Olin Corporationis an American manufacturer ofammunition,chlorine,andsodium hydroxide.The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892:Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Accidents at Olin chemical plants have exposed employees and nearby residents to health hazards.[3][4][5]
Company type | Public |
---|---|
NYSE:OLN S&P 400 Component | |
Industry | Chemicals Manufacturing |
Founded | 1892 |
Founder | Franklin W. Olin |
Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | John E. Fischer (Executive Chairman) Scott M. Sutton (President and CEO) |
Products | Copper alloys Ammunition Chlorine Sodium hydroxide Epoxies Vinyls Hydrochloric acid |
Revenue | US$8.911 billion(2021) |
US$2.112 billion(2021) | |
US$1.297 billion(2021) | |
Total assets | US$8.518 billion(2021) |
Total equity | US$2.652 billion(2021) |
Number of employees | 6,400[1](2017) |
Website | www |
Footnotes / references [2] |
History
editFounding and expansion (1890s-1900s)
editThe company was started byFranklin Walter OlininNiagara Falls, New Yorkas the Equitable Powder Company. Olin created the company for the purpose of supplying the area's coal mines and limestone quarries with explosives. Olin's blasting and gunpowder company expanded into the production ofcartridgesin 1898. The company bought a paper manufacturer (the Ecusta Paper Company inPisgah Forest, North Carolina),[6]alead shotfacility, anexplosive primerfacility, acartridge brassmanufacturing facility, and afiber wadfacility. The company also started its ownbrass mill.Franklin Olin, along with his two sonsJohnandSpencer,merged these companies together to form theWestern Cartridge Companyin direct competition withRemingtonandWinchester.For a time, his competitors were able to get their suppliers to shut off sources of raw materials in an attempt to drive Olin out of business and, in order to survive, Olin was forced to diversify the activities of the company. With the advent ofWorld War I,the Olins made a fortune supplying ammunition through Western Cartridge. In 1931, Western bought Winchester and in 1935 merged the two, forming Winchester-Western.
In 1944, the various Olin companies were organized under a new corporate parent, Olin Industries, Inc.[7]At the time, Olin Industries and its subsidiary companies ran theSt. Louis Arsenaland contributed to the war effort with manufacturing roles at theBadger Army AmmunitionandLake City Army Ammunition Plants.Olin's New Haven and East Alton plants employed about 17,000 workers each — producing the guns and small-caliber ammunition needed duringWorld War II.The war production helped the Olins to become one of the wealthiest American families of the time.
In 1952, Olin opened achlorineplant inMcIntosh, Alabama.[4]The production process at this facility originally involvedmercury,whichcontaminated the groundwater.[3]
Mathieson Chemical acquisition
editAfter the war, the Olins acquired theMathieson Chemical Corporation—also founded in 1892.[8][9][10]Long before its association with Olin, Mathieson Alkali Works began business inSaltville, Virginia,and a year later acquired its neighbor, the Holston Salt and Plaster Corp. Saltville became a quintessentialcompany town,where they producedchlorine and caustic soda,and in the process leachedmethylmercury(by the company's own estimates, up to 100 pounds per day) into the soils and the North fork of theHolston River.[11]The site was declared aSuperfundsite in 1982.[12]
In 1952, Mathieson Chemical Company, as it was known by then, acquired controlling interest in the pharmaceutical firm ofE. R. Squibb and Sons(now part ofBristol-Myers Squibb).[13][14][15]Afterward, the corporation diversified its interests into a wide variety of businesses, including plastics,cellophane,bauxitemining, automotive specialties,powder actuated nailing tools,and home construction. The Olin Ski Company manufacturedcampingandskiinggear.[16]By 1988, however, Olin skis were produced under license byK2 Sports.[17]
Olin Industries and Mathieson Chemical merged in 1954 to form the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation. The new company had 35,000 employees, 46 domestic and 17 foreign plants. The company manufacturedphenoxy herbicidesand anti-crop agents forFort Detrickunder contract to theU.S. Army Chemical Corps.[18]The company also manufacturedelectric batteries,marketing them for use in flashlights.[19]John Olin retired in 1963. The following year, the company brought in hardware-experienced executives to run Winchester. The new management team introduced cheap, stamped metal parts into the Winchester line, which eventually damaged the quality reputation Winchester had previously enjoyed.[20]
1924 "Muck Dam Collapse"
editNearly 30 years prior to Olin acquiring Mathieson Chemical, a muck dam collapsed, sending a 30-foot wall of water, mud, mercury, and alkali down the Holston River valley into thecompany townof Palmertown, a community ofSaltville,Virginia. Bodies, homes, and cars were washed as far as seven miles down the valley. In the aftermath of the flood, 19 people had died.[21]
Corporate reduction (1969-2010)
editThe company became Olin Corporation in 1969 and subsequently began selling-off many of its acquired businesses. Since then, Olin Corporation has been shrinking (except for a brief expansion in the early 1980s).[22]
Olin was the first U.S. corporation to be prosecuted for violations of thearms embargo,and in 1978 was convicted for sellingWinchester riflesto private dealers inSouth Africa.[23]When charged, theWinchester Divisionaffirmed in alegal briefthat:
... the Winchester employees principally responsible for dealing with the State Department on export license matters over the years developed the belief that the Department was "winking" at the representation [by the company] that arms sent to South Africa were said to be destined for other countries.
— brief filed in U.S. District Court, New Haven, Conn. (20 March 1978).[24],"Memorandum on Behalf of Olin Corporation"
After ongoing declines in its business at Winchester, on December 12, 1980, Olin made the decision to sell Winchester firearms to the firm's employees under the nameUS Repeating Arms Company.[25]Olin, however, kept the Winchesterbrand nameand licensed it to US Repeating Arms Company.[26]Olin sold its European Winchester ammunition business, and also licensed the Winchester brand name, toGIAT(ofVersailles, France). Olin transferred itsball propellantmanufacturing plant toGeneral DynamicssubsidiarySt. Marks Powderin 1998.[27]Olin spun off itsspecialty chemicalsbusiness on February 8, 1999, as Arch Chemicals, Inc. Olin afterwards focused more on its ammunition, brass and chlor-alkali businesses.[28]
The ammunition business was strengthened by theIraqandAfghanistan wars.After 2004, the Olin Corporation moved some manufacturing of its Winchester products from East Alton toOxford,Mississippi,[29]which started with the rimfire cartridge (.22LR) production, then its load and pack operations.[30]After Olin moved production of its Winchesterrimfire ammunitionproduction to Mississippi in 2004,[31]in 2006, Olin announced that it had entered into a new license agreement withBrowning Arms Companyto market Winchester brand rifles and shotguns. The new Winchester company was named U.S. Repeating Arms as a licensee of Olin Corporation, which still owned Winchester ammunition.[32]In May 2007, Olin agreed to buy Pioneer Co. Inc., a chlor-alkali products maker, for $414 million. Olin announced the sale of its brass division in October 2007 to Global Brass and Copper, an affiliate ofKPS Capital Partners,for $400 million. The sale included all of Olin's worldwide metals operations, including the A.J. Oster metals service centers.[33]It sold a plant in East Alton in 2007, and moved production ofcenterfire ammunitionto Oxford, Mississippi in 2010 from East Alton.[31]
The McIntosh chlorine plant began usingasbestos,a potentcarcinogen,in 1978. The chemical was not safely contained, and employees regularly breathed it in and were not given protective equipment. The company was aware of the hazard and told workers that they could stay safe by preventing the material from becoming airborne.OSHAgave the company advance notice of its inspections, for which they regularly cleaned up the asbestos.[3]The 2007 merger between Pioneer and Olin created the third-largest chlorine producer in the United States.[34]In 2010, an equipment failure at the McIntosh plant released caustic soda into the atmosphere,[4]and the plant frequently releases chlorine into the atmosphere.[3]Residents have complained that they were not adequately informed of the leaks.[3]
Spinoffs and joint ventures (2015-2022)
editOn March 27, 2015,Dow Chemical Companyannounced that it would spin off its chlorine andepoxybusinesses and merge them with Olin Corporation.[35]Dow earned around $5 billion in the deal including $2 billion in cash, with the new Olin to have revenue of around $7 billion, with Olin chairman and CEO Joseph D. Rupp to lead the new larger company. Separately, Dow also agreed to supply Olin with ethylene.[35]On October 5, 2015, Olin successfully acquired Dow's U.S. Gulf Coast Chlor-Alkali and Vinyl, Global Chlorinated Organics, and Global Epoxy business units, in addition to 100 percent interest in the Dow Mitsui Chlor-Alkali joint venture.[36]As of 2016, Olin president and CEO was John E. Fischer.[37]
In 2016, an Olin Corp. facility on Dow Chemical property inPlaqueminenearBaton Rougehad a chlorine leak which led to the evacuation of the Dow plant.[5]In 2016, Olin Corp, which was still based in Missouri, announced it was laying off 100 workers, or around 80% of the facility's workforce, at a factory north of downtown Henderson, also halting chlorine production at the site. It also stopped production of lye, with the facility to be remade into a bleach factory and distribution center for various industrial chemicals. Olin also scaled back chlorine production at other factories in New York and Texas.[34]In 2019, Olin announced it was closing two plants in Texas by the end of 2020.[38]It was reported in 2020 thatSachem Head Capital Managementhad built a stake in Olin Corporation at 9.4%. At that time, Olin remained headquartered inClayton, Missouriand had 12 directors on its board.[39]In 2020, Scott M. Sutton was selected by the Olin board to succeed Fischer as CEO and president, with Fischer becoming executive chairman.[40]
As of 2021, the Olin Chemical Superfund Site was still undergoing cleanup under Olin Corporation, with the EPA having managed the site 2006, and the 53-acre facility purchased by Olin in 1980.[41]The EPA was overseeing the cleanup of a Olin Corp. facility in East Alton by 2021, taking public comments on Olin's proposed cleanup plan to contaminated soil and groundwater in July 2021.[42]In 2021, Olin shut down half of its diaphragm-grade chlor alkali production at its facility in McIntosh, Alabama.[43]
In 2022, Olin created a joint venture withPlug PowerInc., to produce 15 tons of "green" hydrogen per day at a plant in Louisiana, to be operational by 2023 according to the company.[44]In 2022, it had seven production facilities in the United States and Canada dedicated to chlorine and caustic soda.[citation needed]The former Olin Corporation headquarters in East Alton, after being purchased by theWieland Group,were razed in 2022. The structure had previously employed 1,800 people when Olin had used it as an ammunition production facility.[31]
Products and divisions
editAs a producer of ammunition and industrial chemicals, in 2022, the Olin Corporation had three overall business segments: "Chlor-Alkali Products and Vinyls, Epoxy (epoxy materials and precursors), and Winchester (arms and ammunition)."[citation needed]The company produces chemicals such aschlorine,caustic soda,andhydrogenthrough a process involving theelectrolysisof salt.[citation needed]The chemical branches of the business also producevinyls,epoxies,chlorinated organics,bleach,andhydrochloric acid.[40]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Olin".Fortune.RetrievedDecember 30,2018.
- ^"US SEC: Form 10-K Olin Corporation".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.RetrievedFebruary 10,2018.
- ^abcdeMcGrory, Kathleen; Bedi, Neil (December 7, 2022)."Workers Across America Break Their Silence on Decades of Asbestos Exposure".ProPublica.RetrievedDecember 7,2022.
- ^abc"Olin Corporation probing release of caustic soda at McIntosh plant".January 19, 2010.
- ^ab"Dow Chemical in Plaquemine evacuated for Olin Corp. Chlorine leak".December 3, 2016.
- ^Ecusta;E.P.A.webpage; retrieved.
- ^Olin's History;Olin Corporation online; retrieved May 19, 2007.ArchivedMarch 9, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^Roanoke TimesArchivedSeptember 18, 2012, atarchive.today;article; accessed.
- ^US EPASuperfund Site
- ^"VA DepartmentEnvironmental Quality"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 30, 2008.RetrievedNovember 28,2007.
- ^Brown, Megan E., and Kowalewski, Michal. "Do Local Extinctions Correlate with Taphonomic Signatures of Freshwater Mussel Shells in the North Fork Holston River, Virginia?ArchivedOctober 21, 2013, at theWayback Machine"Paper No. 221-8, presented at the 2003 Seattle Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America.
- ^"Test Wells to Monitor Ground Water at Olin Superfund Site Near Saltville, VA,"EPA Environmental News,October 9, 1997
- ^Roanoke Times Article on DamArchivedSeptember 18, 2012, atarchive.today
- ^US EPA Superfund Site
- ^"VA Department Environmental Quality"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 30, 2008.RetrievedNovember 28,2007.
- ^1953 "broad based flexibility" business plan of John M. Olin;retrieved.
- ^Sterngold, James (January 19, 1997)."A Deft Ski Maker Works a Slippery Slope".The New York Times.
- ^Rocky Mountain Arsenal "Summary of Major Events and Problems" (1958), p.106
- ^"Great night for Olin Batteries".Life.Time Inc.October 31, 1955.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
- ^Hawks, Chuck;The Winchester Model 94;quote: "1964 was a big year for Olin/Winchester. That was the year that their revised (for cheaper manufacture) line of firearms was introduced. The reaction from gun writers and the shooting public to the changes was swift and terrible, and Winchester has never regained its former position of dominance."
- ^"The Muck Dam Disaster: Christmas 1924".
- ^Article;retrieved.
- ^Washington Notes on Africa,p. 62. Quotation: "Olin Corporation, the first US corporation to be prosecuted for violations of the arms embargo, was convicted for selling Winchester rifles to private dealers in South Africa."
- ^As cited in theCascade of Arms: Managing Conventional Weapons Proliferation,p. 66.
- ^Out With A Bang: The Loss of the Classic Winchester is Loaded with Symbolism;January 21, 2006; article;Washington Post;retrieved November 2013.
- ^article;product guide; Winchester online; retrieved.ArchivedJune 5, 2010, at theWayback Machine
- ^"St Marks Powder Inc".Manta.RetrievedNovember 16,2017.
- ^Isle of Capri will move HQ to Creve Coeur;January 28, 2006; article by Van Der Werf, Martin;St. Louis Post-Dispatch;Third Edition, Business; p. A-31; retrieved August 19, 2009.
- ^Winchester...ArchivedDecember 25, 2010, at theWayback Machine;EC Next online; retrieved.
- ^"Winchester Ammunition Considering Full Move to Mississippi";Wordpress online, August 13, 2010.
- ^abc"Razing in the sun".July 23, 2022.
- ^"Sun sets on an Old West icon".
- ^"UPDATE 1-Olin to sell metals business for $400 MLN".Reuters.October 15, 2007.
- ^ab"Layoffs coming as historic Henderson factory stops making chlorine".March 30, 2016.
- ^abDavid Gelles"Dow Chemical to Merge Unit With Olin",New York Times, March 27, 2015.
- ^"Dow Closes Transaction to Separate Significant Portion of its Chlorine Value Chain".dow.Archived fromthe originalon July 26, 2017.
- ^"'Jobs are secure in East Alton'".December 5, 2016.
- ^"Olin to close Freeport plant".December 19, 2019.
- ^"UPDATE 1-Sachem Head builds stake in Olin Corp, plans proxy contest -filing".Reuters.February 24, 2020.
- ^ab"Olin Appoints New CEO | SGB Media Online".July 15, 2020.
- ^"Wilmington Town Manager wants EPA to speed up Olin site cleanup".June 24, 2021.
- ^"EPA seeks input on Olin Brass cleanup".May 26, 2021.
- ^"Olin to Cut Chlor Alkali Capacity at Alabama Plant".March 16, 2021.
- ^"Plug Power to team up with Olin to produce green hydrogen".May 2, 2022.
Further reading
edit- Winchester: An American Legend;by Wilson, R. L.; Random House; 1991.
External links
edit- Olin Corporationhome page
- Olin BrassArchivedMarch 15, 2006, at theWayback Machine
- Olin Chlor-Alkali Products