Westlake Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

, polymers and fabricated building products, which are fundamental to various consumer and industrial markets. The company was founded by

Ting Tsung Chao Ting Tsung "T.T." Chao (1921 – March 7, 2008) was a pioneer in international petrochemical and plastics industries in Asia and North America. History Chao was born in Suzhou, China. Chao graduated from Shanghai University with a degree in Indu ...

in 1986. it is the largest producer of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in the US and ranks among the

Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...

. Westlake Chemical operates in two segments: Olefins and Vinyls, and is also an integrated producer of vinyls, with substantial downstream integration into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) building products.

Facilities

In 2014, Westlake made a significant expansion in their

ethylene Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds). Ethylene i ...

production facilities in

Sulphur, Louisiana Sulphur (french: Soufre) is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. The population was 21,809 in 2020. Sulphur is part of the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles Lake Charles metropolitan area, metropolitan statistica ...

. In 2014, Westlake acquired the German polyvinyl chloride manufacturer Vinnolit. In 2016, Westlake acquired U.S. chlor-alkali producer Axiall Corporation for US$3.8 billion. In June 2021, Westlake purchased the United States building products business of

Boral Boral Limited is Australia's largest building and construction materials supplier, with market-leading positions in quarries, cement, concrete and asphalt. Boral is actively pursuing a decarbonisation strategy through recycling of demolition ma ...

for $2.2 billion

Safety Incidents

In September 2021, an explosion at a Westlake ethylene plant in

injured 6 workers. In January 2022, an

ethylene dichloride The chemical compound 1,2-dichloroethane, commonly known as ethylene dichloride (EDC), is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. It is a colourless liquid with a chloroform-like odour. The most common use of 1,2-dichloroethane is in the production of vinyl ...

tank exploded at a Westlake facility in Westlake, Louisiana injuring 6 workers and triggering a

Shelter-in-place Shelter-in-place (SIP; also known as a shelter-in-place warning, SAME code SPW) is the act of seeking safety within the building one already occupies, rather than evacuating the area or seeking a community emergency shelter. The American Red Cro ...

order. Westlake facilities in Louisiana have had uncontrolled chemical releases including

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with chemical formula, formula Carbon, CHydrogen, HChlorine, Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to ...

hydrogen chloride The compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colourless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hydrogen chloride ga ...

and

vinyl chloride Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula H2C=CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) or chloroethene. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC ...

References

External links

* Petrochemical companies Manufacturing companies based in Houston Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange {{chemical-company-stub