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Arkema is a leading specialty chemicals and advanced materials company headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France.

Created in 2004 when French oil major Total restructured its chemicals business, Arkema was introduced at the Paris stock exchange in May 2006. With a turnover of 7.7 billion €, Arkema has 19,700 employees in more than 50 countries, 13 research centers worldwide, and a total of 137 production plants in Europe, North America and Asia.

Arkema is organized into three business segments: Coating Solutions, Industrial Specialties and Performance Material.

History
Arkema was created on October 1st, 2014, when French oil major Total restructured its chemicals business previously named Atofina through an IPO made on May 18th, 2006.

Since its launch on the stock market, Arkema focused its main activities in the industry of specialty chemicals thanks to several investments, takeovers and transfer of activities. In 2007, Arkema sells its agrochemical activities Cerexagri and its formaldehyde activities while also acquiring Coatex, a company working in specialty acrylic polymers.

Arkema develops its activities in the US through several merger and acquisition by buying acrylic Dow assets in 2010 and Total coating resins (Cray Valley and Sartomer) in 2011,. The same year, the group joined CAC Next 20 French stock market index.

In 2012, several acquisition increased the group activities within the specialty chemical industry. Arkema thus bought Chinese companies Hipro Polymers (producer of bio-Polyamides) and Casda Biomaterials (producer of plant raw materials).

In July, Arkema sold for 1 symbolic euro its vinyl products business segment to the Klesch group for reasons of profitability, but also to recenter its operations exclusively on specialty chemicals. As part of this divestment, Arkema made a 100 million euro cash payment to the Klesch group and took on debts amounting to 470 million euros to help revive the activity. In response to fears of redundancy and to protests from employees at a number of production sites, the trade unions negotiated, with the Arkema management, industrial and social guarantees as well as support measures designed to protect the rights of employees should the Klesch group implement redundancies following their take-over of the vinyl products activities. Hence two trust funds of €20 M were set up to secure compensation payments and the rights of employees of the companies that were sold off.

In October, the group and its Korean partner CJ invested €200 million for the construction of a plant dedicated thiochemicals (sulfur based chemistry) in Kerteh, Malaysia. The facility can produce up to 80,000t of L-methionine per year.

The same year, as part of its strategic refocusing on specialty chemicals, Arkema acquired a new visual identity as well as a new signature "Innovative Chemistry".

In September 2014, Arkema announces its willing to acquire the adhesives specialty branch of Total S.A., Bostik for €2,2 million. The company finalized the purchase on February 2nd, 2015. Arkema then acquired Den Braven, a sealant and mastic Dutch company, for €485 million which is integrated to Bostik.

In November 2016, Arkema sold its active carbon activities and filtration agent to Calgon Carbon, a Pittsburgh based company, which is specialized in manufacturing active carbon and solutions for water filtration.

In march 2017, Arkema sold to its Swiss partner Ineos its 50% of shares in Oxochimie, a subsidiary specialized in the production of alcohol.

Organization
Since Arkema sold its Vinyl product segment in July 2012, Arkema reorganized its activities into three business segments: High Performance Materials, Industrial Specialties and Coating Solutions. Each of these segments represent one third of Arkema’s turnover.

High Performance Materials
High Performance Materials segment gathers four high value added product lines: Specialty polyamides, Fluoropolymers (PVDF), molecular sieves for filtration and adsorption and organic peroxides.

Its flagship brands are Rilsan(polyamide 11), Luperox(Organic Peroxide), Kynar (PVDF), Siliporite (Molecular Sieves).



Industrial specialties
Industrial Specialties segment produces major chemical intermediates such as thiochemicals (for animal nutrition, gas natural odorant), fluorochemicals (for refrigeration, air conditioning, blowing agent for insulating foam), PMMA (or arcylic glass for furnitures, automotive applications, noise barriers), and hydrogen peroxide (pulp and textile bleaching, chemical synthesis, water treatment).

The business segment’s flagship brands include Altuglas (PMMA), Albone (hydrogen peroxide), DMDS (agricultural fumigant) and Forane (refrigerants).

Coating Solutions
Starting from upstream acrylic monomers, the Group has built a presence across every segment of the coating market. Its portfolio of coating materials and technologies includes waterborne, solventborne, powder coating resins and additives from Arkema Coating Resins, rheology additives for waterborne coatings from Coatex and photocure resins for optic fibers, graphic arts, electronics, etc. from Sartomer. Its flagship brands are Envia, Rheotec, Sarbio.

Altuglas International
Altuglas International has eight production facilities — four in Europe, three in North America, and one in South Korea. It manufactures and markets four product lines: acrylic resins, Altuglas BS acrylic beads, acrylic sheets.

Bostik
Bostik is the world's third largest adhesives and sealants company, with brands such as Bostik, Blu-Tack, Prestik.

Coatex
Coatex produces rheological additives for aqueous formulations. It has six production facilities, in France, the Netherlands, the United States (South Carolina), South Korea, China and Brazil.

Locations
Arkema operates through industrial facilities in Europe, North America and Asia and marketing subsidiaries in around 40 countries.

Arkema has 85 production facilities worldwide, including 44 in Europe, 26 in North America, 10 in Asia, and 5 in the rest of the world.

Arkema has 10 research centers worldwide: 5 in France (Lacq, Serquigny, Lyon, Carling and Verneuil), two in the United States (Cary, North Carolina and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) and one in Japan (Kyoto).

Sales by region
Most of Arkema’s sales are generated in Europe, which accounts for 40% of the total. North and South America represents 34% of sales.

Arkema has had a strong presence in China for over 13 years. Asia alone now accounts for 26% of sales.

Research and development
Research and development spending totaled roughly 150 million euros, with half allocated to “green chemistry.” Arkema employs more than 1,200 researchers, whose work focuses on two main areas: ultra-high performance polymers and sustainable development solutions.

Arkema has made sustainable development a central focus of its R&D strategy, introducing a broad array of innovative materials to help customers reduce their energy use, increasing its use of renewable feedstock, developing nanostructured materials and devising the processes of the future.

Financial performance
Arkema generates sales of €6,5 billion, broken down as follows:
 * High Performance materials, 33%.
 * Industrial Specialties, 33%.
 * Coating Solutions, 34%.

Arkema’s net debt in 2012 is €1,1Md that corresponds to a gearing of 50%.

Shareholder structure
As of 31 December 2010, the major stockholders of Arkema (owning at least 5% of capital declared to AMF) were Greenlight Capital (5,5%), Dodge & Cox (5.2%), Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (10%).

Since January 1, 2012, the level of 5% reported to AMF was passed by:
 * FMR LLC (Fidelity Management & Research): declares having +5% of Arkema capital (August 23, 2012);
 * Groupe Bruxelles Lambert: sold all its shares in the capital (March 14, 2012);
 * Individual shareholders: 94.0% ;
 * Group employees : 5,5% ;