Expansion
The Albemarle Corporation expanded itself by acquiring the Asano Corporation, 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. 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. Another joint venture was signed in 2000 by the corporation and Jinhai Chemical and Industry Company, located in China. More chemical plants were opened within the next five years in Port-de-Bouc, France and Bergheim, Germany (after the acquisition of Martinswerk GmbH).
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.
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.
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