Wikipedia

Solutia

Solutia Inc.was an American manufacturer of materials andspecialty chemicalsincludingpolyvinyl butyral(PVB),ethylene vinyl acetate(EVA), andthermoplastic polyurethane(TPU) interlayers for laminated glass, aftermarket window films, protective barrier and conductive films, and rubber processing chemicals. The company was formed on September 1, 1997, as adivestitureof theMonsanto Companychemical business. In July 2012, the company was acquired byEastman Chemical Company.[1]

Solutia
Company typePublic
IndustryChemical industry
FoundedSeptember 1, 1997
DefunctJuly 2, 2012
FateAcquired byEastman Chemical Company
HeadquartersTown and Country,Missouri
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jeffry Quinn
(chairman, president, and CEO)
ProductsSpecialty chemicals
Number of employees
~3400
Websitesolutia
318 Monsanto St., East St Louis, Il.

Solutia's worldwide headquarters were located inTown and Country,Missouri,United States, with regional headquarters located inZaventem, Belgium;São Paulo, Brazil;andShanghai, China.[2]

Solutia was known as the world's leading manufacturer of PVB, EVA, and TPU interlayers, custom-coated window and performance films, and chemicals for the rubber industry.[3]In 2009, the company completed the sale of itsnylondivision, with closure of the sale in the second quarter 2009.[4]In 2010, the company purchased Etimex-Solar and Novomatrix, further enhancing its portfolio of interlayer and film products.[5]

History

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The company was formed on September 1, 1997, as adivestitureof theMonsanto Companychemical business. Solutia filed forbankruptcyon December 17, 2003, in response to significant litigation surrounding various products, unsustainable debt structure, and a downturn in the economy. Solutia emerged from bankruptcy on February 28, 2008.[6]

Solutia employed approximately 3,400 people in more than 50 locations worldwide, and reported $1.67 billion in annual revenues for 2009, and $984 million in revenues through June 30, 2010, for its continued operations (nylon revenue not included in figures; new acquisitions included in figures for 2010 only).[7]

Solutia was bought byEastman Chemical Companyin 2012 for $4.8 billion.[8]

Businesses and products

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As of April 26, 2010, Solutia reported its businesses in three segments: Advanced Interlayers, Performance Films, and Technical Specialties. The products within these segments are as follows:

Advanced Interlayers

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Advanced Interlayers plastic interlayers are used for laminated safety glass, primarily in automotive and architectural applications; Advanced Interlayers also produces PVB, EVA and TPU solar module encapsulants for thin-film and building-integrated photovoltaic applications. Advanced Interlayers brands include Saflex, Vistasolar, Vanceva Color Studio and KeepSafe Max.

Performance Films

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Performance Films professional and retail window films are custom-coated and used primarily for automotive and architectural aftermarket tinting, safety and energy efficiency applications under the brand names of LLumar, Vista, EnerLogic, V-KOOL, IQue, Hüper Optik, Sun-X, nanoLux, Gila and FormulaOne High Performance Auto Tint. Performance Films precision coatings products, sold under the Flexvue films brand, are used in protective and conductive films for touch screens and electronic devices, as well as thin-film photovoltaic and concentrating solar power applications.

Technical specialties

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  • Flexsysrubber processing andantidegradant chemicals,sold under the Crystex and Santoflex brands, are integral to the manufacturing of tires and other rubber products such as belts, hoses, seals and footwear.
  • Therminolheat transfer fluids are used in systems that provide for indirect heating or cooling of industrial and chemicals processes, including concentrating solar power plant applications.
  • Skydrolaviationhydraulic fluidsand the SkyKleen brand of aviationsolventsare supplied across the aviation industry.

Corporate leadership

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  • Jeffry N. Quinn - chairman, president and chief executive officer
  • Paul J. Berra III - senior vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer
  • Robert T. DeBolt - senior vice president, business operations
  • James M. Sullivan - executive vice president and chief financial officer
  • James R. Voss - executive vice president, global operations
  • Nadim Z. Qureshi - vice president, corporate strategy and development
  • Timothy J. Wessel - president and general manager, Saflex
  • Ray J. Kollar - president and general manager, performance films
  • D. Michael Donnelly - president and general manager, technical specialties

Environmental and health record

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Solutia and its parent company Monsanto agreed in 2003 to pay $700 million to settle claims by 20,000Anniston, Alabamaresidents overPCBcontamination.[9]Monsanto documents indicate that the company routinely dumped PCBs in the land and water supply of Anniston and covered up its behavior for more than 40 years.[10]In 2008, PCBs were found outside Anniston High School.[11]

Solutia'sSpringfield, Massachusettsplant ranks as #4 on the EPA's top five facilities that reported the largest quantity of on- and off-site environmental releases in Massachusetts under theToxics Release Inventoryfor 2007.[12]

Solutia's Delaware River Plant is responsible for contaminating the soil and the groundwater with three old hazardous-waste disposal areas, aphenolequalization lagoon, two sludge lagoons, a raw-waste lagoon, a process sewer system, a storm-water drainage ditch, and a closed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulatedhazardous wastelandfill.[13]

The Solutia AES Property Site near theKanawha RiverinNitro, West Virginia,was found by the EPA to have 18 buried, deteriorating drums containingdioxin.EPA determined that a threat to public health or welfare or the environment existed due to the release or threat of release of dioxin at the site.[14]

The Solutia facility inSauget, Illinoisis responsible for emitting PCBs,benzene,chlorobenzene,lead,andmercury.Solutia completed an interim remedy in 2004 to contain, intercept, and collect contaminated groundwater discharging and causing environmental impacts to the Mississippi River.[15]

In 2006, the EPA filed suit against Solutia,Shell Oil,andMallinckrodtover hazardous materials found at the Great Lakes Container Corp. in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1995, a fire alerted officials to the potential dangers of the 11-acre (45,000 m2) site, and environmental investigations turned up buried drums of hazardous materials, asbestos and high levels of lead and polychlorinated biphenyls. According to the consent decree, 61,650 tons of soil contaminated with PCBs and lead was removed from the site as were more than 800 buried drums.[16]

Solutia's Chocolate Bayou Alvin facility ranked #1 in the EPA's top ten facilities in Texas for total on-site and off-site releases of all chemicals in 2009.[17]

In May 2009, theTexas Commission on Environmental Qualityapproved a penalty of $117,048 assessed against Solutia for 14 air violations that occurred over a year and a half period.[18]

References

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  1. ^Eastman to Acquire Solutia; Raises Outlook for 2013 EPS to Greater Than $6Archived2013-05-30 at theWayback Machine.Eastman.
  2. ^"Town and Country, Mo.-Based Spin-Off Turns to Monsanto for Financial Help."St. Louis Post-Dispatch.December 7, 2003. Retrieved on August 19, 2009.
  3. ^Solutia Inc. at Citi Basic Materials Conference, December 1, 2009
  4. ^Solutia Completes Sales of Nylon Business
  5. ^Solutia Announces Agreement to Acquire Etimex SolarandSolutia Announces the Acquisition of Novomatrix[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^"Solutia Emerges from Bankruptcy",St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  7. ^Investor Fact SheetArchivedJune 21, 2011, at theWayback Machine
  8. ^"Acquisition by Eastman, accessed 19 May 2014".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-05-19.Retrieved2014-05-19.
  9. ^"Solutia Inc".The New York Times.2012-01-27.
  10. ^"Washingtonpost: Monsanto Held Liable for PCB Dumping".washingtonpost.Archived fromthe originalon 24 February 2002.Retrieved13 January2022.
  11. ^"Archives | the Anniston Star".
  12. ^"03/20/2009: Community-Specific Chemical Release Data Available for Massachusetts - New England continues trend of lower releases to air, land and water".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-08-05.
  13. ^"RCRA Cleanup Fact Sheet - Solutia Incorporated (former Monsanto Co)".Archived fromthe originalon 2002-08-19.
  14. ^"West Virginia, AES Monsanto, Current Site Information (NPL Pad) | Mid-Atlantic Superfund | US EPA".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-08-05.Retrieved2009-05-08.
  15. ^"Significant Developments and Activities Report".28 March 2008. Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2009.RetrievedMay 8,2009.
  16. ^"FindArticles | CBSi".
  17. ^"03/19/2009: EPA Reports Toxic Releases to Air, Water and Land in Texas in 2007".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-08-06.
  18. ^"TCEQ Approves Fines of $117,048 against Solutia | News | alvinsun.net".15 May 2009.
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