Solvay S.A.

History

The evolution of Solvay

Founded in 1863, by Ernest Solvay and his brother Alfred Solvay to produce sodium carbonate by the Solvay process, the company has diversified into two main sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Before World War I, Solvay was the largest multinational company in the world. It was formerly also active in pharmaceuticals, but agreed to sell that entire division to Abbott Labs for €4.5 billion in September 2009, a deal was completed in February 2010.

In April 2011, the firm agreed to the €3.4 billion acquisition of French-based chemicals company Rhodia which was completed in September 2011.

Since January 2012, the new Solvay has been listed on the NYSE Euronext in Paris and joined the CAC 40 index in September 2012. Solvay is historically listed on the NYSE Euronext in Brussels and part of BEL20 index.

The company is a supporter of the Solvay Conferences that were started by Ernest Solvay in 1911.

On December 3, 2015, Solvay launched a share issue sent to existing shareholders, completing funding for the $5.5 billion purchase of Cytec Industries Inc.

Recent activities and markets

On December 8, 2023, shareholders approved the plan to spin off Solvay into two independent, publicly listed companies: Solvay and Syensqo. Solvay retained its essential chemistry activities and employs 9,000 people and generates an annual turnover of €4.88 billion. The aim of the separation was to provide each company with the independence and flexibility to pursue distinct strategies. The traditional chemical activities, such as soda, hydrogen peroxide and adhesives, will continue under the Solvay name and will be led by Philippe Kehren. The other activities, such as plastics for electronics and rechargeable batteries, have been transferred to a new company called Syensqo (pronounced: science-co), with Ilham Kadri as chairman, who was previously Solvay's General Manager since 2019.

Syensqo began its specialty chemicals activities with 13,200 employees and an annual turnover of €7.9 billion. On Monday, December 11, Syensqo shares were listed on the stock exchange and are included in the BEL 20 share index.

In 2024, Solvay announced its plan to supply Europe with rare earth metals for permanent magnets used in EVs and wind turbines from its refurbished plant in France.

Corporate affairs

The company's head office is located in Brussels, Belgium. It was previously in Ixelles, Brussels

Solvay has several subsidiaries in the world, including its United States's subsidiary, Solvay America, Inc., is based in Houston, Texas. Solvay also has its subsidiary in Canada, Ontario. The company is also present in Asian countries like Singapore and Indonesia, in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, etc.) and in Europe (France, Italy, Portugal, etc.).

Executive committee

• Philippe Kehren : Chief Executive Officer;

• Alexandre Blum : Chief Financial Officer;

• Lanny Duvall : Chief Operations Officer;

• Dr. Mark van Bijsterveld : Chief People Officer;

• Lisa Brown : General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

Products

Solvay is a main partner of Solar Impulse and has contributed research and development resources to their solar powered airplane project. That aircraft conducted its first test flight on 3. December 2009, and since then has made solar-powered flights from Switzerland to Spain and Morocco in 2012.

In 2015–2016, Solar Impulse 2 flew around the world, the first such journey by a solar-powered aircraft.

Fuel cell technology

SolviCore, a joint venture by Umicore and Solvay in the field of fuel cells is already pre-marketing membrane-electrode assemblies for different types of fuel cells for portable or mobile use. New generation lithium batteries for hybrid vehicles components make use of Solvay fluorinated polymers in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Soil remediation

Novosol is a sodium bicarbonate-based process for treating and recovering mineral residues contaminated with heavy metals.

Renewable feedstock

Solvay is working on the development and industrialization of the proprietary Epicerol process for manufacturing epichlorohydrin from natural glycerin.

Legal affairs

In 2020, Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, now Syensqo, was the subject of litigation for its contaminating water sources and soil with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS, a group of more than 4,000 compounds used in nonstick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, firefighting foam and a range of other products, do not break down in the environment, and therefore accumulate in the body. They have been linked to cancer, fertility problems, liver damage, high cholesterol, and other health problems.

In November 2020, the New Jersey Attorney General announced its filing of two lawsuits "to compel the clean-up of contamination and recover Natural Resource Damages (NRDs)", one of which is against Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC and Arkema Inc., alleging they are "two companies responsible for widespread contamination from toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) emanating from a Gloucester County facility, which has contaminated public drinking water in the region." This is part of an ongoing and growing investigation.

Solvay impeded the availability of an analytical standard by legal maneuver.

In 2021, Delaware has reached an agreement with Solvay Specialty Polymers. Although Solvay denies any responsibility, the agreement mandates a thorough environmental investigation under the supervision of the DNREC to assess the extent of the contamination. Initial tests did not reveal any immediate health risks for local residents.

References

References

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2. (11 December 2023). "Les investisseurs plébiscitent la chimie de spécialité de Solvay".
3. "Solvay 2023 net sales down 12.6% due to volume decline".
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5. "Résultats entreprise SOLVAY, chiffre d'affaires (CA) et bilan SOLVAY SOLB Euronext Bruxelles - Boursorama".
6. Gray-Block, Aaron. (4 April 2011). "Solvay bids 3.4 bln euros for France's Rhodia". [[Reuters]].
7. (December 11, 2023). "Solvay entame une ère nouvelle après la scission de Syensqo".
8. "Solid financial performance thanks to the stronger first half, and robust capital structure opening a new chapter of Solvay".
9. "Historical key figures".
10. "Solvay 150 Years History".
11. "Tilting the global balance: An interview with the CEO of Solvay | McKinsey".
12. Gray-Block, Aaron. (28 September 2009). "Abbott buys Solvay's drugs unit for 4.5 bln euros". [[Reuters]].
13. Gray-Block, Aaron. (4 April 2011). "Solvay bids 3.4 bln euros for France's Rhodia". [[Reuters]].
14. (August 5, 2011). "Bruxelles valide le rachat de Rhodia par le groupe belge Solvay".
15. (July 28, 2011). "Rhodia et Solvay en pleine forme à quelques semaines de leur mariage".
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17. (September 7, 2012). "PSA Peugeot Citroen dropped from France's Cac 40 index".
18. (January 11, 2012). "Le groupe de chimie Solvay bientôt coté à Paris".
19. "Solvay Conferences Fundings".
20. (2015-12-03). "Solvay launches 1.5 bln euro rights issue for Cytec buy". Reuters.
21. (March 13, 2024). "Solvay 2023 net sales down 12.6% due to volume decline".
22. (August 3, 2024). "Ilham Kadri : « La méditation m’aide à trouver une énergie interne »".
23. (11 December 2023). "Syensqo spinoff starts trading at almost €10 billion value".
24. (12 December 2023). "Syensqo and Solvay's $1.7 billion surge makes case for Spinoffs".
25. (July 31, 2024). "Solvay to supply Europe with rare earth metals to reduce reliance on China".
26. [https://annualreports.solvay.com/2017/en/servicepages/downloads/files/entire_solvay_ar17.pdf 2017 Annual Integrated Report] {{Webarchive. link. (2019-02-04 "Solvay SA Rue de Ransbeek, 310 1120 Brussels Belgium")
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29. link. (2008-10-30 ." (see [https://archive.today/20130416011600/http://www.upperkirbydistrict.org/images/stories/revised_map.jpg map]) ''Upper Kirby''. Retrieved on December 10, 2008.)
30. (June 20, 2024). "Solvay se fournira en oxydes de terres rares mixtes recyclés, auprès de Cyclic Materials".
31. (April 16, 2013). "Solvay investit dans une usine d’alcoxylation à Singapour".
32. (October 6, 2014). "Solvay ouvre un bureau en Indonésie".
33. (December 2, 2013). "Solvay Novecare renforce ses positions en Amérique latine".
34. (October 31, 2016). "Solvay construit une unité de polyamides au Mexique".
35. "Solvay se rêve en pôle européen pour les aimants à base de terres rares".
36. (April 18, 2024). "Solvay: inaugure une nouvelle unité de production en Italie".
37. (March 29, 2018). "Solvay va supprimer 600 postes dans le monde, dont 160 en France".
38. "Profil de la société".
39. "Executive Committee".
40. "Partners".
41. (26 July 2016). "Solar Impulse completes historic round-the-world trip". BBC News.
42. "Présentation SolviCore".
43. [http://www.solvaysolexis.com/static/wma/pdf/1/6/3/3/5/Solef_Liion_20090827EN.pdf Lithium batteries for hybrid vehicles]{{Dead link. (November 2019)
44. "Solvay Investor Relations".
45. "Newsroom".
46. "Settlement near in National Park residents' lawsuit over PFAS contamination".
47. "Solvay embourbée dans une nouvelle affaire de contamination aux PFAS".
48. "PFAS Factsheet".
49. (22 June 2018). "Availability of Draft Toxicological Profile: Perfluoroalkyls".
50. (June 24, 2020). "What are the health effects of PFAS?".
51. (November 10, 2019). "Attorney General, DEP Commissioner Announce Two New Natural Resource Damage Lawsuits over Contamination of Riverfront Sites". Office of The Attorney General, State of New Jersey.
52. (March 27, 2019). "New Jersey Is Making Companies Pay for Toxic Contamination - Shining a New Light on a Little-Known Offender". The Intercept, Type Investigations.
53. (4 June 2020). "New PFAS Chemical Contamination Discovered in New Jersey". The Intercept.
54. (5 June 2020). "Replacement for PFAS found in soil in New Jersey". Science X, phys.org.
55. (17 November 2020). "Solvay Withholds Data About Toxic PFAS Pollution in New Jersey". The Intercept.
56. "A tale of PFAS, pollution, and patent claims".
57. "Delaware settles with Solvay Specialty Polymers over PFAS contamination claims in Prices Corner".