written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message albemarle corporation type public traded as nyse alb industry specialty chemicals founded 1994 headquarters charlotte north carolina usa area served worldwide key people luther c. kissam president & ceo products lithium salts and metals surface treatment flame retardants chemicals antioxidants fcc catalysts hpc catalysts revenue 2.616 billion fy 2013 1 operating income 582.91 million fy 2013 1 net income 439.8 million fy 2013 1 total assets 3.585 billion fy 2013 1 total equity 1.743 billion fy 2013 1 number of employees 6 900 jan 2015 2 website albemarle.com albemarle corporation is a chemical company with corporate headquarters in charlotte north carolina . it is a specialty chemical manufacturing enterprise . the company employs approximately 6 900 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries . 3 contents 1 history 2 expansion 3 acquisition of rockwood holdings 4 manufactured products 5 sustainability 6 references 7 external links history edit the albemarle paper manufacturing company opened in 1887 with the production of kraft paper also known as kraft and blotting paper . in 1921 a team of chemists performing research for general motors discovered tetraethyllead tel had antiknock properties as a gasoline additive . as a result the ethyl gasoline corporation in richmond virginia began production of tetraethyllead in 1937 . tel remained the primary product of the ethyl gasoline corporation through the next four decades . when the ethyl gasoline corporation expanded its product line particularly to include mmt its name was changed to the ethyl corporation . the albemarle paper manufacturing company borrowed 200 million in 1962 and purchased ethyl corporation a company more than thirteen times its size . throughout the next few decades the ethyl corporation under the direction of the albemarle paper manufacturing company further expanded their product line to include bromine in 1969 in magnolia arkansas lubricant additives in 1975 and aluminum alkyls in 1976 in feluy belgium . further expansion of the ethyl corporation included the purchases of dow chemical s bromine division russ pharmaceuticals inc. and potasse et produits chimiques ppc . in february 1994 ethyl spun off its chemical businesses to create an independent publicly traded company named albemarle corporation . 4 albemarle was headquartered in richmond va until 2008 when it announced plans to move its corporate headquarters to baton rouge la . 5 in 2015 the company announced the relocation of its headquarters from baton rouge louisiana to charlotte north carolina . 6 expansion edit albemarle facility located in amsterdam . in july 1994 the albemarle corporation expanded itself by acquiring the asano corporation 4 a sales and marketing company headquartered in tokyo japan . the corporation sold both its electronic materials business and its alpha olefins polyalphaolefins and synthetic alcohols businesses by 1996 and in 1997 formed an alliance with mitsui toatsu chemicals inc. that same year the corporation was restructured to form two global business units polymer chemicals and fine chemicals . in 1998 the albemarle corporation bought a custom manufacturing and oilfield chemicals plant in teesport england . 7 in the same year a joint venture was signed between jordan dead sea industries company arab potash company and one of albemarle corporation s subsidiaries . 7 another joint venture was signed in 2000 by the corporation and jinhai chemical and industry company located in china . 8 more chemical plants were opened within the next five years in port de bouc france and bergheim germany after the acquisition of martinswerk gmbh . 9 since 2000 albemarle corporation has acquired assets of ferro corporation s pyro chek flame retardant business ; martinswerk gmbh ; the custom and fine chemicals businesses of chemfirst inc. ; the ethyl corporation s fuel and lubricant antioxidants business ; the phosphorus based polyurethane flame retardants businesses of rhodia ; atofina s.a. s paris bromine fine chemicals business ; taerim international corporation and the refinery catalyst business of akzo nobel n.v. 9 also in 2000 albemarle corporation cytec industries inc. and ge specialty chemicals inc. a subsidiary of general electric company announced their intention to form a new business to business internet joint venture polymeradditives.com . the creation of this venture was intended to help provide materials faster and more efficiently directly from trusted suppliers . 8 in the years following albemarle acquired its refinery catalysts platform from akzo nobel n.v.in 2004 with sites and or joint ventures in the netherlands houston france brazil japan and singapore . 5 in partnership with uop albemarle created the hydroprocessing alliance in 2006 to deliver integrated refinery solutions and hydroprocessing technologies and catalysts to the refining industry . 10 albemarle continued its international expansion in 2007 opening a new regional sales office in dubai to meet growing market needs in india and the middle east . in 2008 albemarle and weifang sinobrom import and export company ltd. sinobrom reached an agreement in principle to form a new joint venture that will combine the existing business of sinobrom a leading marketer of bromine derivatives in china with albemarle s global bromine expertise in the specialty chemical industry forming sinobrom albemarle bromine chemicals shandong company ltd. 5 in 2009 albemarle and saudi basic industries corporation sabic affiliate tayf create saudi organometallic chemicals company socc a strategic catalysts joint venture to build a world scale organometallics production facility strategically located in the persian gulf industrial city of al jubail . in 2012 albemarle introduced its electronic materials business unit and expanded its production capabilities for finished polyolefin catalysts in baton rouge . albemarle also expanded its south haven api production site and upgraded its multi product cgmp active pharmaceutical ingredient api manufacturing facility . in 2014 albemarle completed the sale of its antioxidant ibuprofen and propofol businesses to si group allowing an increased focus on its bromine and catalyst franchises . acquisition of rockwood holdings edit in july 2014 albemarle and rockwood holdings inc. announced a definitive agreement under which albemarle would acquire all outstanding shares of rockwood in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately 6.2 billion . 11 the acquisition made albemarle one of the world s premier specialty chemicals companies with market leading positions across four high margin businesses lithium catalysts bromine and surface treatment . albemarle completed the acquisition in january 2015 expanding its customer reach as well as increasing its diversity across end markets technologies and geographies . as a result of the acquisition albemarle currently employs approximately 6 900 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries . in the wake of completing the acquisition albemarle announced it would realign its global business units chemetall surface treatment refining solutions and performance chemicals . 12 chemetall supplies specialty chemicals with a focus on processes for the surface treatment of metals and plastics . refining solutions provides catalysts that can be used through the entire refinery process . performance chemicals will combine the lithium aluminum alkyls and derivative catalysts businesses with albemarle s existing performance chemicals global business unit . manufactured products edit the element bromine though beginning as a blotting paper manufacturer the ethyl corporation finally abandoned paper manufacturing when it sold oxford paper in 1976 . since the late 1990s albemarle corporation has manufactured bromine in countries such as jordan and france . albemarle corporation became a global leader in the flame retardant chemicals technologies with production plants all across the globe in the united states china the netherlands belgium germany france austria and the united kingdom . the corporation also has a line of antioxidants and blends which concentrate on improving storage life and stability of fuel and other lubricant products . the acquisition of the phosphorus based chemistry of rhodia s.a. included products used in rigid and flexible polyurethane foam applications and ammonium polyphosphate products . later on the acquisition of martinswerk gmbh added pigments for paper applications aluminum oxides used for flame retardant polishing agent catalyst and niche ceramic applications as well as magnesium hydroxide mainly used as a flame retardant . 9 since the acquisition of the catalysts division of akzonobel in 2004 albemarle corporation is one of the world s largest producers of hydro processing catalysts hpc and fluidized catalytic cracking fcc catalysts used in the petroleum refining industry . 13 production locations excluding joint ventures in brasil and japan are bayport texas and amsterdam netherlands . 14 following the acquisition of rockwood holdings in 2015 15 albemarle has become a leading producer of lithium products including lithium salts and metals organo lithium and cesium and specialty metals . albemarle continues to penetrate lithium based energy storage products including e mobility batteries and batteries for the automotive industry . albemarle is also a provider of surface treatment products and services for markets including automotive oem aerospace heavy equipment and more . sustainability edit albemarle s new businesses focus on the manufacture of custom and proprietary fine chemicals and chemical services for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries . with the alternative fuel technologies division albemarle strives to establish itself as a major player in the fast growing market of biofuels gas to liquids gtl coal to liquids ctl . it recently 2008 announced the acquisition of sorbent technologies corporation 16 whose proprietary technology controls mercury emissions from coal fired power plants . albermarle was one of the three different chemical companies that backed the citizens for fire safety industry group that influenced fire safety policy by lobbying for flame retardant use in consumer products like furniture and baby products . 17 references edit a b c d e albemarle form 10 k annual report filing date feb 25 2014 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 28 2015 . albemarle corporation completes acquisition of rockwood holdings . albemarle corporation . 12 january 2015 . albemarle form 10 k filing date feb 25 2014 . secdatabase.com . retrieved 2015 01 28 . a b albemarle form 10 k annual report filing date mar 27 1997 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 2 2013 . a b c albemarle corporate website . history . albemarle corporation . 2014 07 10 . retrieved 2015 01 28 . ken elkins 25 august 2015 . albemarle corp. plans to move its headquarters and 120 jobs to charlotte charlotte business journal . charlotte business journal . a b albemarle form 10 k annual report filing date mar 11 1999 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 2 2013 . a b albemarle form 10 k405 filing date feb 28 2001 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 2 2013 . a b c albemarle form 10 k annual report filing date mar 14 2005 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 2 2013 . albemarle corporate website . clean fuels technologies services . albemarle corporation . 2014 12 11 . retrieved 2015 01 28 . albemarle and rockwood announce merger to create a premier specialty chemicals company . pr newswire . 2014 07 15 . retrieved 2015 01 28 . albemarle realigns business units . the advocate . 2015 01 24 . retrieved 2015 01 28 . albemarle form 8 k current report filing date aug 2 2004 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 2 2013 . bayport texas . albemarle corporate website . 2015 01 12 . retrieved 2015 01 28 . albemarle corporation completes acquisition of rockwood holdings . pr newswire . albemarle corporation . 2015 01 12 . retrieved 2015 01 28 . albemarle form 10 q quarterly report filing date nov 7 2008 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 2 2013 . citizens for fire safety smoked out front group folds after expos center for media and democracy retrieved 10 september 2010 external links edit official website albemarle sec filings retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title albemarle corporation & oldid 735129831 categories companies listed on the new york stock exchangecompanies based in baton rouge louisianachemical companies of