Chemtura Corporation is a marketer of specialty chemicals, polymer products, and processing equipment for a variety of industries. The company formed in 2005 from the merger of two other corporations: Great Lakes Chemical Corporation

Great Lakes Chemical Corporation

Great Lakes Chemical Corporation is a chemical research, production, sales and distribution company that produces specialty chemicals used for polymers, fire suppressants and retardants, pool and spa water purification systems and various other applications...

 of West Lafayette, Indiana

West Lafayette, Indiana

As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...

, and Crompton Corporation

Crompton Corporation

Crompton Corporation , , was a chemical research, production, sales and distribution company headquartered in Middlebury, Connecticut. The company produced specialty chemicals used for polymers, fire suppressants and retardants, pool and spa water purification systems and various other applications...

 of Middlebury, Connecticut

Middlebury, Connecticut

Middlebury is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,451 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Chemtura employs about 6,000 people internationally and had sales of USD $3.7 billion in 2007 .

Key Chemtura products include pool and spa products, plastic additives, flame retardants, agricultural seed treatments and miticides, lubricants and urethane polymers. The products are used in automotive, construction, consumer, agricultural, packaging and industrial markets.

The company dates back to Crompton Loom Works

Crompton Loom Works

Crompton Loom Works is a historic building at 132-142 Green Street in Worcester, Massachusetts.It was built in 1860 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980....

, a firm created in 1857 by George Crompton

George Crompton

George Crompton was an American inventor, manufacturer, and businessman and the son of William Crompton, an inventor. He is most well known for his invention, perfection, and popularization of the Crompton Loom, a fancy loom that could reach maximum speeds of eighty-five picks per second, nearly...

, inventor of the Crompton Loom

Loom

A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...

. The firm expanded by producing dyes (sold to the textile industry) and other specialty chemicals. The firm has done business as Crompton & Knowles and as the Crompton Corp.