Publications

Nichols was instrumental in the building of the chemical supply business in the United States and was one of the original founders of the American Chemical Society. Under his... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

James R. Kuse

Mortgaging his home in 1984, Kuse, along with a few other executives from Georgia Pacific, financed a leveraged buy-out to create Georgia Gulf Corporation, a major producer of specialty chemical products. Under his leadership, Kuse not... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

October 2019
Case

A Conversation with Ellen J. Kullman, Chairman & CEO of DuPont, 2009-2015

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Ellen J. Kullman, the retired Chairman and CEO of DuPont, describes how she guided the storied science and technology company through a contentious proxy battle with activist investor Trian Partners, which acquired DuPont shares in 2013 and sought to break up the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Institutional Investing; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Transformation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

Hooker was the founder of one of the first electrochemical plants in the U.S. at Niagara Falls, N.Y. - a major producer of chemicals and plastics. He was ranked as one of the leading American figures in the... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

December 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Neoprene

By: Tom Nicholas and Felipe Tamega Fernandes

In 1931, during one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history, Du Pont announced the discovery of an innovative rubber synthetic product—neoprene. Yet at the time of the announcement, Du Pont did not have any neoprene to sell. Manufacturing facilities were still... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Business History; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Chemical Industry; United States

Weber and an associate pooled their resources to merge several small chemical companies into one conglomerate that came be known as Allied Chemical. Weber maintained stability at the View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

November 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

FMC Corp.: A Recapitalization

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

A proposed recapitalization will use new debt to pay a large dividend to some shareholders in return for a reduction of their voting power. The result will be a highly leveraged financial structure and negative owners' equity. Students can trace the effects of proposed... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Strategy; Asset Management; Financial Management; Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Business and Shareholder Relations; Capital Structure; Equity; Private Equity; Chemical Industry

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Career Coach

Guy Kamguia

has over 10 years of experience across engineering, strategy, investing, and operations. He enjoys leveraging his diverse professional background to help others define their career roadmaps with concrete and... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Impact Investing; Financial Services (All); Private Equity; Financial Services (All); Search Fund; Financial Services (All); Manufacturing

Robert T. Powers

During his tenure as CEO, Powers expanded Nalco’s international presence and diversified Nalco’s product lines – moving beyond water-treatment into specialty and industrial chemicals. Under his leadership,... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

February 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Asociacion Colombiana de Industrias Plasticas (Acoplasticos)

By: Michael E. Porter and Willis M. Emmons III

Acoplasticos was established in 1961 as a lobbying group for Colombia's major plastics manufacturing companies. In the early 1980s, the organization shifted its focus toward improving the productivity of the Colombian plastics and rubber cluster, which also included... View Details

Keywords: Cooperation; Information Technology; Alliances; Research and Development; Business and Government Relations; Performance Productivity; Developing Countries and Economies; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; Colombia

November 1989 (Revised August 1994)
Supplement

Du Pont's Titanium Dioxide Business (C)

Provides students the opportunity to track industry evolution over time, to explore the role that signaling may play in such evolution, and to construct and validate industry scenarios. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Supply and Industry; Chemical Industry

June 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Climate Governance at Linde plc (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Innovation Strategy; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Chemical Industry; United States; Germany; Europe; North America; London

14 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout

Government officials should have poured much more money into producing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines to save more lives and rescue the economy faster, according to new research co-authored by 16... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

March 2017
Case

Cantel Medical

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Cantel Medical Corporation provided infection prevention and control products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers. In 2016, Cantel generated sales of $665 million and net profits of $60 million, double the levels of five years earlier.... View Details

Dow grew the company his father had founded through acquisitions and mergers. He acquired a 75% interest in Midland Ammonia in 1930, partnered with Ethyl Gas in 1933, joined with Cleveland-Cliffs Iron in 1935, View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

December 1992
Case

Du Pont: Corporate Advertising for 1992

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Describes Du Pont's 1992 corporate advertising campaign, and its objectives and key messages. The campaign is set in the context of Du Pont's historical corporate positioning ("better things for better living"). Includes target audiences, budget considerations, and the... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Chemical Industry

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Career Coach

Maude Hoffman

Maude is happy to help fellow students talk through career decisions and strategies to pivot to investing, sustainability, and energy. She studied chemical engineering... View Details

September 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

ReMo Energy: Sizing Up Investors

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Tom Quinn

In 2023, executives with ReMo Energy (founded 2020) were deciding which size ammonia plant to build as their first project. Their innovative model produced ammonia—useful for making fertilizer and for energy storage—from renewable energy, and they had received funding... View Details