Elementis

Elementis plc is one of the UK's largest speciality chemicals and personal care businesses, with extensive operations in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Elementis plc

Type	Public
Traded as	LSE: ELM
Industry	Chemicals
Founded	1844
Headquarters	London, UK
Key people	Andrew Duff, Chairman Paul Waterman Group Chief Executive
Revenue	$873.6 million (2019)[1]
Operating income	$100.9 million (2019)[1]
Net income	$46.4 million (2019)[1]
Number of employees	1,600 (2019)[2]
Website	www.elementis.com

History

The company was founded in Liverpool in 1844 as Harrisons and Crosfield by Daniel Harrison, Smith Harrison and Joseph Crosfield to trade in tea and coffee.[3] In the 1860s it became one of the largest tea traders in the UK.[3] In 1903 it diversified into operating rubber plantations in the Far East acquiring shareholdings in a number of plantation companies.[4] Then in 1948 the company became a major producer of latex at its factory in Petaling.[4]

In 1967 it acquired Durham Chemicals in Birtley[5] and in 1973 acquired British Chrome & Chemicals in Eaglescliffe so diversifying into the chemicals business.[6] It also acquired a stake in the Sabah Timber Company[7] and then in 1978 took complete control of it.[4] By the end of the 1970s Harrisons and Crosfield was the 91st largest industrial company in the UK by turnover.[8] In 1982 it sold its Malaysian plantations and in 1994 it sold its Indonesian plantations: these business have since been absorbed into Sime Darby[9] and London Sumatra respectively.[10] In 1998 it changed its name to Elementis plc[3] and acquired Rheox, a speciality chemicals business[11] and in 2002 it acquired Oxychem's chromium chemicals business.[12]

In February 2016 Paul Waterman took up the role of Group CEO and President of the company. In February 2017, as part of a strategy to grow the company's personal care and cosmetics business, the company acquired SummitReheis, an antiperspirant ingredient supplier, for US$360 million.[13]

The founders and early directors of Harrisons & Crosfield

In March 2018 the company's surfactants business was sold to KLK in Malaysia.[14]

In October 2018 the company acquired Mondo Minerals, a talc additives business, from U.S. private equity firm Advent International for an enterprise value of $500 million, funded by a rights issue.[15]

Operations

The business is organised into three divisions: Specialty Products, Chromium and Surfactants.[16]

See also

• Eric Miller
• Golden Hope
• Paul Waterman

References

1. "Annual Results 2019" (PDF). Elementis. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
2. "Locations". Elementis. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
3. "AIM25 collection description". aim25.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
4. Harrisons and Crosfield Timeline
5. "AIM25 collection description". aim25.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
6. "AIM25 collection description". aim25.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
7. The Sabah Timber Company The Straits Times, 2 April 1964
8. Geoffrey Jones (2000). Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Oxford University Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-19-829450-4.
9. Finishing with only hope The Edge Malaysia, 22 October 2007
10. Lonsum builds North Sumatra's first botanical garden Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Indonesia Economic Reports, 29 August 2006
11. "Elementis Specialties - History". elementis.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
12. Elementis completes Chromium acquisition Adhesives & Sealants Industry, 1 March 2003
13. "Market report: M&A dominates the news". Shares Magazine. February 2017.
14. "KLK buys chemicals firm in Netherlands for RM187.2 million". The Sun Daily. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
15. "Elementis to pay less for Mondo after investor backlash". Reuters. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
16. "Group overview". Elementis. Retrieved 17 March 2019.

External links

• Official site