Texas Gulf Sulfur Company

The Texas Gulf Sulphur Company was one of the largest sulfur mining companies in the world from 1919 to 1981.

The Gulf Sulphur Company was formed on December 23, 1909 by a group of investors from St. Louis and Texas.[1] The company was formed to exploit the newly discovered sulfur deposit in the Big Hill salt dome near Matagorda, Texas,[2] using the Frasch Process. In 1916 Bernard Baruch and J.P. Morgan took control of the company and Seeley W. Mudd became President.[1] On 16 July 1918, the company was renamed the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company.[3]

Construction of the Gulf Plant at Big Hill started on 13 Aug. 1918, and production commenced on 15 March 1919.[3]:99

In 1921 the company listed its stock on the New York Stock Exchange[4]

Sulfur production began in 1919 and by 1925 the company controlled 40% of the U.S. market.[1]

In 1927, the company started developing the sulfur deposit associated with the Boling Dome in Wharton County, Texas. Besides building a plant in 1928, the company also built Newgulf, Texas for its employees. By 1958, the company had produced 50 million tons of sulfur, 38 per cent of all the sulfur produced by the Frasch Process to that date.[3]:118–124

The company entered the Mexican market in 1949, with its subsidiary Cia. Exploradora del Istmo, S.A. Headquarters were established in Coatzacoalcos in 1950, and production from their Nopalapa plant commenced in 1957.[3]:199–200

By 1958, Texas Gulf had produced 69,490,00 tons of sulfur, which was 53.7 percent of the total Frasch sulphur production from 1895 through 1957.[3]:inside cover

In April 1972, the company became TexasGulf. In 1981 the company was acquired by Elf Aquitaine.[5]

See also

References
  1. Kutney, G. (2007). Sulfur: History, Technology, Applications & Industry. ChemTec Publishing; 2 edition. ISBN 1895198674.
  2. Hudgins, M.R. (2007). Handbook of Texas Online, "TexasGulf". The Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dktgq
  3. Haynes, Williams (1959). Brimstone, The Stone That Burns. Princeton: D. Van Norstrand Company, Inc. pp. 87–89.
  4. Fogarty, C.F. (1976). The Story of Texasgulf. Newcomen Society in North America.
  5. Feder, B.J. (1981, June 27). AQUITAINE TO ACQUIRE TEXASGULF. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/27/business/aquitaine-to-acquire-texasgulf.html
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