Chemtura

Chemtura Corporation

Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: CHMT
Industry	chemicals, manufacturing
Founded	2005, Merger between Great Lakes Chemical and Crompton
Headquarters	Philadelphia, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Craig A. Rogerson (Chairman, CEO & President)
Employees	4,400 (2012)
Website	Chemtura.com

Chemtura Corporation is a marketer of specialty chemicals, polymer products, and processing equipment for a variety of industries. The company formed in 2005 from the merger of two other corporations: Great Lakes Chemical Corporation of West Lafayette, Indiana, and Crompton Corporation of Middlebury, Connecticut. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Chemtura had sales of USD $3 billion in 2011.^[1]

Chemtura Corporation is a global specialty chemicals company with positions in diversified markets, including transportation, electronics and energy, and agriculture.

With headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Chemtura Corporation manufactures products at 31 sites in 14 countries and sells products in over 100 countries. It has approximately 4,400 employees in research, manufacturing, sales and administrative facilities in every major market of the world, with regional headquarters and shared service centers in São Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Middlebury, Connecticut, USA; and Manchester, United Kingdom/Frauenfeld, Switzerland.

Chemtura Corporation is the successor to Crompton & Knowles Corporation, which was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1900 and engaged in the manufacture and sale of specialty chemicals beginning in 1954. Crompton & Knowles traces its roots to Crompton Loom Works, incorporated in the 1840s. Crompton & Knowles expanded the specialty chemical business through acquisitions in the United States and Europe, including the 1996 acquisition of Uniroyal Chemical Company, the 1999 merger with Witco Corporation, and the acquisition of Great Lakes Chemical Corporation in 2005, at which time it became Chemtura Corporation.

Controversies involving Chemtura

The Chicago Tribune reports that researchers led by Stapleton and Heather Patisaul, a toxicologist at North Carolina State University, detected harmful effects at levels that were significantly lower than those used in the studies conducted for Chemtura, the Philadelphia-based company that makes Firemaster 550. It is reported that brominated chemicals, such as Firemaster 500 which were added to furniture in attempts to decrease flammability have leached out of the furniture. A 2013 Study by the MIND Institute of the University of California, Davis found that one component of the fire retardant chemical accumulated in human blood, fat and breast milk.^[2]

Purportedly in response to the studies linking this class of chemicals to accumulation in humans and resulting potential harm, Governor Jerry Brown directed that the regulation phasing out flame retardant chemicals in furniture. In a press release, California Governor Brown stated “Toxic flame retardants are found in everything from high chairs to couches and a growing body of evidence suggests that these chemicals harm human health and the environment,” said Governor Brown. “We must find better ways to meet fire safety standards by reducing and eliminating—wherever possible—dangerous chemicals.” ^[3]

In November 2013 the Governor's Office announced publication of the new regulation In doing so, Governor Brown indicated that: "Numerous studies have found links between exposure to chemicals used as flame retardants in upholstered furniture and cancer and fertility issues. These chemicals also disproportionately impact children. One study found toddlers can have up to three times the level of flame retardants in their bodies as their parents." ^[4]

On January 15, 2013 Chemtura filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court in an attempt to force the State of California to leave the old standard in place. In that lawsuit the company alleges that Chemtura will be irreparably harmed if the new regulation is not rescinded.

External links

• Chemtura Corporation website

References