Arkema
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arkema S.A. is a publicly listed, multi-national manufacturer of specialty materials, headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France. It has three specialty materials segments (or divisions);
adhesives Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...
, advanced materials and
coatings A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. The purpose of applying the coating may be decorative, functional, or both. Coatings may be applied as liquids, gases or solids e.g. Powd ...
. A further segment covers chemical intermediates. The company was created in 2004, as part of French oil major Total's restructuring of its chemicals business, and floated on the Paris stock exchange in May 2006. Turnover in 2021 was €9.5 billion. Arkema operates in more than 55 countries and has 20,200 employees, 13 research centers and 144 production plants.


History

Arkema itself was created when French oil major Total restructured its chemicals business in 2004, but the company's roots go back many years.


Origin and evolution

In 1971,
Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
and Total merged their chemical operations into Aquitaine Total Organico (ATO), a joint subsidiary. The same year saw the creation of Produits Chimiques Ugine Kuhlmann (PCUK). The joint venture was renamed ATO Chimie in 1973. A second company, Chloé Chimie (40% Elf Aquitaine, 40% Total and 20% Rhône-Poulenc) was formed in 1980 to take over Rhône-Poulenc's chlorochemicals business. Three years later, Total sold its stake in Chloé Chimie to Elf and chemical production in France was reorganized around Atochem, a wholly owned Elf Aquitaine subsidiary that incorporated the activities of ATO Chimie, Chloé Chimie and most of PCUK. In 1989, Elf Aquitaine acquired the American, Pennwalt Corporation and along with M&T Chemicals and Atochem Inc formed Atochem North America Inc. Pennwalt can trace its roots to the formation of The Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. by five Philadelphia Quakers in 1850. The Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. changed its name to Pennsalt Chemicals Corp in 1957 and merged with Wallace and Tiernan Inc. to form Pennwalt Corp in 1969. The year 1990 saw another reorganization of chemical production in France. Orkem's petrochemicals, styrenics, fertilizers and acrylics businesses were integrated into Atochem, while specialties (resin and paint) moved to Total. Montedison's organic peroxide business was acquired. Atochem was renamed Elf Atochem in 1992 and merged with Total's chemical businesses into Atofina a year after the takeover of Elf by TotalFina in 1999.


Formation, independence and listing

In February 2004, Total, the French-based multinational oil conglomerate announced a reorganisation of its chemicals business. A new company under Total's ownership, named Arkema, was formed on 1 October into which Total placed certain assets held by its Atofina subsidiary, which was then dissolved. The ''kem'' part of Arkema's name references the company as a chemicals producer. Arkema was structured into three divisions producing vinyl products (chlorochemicals and PVC, vinyl compounds and pipes and profiles), industrial chemicals (acrylics, fluorochemicals,
hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3% ...
,
PMMA PMMA may refer to: * para-Methoxymethamphetamine, a stimulant drug * Philippine Merchant Marine Academy The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy ( fil, Akademiya sa Bapor Pangkalakalan ng Pilipinas) also referred to by its acronym PMMA) is a ma ...
and thiochemicals) and performance products (additives,
organic peroxides In organic chemistry, organic peroxides are organic compounds containing the peroxide functional group (). If the R′ is hydrogen, the compounds are called hydroperoxides, which are discussed in that article. The O−O bond of peroxides easily ...
,
agrochemicals An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of ''agricultural chemical'', is a chemical product used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical refers to biocides (pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicides) and sy ...
and
urea-formaldehyde Urea-formaldehyde (UF), also known as urea-methanal, so named for its common synthesis pathway and overall structure, is a nontransparent thermosetting resin or polymer. It is produced from urea and formaldehyde. These resins are used in adhesiv ...
resins). Total's intention was to spin-off Arkema into an independent listed company. This was achieved on 18 May 2006 when Arkema debuted on the Paris stock market. In June 2011, Arkema joined the
CAC Next 20 The CAC Next 20 is an index of security prices used with the Euronext Paris or Euronext Amsterdam. It gathers the 20 companies whose market capitalizations are ranked after those of the 40 companies who compose the CAC 40. These 20 are possible ca ...
French stock market index.


Acquisitions, disposals and reconfigurations

2007: Arkema sells its agrochemical business (Cerexagri) to
United Phosphorus United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
and its urea-formaldehyde activities to
Hexion Hexion Inc. or Hexion (previously Momentive Specialty Chemicals) is a chemical company based in Columbus, Ohio. It produces thermoset resins and related technologies and specialty products. Hexion is organized into two divisions: the Epoxy, Phe ...
.
2007: acquires Coatex company (specialty acrylic polymers)
2010: acquires acrylic Dow assets in the US
2011: acquires Total coating resins (Cray Valley and Sartomer)
2012: acquires Chinese Company Hipro Polymers (producer of bio-Polyamides) and Casda Biomaterials (producer of plant raw materials)
In July 2012, Arkema sold for 1 symbolic euro its vinyl products business segment to the Klesch group for reasons of profitability, but also to re-center its operations exclusively on specialty chemicals. As part of this divestment, Arkema made a 100 million euro cash payment to the Klesch group and took on debts amounting to 470 million euros to help revive the activity. In response to fears of redundancy and to protests from employees at a number of production sites, the trade unions negotiated, with the Arkema management, industrial and social guarantees as well as support measures designed to protect the rights of employees should the Klesch group implement redundancies following their take-over of the vinyl products activities. Hence two trust funds of €20 M were set up to secure compensation payments and the rights of employees of the companies that were sold off. Following the sale, Arkema reorganized its activities into three business segments: High Performance Materials, Industrial Specialties and Coating Solutions. Each represented about one third of Group turnover.
2015 : Purchase of
Bostik Bostik is a manufacturer and distributor of adhesives and sealants for the construction, industrial and consumer markets. With annual sales of €2.1 billion, the company employs 6,000 people and has a presence in more than 40 countries. Bo ...
from
Total S.A. TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and ...
The company also joined
CJ Group CJ Group () is a South Korean conglomerate holding company and one of the largest Chaebol headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous businesses in various industries of food and food service, pharmaceutics and biotechnology, enter ...
of South Korea to invest in the manufacture of
L-methionine Methionine (symbol Met or M) () is an essential amino acid in humans. As the precursor of other amino acids such as cysteine and taurine, versatile compounds such as SAM-e, and the important antioxidant glutathione, methionine plays a critical rol ...
in Malaysia.
2020 : Plexiglas business sold to the American group
Trinseo Trinseo is a global specialty material solutions provider, focusing particularly on the manufacture of plastics and latex binders. Trinseo (formerly known as Styron) was part of the Dow Chemical Company until Dow grouped several of its businesses ...
for $1.1 billion. 2021 : Acquisition of Ashland's Performance Adhesives business for $1.65 billion. 2022 : Acquisition of Permoseal, an adhesive solutions company in South Africa.


Organization


Adhesive Solutions

Formed in 2020 by the transfer of Bostick from the High Performance Materials segment.


Advanced Materials

This segment gathers together four main product lines: specialty polyamides, fluoropolymers (PVDF), molecular sieves for filtration and adsorption and organic peroxides. Brands include
Rilsan Nylon 11 or Polyamide 11 (PA 11) is a polyamide, bioplastic and a member of the nylon family of polymers produced by the polymerization of 11-aminoundecanoic acid. It is produced from castor beans by Arkema under the trade name Rilsan. Nylon 11 is ...
(polyamide 11), Luperox ( Organic Peroxide), Kynar (
PVDF Polyvinylidene fluoride or polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) is a highly non-reactive thermoplastic fluoropolymer produced by the polymerization of vinylidene difluoride. PVDF is a specialty plastic used in applications requiring the highest pur ...
), Siliporite ( Molecular Sieves).


Coating Solutions

Starting from upstream acrylic monomers, the Group has built a presence across the coating market. Its portfolio of coating materials and technologies includes waterborne, solvent borne, powder coating resins and additives from Arkema Coating Resins, rheology additives for waterborne coatings from Coatex and photocured resins for optic fibers, graphic arts, electronics, etc. from Sartomer. Brands are EnVia, Rheotec, Sarbio.


Intermediates

Includes thiochemicals (for animal nutrition, gas natural odorant), fluorochemicals (for refrigeration, air conditioning, blowing agent for insulating foam) and hydrogen peroxide (pulp and textile bleaching, chemical synthesis, water treatment). Brands include Albone (hydrogen peroxide), Paladin ( DMDS agricultural fumigant) and Forane (refrigerants).


Subsidiaries

Bostik Bostik is a manufacturer and distributor of adhesives and sealants for the construction, industrial and consumer markets. With annual sales of €2.1 billion, the company employs 6,000 people and has a presence in more than 40 countries. Bo ...
specializes in bonding solutions; •Coatex produces rheology additives for water-based formulations. Its production sites are located in France (Genay), the Netherlands (Moerdijk), the United States (Chester, South Carolina), Korea (Kunsan), China (Changshu) and Brazil (Araçariguama). Its main brands are Rheocoat, Coadis, Rheocarb, Ecodis, Viscoatex and Coapur. •MLPC International specializes in the chemistry of carbon sulphide, cyanogen chloride and amines and produces vulcanising agents for the rubber industry. The company was previously known as "Manufacture Landaise de Produits Chimiques". Its origins go back to 1926. Plants are at
Lesgor Lesgor (; oc, Lesgòr) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of France. The comm ...
and nearby Rion-des-Landes, in the Landes department of
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...
in south-western France. •Sartomer produces specialty acrylates for UV curing systems (photo-crosslinking). •Den Braven makes sealants for insulation and construction. •Casda manufactures sebacic acid from castor oil.


Arkema worldwide


Locations

Arkema operates through industrial facilities in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and marketing subsidiaries in around 40 countries. Arkema has 144 production facilities worldwide, including 61 in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, 43 in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, 40 in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and in the rest of the world. Arkema has 13 research centers worldwide: 7 in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
(
Lacq Lacq (; oc, Lac) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It lies just northwest of the prefecture (department capital) Pau. Economy In modern times the local economy has been based on the industrial us ...
,
Serquigny Serquigny () is a commune of the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. It lies on the rail line from Cherbourg to Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most p ...
, Cerdato, Carling, Genay, Pierre-Benite and Verneuil), three in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(
Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...
,
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a p ...
and
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania King of Prussia (also referred to as KOP) is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,028. The community took its unusual name in the 18th ...
) and two in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Changshu Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the Yangt ...
).


Sales by region

Most of Arkema's sales are generated in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, which accounts for 40% of the total.
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
represents 34% of sales. Arkema has had a strong presence in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
for over 13 years. Asia alone now accounts for 31% of sales.


Incidents and legal actions


Crosby, Texas plant explosion

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused the flooding of Arkema's
Crosby, Texas Crosby is a census-designated place in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,417 at the 2020 census. History The site north of U.S. Route 90 (according to some) was an encampment nicknamed Lick Skillet in 1823 by Humphrey ...
plant. Arkema said it would be unable to prevent an explosion at the plant, after refrigeration equipment failed that kept temperature sensitive
organic peroxides In organic chemistry, organic peroxides are organic compounds containing the peroxide functional group (). If the R′ is hydrogen, the compounds are called hydroperoxides, which are discussed in that article. The O−O bond of peroxides easily ...
cold. On August 31, explosions were reported to be coming from the plant. These turned out to be "small container ruptures" of burning organic peroxides. A 1.5 mile evacuation zone was set up around the site.


Preformation legacy issues


EU antitrust breach

Total, Elf Aquitaine and Arkema were investigated by the
EU Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
for involvement in an illegal supply, sales and pricing cartel in the hydrogen peroxide and sodium perborate markets. The Commission found that Arkema's predecessor companies Atochem and Atofina committed the infractions between May 1995 and December 2000. Arkema was fined €78 million in May 2006 for breaching EU antitrust law.


Research and development

Research and development spending totaled roughly 150 million euros, with half allocated to “green chemistry.” Arkema employs more than 1,200 researchers, whose work focuses on two main areas: ultra-high performance polymers and sustainable development solutions.


Financial performance

Arkema generates sales of €7.9 billion, broken down as follows: *Advanced Materials, 32%. *Adhesive Solutions, 25,5%. *Coating Solutions, 24,5%. *Intermediates, 18%. Arkema's net debt in 2020 is €1,9 billion.


Shareholder structure

As of 31 December 2010, the major stockholders of Arkema (owning at least 5% of capital declared to AMF) were
Greenlight Capital Greenlight Capital is a hedge fund founded in 1996 by David Einhorn (hedge fund manager), David Einhorn. Greenlight invests primarily in publicly traded North American corporate debt offerings and equities. Greenlight is most notable for its sho ...
(5,5%),
Dodge & Cox Dodge & Cox is an American mutual fund company, founded in 1930 by Van Duyn Dodge and E. Morris Cox, that provides professional investment management services. Background Dodge and Cox specializes in value investing and has been described as ...
(5.2%),
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), is a Belgian holding company invested in various sectors within companies that can be considered marketleaders and in which it can play an active role as a professional shareholder over the long term. In the last ...
(10%). Since January 1, 2012, the level of 5% reported to AMF was passed by: * FMR LLC ( Fidelity Management & Research): declares having +5% of Arkema capital (August 23, 2012); * Groupe Bruxelles Lambert: sold all its shares in the capital (March 14, 2012); * Individual shareholders: 94.0%; * Group employees: 5,5%;


References


External links

* {{Authority control French companies established in 2004 Chemical companies of France Specialty chemical companies Chemical companies established in 2004 Companies based in Île-de-France 2006 initial public offerings TotalEnergies French brands Corporate spin-offs Multinational companies headquartered in France Companies listed on Euronext Paris