Eastman Chemical Company
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Eastman Chemical Company

Type	Public (NYSE: EMN)
Founded	1920
Headquarters	Kingsport, Tennessee, USA
Industry	Manufacturing
Website	www.eastman.com

Eastman Chemical Company is a United States based chemical company, engaged in the manufacture and sale of chemicals, fibers, and plastics. Eastman has 16 manufacturing sites in 10 countries, supplying its products throughout the world. Founded in 1920 and based in Kingsport, Tennessee, Eastman is a Fortune 500 company with 2007 sales of $6.8 billion, and approximately 10,500 employees.

Eastman manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics worldwide. It provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics products, is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers, and produces PET polymers for packaging.

Eastman is a member of Responsible Care, a global voluntary initiative developed autonomously by the chemical industry to improve health, safety, and environmental performance. In January 2008, Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine (CRO) named Eastman one of the five best corporate citizens among chemical companies in the U.S.¹ Eastman was also ranked 64th in CRO magazine's list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2008. ²

Products

The products manufactured by Eastman Chemical Company are categorized in five key sectors. Defined by the end use of the products, these sectors provide a basic overview of the types of products produced. Included in the description of each sector is a brief summary of the type of consumer or industrial goods that utilize the products manufactured by Eastman.³

Coatings, adhesives, specialty polymers and inks

Utilizing raw materials including propane, ethane, butane, high sulfur coal, natural gas, wood pulp and acetone, Eastman produces several products in this category. Products include cellulosic polymers, adhesion promoters, Texanol ester alcohol, solvents, hydrocarbon resins, rosin resins, resin dispersions, and polymer raw materials. These products are used for a variety of purposes ranging from packaging to automotive paints to disposable diapers.

Fibers

Manufactured from high sulfur coal and wood pulp, Eastman makes acetate tow, acetate yarn and acetyl chemical products. These fibers are used in apparel and home furnishings as well as cigarette filters and industrial applications.

Performance chemicals and intermediates

Raw materials including propane, ethane, high sulfur coal and natural gas are utilized by Eastman to produce acetic anhydride, acetaldehyde, oxo derivatives, plasticizers, glycols, polymer intermediates, diketene derivatives, specialty ketones, and specialty anhydrides. These products are used for numerous purposes, including toys, household products, textiles and more.

Polymers

Paraxylene, ethylene glycol, purified terephthalic acid (PTA), propane, and ethane are used by Eastman to manufacture polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymers and polyethylene products including low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), as well as a clear amorphous thermoplastic in glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG). Eastman also produces a BPA-free polymer in Tritan Copolyester. Polymers are utilized for a variety of packaging purposes, including food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. They are also used for industrial applications.

Specialty plastics

Utilizing some of the same raw materials as the Polymers division – paraxylene, ethylene glycol and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) – Eastman’s Specialty Plastics division manufactures copolyesters, polyester, cellulose esters, cellulosic plastics, and concentrates/additives. These products are utilized in the building and construction industry and for other purposes such as optical and photographic film.

History

An effect of World War I was a scarcity in raw materials such as photographic paper, optical glass, gelatin and many chemicals, including methanol, acetic acid and acetone. After the war ended, Eastman Kodak founder George Eastman began working to have an independent supply of chemicals for his photographic processes. His search for suitable quantities of methanol and acetone led him to the southern United States.

In 1920, Tennessee Eastman was founded with two major platforms – organic chemicals and acetyls. Products such as calcium acetate, sodium acetate, acetic acid and acetic anyhydride became the basis the company’s platforms.

During World War II, RDX, a powerful explosive, was manufactured for the U.S. government at Holston Ordnance Works at Tennessee Eastman sites. At the peak of production near the end of the war, the ordnance plant was producing a million and a half pounds of explosives each day. Tennessee Eastman was responsible for managing the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee which produced enriched uranium for the Manhattan Project, from 1943 to May 1947. The company transferred scientists from Kingsport, Tennessee.

Eastman introduced acetate tow to the industry in 1952 and remains a leading global manufacturer that sells acetate under the trademark name Estron. Estron is used to produce items such as cigarette filters and ink reservoirs for fiber-tip pens. The product line supporting this filtration material has grown. The most significant product line developed for use with cellulose acetate tow is Estrobond plasticizers, which are used to impart rigidity and hardness to acetate fiber rods.

By the late 1960’s, Tennessee Eastman was manufacturing a broad array of products that were used in apparels, home furnishings, the automobile industry and other areas. Additional manufacturing facilities were constructed in strategic locations.

During the 1970’s, Eastman began producing PET plastics, a light-weight, recyclable packaging option. Today, Eastman is the world’s largest producer of PET polymers, which are widely used in plastic packaging, including bottles for water, carbonated beverages, and cosmetics.

In 1983, Eastman opened the first commercial coal gasification facility in the United States at its Kingsport plant site to produce chemicals from syngas rather than petroleum. Eastman also owns and operates a gasification facility at its Longview, Texas, site to produce syngas from natural gas. Eastman Gasification Services Company, formed in 2003, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman that helps gasification facility owners and developers with facility design and start-up. The "Chemicals from Coal Facility" at the Kingsport plant received the American Chemical Society's National Historic Chemical Landmark designation in 1995.⁴

In 1994, Eastman Chemical Company spun off from Eastman Kodak and became an independent corporation. Since that time, the company has continued to develop and market new products.

In early 2005, Eastman broke ground on the first world-scale manufacturing facility using IntegRex, a breakthrough technology that includes numerous innovations that reduce the number of intermediate process steps in producing PET resin.

At the Torino 2006 Olympic Games, the 12,000 transparent seats in the new ice hockey stadium were injection-molded using Eastman's high-performance Durastar Copolyester.

In July 2007 Eastman announced plans to build a $1.6 billion gasification plant in Beaumont, Texas. The plant was to use petroleum coke obtained from Gulf Coast petroleum refineries as its primary feedstock, producing hydrogen, methanol and ammonia. It was expected to begin operation in late 2011 or early 2012.⁵

Manufacturing sites

Eastman operates manufacturing facilities at many world locations, including:⁶

• Nanjing, China
• Kuantan, Malaysia
• Uruapan, Mexico
• Middelburg, The Netherlands
• Singapore
• Kirkby, United Kingdom
• Workington, United Kingdom
• Jefferson, Pennsylvania, USA
• Columbia, South Carolina, USA
• Kingsport, Tennessee, USA
• Longview, Texas, USA

PET manufacturing assets in Mexico and Argentina were divested during the fourth quarter of 2007.

Environmental record

Based on year 2000 data,⁷ Eastman was ranked twelfth among U.S. corporate producers of air pollution according to a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute. Eastman facilities in 12 U.S. states released a total of 8.91 million pounds (4.04 million kilograms) of toxic chemicals into the air in that year.⁸. The Environmental Protection Agency has also linked Eastman to several Superfund toxic waste sites, according to the Center for Public Integrity.⁹

Eastman is a member of Responsible Care, a global voluntary initiative of the chemical industry. Responsible Care was commended for being a significant contribution by the chemical industry to sustainable development by the United Nations Environmental Programme at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. More than 50 countries worldwide have adopted the Responsible Care ethic.

Employee recreation programs

Eastman Chemical offers an extensive employee recreation program for its Kingsport, Tennessee, employees and retirees under the auspices of the Tennessee Eastman Recreation Club.¹⁰ Offerings include competitive sports leagues, a diverse range of special interest activity clubs including the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club,¹¹ a monthly movie night, and use of picnic areas and a campground at the Bays Mountain Recreation Area.¹²

Corporate governance

Board of directors¹³

• J. Brian Ferguson -- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
• James P. Rogers -- President and Chemicals & Fibers Business Group Head
• Gary E. Anderson -- Retired Chairman of the Board and CEO, Dow Corning Corporation
• Michael P. Connors -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Information Services Group, Inc.
• Stephen R. Demeritt -- Retired Vice Chairman, General Mills, Inc.
• Donald W. Griffin -- Retired Chairman of the Board, Olin Corporation
• Robert M. Hernandez -- Chairman of the Board, RTI International Metals, Inc.
• Renee J. Hornbaker -- Chief Financial Officer, Shared Technologies, Inc
• Lewis M. Kling -- President and Chief Executive Officer of Flowserve Corporation
• Howard Lance -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Harris Corporation
• Thomas H. McLain -- Former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals
• David W. Raisbeck -- Vice Chairman, Cargill, Incorporated
• Peter M. Wood -- Former Managing Director, J.P. Morgan & Company

Corporate officers¹⁴

• J. Brian Ferguson -- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
• James P. Rogers -- President and Chemicals & Fibers Business Group Head
• Mark J. Costa -- Executive Vice President Polymers Business Group & Chief Marketing Officer
• Curt E. Espeland -- Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
• Theresa K. Lee -- Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
• Ronald C. Lindsay -- Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Regional Leadership
• Greg W. Nelson -- Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
• Norris P. Sneed -- Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

References

External links

• Official site
• Environmental Release Report
• Company Annual Report
• Tennessee Eastman Company/Eastman Chemical Company in The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
• Corporate Responsibility Officer

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