edit] Environmental Impact

W. R. Grace and Company has been involved in a number of controversial environmental incidents including the Libby, Montana asbestos contamination, the Woburn, Massachusetts water contamination lawsuit (basis of the film A Civil Action) and the Acton, Massachusetts Superfund site.

To date, W. R. Grace and Company has faced more than 250,000 asbestos-related lawsuits.