aim to restore profitability
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OHM AND HAAS is eliminating about 925 jobs and shutting down capacity, primarily in its North American chemical operations, the firm announced on June 17. These moves complement pricing surcharges put in place in April to recover rapidly escalating raw material, energy, and freight costs. The company, which was one of just a few U.S. chemical makers to report an earnings decline in the first quarter, says it is counting on the changes to help it achieve growth and profitability goals set two years ago. “While the actions today were accelerated by the current market conditions, particularly in North America, they are part of our long-term strategy to reposition the company,” CEO Raj L. Gupta said in a conference call with analysts. The strategy is to focus on core businesses in coatings and electronics while expanding in rapidly developing economies, he said. To reach this end, Rohm and Haas is reducing its
CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD TEAM CHOSEN ACS NEWS: Four students
will travel to Budapest to represent the U.S.
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T A CEREMONY on June 14, four chemistry
students and two alternates learned they have won the right to represent the U.S. in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, in July. The evening drew tears of both joy and disappointment. The top four students are Jonathan Lee of Northridge, Calif.; Andrew Liu of Chesterfield, Mo.; Yuxin Xie of East Brunswick, N.J.; and Jenny Lu of Southbury, Conn. The first alternate is Elizabeth Peng of Williamsville, N.Y. The second alternate is Justin Koh of Bakersfield, Calif. Beaming from ear to ear, Lu told C&EN that she was stunned to hear her name being called among the winners. She is only the second high school sophomore in the history of the U.S. team to make the top four. In contrast, Koh, who won a silver medal at the Olympiad in Moscow last summer, hung his head after learning he had not made this year’s traveling team. Despite his disappointment, Koh stood when his friend Lee’s name was called, and they hugged with such force that it nearly knocked them both to the ground.
The ceremony marked the culmination of two weeks of intensive study during the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad study camp, which is organized by the American Chemical Society and is held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The 20 students who participated in the camp—15 males and five females—were the top scorers among approximately 10,000 students who took a regional exam and approximately 900 students who went on to take a national exam. Kara Pezzi, head mentor of the U.S. team and a teacher at Appleton East High School in Wisconsin, called the ceremony “bittersweet,” noting both the elation of those chosen for the team and the disappointment of those who did not make the cut. Lee, Liu, Xie, and Lu will travel to Budapest in July, accompanied by Pezzi; mentor Will Lynch, a professor of chemistry at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga.; and peer mentor J. L. Kiappes, who won a silver medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad in Kiel, Germany, in 2004. Except for Lu, the members of the Olympiad team graduated from high school this year and will attend college in the fall. Lee will attend Harvard University, Liu and Xie will be at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peng will enroll in Yale University, and Koh will attend the University of California, San Diego.—LINDA
ROHM A ND HA AS
INDUSTRY: Plant closures, job cuts
North American emulsion polymers capacity by 30% by curtailing production in La Mirada, Calif., and Louisville, Ky. Productivity improvements, along with lower demand, will allow its remaining facilities to meet customer needs. About 70% of the job cuts will come in the specialty materials and chemicals businesses. In the electronic materials area, Gupta said the company will make adjustments in manufacturing and technical service to emphasize the Asia-Pacific region. The firm will close a tech center in Phoenix and consolidate operations in Taiwan and Newark, Del. And it will reduce staff in North American packaging, display, and microelectronics technologies areas. The company’s chemical businesses have been performing worse than expected in Western markets, but sales growth so far this year is up 32% in rapidly developing economies, Gupta said. By 2010, Rohm and Haas expects to reap annual savings of about $110 million, which may, in small part, offset rising costs. “We now anticipate that our total raw material, energy, and freight bill could be up as much as $600 million yearon-year in 2008,” Gupta noted. Rohm and Haas’s actions are “proactive, but painful,” Citigroup Global Markets analyst P. J. Juvekar wrote in a report on the company. “We think this is a sign of what to expect in the second half of 2008 from many of our chemical names.”—ANN THAYER
Gupta
L INDA WANG/C&EN
ROHM AND HAAS CUTS BACK
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Xie (from left), Liu, Lee, and Lu will compete in the 2008 Chemistry Olympiad.
