Croda Inc. recently celebrated 75 years of continuous manufacturing and innovation at its New Castle, DE, production facility. Croda International Plc acquired the Atlas Point site—the largest manufacturing site within the Croda global organization—in 2006 as part of its acquisition of Uniqema from ICI. Since then, more than $70 million has been invested in upgrading the facility to improve workplace safety, deliver increased productivity, and support Croda’s efforts to be more sustainable—most notably the corporate goal of reducing Croda’s dependence on fossil fuels by 25% by 2015. This goal is supported by the new landfill gas-to-energy project that was expected to come online at the end of 2012.

“Croda has been enormously successful in recent years,” said Steve Foots, group chief executive of Croda International Plc. “Our share price has increased six-fold since we acquired Uniqema in 2006, and that’s a reflection of the increased profits that we have been able to generate from the combined company post acquisition. One of the important assets in that acquisition is this facility, as well as the important human assets of the people who work here.”

Since its inception in August 1937, the Atlas Point manufacturing center has reportedly been at the center of innovation and support of the local community. From its initial opening as a facility to produce commercial quantities of sorbitol and mannitol, the site went on to some of the major innovations in the chemical industry.

“The Atlas Point manufacturing site has a long history of innovation since its beginnings in 1937,” said Kevin Gallagher, Croda Inc. president. “It is responsible for the creation of some of the chemical industry’s most well-known emulsifiers, which are still manufactured and used today under their original trade names of Spans™ and Tweens™. Recent innovations have helped support cutting-edge technologies such as solar panels and other initiatives to support a sustainable future.”

The 75-year anniversary was marked with an event that included tours of the Griffin Innovation Center, which houses Croda’s North American R&D teams for its Performance Technologies and Crop Care businesses, as well as the manufacturing site. Improvements made in the site were highlighted in the tour. The event concluded with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site’s new gatehouse, another recent improvement that offers more secure site access for employees, contractors and guests.

ABOUT THE COMPANY
Croda Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Croda International Plc, a U.K.-based manufacturer and global supplier of natural-based specialty chemicals that are sold to virtually every type of industry. The company has approximately 3,200 employees working in 33 countries. Croda Inc. is part of Croda’s global network, servicing the specialty chemicals needs in the sectors of Consumer Care, Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals. For more information, visit www.crodausa.com.