Rohm and Haas

Rohm and Haas was an American specialty-chemicals company whose products supplied building and construction, electronic devices, packaging, household and personal-care markets. Its history began with a German chemical venture established by Otto Röhm and Otto Haas in Esslingen, Germany. Haas subsequently developed the American business, opening an office in Philadelphia on September 1, 1909, while Röhm continued operating the German side, which later became a separate company. The American enterprise initially benefited from Röhm's enzyme-based leather-processing technology. Its Oropon product replaced less hygienic traditional materials used as leather mordants and found demand from tanneries, particularly as military leather requirements expanded before the First World War. The company later became associated with acrylic chemistry and advanced materials. During the Second World War, Rohm and Haas manufactured Plexiglas acrylic, a transparent material used in aircraft canopies. The acrylic business was sold in 1998 to Elf Atochem, now Arkema, but acrylic polymers and related specialty materials remained important to the company's broader technological heritage. Over time, Rohm and Haas developed a portfolio aimed less at bulk commodity production than at modifying the performance of finished goods. Its chemistries were used to provide properties such as lower odor, water-based paint performance, ultraviolet protection in personal-care products, and materials enabling increasingly capable semiconductor devices. By its final period as an independent company, Rohm and Haas was organized around Specialty Materials, Performance Materials, and Electronic Materials, together with stand-alone Powder Coatings and Salt businesses. The company operated in 27 countries and employed more than 17,000 people. Its last independently reported annual sales were approximately $8.9 billion. The 1999 acquisition of Morton Salt broadened the company's activities beyond specialty materials, although Morton was subsequently sold during the transition to Dow ownership. Dow Chemical announced an agreement to acquire Rohm and Haas in July 2008. The transaction was initially valued at approximately $18.8 billion and was complicated by the failure of a proposed Dow joint venture with Kuwait Petroleum, which had been expected to provide financing for the purchase. The acquisition nevertheless closed in 2009, with Rohm and Haas continuing to operate under its name for a period and retaining its Philadelphia headquarters. Morton Salt was sold to K+S for an enterprise value reported at approximately $1.7 billion in connection with the broader transaction. After the acquisition, Rohm and Haas ceased to exist as an independent publicly traded company and became part of Dow's materials portfolio. Dow later announced plans to sell the Rohm and Haas Powder Division. The legacy remains visible through technologies, facilities, products, and business lines integrated into Dow.

Rohm and Haas grew from a transatlantic chemical partnership into a major American specialty-materials producer. The original business was founded in Esslingen, Germany, by Otto Röhm and Otto Haas in 1907. Röhm developed enzyme-based technology for leather processing, while Haas established the American operation. On September 1, 1909, Haas opened an office on Philadelphia's Front Street. The two sides subsequently developed separately: Haas built the American company, while Röhm remained associated with the German enterprise that eventually became Röhm GmbH. The company's first important commercial opportunity came from Oropon, an enzyme product used by tanneries. It replaced older and unhygienic leather-mordant practices and benefited from strong demand as military procurement increased before the First World War. This early business established a pattern that would characterize Rohm and Haas for much of its existence: supplying specialized chemistry that improved the processing or performance of products made by other industries. Rohm and Haas expanded again during the approach to the Second World War. It produced Plexiglas acrylic, a transparent material used for aircraft canopies. Acrylics became a central part of the company's technical identity, although Rohm and Haas sold that business in 1998 to Elf Atochem, now Arkema. The company continued to build businesses around polymers, coatings, electronic materials, additives, and other specialty chemistries rather than concentrating solely on high-volume commodity chemicals. In 1965, Rohm and Haas moved its headquarters from Washington Square to a new building near Independence Mall in Philadelphia. The building was designed by Pietro Belluschi and George M. Ewing Co., now EwingCole, and became a notable expression of the company's Philadelphia presence. During the following decades, its products were used in construction materials, paints and coatings, packaging, consumer care, household products, and electronics. The company emphasized formulations that could deliver specific end-use benefits, including lower-odor water-based paints, improved sunscreen functionality, and materials for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Rohm and Haas acquired Morton Salt in 1999, adding a large salt business to its specialty-chemicals operations. By the company's final independent period, its principal organization consisted of Specialty Materials, Performance Materials, and Electronic Materials, plus separate Powder Coatings and Salt businesses. It operated across 27 countries, employed more than 17,000 people, and reported final independent-company sales of about $8.9 billion. Dow Chemical announced its planned acquisition of Rohm and Haas on July 10, 2008. The proposed transaction was valued at approximately $18.8 billion. Dow's financing plans were affected when a proposed joint venture with Kuwait Petroleum failed, prompting concerns that Dow might withdraw. The acquisition ultimately proceeded in 2009. Rohm and Haas continued using its name and maintained its Philadelphia headquarters for a time, but it no longer operated as an independent listed company. Morton Salt was sold to K+S for an enterprise value of approximately $1.7 billion, and Dow later announced an intention to sell the Rohm and Haas Powder Division. The former company is therefore best understood today as a historical brand and corporate predecessor whose technologies and operations were absorbed into Dow.

• 2009

  Company becomes part of Dow

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  Dow completed the acquisition, ending Rohm and Haas's existence as an independent company.

• 2008

  Dow acquisition announced

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  Dow Chemical announced its agreement to purchase Rohm and Haas.

• 1999

  Morton Salt acquired

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  Rohm and Haas acquired Morton Salt, expanding into salt products.

• 1998

  Plexiglas business sold

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  The acrylic business was sold to Elf Atochem, now known as Arkema.

• 1965

  Philadelphia headquarters relocates

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  Rohm and Haas moved its headquarters to a new building near Independence Mall.

• 1939

  Acrylic materials support wartime aircraft production

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  The company manufactured Plexiglas acrylic used in aircraft canopies as the Second World War approached.

• 1909

  Philadelphia operation begins

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  Otto Haas opened the American business from a Philadelphia office on September 1.

• 1907

  German founding partnership established

  [1]Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org

  Otto Röhm and Otto Haas founded the original chemical enterprise in Esslingen, Germany.

A technology-oriented specialty-chemicals supplier serving industrial and consumer-product manufacturers through performance-enhancing materials and formulations.

• Leather-processing enzymes

  Oropon

  An early commercial enzyme product developed for leather processing. Oropon helped tanneries replace older, unhygienic mordant practices with enzymes derived from animal pancreases. Its adoption gave the young company an initial industrial market and supported expansion as demand for leather goods increased before the First World War.

• Acrylic materials

  Plexiglas acrylic

  Rohm and Haas's acrylic business produced transparent Plexiglas material used notably in aircraft canopies during the Second World War. The business became one of the company's best-known historical activities, although it was sold in 1998 to Elf Atochem, now Arkema.

• Specialty chemicals

  Specialty Materials

  A major business group serving construction, packaging, household, personal-care, and other end-use markets. Its materials were designed to impart properties such as durability, appearance, processability, and reduced odor to downstream products.

• Electronic chemicals

  Electronic Materials

  Chemistries developed for electronic-device and semiconductor applications. The group represented Rohm and Haas's movement into highly technical materials supporting advanced manufacturing and increasingly powerful chips.

• Coatings

  Powder Coatings

  A stand-alone coatings business supplying powder-coating materials. Dow announced an intention to sell the division after acquiring Rohm and Haas.

• Salt · 1999

  Morton Salt

  Salt business acquired in 1999. Morton Salt was sold to K+S during the transaction period surrounding Dow's acquisition of Rohm and Haas.

• 2019

  Deer Park labor lockout

  Following unsuccessful contract negotiations, Rohm and Haas, under Dow ownership, locked out nearly 230 United Steelworkers members. The dispute concerned safety, overtime, and arbitration, and involved continuing pickets.

  Source

• 2012

  Deer Park explosion and worker death

  A Deer Park worker was injured in an explosion and subsequently died. The company paid a reported fine of $23,000 related to the incident.

  Source

• 2006

  Cincinnati hydrogen sulfide incident

  Eleven workers were hospitalized after exposure to fumes at the Cincinnati plant, and an employee later died while working on a steam ejector. Investigators linked the fatal exposure to hydrogen sulfide that accumulated because a sewer vent was plugged.

  Source

• 2006

  McCullom Lake contamination litigation

  Residents filed lawsuits against Rohm and Haas and other defendants alleging failures involving toxic-spill prevention, groundwater practices, and warnings about possible underground contamination.

  Source

• 2004

  Louisville Clean Air Act allegations

  The EPA alleged that Rohm and Haas's Louisville facility failed to repair a deteriorated chemical storage tank, maintain a complete monitoring-regulation list, and remove accumulated hazardous waste.

  Source

• 1980

  Ringwood groundwater controversy

  The company's Ringwood, Illinois, facility was investigated for possible groundwater contamination. Company-funded studies reported that town well water was not affected, while residents later pursued litigation alleging a connection between contamination and reported cancers.

  Source

Read more

• 2009

  Divest Morton Salt during integrationM&A

  Background

  The Morton Salt business was not retained as part of the long-term Rohm and Haas/Dow specialty-materials portfolio.

  Action taken

  Morton Salt was sold to K+S for a reported enterprise value of approximately $1.7 billion.

  Aftermath

  The sale helped separate the salt business from the materials operations being integrated into Dow.

  Morton Salt enterprise value. $1.7 billion (2009 sale)

  Source

• 2008

  Agree to Dow Chemical acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Rohm and Haas sought a major corporate transaction as the specialty-chemicals sector consolidated.

  Action taken

  Dow Chemical agreed to buy the company in a transaction initially valued at approximately $18.8 billion.

  Aftermath

  Despite financing complications connected with a failed proposed Kuwait Petroleum joint venture, the acquisition closed in 2009 and Rohm and Haas became part of Dow.

  Announced acquisition value. $18.8 billion (2008 announcement)

  Source

• 1999

  Acquire Morton SaltM&A

  Background

  Rohm and Haas expanded beyond specialty chemicals by purchasing the Morton Salt business.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Morton Salt and operated it as part of its portfolio.

  Aftermath

  Morton Salt was later sold to K+S during the transition to Dow ownership.

  Source

1. 1Rohm and Haasen.wikipedia.org