Albemarle

At Albemarle, our nearly 4,000 employees put their ideas and innovations to work every day for communities and customers around the globe. Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle) is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of speciality chemicals, which meet customer needs across a range of end markets, including petroleum refining, consumer electronics, plastics/packaging, construction, automotive, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services markets. 

As of December 31, 2011, the Company and its joint ventures operated 50 facilities, encompassing production, research and development facilities, and administrative and sales offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia. It serves approximately 3,000 customers in over 100 countries. It operates in three segments: Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. On May 11, 2011, the Company acquired Catilin Inc. In October 2013, Albemarle Corp acquired Cambridge Chemical Co Ltd.

1994: In February, Ethyl Corporation completed the corporate spin-off of its chemical businesses to form Albemarle Corporation. In July 1994, the company acquired the Asano Corporation, a sales and marketing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. And in 1994, the speciality chemicals business was spun off as Albemarle Corporation.

1995: Albemarle sold its electronic materials business.

1997: The new structure of the company was created.

1998: The company bought a custom manufacturing and oilfield chemicals plant in Teesport, England. Also this year, a joint venture was signed by the company, Jordan Dead Sea Industries Company, and Arab Potash.

2000: The company formed a joint venture with Jinhai Chemical and Industry Company, based in China. The company acquired a plant in Port-de-Bouc, France, as part of a deal that gave the company the flame retardant business of Ferro Corporation.

2001: The company purchased the custom and fine chemicals business of ChemFirst.

2003: Acquired the fuel and lubricant antioxidants business of Ethyl Corporation.

2004: In July, Albemarle acquired the refinery catalysts platform from AkzoNobel, with sites and/or joint ventures in the Netherlands, Houston, France, Brazil, Japan and Singapore, for €615.7 million.

2006: In partnership with UOP, a subsidiary of Honeywell, Albemarle created the Hydroprocessing Alliance to deliver integrated refinery solutions and hydroprocessing technologies and catalysts to the refining industry.

2007: In May, Albemarle opened a regional sales office in Dubai to meet growing market needs in India and the Middle East.

2008: Albemarle was headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, until 2008 when it announced plans to move its corporate headquarters to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Albemarle and Sinobrom, a marketer of bromine derivatives in China, formed Sinobrom Albemarle Bromine Chemicals (Shandong) Company Ltd., a bromine-related joint venture. Also in 2008, Albemarle acquired Sorbent Technologies Corporation, whose technology controls mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, for $22.5 million.

2009: Albemarle and TAYF, an affiliate of SABIC, created a catalysts joint venture to build a world-scale organometallics production facility in Jubail.

2012: In January, Albemarle expanded its production capabilities for finished polyolefin catalysts in Baton Rouge. In September, Albermarle was one of the three chemical companies that backed the Citizens for Fire Safety industry group that lobbied for use of flame retardant in consumer products including furniture and baby products.

2014: 3 x multiple of pro forma 2014 enterprise value to EBITDA, including synergies, Albemarle stock is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 11%.  Forecasted earnings are 2 Cell (NFC) - Substitutes- Alkaline Batteries, Flow Cell Batteries, All-solid Lithium-Sulfur. 

2015: In January, Albemarle acquired Rockwood Holdings for $6.2 billion in stock. In August, the company announced the relocation of its headquarters from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Charlotte, North Carolina.

2016: In December, the company sold the Chemetall Surface Treatment business to BASF for $3.2 billion. The partnership ended in 2016.

2017: In January, the company acquired the Jiangli New Materials Science and Technology Co. lithium business for $145 million. No FDA Form 483 observations were issued and no Discussion points were made, in the recent FDA audit completed in October 2017.

2019: In October, the company formed a lithium joint venture with Mineral Resources.

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Our passionate commitment to caring about our interactions has led to the development of our core values - six behaviour-based principles that speak directly to the characteristics we hold high. Characteristics we see displayed time and time again in successful Servant Leaders.