Nalco Holding Company
The Nalco Chemical Company is a global chemical company headquartered in Naperville, Illinois, United States and provides specialty chemicals, mainly for water and waste water treatment for cooling water and steam conditioning and optimization of industrial processes, such as refineries, chemical industry, power plants and paper mills. Nalco heard since the merger in 2011 to Ecolab in the range industrial cleaning and hygiene for the food industry is otherwise engaged to hospitals.
The company was founded in 1928 in the U.S. as National Aluminate Corporation and presented first solution of sodium aluminate for water treatment processes. In the 50 years, Nalco established - first as a division of Lurgi / Frankfurt - Germany (the German Nalco -Chemie GmbH, Frankfurt / Main) and Europe and was one of the leading companies in the field of water treatment and environmental protection. For wastewater treatment and for sewage and drainage processes Nalco acrylate copolymers, which were first prepared by the method of emulsion (liquid polymers) and are used as flocculants and polyelectrolytes application developed. One of the largest production plants for liquid polymers was built in the 70s in Biebesheim am Rhein, are manufactured in today polymers for the European market.
Nalco is now active in all industrialized countries with companies in many countries, with production facilities. Worldwide, around 11,000 people are employed, the approximately 70,000 customers in more than 100 countries with products and services. In Europe, the company is now run as Nalco Europe from Leiden / Netherlands.
U.S. Nalco recorded before the merger in 2011 a turnover of U.S. $ 4 billion (approx. 2.5 billion Euros ).
After the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon BP bought the complete stock of Nalco Corexit on, a kind of soap to break down the oil into tiny droplets, of which more than 2.5 million liters have been used already. The chemical has been developed by Exxon and used in 1989 in the disaster of the Exxon Valdez. However, the effects on the environment are disputed. Has also criticized the choice of the agent, because BP is sitting with the board of Nalco.