Koppers
 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references,butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations.(December 2010) |
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| Company type | Public |
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| NYSE:KOP S&P 600 Component | |
| Industry | Chemicals,railroad tiesand other products,railroad bridgeconstruction and repair,wood preservation |
| Founded | 1912 (original company) 1988 (re-established) |
| Headquarters | Koppers Tower Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$1.16 billion |
Number of employees | 2,200 |
| Website | koppers |
Koppersis a global chemical and materials company based inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania,United States. Its headquarters is anart-deco1920s skyscraper, theKoppers Tower.
Structure
[edit]Koppers is an integrated global producer of carbon compounds, chemicals, and treated wood products for the aluminum, railroad, specialty chemical, utility, rubber, steel, residential lumber, and agriculture industries. It serves customers through a comprehensive global manufacturing and distribution network with facilities located in North America, South America, Australasia, China, and Europe.
Koppers operates four principal businesses: Performance Chemicals, Railroad Products and Services, Utility and Industrial Products, and Carbon Materials and Chemicals.[1]
History
[edit]In 1912 immigrant German engineerHeinrich Koppersfounded Koppers Company in Chicago, Illinois. In 1915 the organization moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company founder's interest in the company was bought out by Pittsburgh financierAndrew Mellon,who became a large shareholder. The landmark Koppers Building in downtown Pittsburgh opened in 1929.[2]
In 1943, Koppers, at the US Government's behest, built a factory inKobuta, Pennsylvaniaon the Ohio River downriver fromBeaver,to manufacturestyrene-butadienemonomer, a building block used to make a form of synthetic rubber for theWorld War IIdefense effort.
In 1951, atPort Arthur, Texas,the company built a plant to manufactureethylbenzene,using as raw materialsethylenefrom the nearbyGulf Oilrefinery, and benzene, which was a byproduct of the company's coke ovens in Pennsylvania, which was shipped to Texas by barge. The ethylbenzene produced there was then shipped by barge back to the Kobuta plant where it was converted to styrene monomer, and then polymerized to make expandable polystyrene. In the early 1950s, the company purchased a license to manufacture polyethylene at its Port Arthur plant. These chemical operations later were the basis for forming a new corporate entity withSinclair Oil Corporationto form the Sinclair-Koppers Company in 1965.[citation needed]
In the 1960s, Koppers opened a Noise Control division and manufactured prefabricatedsound traps.[3]
In 2001, the company had to close a wood treatment plant inOroville, Californiadue to contamination of the 205 acre facility and the surrounding area. Chemicals likePCPand chromium were found to have been leaked into the local drinking water supply.
In August 2023, the company amounted that they would invest $17 Million USD to establish new manufacturing facility inLouisiana.[4]
Beazer hostile takeover
[edit]In early 1988Beazer,aBritishconglomerate run by one of the foremostcorporate raidersof the 1980s, successfully launched ahostile takeoverof Koppers Company for $1.81 billion ($4.9 billion today). The sale was completed on June 17, 1988.[5]A smaller, more streamlined domestic business unit of Koppers Company, Koppers Industries was bought back by local management later in 1988. Although much simpler than the once sprawling chemical and aggregate conglomerate of the early-to-mid 20th century, Koppers Industries once again become successful at its core businesses. In 2006 the new Beazer-free independent Koppers Incorporated again went public.[6]
Current business interests
[edit]Koppers operates facilities in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia and China. The coal tar processorCindu Chemicalsin the Netherlands was acquired in 2010.[7]Koppers sources coal tar from around the world for further processing by distillation into carbon chemicals.
Products
[edit]In North America, Koppers is the largest provider of railroad crossties for the Class I Railroads and are known for pre-plated crossties.[8]
Koppers Carbon Materials and Chemicals are used in the production of a variety of manufactured goods including aluminum, steel, plastics, resins, treated wood, and rubber products. These products also increase the durability and extend the life of products such as railroad ties, utility and transmission poles, and marine pilings.[9]A Koppers primary raw material iscoal tar.Asphalt sealants produced from coal tar containbenzo(a)pyreneand other toxic chemicals known collectively aspolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,or PAHs.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"About Our Company – Koppers".KOPnet.
- ^Gannon, Joyce.Historical perspective: As Koppers Building marks 75 years, the iconic structure also marks changes in region.Archived2012-05-05 at theWayback MachinePittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday, November 14, 2004.
- ^Advertisement (1961). "We don't know what noise annoys an oyster".ASHRAE Journal.March: 23.
- ^"Koppers to invest $17 million to establish new manufacturing facility in Louisiana".BIC Magazine.2023-08-28.Retrieved2023-12-27.
- ^"Beazer Selects Koppers Chief".The New York Times.1988-06-18.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2023-12-27.
- ^"Koppers gains in first day".bizjournals.2006-02-01.Retrieved2023-12-27.
- ^"Kopper Holdings buys Cindu Chemicals",businessweek,The Associated Press,2 March 2010, archived fromthe originalon September 23, 2015
- ^"Railroad Products and Services | Koppers".koppers.Retrieved2017-10-24.
- ^"Carbon Materials & Chemicals | Koppers".koppers.Retrieved2017-10-24.
- ^"New doubts cast on safety of common driveway sealant".Chicago Tribune.2011-01-18.Retrieved2023-12-27.
External links
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