The story of the Solvay group began on 15 April 1861, when Ernest Solvay patented a revolutionary ammonia-soda process for producing sodium carbonate. - also known as soda ash - using common salt, ammonia, carbon dioxide (CO2) and lime. Ernest Solvay, born in 1838, was a man with a passionate interest in science, research and innovation and a defender of progressive social ideals.Together with his brother Alfred, he founded the company Solvay & Cie on December 24, 1863 to implement the new process for the industrial production of sodium carbonate. The first Solvay soda factory started operating in Couillet, Belgium in 1865. It used salt from rock salt mines; the lime and CO2 were produced by the calcination of limestone in limekilns. The ammonia was recovered from the production process for re-use. The chemicals sector makes hydrogen peroxide and soda ash (used to make glass). And Solvay's pharmaceuticals include cardiological drugs, gastrointestinal enzymes, and antidepressants. However, it agreed to sell that last unit to Abbott Labs in 2009 for about E5.2 billion ($7.6 billion US). Belgian holding company Solvac owns more than 30% of Solvay.

Got potash? If not, the Arab Potash Company (APC) would be glad to fix you up. The company mines the Dead Sea for potassium chloride, one of several potassium-based compounds commonly known as potash. The substance is used primarily for fertilizer, but also has industrial applications, for example in the manufacture of glass and ceramic. Canadian industry bigwig Potash Corp. bought more than a quarter of the company in 2003 and installed some of its own executives in APC management roles. Jordan Investment Corp. also owns more than a quarter of APC.

Tata Chemicals Limited Company Profile At one time salt drove the world's commerce; it still makes up a good bit of the business at Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL). Tata Salt owns a more than 40% share in India's branded salt market, and the company's soda ash business is also tops in the country, controlling nearly a third of India's market. Tata Chemicals divides its business in two segments: Inorganic Chemicals (soda ash, salt, and caustic soda) and Fertilizers (primarily urea and phsophatic fertilizers). A member of the Tata Group, the company operates India's largest inorganic chemical complex in Mithapur. TCL's products end up in such diverse products as salt licks for cattle, fertilizers, cement, glass, processed steel, and detergents.

Diversified Chemical Technologies is a manufacturer of specialty chemical products for the automotive, consumer packaging, electronics, steel, and transportation industries. The company operates through subsidiaries Adhesive Systems (hot melt, pressure sensitive, and water based adhesives), Coat-It (polymer chemicals), and Diversified Chemical Technologies (industrial cleaners). Its Paperworks unit distributes paper and other office supply products. Diversified Chemical Technologies has marketing partnerships with Xerox (paper products) and Procter & Gamble (cleaning products). It has facilities in the US and South Korea and distribution subsidiaries in Europe and South America.

India's Meghmani Organics is a leading producer of pesticide chemicals used by pesticide manufacturers and pigments used by manufacturers of printing ink, plastics, paint, textiles and leather, paper, and rubber. The company's customers are primarily multinational corporations and include Ciba Holding, Flint Ink, and FMC Agricultural Products. More than 50% of its pesticide products and over 80% of its pigment products are exported. The company was founded in 1986 and has offices in Belgium, China, and the US.

alchimer is a practitioner of high-tech alchemy. The company specializes in chemical coatings used in both microelectronics and biomedical implants. alchimer's electro-grafting technology allows coating solutions (organic, polymer-based films) to be used on conducting and semi-conducting surfaces. alchimer's coatings can be used in such biomedical applications as drug-eluting stents; technological applications include integrated circuit manufacturing. A 2001 spin-off of the Commissariat ࠬ'Energie Atomique, the French government's atomic energy agency, Alchimer is owned by a consortium of private investors that includes AGF Private Equity and Rothschild.

Through its subsidiaries, Thai Rubber Latex Corporation makes latex concentrate, as well as various finished products made from that concentrate. More than half of the company's revenue is derived from its manufacturing of latex concentrate, the major raw material used in the manufacture of rubber and latex products including gloves, condoms, and rubber thread. The company also manufactures latex gloves and rubber thread from its majority-owned subsidiaries Universal Latex Products and World Flex. Thai rubber Latex operates nine manufacturing facilities.

Sid Richardson Carbon & Energy (SRCE) operates in the black -- as in furnace carbon black, a primary non-rubber additive used in the manufacturing of tires. Its Sid Richardson Carbon subsidiary manufactures and markets carbon black at plants in Louisiana, the Texas Panhandle, and West Texas, where the plants convert diesel oil into material used to harden rubber tires. The company produces more than 970 million tons of carbon black a year. Its more than 30 grades of carbon black are also used in industrial rubber applications such as automotive sealing systems and sheet roofing, as well as for printing inks, paints, and batteries. SRCE is owned by Sid Richardson's heirs, the ultra-rich Bass oil family of Texas.

Forward Industries, Inc. engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of carry solutions for hand held consumer electronics products. Its products include carry cases for cell phone handsets, cases for handset camera attachments, handset plastic belt clips, carrying case straps and bags, decorative faceplates, wrist straps, digital display cleaning cloths, and other accessory products; and medical monitoring and diagnostic kit carrying cases. The company’s product portfolio also includes belt clips, as well as other carry and storage solutions, including cases for cameras, MP3 players, and retail bar code scanners. Forward Industries sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, as well as to retailers and wholesalers of cellular phone products and related accessories. The company sells its products in the Asia Pacific Region, the Americas, and Europe. Forward Industries was founded in 1954 and is based in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Solutia Inc. manufactures and markets various chemical and engineered materials used in the consumer and industrial applications worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Saflex, CPFilms, and Technical Specialties. The Saflex segment produces polyvinyl butyral (PVB) sheet, a plastic interlayer used in the manufacture of laminated glass for automotive and architectural applications; specialty intermediate PVB resin products; and optical grade PVB resin and plasticizer. The CPFilms segment manufactures and sells special custom coated window films under Llumar, Vista, Gila, and Formula One Performance Automotive Films brand names; and produces various films for use in tapes, automotive badging, optical and colored filters, shades, packaging, computer touch screens, electroluminescent displays, and cathode ray tube and flat-panel monitors. The Technical Specialties segment manufactures and sells chemicals for the rubber industry, which include vulcanizing agents, principally insoluble sulfur, and rubber chemicals, such as antidegradants, accelerators, and other rubber chemicals; heat transfer fluids used for indirect heating or cooling of chemical processes in various types of industrial equipment, as well as in solar energy power systems; and aviation hydraulic fluids and aviation solvents used in the aviation industry. Solutia sells its products directly to end users in various industries through a sales force and distributors. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

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