Axis, Alabama

The Axis facility produces a wide variety of chemical additives, such as heat stabilizers and impact modifiers. Heat stabilizers are compounds added to PVC to slow color development during processing and extend the life of a product. Impact modifiers are added to PVC to make it less brittle and to increase its strength. Our organotin products have varied uses, including automotive paint catalysts and stabilizers in the plastics industry.

Our products are used in everyday items such as hair dryers, plastic piping and vinyl siding. Our chemical additives are used to give strength and durability to vinyl siding, window frames, gutters, plastic piping for plumbing and plastic bottles. Our products are also used in the agricultural, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and paint industries.

Kensington, Connecticut

The Kensington facility produces acrylic sheet products such as Plexiglas^® and Plexiglas^® SG sheets and polycarbonate sheet products such as Tuffak^® sheet.

Plexiglas^® acrylic sheet is used in many markets, including point of purchase displays, picture frames, mirrors and skylights. Tuffak^® polycarbonate sheet can be seen as safety glazing windows in the transportation industry and in security applications.

Calvert City, Kentucky

The Calvert City plant produces items used in a number of products that we use daily.

Our Kynar^® PVDF resin is a tough plastic coating used as wire insulation and on the exterior of many buildings. Kynar^® PVDF resin is also used in high performance piping systems including ultra pure water systems which in turn are used in the manufacturing of computer chips.

The Forane^® refrigerants we produce are used as coolant in air conditioners and refrigeration equipment. They are also used in insulation for transportation, appliances and construction.

We also manufacture hydrochloric acid, an essential agent in the processing of corn syrup and artificial sweeteners.

Carrollton, Kentucky

The Carrollton plant produces the Certincoat^® glass coating, heat stabilizers and industrial catalysts.

Our plant produces more than 100 products that can be found in homes, offices and recreation areas around the country. Our Certincoat^® glass coating is used by glass container manufacturers to protect bottles and jars from scratches. Heat stabilizers are compounds added to PVC to slow down color development during processing and to extend the life of the product. They are used by plastics manufacturers to add strength and durability to vinyl siding, window frames, gutters, plastic pipes for plumbing and plastic bottles.

Louisville, Kentucky

Plexiglas^® acrylic resin is our signature product, a name you probably recognize as the standard in acrylic sheet. Plexiglas is formed from the acrylic molding resin manufactured at our Louisville plant. Besides Plexiglas, you likely see our product in some applications every single day.

The resin is used in tail light lenses, backlit signage, lighting applications, dashboard panels, medical equipment and much more. The Louisville plant can produce and ship a resin so clean and pure that it is qualified for use in laser videodisks and in digital videodisks (DVD's), where the tiniest impurity or dust particle could affect the quality of the sound and picture. This resin is also used in the manufacture of Plexiglas^® acrylic sheet in North America and Latin America and Altuglas^® acrylic sheet in the rest of the world.

No doubt about it, wherever there is an application for good-looking, tough, molded parts, the acrylic molding resin produced by the Altuglas International Plant in Louisville is an ideal raw material. We take pride in producing materials that have excellent optical clarity, unsurpassed resistance to the weather and flexibility in their usage. Our products resist discoloration and molded parts can be drilled, machined, engraved or embossed. A variety of characteristics available in our product line make it easy for our customers to choose the best one for their application.

Blooming Prairie, Minnesota

The Blooming Prairie plant produces over two dozen finished products. These products are manufactured by chemically bonding oxygen to unsaturated bonds found in natural vegetable oils, such as soybean, linseed or other olefinic oils. This bonding causes changes in the physical appearance and chemical properties of the oils, making them more suitable for industrial use. Our highest volume product is epoxidized soybean oil.

Epoxidized soybean oil and epoxidized linseed oil are primarily used for imparting flexibility, strength and ultraviolet stability to polyvinyl chloride resin formulations. We also produce other specialty epoxides, which are used in lubricating oil formulations, plastic formulations, and in the cosmetic field, including shampoo, lipstick, and perfume manufacture. Our products allow our customers to produce goods that are common in daily use, such as food wrap, furniture, automobile interiors, floor tile, and jar cap liners.

Geneseo, New York

The Geneseo plant produces liquid organic peroxides that are used primarily in the production of acrylics, elastomers, LDPE (low density polyethylene), polyesters, polystyrene and PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Many products that we encounter daily, from automobile components to food packaging, owe their existence to the chemicals produced at the Geneseo plant.

Boats, tubs and spas are cured by peroxides made at Geneseo.

One of our products makes plastic furniture more easily processed into shape. Another is used in the manufacture of kitchen counter tops.

Our plant also produces peroxydicarbonates used to make PVC. PVC is then used in turn to make many familiar products, such as vinyl siding and plastic piping.

The Geneseo plant also produces a variety of benzoyl peroxides, used in flour bleaching, acne medication and polystyrene (some of which becomes expandable polystyrene).

Birdsboro, Pennsylvania

The Birdsboro plant produces Rilsan^® Nylon 11 and 12 thermoplastic resins, which are known for their outstanding chemical/abrasion/impact and moisture resistance, dimensional stability and easy processability by a variety of markets. The automotive and trucking industry is a major market for Nylon 11 and 12 where they are used for fuel line tubing, fuel fittings, vapor lines, pumps and air brakes. We also produce Copolymer Pebax^® resins, which are used in such applications as cycling and sport shoes, watch bands, ski boots, golf balls and other recreational and athletic products.

The Birdsboro facility and its sister plant in Serquigny, France are the only producers of Nylon 11 in the world.

Bristol, Pennsylvania

The Bristol plant manufactures a variety of acrylic molding resins with properties such as impact resistance and superior optics. We make different colors of resin and even produce grades that resist discoloration caused by gamma radiation. Our V-series grades are the standard in the industry, with a variety of melt flow and heat resistant products from which to choose. Our impact modified resins offer 7 to 10 times the impact strength of standard acrylic while maintaining excellent optical properties.

The resin is used in lighting applications, tail light lenses and other molded parts and decorative items that are all around us. From faucet handles to display cases, our resins are an outstanding raw material. Our products are marketed as Plexiglas^® sheet in North America and Latin America, and Altuglas^® acrylic sheet in the rest of the world.

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Arkema Research Center

R&D is the lifeblood of a technology enterprise. It is the engine of growth and a major contributor to earnings. By acquainting the reader with our research activities, physical infrastructure and organization, we aim to be of service to our customers, industrial and academic collaborators, visitors, and also to our new employees.

We work closely with our businesses and customers. Our work covers the whole spectrum - from exploratory work through projects in their conceptual, feasibility, developmental, and commercialization phases. In addition, a significant portion of our work is aimed at providing technical support to our businesses and to our manufacturing facilities.

We also work closely with the company's business and headquarters in France. To optimize their investment value, our research portfolios are managed for growth potential, quality, efficiency and speed. Research methodologies increasingly involve high-throughput techniques such as statistical or combinatorial methods, automation, robotics, simulation, and mathematical modeling.

Memphis, Tennessee

The Memphis plant produces hydrogen peroxide. While a seemingly simple commodity, numerous grades of hydrogen peroxide are required to serve the special needs of different markets. It is most apparent in many bathroom medicine cabinets, where bottles of hydrogen peroxide are kept as an antiseptic solution. Hydrogen peroxide is also used in toothpaste to help whiten teeth.

Hydrogen peroxide is used in many different industries. In the pulp and paper industry, hydrogen peroxide acts as an effective bleaching agent, providing a different solution to traditional methods using elemental chlorine. In the chemical industry, hydrogen peroxide is a superior reagent in various syntheses. In the textile industry, it is an outstanding bleaching agent for synthetic and natural fibers.

Hydrogen peroxide is often used in place of chlorine for the decontamination of industrial effluent, soil and water. It is also used in the desulfurization and deodorization of municipal wastewater, in the etching and drawing of silicon wafers and in household cleaning products. It is even used in the food industry, to help inhibit the growth of mold in cheese.

Beaumont, Texas

The Beaumont plant produces methyl mercaptan, ethyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS). In addition, an acrolein/methylmercaptoproprionaldehyde (MMP) unit was placed in operation in the first Quarter of 2005.

Our products are key ingredients in the manufacture of biodegradable herbicides, pesticides and animal feed supplements. These products are also used in the production of pharmaceuticals, photographic chemicals and circuit boards. Ethyl mercaptan is primarily used as an odorizer for propane gas. The strong odor that ethyl mercaptan adds to propane makes gas leaks easy to detect, protecting homes and businesses. MMP is used in the production of methionine, an essential amino acid and a key component of poultry, swine and ruminant (cattle, sheep, etc.) feed.

Crosby, Texas

The Crosby plant produces liquid organic peroxides that are used primarily in the production of plastic resins, polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and polyester reinforced fiberglass, and acrylic resins. Many consumer products that we use everyday, ranging from automobiles and food packaging to health and cleaning products, owe their beginnings to organic peroxides. Our peroxides are part of every FDA approved eyedropper bottle on the market. Chevrolet Corvettes^® are made using one of our products, t-butyl perbenzoate. Automotive coatings and paints are made utilizing our t-butyl peresters and t-amyl perketals. Our t-amyl perester products are used to manufacture trash bags and plastic jugs. t-Butyl peroctoate is used in the manufacture of many food packages and golf ball covers. Lup 231 is a key component in many major brands of golf balls. Waxes, candles, floor polishes and lipstick all include a Crosby-made chemical, di-t-butyl peroxide. Disposable plastic drinking cups and eating utensils are made using t-butyl perketals.

Houston, Texas

The Houston plant is a global supplier of linear mercaptans, tertiary mercaptans, and carbon disulfide. These products are key ingredients in the manufacture of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and pharmaceuticals. Our products are also used in the production of synthetic rubber, plastics and corrosion inhibitors.

Canada

Oakville, Ontario

Welcome to Arkema Canada Inc. – the headquarters and distribution center for our Canadian operations. Arkema Canada is a diversified chemicals manufacturer that markets a wide range of chemical products for use in a variety of applications serving a broad cross-section of Canadian industry and consumer needs.

Arkema began operating in Canada under the name Pennsalt. Since that time, the plant has been an important contributor to the region's economy, with well-known performance chemicals and polymers.

Bécancour, Quebec

At Bécancour, Arkema produces primarily hydrogen peroxide solutions. These products are used as bleaching or antiseptic agents in a wide variety of industries such as pulp and paper, textile, food processing, mining and metallurgy, as well as the environmental sector.

Hydrogen peroxide acts as an effective bleaching agent. Bleached chemical pulps may reach brightness levels as high as 90-92%. It is also a superior reagent for various syntheses. Because of its compatibility with various fabric and textile dyes, it achieves a permanent whiteness without any fiber damage. Moreover, hydrogen peroxide is widely used for disinfecting and cleaning. It is also used as a sterilizing agent for the aseptic filling and packaging of milk and fruit juices. Furthermore, in combination with sulfuric or hydrofluoric acid it is used for stainless steel and aluminum surface finishing. In the environmental sector, hydrogen peroxide is used in the desulphurization and deodorization of wastewaters as well as the decontamination of industrial effluents, soil and water.

Mexico

Matamoros

Maquiladora General de Matamoros S.A. de C.V. (MGM for short) manufactures two different families of products: acrylic sheets, using the cell cast process; and plastic modifiers, using the bulk process. The acrylic sheets are produced in various thicknesses from 1/8" to 2" in more than 30 colors and in three different sizes: 4' x 8', 5' x 8' and 6' x 8'.

Our acrylic sheets are mainly used in three different markets: the sign industry, glass substitution and point of purchase. There are many more applications ranging from OEM parts to decorative items. Traditionally cell cast acrylic sheet is preferred over other acrylic sheets for its optics, machine ability, formability and moderate solvent and impact resistance. Plexiglas^® acrylic sheet are used where bullet-resistant glazing is required.

El Chapo, Veracruz

The El Chapo plant produces liquid organic peroxides and liquid organic chlorides. These products are used in many industries in the Americas in the production of such plastics as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and low density polyethylene, as well as in fiberglass resins and elastomers and rubber compounds.