Basell Polyolefins
Encyclopedia
Basell Polyolefins was a joint venture between BASF
and Royal Dutch Shell
. Leonard Blavatnik
's Access Industries
acquired it from the venturers for $5.7 billion in August 2005. In 2007, Basell merged with the privately owned US company Lyondell Chemical Company
to form LyondellBasell, which went bankrupt in the US in January 2009.
Basell was the world's largest producer of polypropylene
and advanced polyolefins products, the world's largest producer of polyethylene
, and a global leader in the development and licensing of polypropylene and polyethylene processes, and a leader in catalysts.
, Hercules, Himont, Hoechst
, ICI
, Montecatini
, Montedison and Royal Dutch Shell
. However Basell, and then later LyondellBasell, had its origin in a joint venture between BASF
and Royal Dutch Shell
. Spurred on by the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientists Karl Ziegler
and Giulio Natta
, these Basell predecessor companies were among the leaders of the polyolefin revolution that began in the late 1930s and 1950s. This transformation is still driving the petrochemicals industry today. In 2007, Basell merged with the privately owned US company Lyondell Chemical Company
to form LyondellBasell, which filed for chapter 11 in the US in January 2009 and emerged in May 2010.
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
and Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
. Leonard Blavatnik
Leonard Blavatnik
Len Blavatnik is a Russian-American businessman, currently living in New York and London, including at a home on Kensington Palace Gardens. He has made his fortune through diversified investments, through Access Industries, in Russia, Europe, North and South America.-Origins:Born in the Soviet...
's Access Industries
Access Industries
Access Industries is a privately held, U.S.-based industrial group founded in 1986 by its chairman, Len Blavatnik. Access’s industrial focus spans three sectors: natural resource and chemicals; media and telecommunications; and real estate...
acquired it from the venturers for $5.7 billion in August 2005. In 2007, Basell merged with the privately owned US company Lyondell Chemical Company
Lyondell Chemical Company
LyondellBasell Industries is a public multinational chemical company based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was formed in December 2007 by the acquisition of Lyondell Chemical Company by Basell Polyolefins for $12.7 billion. LyondellBasell was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on October 14, 2010...
to form LyondellBasell, which went bankrupt in the US in January 2009.
Basell was the world's largest producer of polypropylene
Polypropylene
Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...
and advanced polyolefins products, the world's largest producer of polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
, and a global leader in the development and licensing of polypropylene and polyethylene processes, and a leader in catalysts.
Company history
Basell's heritage comes from many companies, including BASFBASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
, Hercules, Himont, Hoechst
Hoechst
Hoechst or Höchst may refer to:* Hoechst AG, a former German life-sciences company* Hoechst stain, one of a family of fluorescent DNA-binding compounds* Höchst , Germany* Höchst im Odenwald, Germany* Höchst, Austria...
, ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
, Montecatini
Montecatini
- Places in Italy :* Montecatini Terme, health resort in Tuscany* Montecatini Val di Cecina, village and mining town to the south of Pisa*Montecatini, hamlet in the comune of San Martino in Rio...
, Montedison and Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
. However Basell, and then later LyondellBasell, had its origin in a joint venture between BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
and Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
. Spurred on by the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientists Karl Ziegler
Karl Ziegler
Karl Waldemar Ziegler was a German chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963, with Giulio Natta, for work on polymers. The Nobel Committee recognized his "excellent work on organometallic compounds [which]...led to new polymerization reactions and ... paved the way for new and highly...
and Giulio Natta
Giulio Natta
Giulio Natta was an Italian chemist and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high polymers.-Early years:...
, these Basell predecessor companies were among the leaders of the polyolefin revolution that began in the late 1930s and 1950s. This transformation is still driving the petrochemicals industry today. In 2007, Basell merged with the privately owned US company Lyondell Chemical Company
Lyondell Chemical Company
LyondellBasell Industries is a public multinational chemical company based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was formed in December 2007 by the acquisition of Lyondell Chemical Company by Basell Polyolefins for $12.7 billion. LyondellBasell was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on October 14, 2010...
to form LyondellBasell, which filed for chapter 11 in the US in January 2009 and emerged in May 2010.