Celanese

In 1918, the American Cellulose & Chemical Manufacturing Company (known as Amcelle) was founded in New York City by Swiss chemist Camille Dreyfus.{{cite web| url=http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/8/CELANESE-CORPORATION.html| title=History of CELANESE CORPORATION| website=Reference for Business| access-date=March 18, 2025}}

The American Cellulose and Chemical Manufacturing Co. Ltd plant in Cumberland, Maryland, was set up during World War I to produce cheaper fabric for airplane manufacturing. The plant location was chosen inland to protect against Zeppelin attacks. It was also situated in proximity to a ready source of water at the Potomac River and easy access to coal supplies and railroad lines. After a series of delays, production began on Christmas Day, 1924 with a series of cellulose acetate commercial fabrics and yarns intended as alternatives to silk.{{cite web| url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Hoechst-Celanese-Corporation-Company-History.html| title=Hoechtst Celanese Corporation History|website=FundingUniverse| access-date=March 18, 2025}} The plant was closed in 1983,{{cite news| last=Meyer| first=Eugene| date=October 13, 1983| title=City in Distress| language=en-US| newspaper=The Washington Post| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/10/03/city-in-distress/3ec02611-41eb-4af4-b667-903240f3e6d4/| access-date=September 6, 2020| issn=0190-8286}} and was later torn down to provide a space for a new state prison.{{cite news| last=Wheeler| first=Timothy| date=1998-12-08| title=Prison presence in Western Md. Allegany: Corrections jobs are replacing industry jobs that left the county over past 20 years, but a proliferation of prisons is not welcomed by everyone.| url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-12-08-1998342059-story.html| access-date=2020-09-06| newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-12-05| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205022915/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-12-08-1998342059-story.html| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}

The company had introduced the word “Celanese,” a combination of “cellulose” and “ease” in 1925, seeking to promote the ease of cleaning and care of their acetate yarn, or artificial silk, fabrics. They officially took this name in 1927, becoming Celanese Corporation of America.

In 1947, Celanese started producing acetate fiber at its plant near Ocotlán, Jalisco, Mexico. The plant was closed in 2019.{{cite news| last=Carlson| first=Kara| date=2019-07-02| title=Closing Mexico chemicals plant will cost Celanese Corp. up to $110 million|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2019/07/02/closing-mexico-chemicals-plant-will-cost-celanese-corp-up-to-110-million/| access-date=2020-09-06|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News| language=en| df=mdy-all}}

By 1958, Celanese had 13 domestic plants, three research and development centers, some 30 groups of products, and approximately 13,000 employees.{{cite journal| date=1958-01-27| title=Celanese Corporation of America| url=https://doi.org/10.1021/cen-v036n004b.p024| journal=Chemical & Engineering News| volume=36| issue=4B| page=24| doi=10.1021/cen-v036n004b.p024| issn=0009-2347| df=mdy-all| url-access=subscription}}

In 1959, Celanese commissioned Edward Durell Stone, a 20th-century American architect, to build the “Celanese House,” a model home in New Canaan, Connecticut, to showcase the company's new materials and styles.{{cite web| last=Reagan| first=Candace| date=2018-07-26| title=Joint Ventures and New Frontiers (1960-1969) – Celanese Blog| url=https://www.celaneseblog.com/2018/07/26/joint-ventures-and-new-frontiers-1960-1969/| access-date=2020-09-05| website=Celanese Blog| language=en-US| archive-date=2020-11-28| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128112805/https://www.celaneseblog.com/2018/07/26/joint-ventures-and-new-frontiers-1960-1969/| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}

{{pic|Celanese spiral logo.svg|Logo introduced in the 1970s, designed by Saul Bass|upright=0.75}}

Celanese bought operations of the British chemicals firm Imperial Chemical Industries in 1982. This included the Fiber Industries Incorporated plant in Salisbury, North Carolina, a part of Invista since 2004.{{cite news| url=https://www.salisburypost.com/2016/06/12/durafiber-technologies-employees-look-back-at-50-years/| title=Durafiber Technologies employees look back at 50 years| last=Raymond| first=Amanda| work=Salisbury Post|date=June 12, 2016| access-date=October 31, 2018}}

In 1983, Celanese built a $20 million plant in Rock Hill, South Carolina, to produce polybenzimidazole (PBI), a material used to fabricate high-performance protective apparel used in firefighter's gear and astronaut space suits.{{cite news| last=Greenhouse| first=Steven| date=1984-06-24| title=Celanese Sticks with the Basics| language=en-US| work=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/24/business/celanese-sticks-with-the-basics.html| access-date=2020-09-06| issn=0362-4331| df=mdy-all| url-access=subscription}}

Celanese spun off its pharmaceutical business as Celgene in 1986.

In 1987, Celanese Corporation was acquired by Hoechst and merged with its American subsidiary, American Hoechst, to form Hoechst Celanese Corporation.{{cite web| url=https://www.nyse.com/pdfs/czhist.pdf| title=Celanese AG History| website=New York Stock Exchange| access-date=2017-08-25| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019005829/http://www.nyse.com/pdfs/czhist.pdf| archive-date=2012-10-19| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}

In 1989, Hoechst Celanese moved to buy out the remaining shareholders of Hoescht Celanese Canada and thus to fully privatize the Canadian unit in a deal worth $210 million.{{cite news| url=https://www.joc.com/article/hoechst-unit-to-bid-for-celanese-canada-5577729| title=HOECHST UNIT TO BID FOR CELANESE CANADA| magazine=The Journal of Commerce| date=May 17, 2004 }}

In 1998, in a $2.7 billion deal, Hoechst Celanese sold its Trevira division to a consortium between Houston-based KoSa, a joint venture of Koch Industries, IMASAB S.A., and Grupo Xtra, both of Mexico.{{cite news| url=https://www.goupstate.com/news/19980423/hoechst-sells-division-for-27-billion| title=Hoechst sells division for $2.7 billion| last=Davis| first=Kathleen| newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal| date=1998-04-23|access-date=2019-11-21| df=mdy-all}}{{cite web| url=https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/1998/04/22/57768/hoechst-sells-trevira-to-koch-mexican-team/| title=Hoechst sells Trevira to Koch/Mexican team| last=Williams|first=Grace| work=ICIS| date=1998-04-22| access-date=2019-11-21| df=mdy-all}}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/25/business/company-news-celanese-canada-in-talks-to-sell-its-polyester-business.html| title=Company News; Celanese Canada in Talks to Sell Its Polyester Business| newspaper=The New York Times| agency=Bloomberg News| date=1999-03-25| access-date=2019-11-25| df=mdy-all| url-access=subscription}} Also in 1998, Hoechst combined most of its industrial chemical operations into a new company, Celanese AG.

In 1999, Hoechst spun off Celanese AG as a publicly traded German corporation, cross-listed on both the Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges as "CZZ" and "CZ", respectively. This was done in a vast corporate restructuring associated with the parent's merger with Rhone-Poulenc.{{cite web| url=https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/1999/12/hoechstrana.htm| title=Hoechst AG - Analysis| website=Federal Trade Commission| access-date=March 18, 2025}}

On December 16, 2003, the U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group announced a takeover offer for Celanese,{{cite web| title=Offer Document| url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1095442/000095012304001083/y93393exv99waw1wa.htm| access-date=2020-09-05| website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission| df=mdy-all}} after two years of wooing management.{{cite book| first1=David| last1=Carey| first2=John E.| last2=Morris| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRXqjZLCK9QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=king+of+capital&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_jNqy95SMAxUIm4kEHSm5PEQQ6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=celanese&f=false| title=King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone| publisher=Crown| date=October 5, 2010| pages=199-203| isbn=978-0-3074-5301-3}} Shareholders formally approved the offer from Blackstone on 16 June 2004, and Blackstone completed the acquisition of Celanese AG. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and Blackstone changed the entity's name back to Celanese Corporation. Under Blackstone, a number of streamlining initiatives were undertaken, and several acquisitions were made.

On January 21, 2005, Celanese Corporation conducted an initial public offering and became a publicly traded corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CE".{{cite web| url=https://www.celanese.com/about-us/who-we-are| title=About Us: History| website=Celanese}} When Blackstone sold the last of its shares in 2007, it had made five times what it had invested and it, and its co-investors collected a $2.9 billion profit.King of Capital, p. 205.

In June 2009, the company sold its polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) business to Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.{{cite web| url=https://www.sekisui-sc.com/about-us/| title=About Us| website=SEKISUI Specialty Chemicals}}

Celanese has a process to make ethanol from natural gas.{{cite news| url=http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24447-law-prevents-company-from-making-fossil-fuel-based-ethanol| title=Law prevents company from making fossil-fuel-based ethanol| access-date=April 5, 2012| newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| first=Amy| last=Fridenberger| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729122231/http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24447-law-prevents-company-from-making-fossil-fuel-based-ethanol| archive-date=2012-07-29| url-status=dead}}{{cite news| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/04/03/ethanol-minus-the-corn-it-could-fuel-america-if-it-werent-illegal/| title=How A Dumb Law Blocks A Great Way To Fuel America| date=April 3, 2012| magazine=Forbes| access-date=March 18, 2025}}

In late 2020, Celanese sold their 45% stake in Polyplastics to Daicel, who already owned 55% of the company. This transaction resulted in Daicel attaining full ownership of Polyplastics.{{cite web| title=60680466| website=S&P Global Market Intelligence| date=2020-10-09| url=https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/celanese-completes-1-58b-sale-of-polyplastics-jv-stake-60680466| access-date=2024-04-10| df=mdy-all}}

In 1985, Hoechst Celanese was named along with Shell Oil and US Brass as a defendant in a class action lawsuit for $7 billion in both past and potential future damages for which they were accused of being liable because of leaks in their polybutylene (PB) plumbing systems.{{cite journal| last=Reisch| first=Mark| title=Shell, Hoechst Celanese face $7 billion lawsuit| journal=Chemical & Engineering News| volume=73| issue=29| page=8| date=July 17, 1995| doi=10.1021/cen-v073n029.p008}} The lawsuit alleged a complex scheme to mislead buyers into believing that PB plumbing systems were suitable for use as potable water distribution systems and purportedly enjoying a lifetime of 50 years service. According to the lawsuit, scientists from the defendants allegedly reported that the PB plumbing systems would degrade even when exposed to low concentrations of chlorine typically found in municipal water systems. The lawsuit claimed that in spite of this knowledge, the defendants concealed the information and continued to market these products (Shell supplying PB resins to water pipe manufacturers and Hoechst Celanese providing acetal resins to manufacturers of pipe fittings) until approximately 1996.{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7_m0SVEiD0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Class+action+dilemmas:+pursuing+public+goals+for+private+gain&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA3-uI-pSMAxX-kIkEHb63GQ8Q6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=celanese&f=false| title=Class Action Dilemmas: Pursuing Public Goals for Private Gain| date=August 2, 2000| page=375-394| publisher=Rand| first=Deborah R.| last1=Hensler| first2=Bonnie| last2=Dombey-Moore| isbn=978-0-8330-4394-8| location=Santa Monica, Calif.| chapter=14}} The lawsuit was settled in 1995 for {{currency|950 million|US}}.{{cite news| last=Evans| first=Judith| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/11/10/tennessee-judge-approves-plastic-pipe-settlement/95d09051-66a3-4805-8540-362e85e27981/| title=Tennessee Judge Approves Plastic Pipe Settlement| newspaper=The Washington Post| date=1995-11-10| accessdate=2024-02-01| df=mdy-all}}

In January 2014, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the citizens of Cannon's Campground, seeking relief from health and environmental dangers posed by groundwater and surface water contamination emanating from the Hoechst-Celanese manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.{{cite web| title=Cannon's Campground & Groundwater Pollution| url=https://www.louthianlaw.com/cannon-campground/| access-date=2020-09-05| website=Louthian Law}}{{dead link|date=March 2025}} The lawsuit alleged the dumping of a number of toxic chemicals into local waters, which has diminished property values and caused a number of illnesses. Hoechst Celanese asked the courts to dismiss these charges as spurious, claiming that its discharges have not caused substantial harm to anyone or to the environment, and further asserting that a 3-year limit on tort claims had expired, relieving the company of any responsibility for damages which might be eventually discovered.{{cite news| last=Kitzmiller| first=Felicia| title=Companies ask court to dismiss class action lawsuit| newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal| date=February 25, 2014| url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140225/ARTICLES/140229869?p=2&tc=pg| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303190209if_/http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140225/ARTICLES/140229869?p=2&tc=pg| archive-date=2014-03-03}}

File:Celanese Viscose factory near Pearisburg, Virginia - panoramio.jpg]]

Acetyl intermediates is Celanese's largest segment, with a product range consisting of basic chemicals such as acetic acid, acetic anhydride, and vinyl acetate. Customers of acetyl intermediates and industrial specialties are in the chemical, paint and coatings, construction, and adhesive industries for polymerization.

Advanced engineered materials offers plastic polymers to customers in the automotive, electronics, telecommunications, and medical industries. Major products include engineered plastics for fuel system components (provided by Ticona, the engineering polymer business of Celanese), conveyor belts, electronics, safety systems, emissions filtration, and fluid handling. Polymer production is improved by the acquisition of SO.F.TER Group, Forlì, in Italy in 2016.{{cite press release| url=http://www.softergroup.com/it/celanese_rileva_softer_group| title=Celanese rileva SO.F.TER Group| trans-title=Celanese® Acquires SO.F.TER. Group| language=Italian| access-date=March 18, 2025 |archive-date=March 3, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303024518/http://www.softergroup.com/it/celanese_rileva_softer_group| publisher=Celanese| url-status=dead}}

The food ingredients business Nutrinova produces the high intensity sweetener Sunett (acesulfame K), the preservatives Nutrinova, potassium sorbate, and sorbic acid, and other food ingredients. Major end-use markets include beverages, confections, baked goods, and dairy products. In 2021, Celanese ranked 7th on FoodTalks' Global Top 20 Food Preservative Companies list.{{cite web| last=Wang| first=Yiyi|date=2021-09-29| title=2021年全球食品防腐剂企业20强| trans-title= Global Top 20 Food Preservative Companies| url=https://we.foodtalks.cn/post/9384|access-date=2022-02-14| website=FoodTalks| language=zh| df=mdy-all}}

Celanese is one of the world's largest producers of cellulose acetate. Acetate products are primarily used in cigarette filters, as well as in the production of fashion apparel and linings. Celanese also manufactures Clarifoil cellulose acetate film that is wood pulp based and certified biodegradable and compostable in home and industrial composting conditions.

Industrial specialties, using the feedstock from acetyl intermediates, manufactures polymer and emulsions such as polyvinyl acetate emulsions, and specialty chemicals as ethylene vinyl acetate. Major end-use markets include polyvinyl alcohol producers, paper, mortar and gypsum, textiles, paints, coatings, and adhesives manufacturers.

TCX Technology is a hydrocarbon-based ethanol production process developed and marketed by Celanese and launched in November 2010. Celanese researchers developed the TCX Technology to create a fuel that helps countries reduce their need to import oil and gas. Celanese plans to invest $700 million to build one-to-two plants in China and one in Texas that will produce TCX-based ethanol.{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-energy-summit-celanese/celanese-faces-u-s-road-block-on-ethanol-idUSTRE75E50F20110615| title=Celanese faces U.S. road block on ethanol| website=Reuters| first=Ernest| last=Scheyder| date=June 15, 2011| access-date=March 18, 2025}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3DeAAAAMAAJ |first=Peter John |last=Turnbull Morris |title=The American Synthetic Rubber Research Program |publisher=Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-8207-8 |page=258 |year=1989}}

{{Portal|Companies}}

• {{Official|https://www.celanese.com}}

{{Finance links

| name = Celanese Corporation

| symbol = CE

| reuters = CE.N

| sec_cik = 1306830

| yahoo = CE

| google = CE:NYSE

}}

• [http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/12/hoechstrana.htm "Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment"]. Federal Trade Commission.
• Scheyder, Ernest (May 11, 2010) [https://archive.today/20130201054503/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1127107820100511?feedType=RSS&feedName=tnBasicIndustries-SP "Interview-Celanese CEO Looks to Shake Up Product Line"]. Reuters.
• Tate, Paul (May 4, 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20101220020932/http://www.manufacturing-executive.com/community/leadership_dialogues/collaborative_innovation/blog/2010/11/18/dialogue-innovating-the-future "Dialogue: Innovating the Future"]. Manufacturing Executive.
• Iversen, Wes (April 2010) [http://www.automationworld.com/asset-management/pragmatic-response-climate-change-regulation "A Pragmatic Response to Climate-Change Regulation"]. Automation World.{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• Reade, Lou (March 25, 2010) [http://www.icis.com/Articles/2010/03/29/9345518/celanese-health-and-safety-culture-is-zero-tolerance.html "Celanese Health and Safety Culture is Zero Tolerance"]. ICIS Chemical Business.

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Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:American companies established in 1918

Category:Chemical companies established in 1918

Category:Chemical companies of the United States

Category:Manufacturing companies based in Irving, Texas

Category:2005 initial public offerings

Category:1918 establishments in New York (state)