 | |
| Industry | Chemicals |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1888 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Degussa AG |
| Headquarters | Luton, UK |
Key people | Jim Leng (CEO) |
Laporte plc was a leading British chemicals business that operated from 1888 to 2000. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The Company was founded by Bernard Laporte, a German Chemist, in 1888 as a supplier of peroxide to bleach straw boating hats. [1] It subsequently diversified into other aspects of bleaching and commercial laundry chemicals. [1]
In the 1980s it disposed of its manufacturing operations. [2]
In 1993 it acquired Evode Group plc, suppliers of adhesives and specialties. [3] It went on to buy Aztec Peroxides Inc., a US peroxides business, in 1994 [4] and Inspec Group plc, suppliers of specialty chemicals, in 1998. [5]
It sold its major divisions, some 55% of the business by revenue, to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2000. These divisions (Pigments and Additives, Formulated Products & Compounds and Computers & Electronics) subsequently became known as Rockwood Holdings Inc. [6]
In December 2000 Degussa SKW, a joint venture between Degussa AG and SKW Trostberg, acquired the remainder of the business. [7] The performance chemicals business was subsequently sold on by Degussa to Cognis. [8]
The Company had the following divisions: [9]
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was a constituent of the FT 30 and later the FTSE 100 indices.
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Sachtleben Chemie is a chemicals producer, with its primary focus on the production of white pigments, fillers and extenders. The company employs some 2,200 persons and achieves annual sales of around 820 million euros (2012). Sachtleben has been a member of the multinational Venator group since 2017. The company's corporate history reaches back over 130 years. Sachtleben produces particles using titanium dioxide, zinc sulfide and barium sulfate as the chemical basis, and markets these products worldwide. The principal applications for Sachtleben products include man-made fibers, paints and other coatings, plastics, and paper. Sachtleben also supplies special particles to the foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries, and has interests in the fields of chromatography, nanotechnology, catalysis, and the production of building materials. The company leads the world in special titanium dioxide grades for printing inks and for the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food industries. The production facilities at all three locations apply the sophisticated sulfate-route process.
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