Company type | Public |
---|---|
Euronext Brussels: SOLB BEL 20 component CAC Next 20 component | |
ISIN | BE0003470755 |
Industry | Chemicals |
Founded | 1863 |
Founder | Alfred and Ernest Solvay |
Headquarters | Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium |
Key people | Nicolas Boël (Chairman), Philippe Kehren (CEO) |
Products | Chemicals and advanced materials |
Revenue | €10.3 billion (2018) [1] €8.9 billion (2020) [2] |
2,221,000,000 Euro (2022) | |
€618 million (2020) | |
Total assets | €22,000 million (2018) [1] €16,792 million (2020) [2] |
Total equity | €10,624 million (2018) [1] €7,360 million (2020) [2] |
Number of employees | 24,500 (2018) [3] 23,000 (2020) [4] |
Website | www |
Solvay is a Belgian multinational chemical company established in 1863, with its headquarters located in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium.
In 2015, it realized €12.4 billion in revenues, €2.336 billion of EBITDA, 43% of its sales in emerging high-growth countries, 90% of its sales in markets where it is ranked among the top three manufacturers. With 145 sites, Solvay employs 30,900 people in 53 countries.
Founded in 1863, [5] by Ernest Solvay and his brother Alfred Solvay to produce sodium carbonate by the Solvay process, the company has diversified into two main sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Before World War I, Solvay was the largest multinational company in the world. [6] [ needs independent confirmation ] It was formerly also active in pharmaceuticals, but agreed to sell that entire division to Abbott Labs for €4.5 billion in September 2009, [7] a deal completed in February 2010.
In April 2011, the firm agreed to the €3.4 billion acquisition of French-based chemicals company Rhodia [8] which was completed in September 2011.
Since January 2012, the new Solvay is listed on the NYSE Euronext in Paris and joined the CAC 40 index in September 2012. [9] Solvay is historically listed on the NYSE Euronext in Brussels and part of BEL20 index.
Following its integration with Rhodia, the Committee of Executive Members at Solvay reorganised its various business units into five segments – Consumer Chemicals, Advanced Materials, Performance Chemicals, Functional Polymers and Corporate & Business Services, effective from 2013. [10]
The company is a supporter of the Solvay Conferences that were started by Ernest Solvay in 1911. [11]
On December 3, 2015, Solvay launched a share issue sent to existing shareholders, completing funding for the $5.5 billion purchase of Cytec Industries Inc. [12]
In December 2023, shareholders approved the plan to split Solvay. The traditional activities, such as soda, hydrogen peroxide and adhesives, will continue under the Solvay name and will be led by Philippe Kehren. The other activities, such as plastics for electronics and rechargeable batteries, have been transferred to a new company called Syensqo (pronounced: science-co). The products in Syensqo have a higher growth potential, with Ilham Kadri as chairman. Solvay continues with 9,000 employees and a turnover of €5.6 billion per year. Syensqo starts with 13,200 employees and an annual turnover of €7.9 billion. On Monday, December 11, Syensqo shares were listed on the stock exchange and are included in the BEL 20 share index.
The company's head office is located in Brussels, Belgium. [13] It was previously in Ixelles, Brussels [14]
Solvay's United States subsidiary, Solvay America, Inc., is based in Houston, Texas. [15] [16]
Solvay is a main partner of Solar Impulse and has contributed research and development resources to their solar powered airplane project. That aircraft conducted its first test flight on 3. December 2009, and since then has made solar-powered flights from Switzerland to Spain and Morocco in 2012. [17]
In 2015–2016, Solar Impulse 2 flew around the world, the first such journey by a solar-powered aircraft. [18]
SolviCore, a joint venture by Umicore and Solvay in the field of fuel cells is already pre-marketing membrane-electrode assemblies for different types of fuel cells for portable or mobile use. [19] New generation lithium batteries for hybrid vehicles components make use of Solvay fluorinated polymers in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. [20]
Novosol is a sodium bicarbonate-based process for treating and recovering mineral residues contaminated with heavy metals. [21]
Solvay is working on the development and industrialization of the proprietary Epicerol process for manufacturing epichlorohydrin from natural glycerin. [22]
Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC is currently under litigation for its per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination of water sources and soil. PFAS, a group of more than 4,000 compounds used in nonstick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, firefighting foam and a range of other products, [23] do not break down in the environment, and therefore accumulate in the body. They have been linked to cancer, fertility problems, liver damage, high cholesterol, and other health problems. [24] [25]
In November 2020, the New Jersey Attorney General announced its filing of two lawsuits "to compel the clean-up of contamination and recover Natural Resource Damages (NRDs)", one of which is against Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC and Arkema Inc., alleging they are "two companies responsible for widespread contamination from toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) emanating from a Gloucester County facility, which has contaminated public drinking water in the region." [26] This is part of an ongoing and growing investigation. [27] [28] [29] [30]
Solvay impeded the availability of an analytical standard by legal maneuver. [31]
The Cape Fear River is a 191.08-mile-long blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of Moncure, North Carolina. Its river basin is the largest in the state: 9,149 sq mi.
Perfluorooctanoic acid is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes and as a material feedstock. PFOA is considered a surfactant, or fluorosurfactant, due to its chemical structure, which consists of a perfluorinated, n-heptyl "tail group" and a carboxylate "head group". The head group can be described as hydrophilic while the fluorocarbon tail is both hydrophobic and lipophobic.
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) is a chemical compound having an eight-carbon fluorocarbon chain and a sulfonic acid functional group and thus a perfluorosulfonic acid. It is an anthropogenic (man-made) fluorosurfactant, now regarded as a global pollutant. PFOS was the key ingredient in Scotchgard, a fabric protector made by 3M, and related stain repellents. The acronym "PFOS" refers to the parent sulfonic acid and to various salts of perfluorooctanesulfonate. These are all colorless or white, water-soluble solids. Although of low acute toxicity, PFOS has attracted much attention for its pervasiveness and environmental impact. It was added to Annex B of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in May 2009.
UCB is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. UCB is an international company with revenue of €4.178 billion in 2016 which focuses primarily on research and development, specifically involving medications centered on epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and Crohn's disease. The company's efforts are focused on treatments for severe diseases treated by specialists, particularly in the fields of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, inflammatory disorders, and oncology.
Cytec Industries Incorporated, based in Woodland Park, New Jersey was a speciality chemicals and materials technology company with pro-forma sales in 2004, including the Surface Specialties acquisition, of approximately $3.0 billion. Cytec is a result of its spin-off from American Cyanamid Company. It makes resins, plastics, and composite materials, especially for the aerospace industry and other users of specialty materials. It was listed in NYSE with stock symbol "CYT".
Albemarle Corporation is an American specialty chemicals manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It operates 3 divisions: lithium, bromine specialties and catalysts.
3M Company is an American multinational conglomerate operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, healthcare, and consumer goods. The company produces over 60,000 products under several brands, including adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, personal protective equipment, window films, paint protection films, dental and orthodontic products, electrical and electronic connecting and insulating materials, medical products, car-care products, electronic circuits, healthcare software, and optical films. It is based in Maplewood, a suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Rhodia was a group founded in 1988 that specialized in fine chemistry, synthetic fibers, and polymers.
Plextronics, Inc. was an international technology company that specialized in printed solar, lighting and other electronics. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2014. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company's focus was on organic solar cell and organic light-emitting diode lighting, specifically the conductive inks and process technologies that enable those and other similar applications. It was an R&D spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University. based on technologies developed by Richard D. McCullough.
Perfluorononanoic acid, or PFNA, is a synthetic perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant that is also an environmental contaminant found in people and wildlife along with PFOS and PFOA.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or PFASs) are a group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. An early definition, from 2011, required that they contain at least one perfluoroalkyl moiety, –CnF2n+1–. Beginning in 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expanded their terminology, stating that "PFASs are defined as fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I atom attached to it), i.e., with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (–CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (–CF2–) is a PFAS."
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) is a PFAS chemical compound having a four-carbon fluorocarbon chain and a sulfonic acid functional group. It is stable and unreactive because of the strength of carbon–fluorine bonds. It can occur in the form of a colorless liquid or a corrosive solid. Its conjugate base is perfluorobutanesulfonate which functions as the hydrophobe in fluorosurfactants.
A perfluorinated compound (PFC) or perfluoro compound is an organofluorine compound lacking C-H bonds. Many perfluorinated compounds have properties that are quite different from their C-H containing analogues. Common functional groups in PFCs are OH, CO2H, chlorine, O, and SO3H. Electrofluorination is the predominant method for PFC production. Due to their chemical stability, some of these perfluorinated compounds bioaccumulate.
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu is a French businessman.
Perfluoroalkoxy alkanes (PFA) are fluoropolymers. They are copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene (C2F4) and perfluoroethers (C2F3ORf, where Rf is a perfluorinated group such as trifluoromethyl (CF3)). The properties of these polymers are similar to those of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Compared to PTFE, PFA has better anti-stick properties and higher chemical resistance, at the expense of lesser scratch resistance.
GenX is a Chemours trademark name for a synthetic, short-chain organofluorine chemical compound, the ammonium salt of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA). It can also be used more informally to refer to the group of related fluorochemicals that are used to produce GenX. DuPont began the commercial development of GenX in 2009 as a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid.
Ilham Kadri is a Moroccan business executive with a scientific background. Between 2019 and 2023, she was the CEO of Solvay, a Belgian chemicals company. After the split of the company in December 2023, she continued as CEO of Syensqo, where she is also Chair of the Executive Leadership Team, and member of the Board of Directors.
This timeline of events related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) includes events related to the discovery, development, manufacture, marketing, uses, concerns, litigation, regulation, and legislation, involving the human-made PFASs. The timeline focuses on some perfluorinated compounds, particularly perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and on the companies that manufactured and marketed them, mainly DuPont and 3M. An example of PFAS is the fluorinated polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which has been produced and marketed by DuPont under its trademark Teflon. GenX chemicals and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) are organofluorine chemicals used as a replacement for PFOA and PFOS.
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Syensqo is a Belgian multinational materials company, established in 2023 through the spin-off from Solvay. The current CEO is Ilham Kadri, who previously was the CEO of Solvay. Syensqo is publicly listed and joined the BEL 20 stock index soon after listing. Syensqo researches and produces advanced materials for use in industry and consumer applications.