Multinational chemical companies

Multinational chemical companies have long been aware of China s potential, but what was once viewed as a market only for the brave must now become a cornerstone of any ambitious CEO s agenda. Nevertheless, seizing the opportunity without encountering problems is not easy. 

China s chemical market is growing rapidly and by 2015 will be on a par with the USA s and Europe s. Multinational chemical companies have long underestimated the opportunities of this booming market and have been too tentative about the risks. 

There is now a wealth of good data available on the chemical properties of many of the 11 million substances listed in Chemical Abstracts. However, of the 100,000-t- substances listed in various inventories, eg, EINECS, the available toxicological and ecotoxicological data which is freely and publicly available is often limited. Whilst many of the sources of these data are outlined in the chapters by Cowie and Richardson, Deschamps, Pantry, Pembleton, etc., it is regrettable that much of these important data remain solely locked away in the filing systems of some of the multinational chemical companies. Whilst it may neither be pragmatic nor in their interests to make these data totally available to all, they should at least be made available freely to the United Nations programmes. 

Small firms obtain the resins from big, multinational chemical companies that provide their clients with information about their products and recommend protective measures, with precise and strict guidelines for handling and protection. They even advise dermatological consultation in the event of any lesion. Nevertheless, the protective measures actually used by these workers are usually scarce (if any are used at all). 

The Environmental Defense Fund, a US-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group, and the multinational chemical company DuPont collaborated to develop the Nano Risk Framework [171]. In the words of the developers. 

Opposition, initially based on unproven fears of latent risks to the environment and to consumer health, as well as on the aggressive tactics used by such multinational chemical companies to move into and dominate food production systems, has intensified as evidence of risks has accumulated in recent years. For example, Danish researchers have produced findings that the new genes added to such crops can and do flow to related plants in the natural environment British researchers have demonstrated that genetically-modified potatoes harm the health of laboratory test animals Brazilian health officials have confirmed that consumers allergic to nuts have been harmed by unlabeled foods containing nut genes and American researchers have found that new pest resistant com interferes with the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly (Bureau of National Affairs, 2000 Baram 2000). 

Chemical industry. In 1989, the cost of poor mixing was estimated at 1 billion to 10 billion in the U.S. chemical industry alone. In one large multinational chemical company, lost value due to poor mixing was estimated at 100 million per year in 1993. Yield losses of 5% due to poor mixing are typical. 

Established in 1921. Scott Bader is a 180 million (approximately 288 million) multinational chemical company that employs 560 people worldwide. It is a common trusteeship company with no external shareholders and a strong commitment to supporting its customers, workforce and the environment Scott Bader s headquarters in the UK features purpose-built, state-of-the-art technical facilities that accommodate R D and complete evaluation, testii. and application support The company abo has manufacturing facilities in ttxe UK. France. Croatia, the Middle East and South /Ifrica. 

The shrinkage in demand has resulted in a restmcturing of the carbon black-industry. Several of the principal multinational oil companies have left the business including Ashland, Cities Service Co., Phillips, and Conoco. Some plants have changed ownership. In the United States this has increased the production capacities of Degussa, Sid Richardson, and Huber. Today s U.S. industry consists of six principal producers. Rated capacities of the six U.S. manufacturers is shown in Table 13. Cabot Corp. and Columbian Chemicals are the leading producers, followed by Degussa, Sid Richardson, J. M. Huber Corp., and Witco. A survey of the future markets and present stmcture of the carbon black industry has been presented (1). 

The security and economic stability of many nations and multinational oil companies are highly dependent on the safe and uninterrupted operation of their oil, gas and chemical facilities. One of the most critical impacts that can occur to these operations are fire and explosions from accidental or political incidents. The recent Gulf War amply demonstrates the impact these events can have on oil installations. 

Within the chemical industry, two percent of revenue is an accepted IT cost benchmark. Breaking through this cost barrier - sometimes from the lofty heights of three or even four percent - became the target for almost all multinationals. Some companies, such as Dow Chemical, BASF, Eastman, Celanese, and Degussa claim to have achieved this, or are well on the way to doing so. 

The preface to the T edition, also intended as a summary to guide the reader through the book, has in the majority retained its relevance for the present edition. The already extensive survey of our field of work is complemented by a number of new topics. Prof. W. Grosch provides the reader with a comprehensive survey of aroma analysis with a special emphasis on key odourants. Contributors from multinational food companies introduce a focus on final products in the section on applications. Additionally, the sector on non-natural flavors has been expanded to include the current state of the European chemical group classifications. 

Although all the major multinational chemical giants have manufacturing facilities in the U.K., either directly or via subsidiary companies, we shall confine our attention here to those which are incorporated, or have their headquarters, in the U.K. They are Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), Zeneca, Shell Chemicals, B.P. Chemicals, Croda International, Smith Kline Beecham, Glaxo, Fisons, Albright and Wilson, Laporte, Rio Tinto Zinc, and Unilever. Let us now briefly consider each of these in turn. 

Several aspects of the U.S. chemical scene have been commented on in the earlier section of this chapter concerned with international comparisons with the U.K. chemical industry (section 4.3.2). These were items such as sales, growth rates and trade with the U.K. The remainder of this chapter will therefore be devoted to a brief consideration of some of the larger U.S. chemical companies. Bear in mind that, as with any very large chemical company, they are all multinationals, and their activities cover practically all the important sectors of chemicals manufacture. Comments on their interests are therefore confined to just a few areas that the company is particularly strong in, or noted for. Another point to remember is that, partly due to the physical size of the country, important manufacturing locations are numerous and, unlike the U.K., it is not reasonable to try and list them. 

Like Japan, Germany has no indigenous oil or natural gas, and the performance of its chemical industries is therefore even better than appears at first sight. The German industry is dominated by the three giants Hoechst, BASF, and Bayer who in 1993 occupied first, second and fourth places in the world s top 20 chemical companies. As might be expected they are multinationals in every sense. 

Multinational enterprises headquartered outside the United States have long had an impact on American economic development. German firms in the chemical industry were no exception and their impact was perhaps as profound as that of foreign firms in any other sector. This paper seeks to trace the pre-World War II history of the German chemical companies in the United States, putting them in the overall context of other multinational enterprises. At the end, we will very briefly summarize the conditions facing the German firms as they reentered the U.S. market after World War II. 

In view of the massive quantity of available information and the fact that others have written on this subject, I felt this article should provide comparisons, synthesis, and analysis. Thus, I will compare German chemical firms with other multinational enterprises. My synthesis will summarize the overall historical path of the German chemical companies in the United States (many of the earlier detailed secondary works dealt only with particular periods, products, or companies). My analysis will home in on the whys of the German chemical companies behavior. In this article, my focus is on the presence of German chemical companies in America... 

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