Crompton Corporation (, formerly Crompton and Knowles) was a chemical research, production, sales and distribution company headquartered in

Middlebury, Connecticut Middlebury is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,574 at the 2020 census. History Middlebury incorporated as a town in 1807, and named from its central position relative to Waterbury, Woodbury and Southbu ...

. The company produced

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

used for polymers, fire suppressants and retardants, pool and spa water purification systems and various other applications. In 2005, Crompton merged with

Great Lakes Chemical Corporation Great Lakes Chemical Corporation was a chemical research, production, sales and distribution company that produced specialty chemicals used for polymers, fire suppressants and retardants, pool and spa water purification systems and various other a ...

to become

Chemtura Chemtura Corporation was a global corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its other principal executive office in Middlebury, Connecticut. Merged into Lanxess in 2017, the company focused on specialty chemicals for various i ...

History

Crompton Corporation traced its origins to 1837 when founder William Crompton invented a

loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

for weaving patterns in cotton, an innovation that led in the 1840s to the founding of

Crompton Loom Works The Crompton Loom Works is an historic industrial complex of the Crompton Corporation at 132-142 Green Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. The factory manufactured looms for textile factories. With its original portion dating to 1860, the complex ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

by his son

George Crompton George Crompton (23 March 1829 – 29 December 1886) was an American inventor, manufacturer, and businessman and the son of William Crompton, an inventor. He is best known for his invention, perfection, and popularization of the Crompton Loom, ...

. The company merged in 1879 with rival Knowles Brothers to form the Crompton & Knowles Loom Works. In 1999, Crompton & Knowles merged with Witco Corporation to form Crompton Corporation. In 2005, Crompton merged with

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, ...

, to form

, headquartered in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Crompton's ticker symbol on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

was CK.

References

{{reflist

External links

Chemtura website
Chemical companies of the United States Companies based in New Haven County, Connecticut Companies based in Worcester, Massachusetts Companies established in 1837 Chemical companies disestablished in 2005 Middlebury, Connecticut 1830s establishments in Massachusetts Chemtura