Koppers

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Pittsburgh-based chemical company

title: "Koppers" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["coal-in-the-united-states", "chemical-companies-of-the-united-states", "companies-listed-on-the-new-york-stock-exchange", "manufacturing-companies-based-in-pittsburgh", "chemical-companies-established-in-1912", "superfund-sites-in-south-carolina", "superfund-sites-in-delaware", "1912-establishments-in-pennsylvania"] description: "Pittsburgh-based chemical company" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koppers" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Pittsburgh-based chemical company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameKoppers Holdings, Inc.
logoKoppers logo.svg
typePublic
traded_as
S&P 600 Component
foundation1912 (original company)
1988 (re-established)
locationKoppers Tower
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
key_people{{Plain list
num_employees2,200
revenueUS$1.16 billion
industryChemicals, railroad ties and other products, railroad bridge construction and repair, wood preservation
products{{Plain list
homepagewww.koppers.com
::

| name = Koppers Holdings, Inc. | logo = Koppers logo.svg | type = Public | traded_as = S&P 600 Component | company_slogan = | foundation = 1912 (original company) 1988 (re-established) | location = Koppers Tower Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | key_people = {{Plain list|

Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Its headquarters is an art-deco 1920s skyscraper, the Koppers Tower.

Structure

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.

History

In 1912 immigrant German engineer Heinrich Koppers founded 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 financier Andrew Mellon, who became a large shareholder. The landmark Koppers Building in downtown Pittsburgh opened in 1929.

In 1943, Koppers, at the US Government's behest, built a factory in Kobuta, Pennsylvania on the Ohio River downriver from Beaver, to manufacture styrene-butadiene monomer, a building block used to make a form of synthetic rubber for the World War II defense effort.

In 1951, at Port Arthur, Texas, the company built a plant to manufacture ethylbenzene, using as raw materials ethylene from the nearby Gulf Oil refinery, 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 with Sinclair Oil Corporation to form the Sinclair-Koppers Company in 1965.

In the 1960s, Koppers opened a Noise Control division and manufactured prefabricated sound traps.

In 2001, the company had to close a wood treatment plant in Oroville, California due to contamination of the 205 acre facility and the surrounding area. Chemicals like PCP and 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 in Louisiana.

Beazer hostile takeover

In early 1988 Beazer, a British conglomerate run by one of the foremost corporate raiders of the 1980s, successfully launched a hostile takeover of Koppers Company for $1.81 billion ($ billion today). The sale was completed on June 17, 1988. 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.

Current business interests

Koppers operates facilities in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and China. The coal tar processor Cindu Chemicals in the Netherlands was acquired in 2010. Koppers sources coal tar from around the world for further processing by distillation into carbon chemicals.

Products

In North America, Koppers is the largest provider of railroad crossties for the Class I Railroads and are known for pre-plated crossties.

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. A Koppers primary raw material is coal tar. Asphalt sealants produced from coal tar contain benzo(a)pyrene and other toxic chemicals known collectively as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.

References

References

  1. "About Our Company – Koppers".
  2. Gannon, Joyce. [http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/04319/411167.stm#ixzz4qLw0acVq Historical perspective: As Koppers Building marks 75 years, the iconic structure also marks changes in region.] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-05-05 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday, November 14, 2004.)
  3. Advertisement. (1961). "We don't know what noise annoys an oyster". ASHRAE Journal.
  4. (2023-08-28). "Koppers to invest $17 million to establish new manufacturing facility in Louisiana".
  5. (1988-06-18). "Beazer Selects Koppers Chief". The New York Times.
  6. (2006-02-01). "Koppers gains in first day".
  7. (2 March 2010). "Kopper Holdings buys Cindu Chemicals". [[The Associated Press]].
  8. "Railroad Products and Services {{!}} Koppers".
  9. "Carbon Materials & Chemicals {{!}} Koppers".
  10. (2011-01-18). "New doubts cast on safety of common driveway sealant".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

coal-in-the-united-stateschemical-companies-of-the-united-statescompanies-listed-on-the-new-york-stock-exchangemanufacturing-companies-based-in-pittsburghchemical-companies-established-in-1912superfund-sites-in-south-carolinasuperfund-sites-in-delaware1912-establishments-in-pennsylvania