AB Celloplast, 242
AB Nobel Plast, 245
Abbot Laboratories, USA, 162
ABCM (Association of British Chemical Manufacturers), 294
academia in the U.S. chemical network, 172
academic chemists, hired by DuPont, 173
academic researchers, attracted to industrial technology, 172
accounting standards
changing, 58
for Ciba-Geigy, 217
acetylene
liquefaction process, 275
provider of, 145
acids
Bayer integrating backward into, 24
large demand for, 23
acrylic polymers, production during World War II, 175
acrylonitrile, 150
action phase (mid-1980s to early 1990s), 66–71
A.D. Little. See Arthur D. Little
added value products, firms searching for, 407
Addison, Christopher, 293
Age of Petroleum, 449
Agell, Josep, 378
AGFA
Auguste Victoria coal mine interfirm agreement, 24
diversification into photochemicals, 23
receiving crucial support from bankers, 88
sold by Bayer, 80
spin-off of by Bayer, 76
starting as technology followers, 23
aging industry, signs of, 57
AGIP, 350
agrarian sector, modernization of Spain’s, 387
AgrEvo, 75
agribusiness, divested from Novartis, 219
agricultural chemicals, 178
agro-business, concentration of Montedison on, 59
agrochemicals
department in Ciba, 206
Rhône-Poulenc acquisitions in, 262
agro-industry business of Montedison sold, 363
agroprojects, marketing strategy from Ciba, 206
Air Liquide, 251
number one worldwide in industrial gases, 275
specializing in services to industrial companies, 277
transformation path of, 253
air pollution policy, 118
Air Products & Chemical, 31, 316
Airwick, 214
Aker, 233
AKU, 376
Akzo Nobel (Netherlands), 53
concentrating on fibers, 59
concentrating on fibers, coatings and pharmaceuticals, 68
consultancy centers for the purchasers of varnishes, 45
reducing staple fibers, 61
sale of Bamag, 80
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
alkalai companies in Britain, 290
Alkalai Inspectorate, 122, 290
Alkali Acts Extension Association, 122
alkalis, 23
all-around chemical enterprise (sogo kagaku gaisha), 325
alliances, during restructuring, 45
Allied Chemical, 30
Almirall, 392, 398
aluminum production, sold by Mitsubishi, 69
America. See United States
American Chemistry Council, 120, 130
American Cyanamid, 30
American Enka, 68
American Home Products, 30, 73
American Selling Price System, 208
Americanization of German chemical companies, 154
Anglo-American Productivity Council, 296–298
ANIC
AGIP achieving full control of, 350
authorizations to new investments, 354
chemical investments approved by the Italian government, 355
emerging as a strong competitor to Montecatini, 350
entry in petrochemicals, 97
net gain or loss as a percent on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
1971 data on, 354
ANIC-ENI, 353, 355
aniline dyes, 291
antiaging creams, 276
Antibióticos, 381, 391
antibiotics, 143
Antipyrin, 23, 25
antitrust climate in the U.S., 183
antitrust policy
in Europe, 4, 22
in the United States, 22
Antonio Puig, 398
A.P. Møller, 228
APPE (Association of Petrochemicals Producers), 45
application laboratories
building new skills, 268
at Rhône-Poulenc, 267
applications for radically new materials, 187
applications technologies (“Anwendungstechnik”), 155
approval dossiers, 273
Arabian states, building plants for chemical intermediate goods, 63
Årdal og Sunndal Verk, 233
Armour, J. Ogden, 179
aromatic compounds, 179
Arthur D. Little, 35
on chemicalization, 171
presentation of the “unit operation,” 36
technical partner of SENER, 386
artificial fibers, 376, 380
artificial resins, 421
artisanal level in Italy, 366
A/S Danbritkem Polyethylenfabrik, 228
Asahi Chemical Industries (Japan), 53
competing on low costs advantages, 68
dealing with the possibility of substitutes, 62
emergency exit constructed by, 81
focus on the home market, 72
investing in main plants, 63
massive entry into petrochemicals, 98
Mizushima Ethylene as a joint venture of, 322
return on profit (1995), 316
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
Asahi Electrochemical, 320
Asahi Glass, 327, 329
Asahi-Dow, 320
Asko Oy, 242
Aspirin, 23
asset swaps between European companies, 104
assets
mass movement of, 170
per employee in the US compared with Britain, 297
Association of British Chemical Manufacturers (ABCM), 294
Association of Chemical Manufacturers in Britain, 26
Association of Petrochemicals Producers (APPE), 45
Association of Plastic Manufacturers (Verband kunstsofferzeugende Industrie), 158
Association of the German Chemical Fiber Industry (IVC), 157
associations, industry-wide, 45, 50, 119
AstraZeneca, 109. See also Zeneca
Atochem, 279
Atochimie, 278
Atofina, 79, 251
branches of, 279
created in April 2000, 277
emerging from a long process of mergers, 15
atomic power, 61
Auguste Victoria coal mine in Mari, 24
Ausimont, 363
autarchy policy in the German chemical industry, 142
autarkical firms in Spain, 387
authoritative role for the state, 116
automatic controls in plants, used more in U.S. than in Britain, 297
Aventis, 251
creation of, 15, 258
formation of, 13, 76, 81, 163
as a leading European pharmaceutical enterprises, 258
turnover of, 76
aviation oil, massive U.S. demand for in World War II, 32
backward integration
to achieve economies of scale and scope, 24
chemical industry’s limited interest in, 180
model in Japan, 42
balance of payments problems in Britain, 287
Bamag, sold by Akzo, 68, 80
Banca Commerciale Italiana, 90, 91
banks
constrained by regulation in Britain, 84
financing huge projects for Japanese chemical companies, 315
kept small by regulation in Japan, 89
not wanting chemical companies to default in Japan, 324
ownership as a restraining role in Italy, 91
in the U.S., 85
Barcelona, chemical business community concentrated in, 378
barriers
to entry, 234–237
for trade, 197, 208
to trade, 208
Basell, Montell name changed to, 363
BASF (Badische Anilin Soda Fabrik), 53
acrylics operation, 247
American subsidiaries, 154
assisting in founding ENCASO, 381
Auguste Victoria coal mine interfirm agreement, 24
backward-integration strategy, 62
in the big three in 1980, 445
cutting LDPE capacity, 239
emergency exit constructed by, 81
establishing production and R&D facilities abroad, 67
financing of after World War II, 92
integrating forward in the plastics sector, 158
integration of processes at Ludwigshafen, 163
investment
policy of, 147
into raw materials, 63
joint ventures
with Mitsui Toatsu, 339
with Shell, 149, 226, 363
left intact in its original size, 164
on the list of the 50 largest companies in the world, 55
listing on the New York Stock Exchange, 109
Merck larger turnover than, 54
moving from coal to oil, 149
obtaining the Haber-Bosch process, 292
patents to Brunner, Mond, 293
planned atomic power plant, 61
production techniques, 77
receiving crucial support from bankers, 88
reconstruction of the European economies and, 97
reemergence in the 1950s, 32
research intensity, 106
running the largest industrial site in the world, 77
sale of pharmaceutical business to Abbot Laboratories, USA, 162
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
scaling down the capacity of its steam-crackers, 157
selling more in the U.S. than in Germany, 162
selling pharmaceutical division, 13
starting as technology followers, 23
strategy
of being a low cost producer, 68
of combining bulk and sophisticated products, 77
supplying raw materials and semimanufacturers, 147
basic chemicals
characterizing the production of chemicals in the USA until World War I, 412
countries depending on, 412
countries more involved in, 421
Basle (Switzerland)
chemical industry in, 193
corner location between three countries, 216
as an economic location, 223
geographic advantage of, 223
Bayer (Germany), 53
agreement with BP, 226
American subsidiaries, 154
Auguste Victoria coal mine interfirm agreement, 24
behind American competitors before the Second World War, 142
in the big three in 1980, 445
concentrating
chemical production in a new company, 164
on pharmaceuticals and specialties, 163
on the upper end of the market, 65
establishing production and R&D facilities abroad, 67
exiting from plastics, 158
financing growth, 94
focused on life-science by growing internally, 76
investment policy of, 147
joining with Monsanto to form Mobay, 72
joint ventures
with BP, 150
with Hoechst, 75
as a platform for international investments, 177
on the list of the 50 largest companies in the world, 55
moving further into pharmaceuticals and synthetic fibers, 147
net gain or loss as a percentage on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
patenting of Aspirin, 23
penicillin production, 142
in pharmaceuticals in the 1980s, 162
playing down German origin, 72
profound changes in, 11
purchase of Chiron, 76
reconstruction of the European economies and, 97
reemergence in the 1950s, 32
sale
of Agfa, 80
of Metzeler to Pirelli, 69
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
selling more in the U.S. than in Germany, 162
slower start into petrochemistry, 150
Spanish subsidiaries and joint ventures, 387
spinning off a chemical firm, 78
starting as technology followers, 23
tripled capital stock prior to the 1970s, 92
winning back independence from BASF’s dominating position, 144
BDI (Federation of German Industries), 134
Bechtel, 235
Belgium
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
direct access via the Rhine river, 153
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
turnover, 252
Belgium-Luxembourg, chemical exports and imports, 310
benchmarking initiative at Rhône-Poulenc, 265
Beneduce, Alberto, 356
benzene, 148
Beolit Plast AB, 242
Berol, 227
Bettencourt, Lilliane de, 277
BEUC, calling for a complete overhaul of chemicals policy, 131
Beyer, Hildrud, 133
Bhopal in India, 129
accident costing about 3,000 lives, 58
disastrous accident, 71
Big Three Industry, 275
biodegradability as a criterion for water pollution, 128
biotechnology
German chemical industry failing to recognize the potential of, 159
giving an advantage to the United States, 403
merger with genetic engineering, 161
opposition to a research center for in Basle, 216
political initiatives against in Switzerland, 200
private research foundations and the German federal government wave of, 160
segments created by, 99
severing synergies between chemicals and life sciences, 99
as a splotch on the German chemical industry, 13
stigmatized as low tech by German chemists, 160
black list, related to biodegradability, 128
bleaching powder, 290
Board of Trade
concern about the state of the chemical industry, 302
investigation into investment, 299, 300, 302
Bonomi group of FIAT, 58
boom or bust business cycles, 247
boom years, accelerators during, 66
Borealis, 247–250
establishment of, 248
in the European polypropylene business, 249
formation of, 45
nameplate capacity for polyethylene, 249
operating profit in its first year, 249
operational on March 1, 1994, 248
organization of, 14
producing petrochemicals and polyolefins, 248
Borealis Industrier AB in Sweden, 248
BP (British Petroleum)
agreement with Bayer, 226
alliance with the whiskey firm Distillers Company, 226
buying petrochemical plants from Union Carbide, 239
ceding PVC operations to ICI, 45
never able to erode ICI’s dominance of bulk chemicals, 299
venture with Bayer, 150
ventures outside Britain, 226
withdrawing from the PVC market, 239
Bray, Dr. Jeremy, 302
BRD
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
Brent Spa oil platform, 73
Bretton Woods system, breakdown of, 5, 210
brine, 133, 290
Britain. See also UK
chemical exports and imports, 310
chemical firms more active in restructuring, 103
chemical industry, 15, 285
dependence on, 121
in difficulty, 303–305
evolution and financing of, 84–85
experiencing considerable restructuring at the end of twentieth century, 305
not doing as well as its major competitors, 301
reacted by cutting capacity, 304
rebuilt after World War II, 33
reorganization of during World War I, 26
in terms of international competitiveness, 288
warning signs, 301–303
chemical plants
deficiencies identified when compared to U.S. plants, 297
fewer technically qualified personnel than in U.S., 298
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
home economy of, 301
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
limited interests in university-trained engineers, 37
modern chemical industry starting in, 22
moving in the direction of improved corporate governance, 108
organic chemicals as the most dynamic branch of exports, 426
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
petrochemical companies building larger plants, 234
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
production of chemicals, 415
replacement of the Leblanc process by the Solvay process, 290
shift to petrochemicals relatively early in, 298
shortage of instrument maintenance engineers and designers, 297
as a technology generator and innovator, 313
tensions with Germany on draft environmental regulation, 126
turnover and mean growth, 252
British Dyes Limited, 292
British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd., 27, 292
British Hydrocarbon Chemicals
British Petroleum Chemicals renamed as, 226
ethylene cracker at Grangemouth, 235
not able to erode ICI’s dominance of bulk chemicals, 299
British IG. See ICI
British Petroleum. See BP
British Petroleum Chemicals, 226
broad product diversification versus focusing on core sectors, 221
BRP (Oil Research Bureau), 278
Brunner, Mond & Co. Ltd., 27, 28, 84, 290
equipping a new laboratory at Billingham, 293
taking advantage of the Castner-Kellner process, 290
building industry, reconstruction in Germany and, 147
building investments
of Ciba, 205
of Geigy, 207
building material business, spun off by Showa Denko, 340
bulk chemicals
concentration in, 71
ICI severing its link with, 305
bulk fibers, Akzo selling off, 68
bulk plastics, headaches caused by, 65
bulk production, divestiture of facilities for, 69
bulk products, cutting back capacity for, 61
bulkware, reduced commitment to, 64
Buna. See synthetic rubber
bureaucracy as opposed to innovation, 2
bureaucratic institutions, corporations as, 2
business groups
large and diversified in Japan, 43
role in the Spanish chemical industry, 386
business portfolios
ability to quickly reshape, 106
restructuring important in reallocating, 105
businessmen in the operations of government in Britain after World War I, 293
butadiene, 176
Cagliari, suicide of, 361
Cain Chemical, 48
California, U.S. environmental policy and, 128
Caltex, 151, 319
CAMPSA, 381
Canada
chemical exports and imports, 310
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
capacity
coming on-stream several years later, 188
expansion exceeding the growth of demand in Japan, 336
capital
cheap in the U.S. in the 1990s, 58
outlays constituting powerful barriers to entry, 92
capital base
of chemical firms, 92
reconstructing BASF’s, 97
capital intensive industries, 1, 286
capital markets
Ciba-Geigy’s independence from, 217
deregulation of global, 216
liberalization of in Japan, 321
orientation of Ciba-Geigy toward the U.S., 219
Zaibatsu reliance on internal, 89
capitalist system, 1
Carbide. See Union Carbide (USA)
Carburos Metálicos, 376
Carlo Erba, 90
Carothers, Wallace H., 173
Carpenter, Walter S. Jr., 180
Carson, Rachel, 123
cartels. See also international cartels; international dyestuff cartel
chemical industry experience with, 4
difficult and dangerous to form in the U.S., 22
dissolution of agreements, 220
in Europe, 22
excluding Spain, 378
international, 28
during the interwar period, 28
lessening the impact of the depression, 196
nonrevitalization of the European and especially German tradition, 146
role in the restructuring of the chemical industry, 28–29
Cassa del Mezzogiorno, 351
Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, 351
Castner-Kellner process, 290
catalysts
in chemical reactions, 181
use of, 34
catalytic organic chemical synthesis, 160
catalytic technology for polypropylene, 244
caustic soda, 133
CEFIC (Conseil Européen des Fédérations de I’Industrie Chimique). See also European Chemical Industry
playing to its strengths using specialist resources, 132
SSCI a member of, 199
Celanese
acquisition by Hoechst, 162
exploiting a loophole in DuPont’s patent, 177
Hoechst spinning off, 164
integration of into Hoechst, 163
purchased by BASF, 77
purchased by Hoechst, 69
spin off of, 76
cellulose
derived from wood, 173
as a mysterious molecule, 173
new companies related to the manufacture of, 380
cement manufacturing at Ube Industries, 336
CEPA (Compañia Expañola de Penicilina y Antibióticos), 383, 391
antibiotics manufactured by under Merck license, 383
exclusive right to import and manufacture antibiotics in the Spanish market, 381
new ownership refusing to continue supporting scientific staff, 384
progress experienced by chemical subsidiaries, 393
Screening Program of, 384
CEPSA (Compañia Española de Petróleos), 381, 393
CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act), 127. See also Superfund
CFP (French Petroleum Company), 278
Chambers, Sir Paul, 300
Chandler, Alfred D. Jr., 2, 5
Charbonnages de France, 279
chemical(s). See also fine chemicals
accidents demonstrating high risks of production and storage of, 199
average annual growth rates in production of by country (1963–1991), 410
balance of trade, 419
EU Council Directive on classification and labeling of (1967), 124
export of by country (1952–1995), 421
index of industrial production for, 286
industrial not marketed as final products, 132
investment in, 405
legislation preventing the proliferation of dangerous, 124
making synthetically or replacing, 171
producing building-block from oil, 179
production by country (1963–1991), 409
production of, 407–419
regional shares in world trade in, 6
regulation of market entry of in Europe, 126
similar growth trend in the different branches of, 412
spectacular growth at Rhône-Poulenc, 259
U.S. tariffs for remaining prohibitive, 208
chemical artisan firms in Italy, 91
chemical assets, buying and selling in the 1990s, 186
Chemical Century, 177
chemical companies. See also chemical firms; companies; firms
competitive strategy of the world’s largest, 53–81
as each others’ best customers, 183
forming joint ventures with oil companies, 226
integrating backward, 225
largest listed in Fortune Global 500: 1995, 311
networks with SEFs, 37–41
1982 economic results for, 239
profitability of the largest (Japan and the United States: 1995), 316
ranked by sales and by profit (1960–1990), 448
strategy of chemicalization, 171
world’s top thirty, 445
chemical compounds, 170
chemical engineering
crucial to master huge cracking and refining plants, 148
expansion in Britain facilitated by, 301
generic component growing at the expense of specific practice, 173
maturation of the discipline of, 181
rise of, 35–37
role of the PhD degree, 36
chemical engineers. See also engineers
working for BASF, 293
chemical enterprises. See enterprises
chemical exports. See exports
chemical fields, moving within not easy in Japan, 325
chemical firms. See also chemical companies; companies; firms
competitive situation
in 2002, 79
in the early 1970s, 61
in the early 1980s, 66
in the early 1990s, 72
at the turn of the century, 78
consolidation of in Japan, 44
developing as divisions of conglomerates in Japan, 89
evolution of the largest in Spain, 370
gathering information from the broader network, 170
government relations or public affairs divisions of, 119
on the list of the 50 largest companies in the world, 55
market niches carved by, 90
quick changes occuring in the 1990s, 80
relying on internally generated funds in the U.S., 86
chemical imports. See imports
Chemical Industries Association, 304. See also industry associations
chemical industry, 82. See also petrochemical industry
academic studies of, 9
assumptions about what constitutes, 251
British ideas on the national importance of having a complete, 292
decline in competitiveness in Britain, 285
different paths of development by country, 412–419
diversification of oil companies into, 278
as a dynamic oligopoly, 369
earning profits above the level of all manufacturing, 405
emergence of the modern, 1
evolution during the post–World War II period, 449
evolution of the modern, 1
financial aspects of, 82
firms remaining innovative and successful, 5
geographical relocation to oil and gas-producing regions, 176
growth of, 5, 29, 97
historical structure of in the United States, 170–174
history of the world modern, 10
import penetration in, 287
international technology transfer of Japanese, 342
leaders defending their positions, 404
leaders surviving by radical restructuring, 404
maturation of, 185
maturing and then declining after World War II, 57
mid-1970s difficult years for, 237
networks in, 21–50
1970s recession for, 62
one of the best performing sectors, 385
parliamentary inquiry into in Italy, 354
passing through distinct eras, 402
petrochemicals as secondary to major strategies, 184
quantitative assessment after World War II, 407–449
R&D activities in Japan, 326
rapid growth in the postwar decades in the U.S., 183
research approaches to, 9–17
restructuring
in the 1970s, 44
and downsizing in the 1980s, 4
role of cartels, 28–29
seeking incremental learning curve–type improvements, 185
severest recession for German since the end of the Second World War, 162
strategy of exiting to focus on life-science, 71
structurally different in Japan, 42
TSCA passage as a shock for, 125
unfavorable media coverage, 129
value added per person employed in Japan, 309
World War I producing big changes in the structure of, 26
chemical investments. See investment
Chemical Manufacturers’ Association, 119
chemical networks. See networks
chemical plan, issued by the Italian government in 1971, 353
chemical plants. See plants
chemical processes. See processes
chemical processing. See processing
chemical production. See production
chemical products. See also product(s)
development of German foreign trade in, 165
imports increasing from developing countries, 409
Italy among the worst performers, 347
process technology lowering the cost of all, 184
replacing raw materials after World War II, 54
sharp decline in the demand for after World War I, 26
trade balances by country, 1980–2003, 349
trade balances, 1985–2003, 348
chemical reactions, 170
chemical research. See research
chemical sales, geographical breakdown of world, 6
chemical specialties. See specialties
chemical substances, regulating the entry of new, 126
chemical synthesis
IGF fully concentrating on, 143
path dependence in, 159–162
chemical technology. See also technology
complementary to British-style finance, 85
continuous developments of, 314
country distribution of the market for, 38
SEFs licensing of, 41
sources of, 40
chemical user industries, growing rapidly in the early 1950s, 318
chemicalization
of industry generally, 171
principles of, 171
of the Spanish economy, 387
chemical-patenting countries. See also patent(s)
ten largest 1985–1995, 337
chemicals division
fundamental transformations at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
innovation projects at Rhône-Poulenc, 266–267
Rhône-Poulenc moving toward specialties, 258
separating life-sciences operations from, 100
strategic redirection intensifying differences at Rhône-Poulenc, 271
Chemicals EDC, 304
Chemicals Mission, 292
chemicals policy of the EU, 131
“Chemicals: The Ball Is Over”, 185
chemical-trading nations, ten largest in the world: 1995, 310
Chemintell database, 40
Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron, 26
Chemische Werke Hüls, 143
chemists, institution in Spain devoted to the education of industrial, 378
Chemstrand, 183
Chevron Chemical, 340
Chiba petrochemical complex, 335
China, Japanese exports and imports, 324
Chiron, 76
Chisso, 321
Chloé, 278
chlorinated hydrocarbons, 134
chlorine, 133–136
chosen instruments
chemical firms regarded as, 115
ICI set up as, 288
Ciba, 202
annual reports of, 204
broader diversification of, 207
competition eliminated for, 196
as a dye manufacturing firm, 196
expanding
chemical works, 208
demand for shares by lowering price, 217
in an evolutionary, path-dependent way, 209
Geigy growing more rapidly than, 207
holdings in the U.S. sold in the early 1970s, 209
main product lines of, 206
merger
with Geigy, 14, 209
with Sandoz, 219
pharmaceutical division combined with Sandoz, 14
production
agrochemicals in the 1950s, 204
auxiliary and refining products for textiles, 203
pharmaceuticals, 203
strange disease in Japan linked to pharmaceuticals sold by, 210
total sales and employment in the 1950s and 1960s, 204
Ciba Aktiengesellschaft Basel. See Ciba
Ciba Specialty Chemicals, 219
Ciba-Geigy (Switzerland), 53
concentrating on the upper end of the market, 65
development since the 1970s, 213
expansion of R&D and other activities abroad, 216
formation of, 14, 202
less diversified than the German firms, 59
merging with Sandoz, 11, 81
as a multinational firm without a home market, 213
name changed to Ciba in 1992, 217
new guidelines introduced in 1990, 215
production and R&D facilities abroad, 67
pulling out of joint venture with Bayer, 69
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
in Spain in 1973, 387
total sales of, 213
CIS
involved in financing the chemical bubble, 356
standing credits to SIR-Rumianca in 1978, 358
civic traditions in Italy, 366
Clapham, Michael, 300
Clariant, 219
Claude, Georges, 275
Clean Hands, 361
cleaning products, exported by Germany, 426
client analysis approach, 267
clients
new relationships with, 268
transforming the relationship with at Rhône-Poulenc, 267
Cloratita, 376
clusters of competence, break up of, 80
CMA, government relations committee of, 126
coal
absence of in Spain, 377
displacement by oil as a feedstock, 298
exploration of a greater use of, 61
in Japan, 317
low-temperature carbonization of, 330
rapid replacement by petroleum in the Japanese chemical industry, 318
rising price for, 61
shift from to petroleum hydrocarbons, 35
coal base, shifting to oil, 403
coal business, sold by DuPont, 77
coal companies, diversifying into oil in Germany, 151
coal-mining industry in Japan, 319
Cofaz, 64
collective consumption, politics of, 117–118
colonial aggression
new zaibatsu as a political target for, 331
by newly emerged groups in World War II, 318
combustion plants, purification of, 211
commercial banks. See banks
commercial influence, pre–Second World War spheres of, 114
commercial skills, weak in Spain, 398
commercialization competencies of Japanese chemical companies, 309
Commission. See EC
commodities
leading advantage in, 60
net divestors in, 105
production of, 281
strategies to shift from a focus on, 68
as a strategy during the 1970s, 56
commodities businesses
acquisitions of reducing R&D intensity, 105
operating, 106
commoditization of chemicals, 100
commodity chemicals
firms focusing on, 48
restructuring difficult in Japan, 337
Compañia Expañola de Penicilina y Antibióticos. See CEPA
companies. See also firms
increasing control of international in Spain, 392
of national interest in Spain, 377
company research labs, scientific recognition of, 273
Compart, 363
compensation claims, fight against by Union Carbide, 74
competition
aging industries characterized by enhanced, 58
drivers of, 57
increased
in every market segment after World War II, 34
by protectionist policies, 27
by innovation, 274
intense in the chemical industry, 185
opening world markets for, 56
competitive component
of corporate strategy, 56
competitive situation
of chemical firms
in the early 1970s, 61
in the early 1980s, 66
in the early 1990s, 72
at the turn of the century, 78
on the market for chemicals in 2002, 79
competitive strategies
environment of, 57–60
product- and market-related categories of, 56
of the world’s largest chemical companies, 53–81
competitive weaknesses in Britain, 286
competitiveness in the share of the production of chemicals, 412
competitors, based on crude and backed with state capital, 63
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. See CERCLA
computer controls, reducing work forces, 4
computer manufacturing, compared to the chemical industry, 8
concentration in Germany in 1990s, 162
concurrent engineering
developed at Rhône-Poulenc, 267
development process for pharmaceuticals and, 272
project organization allowing for, 274
conglomerate membership in Japan, 98
conglomerate structure, keeping Japanese chemical firms smaller, 98
Conoco
joint venture with Monsanto, 62
purchase by DuPont, 63
sold by DuPont, 77
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 384
consolidation
in the chemicals industry, 186
via mergers in the U.S. in the 1920s, 86
Consolidation Coal, 63
Consorcio Quimico Español
formed by Cros, UEE and industrial banks, 383
purchasing Bayer and Schering, 383
constituent enterprises. See enterprises
construction project
manager, 260
for new production facilities, 260
continuous production. See production
co-operative capitalism in Germany, 25
co-operative networks. See also networks
U.S. firms management under during World War II, 32
coordination failure in Britain, 85
core fields, expanding market share in, 163
Corian cast acrylic business, 188
corporate governance
as an element shaping restructuring, 108
new mode becoming the norm in the Anglo-Saxon world, 102
systems explaining the evolution of the chemical industry, 83
variations in corporate governance, 102
corporate investor. See also investor
dependence on financing from, 90
corporate raiders, 185
corporate strategy. See also strategy
change during the 1990s, 55
competitive component of, 56
fields comprehended by, 57
corporations
foreign producing in Italy, 347
Italy not having a talent for large, 365
large indispensable for the chemical industry, 366
restructuring of large, 44
strategies followed by, 2
corporatist approach to policy making, 293
corruption of Italian political parties, 361
Cosmair, 276
cost-leadership
firms searching for after the second oil shock, 63
related to technical leadership, 56
Verbund as a key for BASF, 77
Council on Environmental Quality (U.S.), 124
Courtaulds, 74, 84
cracking facilities
owned by Borealis, 248
set up by BASF, 63
creative destruction in the petrochemical cycle, 403
creativity, during the petrochemical cycle, 403
Credito Italiano, 90
Cros, 371
manufacturer of phosphate fertilizers, 376
in 1973, 387
as a suitable interlocutor for the I.G., 380
cross-border restructuring (1985–1997), 104
cross-national policy learning, 129
cross-ownership of companies in Italy, 352
crude oil. See oil
Cuccia, Enrico, 58
customer markets, end of the paradigm of noninterference with, 155–156
cyclical products, strategies to stop offering, 67
Cynamides Convention in Germany, 28
Dainippon Ink & Chemical Japan, 311
Daikyowa Petrochemical, 321
Dainippon Ink & Chemical, 316
Dart, 237
DDT, discovery of, 175
debt
dangers of financing, 404
financing Italian expansion into petrochemicals, 97
as an important source of finance for acquisition, 106
debt-to-equity ratio from takeovers and leveraged buyouts, 107
deconcentration of IGF. See IG Farben
Degussa
entry into top league, 81
foreign direct investment, 154
largest producer in special chemicals worldwide, 78
receiving crucial support from bankers, 88
Denmark, consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in Britain, 292
Department of the Environment (UK), 123
depressed areas, ICI willingness to start business in, 296
depression
Swiss chemical industry less affected by, 196
worsening in the Japanese petrochemical industry, 323
deregulation of financial markets, 102
deutsche mark, revaluation, 158
developing nations
building their own petrochemical facilities, 323
catching-up in basic, commodity chemicals, 314
development. See also petrochemical development
costs, compensating for, 272
partnerships
establishment at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
with research laboratories upstream, 273
planning, governed by the regulatory system in pharmaceuticals, 273
plans, launched in Spain, 385
Distillers Company, 226
distribution channels of German firms, 24
distribution methods of L’Oréal, 276
diversification
achieved by buying foreign firms, 214
corporate growth by in Japan, 314
Keiretsu limiting, 98
narrow for Japanese chemical companies, 309
replaced by a strategy of focusing on core sectors, 221
strategies of German firms, 23
by Ube Industries, 341
diversified group, Rhône-Poulenc as, 254
divestitures at Rhône-Poulenc in the 1980s, 261
DKB group, 310
Docker, Dudley, 293
domestic demand for industrial and consumer chemicals in Spain, 386
domestic economic management, state seeking new roles to replace, 117
domestic market. See also home market
abandoned by German chemical companies, 165
insufficient size of Spain’s, 370
for multinational firms in Basle, 222
as the target for petrochemicals in Japan, 319
Donegani, lack of an adequate successor to, 349
Dop shampoo, 276
Dormann, Jürgen, 75, 163
Dow Chemical Company (USA), 53
capital stock tripled prior to the 1970s, 92
compensation to victims of silicon breast implants, 74
concentrating on fibers, 59
concentration on specialties and pharmaceuticals, 64
diversification in chlorine and petrochemicals, 31
in ethylene and polyolefins, 186
expanding divisions, 68
financing growth, 95
investment into raw-materials, 63
joint venture with DuPont, 76
leading position in PVC, 178
merger with Union Carbide, 81
not licensing everything, 182
oil and gas subsidiary, 180
overcoming major financial problems, 86
plants sold by, 107
R&D intensity, 100
research intensity, 106
return on profit (1995), 316
sales of plastics, 177
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
downstream chemical users, developing rapidly in the Japanese domestic market, 322, 331
downstream fabricators, 177
Dreibund (Union of Three), 25
Dreiverban (Association of Three), 25
drug firms. See pharmaceutical companies
drugs, development of new, 100
DSM, scrapping polyethylene capacity, 239
DuPont (E.I.) de Nemours (USA), 53
academic chemists, hiring, 173
academic world, interacting extensively with, 37
acquisition of less efficient companies, 30
black powder replaced by dynamite and smokeless powder, 171
as a cellulose processing company, 173
cellulose products, diversification of, 31
Chemstrand actively recruited by, 183
Corian cast arylic business established by, 188
down hill slide of, 189
energy firms purchase in 1981, 63
family control of, 99
fibers facilities, closing of, 65
genetically modified seeds, outlet for, 188
high value-added new products, 184
ICI agreement with, 27
on the list of the 50 largest companies in the world, 55
new product efforts absorbing huge amounts of money with very little return, 187
not licensing everything, 182
not-competing-with-its-customers, 188
petrochemicals, backward integration into, 184
polymers and intermediates, earnings from, 177
R&D
effort to commercialize Delrin polyacetal resin, 177
intensity, 100
investment during the 1920s and 1930s, 86
restructuring focusing on life-science and specific chemicals and fibers, 76
return on profit (1995), 316
sales increasing but not profits, 445
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
scientific understanding of products and processes, 173
semiautonomous operating divisions, 172
strategy
holding to traditional, 188
struggling to adopt a new, 13
synthetic fiber, development of, 177
Dutch Windmill Group, 64
dye producers, 26
dyes
based on similar organic intermediates, 23
decreasing as Swiss exports, 200
DyeStar, 77
dyestuffs
British textile trade and, 291
difficulties faced by in Britain, 291
international cartel, 28, 196
shortages of leading to government intervention in Britain, 291
Dyestuffs Import Regulation Act of 1921, 26
dynamic oligopoly, world chemical industry as, 369
Dyno Industrier, 233
DyStar, 75
East Germany, development compromised in, 144
Eastman Chemical, 316
East-West partition of Germany, 142
EC (European Commission)
controversy with CEFIC over the cost of risk assessment, 132
Directive on Dangerous Substances in the Aquatic Environment (76/464), 128
Directives
76/403 banning PCBs in open applications, 134
82/501 on the prevention of major accidents, 127
96/59 controlling the disposal of PCBs, 134
Fourth Environmental Programme (1987) tightening environmental standards, 129
proposals for REACH, 132
White Paper on EU policy for chemicals (2001), 132
Eckstut, Michael, 71
ecological issues, 58
ecological modernization theory, 121
ecological transformation and restructuring, 121
economic bureaucracy in Spain, 386
economic conditions, slowing learning processes at Rhône-Poulenc, 271
economic downturn for Ciba-Geigy, 211
economic excellence, models of at Rhône-Poulenc, 262
economic nationalism in Spain after World War I, 378
economies of scale
available from increases in petrochemical plant size, 225
cyclical effects challenging the strategy of at Rhône-Poulenc, 262
as a fundamental feature of the petrochemical industry, 234
German chemical industry turning to, 159
project management for, 259–261
Edison
diversification into chemicals, 350
entry in petrochemicals, 97
merger with Montecatini, 350
private Italian electrical company, 350
privatization of electricity in Italy, 363
educational and scientific institutions, size and quality of in Spain, 370
EEA (European Economic Area), 199
EEC as a favored field of expansion by German companies, 152–153
EEU
Swiss chemical industry exports delivered to, 198
Swiss objection against joining, 197
efficacy tests for pharmaceuticals, 273
efficiency
applying to environmental and safety concerns, 404
broadened definition of, 404
Egbert, Bob, 181
E. I. DuPont de Nemours (USA). See DuPont (E.I.) de Nemours (USA)
Ekofisk petroleum field
changing the course of Norwegian history, 231
gas sold to consortium of European buyers, 232
in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, 231
elastomers, DuPont joint venture with Dow for, 76
electrochemical background of Showa Denko, 330
electrochemicals in Japan, 317
electrolysis process, 290
Electro-Quimica de Flix, 371
Elf
created to exploit petroleum, 278
development of chemicals in, 278
privatized by the French government, 279
resulting from the consolidation of three entities, 278
starting to take over CEPSA, 391
Elf Aquitaine, 277
Elf Atochem, 255
Elkem-Spigerverket, 233
emission limits approach to water pollution, 128
employees. See also personnel
of CIBA, 204
of Ciba-Geigy, 213
of Geigy, 206
of Novartis, 219
of the Swiss chemical industry, 198, 202
employment
in the chemical industry in Britain, 286
commitment to maintaining full, 116
decreased at the new Ciba, 218
in the foreign affiliates of Ciba, 204
in the Italian chemical industry, 347
permanent working as an exit barrier in Japan, 324
in the production of chemicals by branch and total manufactures (1970–1990), 443
Swiss share of at Ciba-Geigy, 214
in the total production of chemicals and manufactures (1970–1990), 444
Empresa de Polimeros de Sines S.A., 246
Ems-Chemi of Switzerland, 341
ENCASO (Empresa Nacional Calvo Sotelo)
commercializing some lubricants and catalysts in the 1970s, 390
establishing a refinery (ENTASA) at Taragona, 387
producing synthetic fuel out of bituminous coal, 381
research department of, 390
end markets, German big players refraining from entering, 156
Energia e Industrias Aragonesas EIA, 376, 396
engineering contractors, some process innovators as, 235
engineering firms. See also SEFs
advantages over their clients, 182
benefiting from constant feedback, 182
loss of control over process technologies, 181
role in Spain, 386
engineering staff, shortage of in Britain, 297
engineers. See also chemical engineers
demand for university-trained, 36
ENI
absorbing plants of SIR-Rumianca and Liquichimica, 357
acquiring a large share of Montedison stocks, 351
agreement with Montedison, 357
asset swaps, 109
formation of, 350
joint venture with Montedison, 73
loans from ICIPU, 357
market situation of, 359
reorganizing its chemical division, 361
resources of the chemical division of, 357
second agreement with, 360
trying to exit, 16
EniChem, 357, 361, 362
Enichimica, 357
Enimont
formation of, 73, 360
world positioning of, 360
ENI-Montedison, 358–367
ENPETROL, 391
ENTASA, 387
Enterprise Reconstruction and Reorganization Law of 1950, 332
enterprises
allocating according to a scheme by Michael Porter, 60
development of all-around in Japan, 325–327
leading today’s global chemical industry, 5
merger within a group difficult in Japan, 315
strategy of, 54
underlining global identity, 56
entrepreneurial conservatism of zaibatsu groups, 317
entrepreneurial firms
in Japan, 89
seeing opportunities for developing processes and plants, 181
Environment and Consumer Protection Service, 123
environmental agenda, 123–124
environmental and safety concerns, applying efficiency, 404
environmental controls, 2
environmental issues
international organizations concerned with, 199
public demand for action on, 117
environmental policy
chemical industry and, 118–121
development of, 12
in the EU and the U.S., 124–129
in terms of distinctive policy sectors and initiatives, 118
incorporated into the standard political agenda, 123
environmental problems, 11
environmental protection
demands with regard to in Switzerland, 198
society’s increasing concern for, 210
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). See EPA
environmental regulation
before 1970, 121–123
framework action above the national level, 115
in Germany, 128
environmentalists, pressure on shareholders, 136
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
formation of, 123
tracking industrial chemicals, 124
Equal Opportunities for Worthy Competitors, 320
equity base, constructed to volatility of debt levels, 92
equity capital, raising for BASF, 97
equity markets, 102, 108
Ercros, 393
Erdölchemie (EC), formed by Bayer and BP, 150
Erdölchemie GmbH, 226
Erkimia, recovering from a stormy period, 393
Esso
building a new ethylene cracker at Mossmorran in Scotland, 239
cracker in Stenungsund, 244
never able to erode ICI’s dominance of bulk chemicals, 299
Esteve, 398
établissements des Frères Poulenc, 255
ethanol, produced by MoDo, 227
ethylene
crackers
closure in Western Europe, 239
doubling the capacity of, 228
in Finland, 229
in Sweden, 227
domestic manufacturing of in Japan, 320
price soaring as a result of the second oil-shock, 62
producers of in Britain, 299
producing facility launched by Nippon Petrochemicals, 339
production, 285
existing producers forced to add capacity in Japan, 322
Japanese companies building ever larger facilities for, 332
Mitsui’s entry into, 332
slower growth of demand, 322
supplied to Hoechest, 151
Ube Industries relying on outside suppliers for, 335
ethylene oxide, 181
Ethylène Plastique, 236
EU (European Union)
breakdown by activity sector in 2000, 253
chemical industry, growth of, 5
chemical products, percentage of world output, 5
chemicals policy as too complex and cumbersome, 131
Council Directive (67/548) on classification and labeling of chemicals, 124
credibility of system assessing the risks of chemicals, 131
environment, experiences with, 12
environmental policy, development of, 124–129
environmental sophistication, high levels of, 12
firms
acquiring U.S. companies, 46
diversifying in specialty chemicals, 46
German chemicals industry, regarded as a domestic market by, 153
Germany leadership role in environmental policy, 128
market, forming a unified, 60
mean growth 1990–2000, 252
political debate about Norway joining, 231
regulation drawn up at the European level, framework and content of, 115
as the regulator state, 117
Spain integration into since 1986, 392
Euro Chlor, agreement not to use the mercury process, 135
Europe. See also specific countries; Western Europe
acquisitions in the chemical sector, 47
antitrust policy, 22
chemical industry, pressures on, 130–133
chemical industry, reshaping the structure of, 103
chemical producers, reorganization of existing, 48
chemical-producing firms, transformation of leading, 8
concentration reduction after World War II, 32
corporate governance structures, moving toward effective, 108
countries increasingly able to trade free from bureaucratic controls, 197
diversification towards chemicals with higher value added, 364
EEU and the EFTA, division into, 197
employees wedded to their company, 59
entry barriers, lowering after World War II, 32
formation of new companies less pronounced, 48
global chemical products, highly competitive status in, 15
home market not homogeneous, 60
restructuring driven by market and government intervention, 44
European Chemical Industry, 120. See also CEFIC
European Community Paris Summit (1972), 123
European companies
intense cross-border restructuring activity of, 104
relying on debt for financing, 92
European conventions for grouping sectors of activity, 252
European Economic Area, 216
European Environmental Bureau, 131
European Union. See EU
Euro-plant (Euro-Fabriken), 153
evolutionary phases of the Japanese chemical industry, 317–325
Exchange Rate Mechanism, joined by Britain, 304
exchange rates
destabilizing of, 199
fluctuations, 212, 215
exit strategies from the chemical industry, 71, 81
exiting
from commodity petrochemicals, 338
from petrochemicals in Japan, 324
expansion
abroad by the German chemical industry, 152
of the British chemical industry, 301
explosives
importance to war effort, 291
scientific and technological base shared with dyes, 26
exports
Britain, exceeding imports in, 287
of chemicals
by branch (1952–1992), 420
by country, 419
growing faster than overall exports, 419
markets once again dominated by Hoescht, BASF, and Bayer, 156
Swiss
geographical distribution of, 201
rising from 1953 onwards, 197
Swiss chemical industry
composition of, 200
share in total industrial, 200
external growth at Rhône-Poulenc, 258
external relations at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
Federal Ministry for Research (Germany), 160
Federation of British Industries, 293, 294
Federation of German Industries (BDI), 132
Federation of the British Dyestuffs Industry, 294
feedstocks
imports into Japan after World War II, 312
poor economic performance in spite of cheap, 239
rising costs of, 158
FEFASA, 381
fermentation technology, 298
Ferrara plant, 363
Ferrer Internacional, 392, 398
Ferruzzi, 70
assisting Schimberni, 58
core business of merged into Montedison, 363
debts of, 363
Montedison taken over by, 359
reconstruction to form the Compart-group, 73
Ferruzzi, Serafino, 359
Fertiberia, 396
fertilizers
as a big loser of the 1970s in Germany, 157
division sold by Rhône-Poulenc, 70
Hydro as the largest producer of, 68
lowest export growth rates, 421
new companies related to the manufacture of, 380
FIAT, Bonomi-group of, 58
fiber cartel, 157
fiber crisis, 157
fiber intermediates, BASF as the world’s greatest supplier of, 147
fibers market, reconstruction of, 65
Fina, 278, 279
finance
efficiency in, 404
industrial developed in Italy along the German model, 90
reliance on internal in Japan, 98
financial aspects of the chemical industry, 82
financial firms
created to engineer the purchase of plants in commodity chemicals, 103
organized to acquire petrochemical plants, 106
financial innovation, 404. See also innovation
financial institutions, state owned long term in Italy, 351
financial markets
discipline very weak from Japanese, 324
enabling restructuring, 106
regulatory changes in, 100
financial policy
impacting the financing of growth, 92
new adopted for Ciba-Geigy, 217
financial problems, restructuring in the 1970s, 11
financial questions, important to the chemical industry, 58
financial system. See also national financial systems
instrumental in the first industrialization of Germany, 87
retarding development in Japan, 89
financing, crucial for maintaining leadership at the firm level, 83
Finaneste S.A., 246
Fine Chemical Division, organized by Mitsui Toatsu, 339
fine chemicals. See also chemical(s)
European diversification toward, 364
rate of production of, 409
Finland
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
development of the petrochemical industry in, 14
first petrochemical plant in, 229–231
import of polyolefins, PVC, and polystyrene 1965–1972, 230
Montefibre sold to in 1996, 362
petrochemical plants on the edge of being uncompetitive, 234
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
firms. See also chemical firms; companies
strategic agreements among, 21
firm-to-firm networks, reducing distribution costs, 25
First Chemical Industries, 339
first phase of the Japanese chemical industry, 317–318
First Plan
clarifying the overall purpose of petrochemicals, 319
formalized in Japan, 319
formalized in July 1950 in Japan, 42
Flamm, Alec, 63, 70
Fluor, 235
FMC, 316
FNCE (Fabricación Nacional de Colorantes y Explosivos), 371
back into the hands of its founders, 383
example of limitations faced by Spanish firms, 378
fee paid to the Unión Española de Explosivos, 379
goals of, 378
as great business for both sides, 379
paying a fee to EQ de Flix, 379
without a consistent support from the state, 380
without minimal technological capabilities, 380
follower countries in Europe, 16
Fondiaria, 363
food, gene-manipulated, 73
foreign affiliates for Ciba, 205
foreign employees, political pressure to restrict the number of in Switzerland, 209
foreign firms, generating usable technology for Japanese companies, 315
foreign investment. See also investment
flourishing in Spain, 377
of the German chemical industry, 165
as an instrument for technological transfer in Spain, 386
massive in Spain, 385
of the Swiss chemical industry, 222
foreign participation, general rule forbidding in Spanish firms, 380
foreign shareholders. See also shareholders
registration rules allowing the exclusion of, 217
standards, norms and aspirations of, 221
foreign suppliers, dependence on by the Swiss, 201
foreign technologies, Japanese chemical industry remaining dependent on, 417
foreign technology. See also technology
as cheaper and more efficient than research and innovation, 383
importation and incremental improvement of the latest by the Japanese, 313
foreigness of European economies to each other, 152
Foret, 376
forward integration
by the IGF-successors, 156
into specific end-product manufacture, 188
Fosfatbolaget, 228
Foster Wheeler, 386
Fourtou, Jean René, 262
fragmentation
of the Italian chemical industry, 97
in Italy, 91
reinforced in the U.S., 85
France
breakdown by activity sector in 2000, 253
CFP, involvement in, 278
chemical exports, 419, 426
by branch (1952–1992), 432
and imports, 310
chemical industry, reorganization, 255, 279
chemical production by branch (1970–1990), 417
chemicals
growth rates in the production of (1963–1991), 410
production of, 412, 417
Ciba-Geigy research center established in, 216
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
European chemical industry, ranked second in, 251
export market share, relatively stable, 421
German chemicals industry. as a sales market for, 153
investors in Spain, 387
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
merger strategy, 14
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
petrochemicals, best performance in, 410
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
Rhône-Poulenc, saving, 64
SEF licensing, market share of (1980–1990), 39
SEFs’ services, percentage of total market of, 39
specialization index of the gross output of chemicals, 411
specializations in the chemicals trade (1952–1992), 433
specializing in perfumes and cleaning goods, 449
total manufactures (1963–1991), 410
Total, reduction in direct participation in the capital of, 279
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
turnover and mean growth, 252
value added per worker in the production of chemicals (1963–1990), 441
Franco’s ideological industrial policy, 382
Franco’s regime, 380
French Oil Institute, 381, 390
Friends of the Earth (UK), 123
fuel oil sales, expansion in Germany from 1957, 148
Fuji Photo & Film, 311
functional capabilities, shared by Japanese chemical companies, 315–317
Furukawa Petrochemical, 320
Fuyo group, 310
GAF, 71, 107
Gallego, Antonio, 383, 384
Gardini, Raul, 359
readiness to become boss of the Italian chemical industry, 360
selling share of Enimont to ENI, 361
suicide of, 361
Geigy, 202
annual reports of, 204
competition eliminated for, 196
concentrated more on the U.S. market than Ciba, 207
decision to produce pharmaceuticals, 204
as a dye manufacturing firm, 196
expanding in an evolutionary, path-dependent way, 209
growing more rapidly than Ciba, 207
main product lines, 207
merger with Ciba, 209
production of auxiliary and refining products for textiles, 203
total sales, 206
General Headquarters, advisory panel for in Japan, 319
general purpose technology of the chemical sector, 36
generics within pharmaceuticals at Ciba-Geigy, 214
genetic engineering, merger with biotechnology, 161
genetically modified seed, opposition to in Europe, 186
Genex, 339
geographical diversification. See also diversification
at Geigy, 207
maintained, 221
of Swiss exports, 201
geographical expansion for further growth, 67
geographical sales areas at the new Ciba, 218
German Chemicals Law of 1980, 127
Germany. See also West Germany
bank-centered system, traditional resistant to change, 109
chemical engineering, resisting as an autonomous discipline, 37
chemical exports and imports, 310
chemical industry
after World War II, 141–167
continuing to move abroad, 165
effects of the oil price crisis, 157
evolution and financing of, 87–88
failing to recognize the potential of biotechnology, 159
and manufacturing production growing, 410
1980s as the peak years for, 415
postwar (World War II), 33
protracted success of, 12
quick recovery in the 1950s, 145
reconstruction of, 145–146
state dependent on during World Wars, 121
technocratic culture in, 146–147
transformation of coal to organic products, 148
turning to cheap mass production and economies of scale, 158
World Wars strongly affecting, 415
chemical plants, absolute size for, 441
chemical production
by branch (1963–1991), 414
by branch (1970–1990), 415
chemicals
average annual growth rates in the production of (1963–1991), 410
export by branch (1952–1992), 424, 425
production of, 415
production of (1968–1989), 412
draft environmental regulation, tension with Britain over, 126
East-West partition of, 142
employment in the total production of chemicals and manufactures (1970–1990), 444, 445
environmental regulation, 128
exports of chemicals (1952–1992), 419
firms
distribution channels of, 24
importing for both sides during the Spanish civil war, 380
investment in marketing capabilities, 24
profitability of, 163
spillages into the Rhine and Main, 129
technical assistance offered by, 24
industrial chemicals, best performance in, 410
international chemicals, best performance in, 415
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
licensing agreements, 40
linkages between government and chemical firms, 26
manufacturing abroad compared to Japan’s expert orientation, 16
oil shocks in the 1970s, absorbing effects of, 157, 410
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
petroleum, best VA in, 434
Second World War devastating for, 31
SEFs’ services, percentage of total market of, 39
Spaniards viewed as not technically capable partners, 379
specializations in the chemicals trade (1952–1992), 427
specializing in dyes, tanning, and color product, 449
technical education, 289
technological lead remaining substantial after World War I, 292
as a technology generator and innovator, 313
total manufactures (1963–1991), 410
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
turnover and mean growth, 252
value added per worker in the production of chemicals (1963–1990), 441
world leader
in exporting chemicals, 426
in the synthetic organic sector by the eve of World War I, 23
Gesparal holding company, 277
Giegy, 14
global capital markets. See capital markets
global market orientation, 220
global organization of the chemical industry, 120
globalization
continuing
during the 1970s for Ciba-Geigy, 212
during the 1980s for Ciba-Geigy, 215
for the new Ciba, 218
reducing national differences, 72
Global-500 list of 2002, 81
Gore, W. L., 188
governance structures, required by businesses, 83
government. See also national governments
controversial industrial and trade policies implemented in Spain, 370
high dependence on chemical industries, 115
interference in the health section, 215
intervention by in Italy, 366
low-cost loans from in Japan, 332
policy
British chemical industry as a whole unhappy about, 304
in Japan, 312–313
relations of chemical firms, 119
role of in the chemical industry, 50
gray list, 128
Great Britain. See Britain; UK
Great War. See World War I
green consumerism, 135
Green Party, 127
green states in the EU, 128
Greenpeace
call for a phase-out of the production of chlorine, 135
effect on Shell, 73
Grenzgänger, 209
group affiliation of Japanese enterprises, 325
group enterprise organization, developed after World War II in Japan, 314
group membership, guaranteeing stable growth, 314
group structure as an obstacle for external corporate growth in Japan, 314
growth
modified strategy for Ciba-Geigy in the early 1980s, 214
orientation toward becoming dysfunctional and harmful, 315
possibilities for further, 67
rate by volume from 1990 to 2000, 252
side effect of unfettered in the German chemical industry, 146
growth-oriented investment behavior of managerial enterprises, 315
Gulf, 97
Gulf Coast, Dow move to, 180
Gulf Oil, 239
Haber-Bosch process, 292
Haberland, Ulrich, 146
Hafslund, 233
hair dyes, market for, 276
Hansen, Kurt, 145, 163
Hanson, Lord, 69
Hanson Trust, 109
hardware stores as the principal network for chemical products in France, 255
Harvey-Jones, Sir John, 304
hausbank system, 109
hazardous chemical use and exposure, 128
hazardous substances, 124, 127
HDPE (high-density-poly-ethylene), 67, 230
health sector, 274, 275
heavy chemicals team of the Anglo-American Productivity Council, 296
heavy inorganic industry, Spanish industry dominated by, 385
Henderson, Sir Denys, 57
Henkel, 78
entry into top league, 81
expansion strategy into the EEC, 153
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
Henkel, Jost, 155
Henkel, Konrad, 155
Hercules
acquisition of less efficient companies, 30
joint ventures
with ENI-Montedison, 359
with Sumitomo Chemical, 340
net gain or loss as a percent on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
Heyman, Sam, 107
Hibernia, oil-refinery, 151
Hidro-Nitro, 381
high production volume testing program, 130
Hilger, Wolfgang, 67
Himont
affiliate of Montedison, 70
considered for sale, 363
formation of, 359
joint venture with Statoil, 245
Statoil licensing agreement with, 244
Hoechst (Germany), 53
accidents during reconstruction of, 75
American subsidiaries, 154
bankers, receiving crucial support from, 88
BASF’s dominating position, winning back independence from, 144
behind American competitors before World War II, 142
in the big three in 1980, 445
Celanese, purchase of, 69
coal to oil move, 150
coatings division purchased by DuPont, 77
concentration
on pharmaceuticals and specialties, 163
on the upper end of the market, 65
confrontation with the workforce, 59
fibers as a pillar of profit, 65
HDPE production, 157
Health division sale to Rhône-Poulenc, 258
industrial accidents leading to the demise of, 58
investment-policy of, 147
joint ventures
with Bayer, 75
with Courtaulds, 74
with Mitsubishi for paints, 69
Kuwait, agreement with, 63
on the list of the 50 largest companies in the world, 55
merging
pharmaceutical division into Aventis, 11
with Rhône-Poulenc, 13, 74, 76, 81
net gain or loss as a percent on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
pain-reliever Antipyrin, 23
penicillin production, 142
pharmaceuticals
moving further into, 147
successful in the 1980s, 162
polypropylene division, 77
production and R&D facilities abroad, 67
reconstruction of the European economies, exploiting the growth potential of, 97
reemergence in the 1950s, 32
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
selling more in the U.S. than in Germany, 162
Streptomycin production, 143
synthetic fibers, developing a wide array of, 177
technology followers, starting as, 23
truncation of, 75
Uhde, sale of, 80
University of Erlangen, link with, 25
West German polyethylene capacity, intending to reduce, 239
Hoechst Life Sciences, 253
Hoffman-La Roche, 202
dioxin release at Seveso, 127
specializing in pharmaceuticals from the start, 196
home market, 59. See also domestic market
Hong Kong, Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
horizontal characteristics of the chemical industry’s environmental impact, 119
hostile takeovers, unheard of in Japan, 110
Houdry, Eugene, 179
HPV testing program, 130
Hüls, 151
Huntsman, 5, 48
Hydro
concentrating on fertilizers, 59
emergency exit constructed by, 81
entry into oil and gas, 62
oil as the most important earner, 63
performance determined by the price of crude, 68
reducing chemical side, 78
hydrogen chloride, large-scale emissions of, 122
hydrogen peroxide, 341
hydrogenation lubricants, 390
hydrogenation plants
from coal-based, 150
Leuna ending up in the Russian zone, 142
never put back in use in West Germany, 142
IBYS, 376
ICCRI, 358
ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries), 53
alliances with other firms, 27
BP Chemicals, asset swapping deal with, 239
Britain, as the industrial flagship in, 288
British chemical industry, remaining dominant in, 299–301
capital stock doubled prior to the 1970s, 92
change throughout the 1990s, 305
changes in, 11
competition in the global market, 15
concerns about in the 1960s, 303
cracker, building a large, 234
cracking plant at Wilton, 299
de-merger within, 100
division in 1992 into two businesses, 109
dyes cartel, 29
engineers, limited interests in university-trained, 37
European Vinyls joint venture with Enichem, 247
explosives, computer-aided optimization system for, 45
as exponent of a certain set of ideas and defender of the central role of manufacturing, 301
financing growth, 96
focus on special products and geographical diversity, 69
formation of, 27, 294–296
government relationship damaged by the election of Mrs. Thatcher, 304
hostile takeover bid, split after, 73
industrial chemicals businesses, selling remaining, 305
inventions, key, 295
investment plans, cutbacks in, 302
joint ventures
with A. P. Møller, 228
with Enichem, 45
LDPE market, withdrawing from, 239
on the list of the 50 largest companies in the world, 55
management capabilities after World War II coupled with lack of capital, 33
merger as a matter of public policy, 295
model of setting up the company as a “chosen instrument,” 288
net gain or loss as a percent on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
in 1960, 445
Nitrogen Cartel, 29
Patents and Process Agreement with DuPont, 27
pharmaceuticals business, selling off, 305
Phillips Petroleum, joining forces with, 225
political relations handled well by, 298
polyethylene, exiting from, 45
polypropylene business in Western Europe exchanged for BASF’s acrylics operations, 247
research, investing a smaller share of profits in, 85
sales
decreasing profits on total, 445
profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
success, seen as a remarkable, 288
tripartite, characterized as, 300
ICIPU
bankruptcy of, 357
financed by Mediobanca and IMI, 356
founded to finance public utilities, 356
loans to all chemical companies, 356
loans to the chemical industry 1963–1977, 357
standing credits to SIR-Rumianca in 1978, 358
Idemitsu Petrochemical, 321
IFE (Instituto Español de Farmacologia), 384
IG. See Interessen-Gemeinschaft
IG agreement among the three dye producers, Ciba, Geigy, and Sandoz, 203
IG Farben, 27
agreements with other firms, 27
assets confiscated without any compensation, 32
broken apart in the early 1950s, 32
central to the political economy of the Third Reich, 121
chemical industry’s entanglement with, 183
dyes cartel, 28
effects of World War II, 141
in the Electro-Quimica de Flix EQF (with Cros) and FNCE, 371
establishment in 1925 in Germany, 294
harmless in the three Western zones of occupation, 144
heirs of in 1973, 387
initiating programs to improve scientific understanding, 173
linked to war crimes, 32
Nitrogen Cartel, 29
as a partner to FNCD, 379
policy of change with roots in the pre-war era, 143
I.G. Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft. See IG Farben
IGF successors. See also BASF; Bayer; Hoechst
beginning to unfold a full-range portfolio, 156
exploring the potential of petrochemical technology, 148
Ilford, 214
IMI
credit with Montedison, ANIC, and SIR-Rumianca, 356
in dire straits by 1979, 357
as the principal financial institution involved with SIR, 351
standing credits to SIR-Rumianca in 1978, 358
immature technological competence of Japan, 313
Imperial Chemical Industries. See ICI
Import Duties Act of 1932 in Britain, 26
import penetration
in the chemical and manufacturing industries in Britain, 287
of the Italian chemical market, 347
in plastics, 305
rise in after 1970, 286
imports
after World War II in Japan, 312
geographical distribution of Swiss, 201
Inabata & Co., 340
incident driven interface between government and environment, 119
incidents, leading to unfavorable media coverage, 129
industrial accidents, 58
industrial capitalism, 2
industrial chemicals, not marketed as final products, 132
industrial flagship company, 288
industrial gases, 275
industrial needs, university focus on, 36
industrial politicians, defeating the productioneers in Britain, 293
industrial relations in cooperative minded environments, 59
industrial research laboratories. See also research
developed by German chemical firms, 88
industrial securities. See securities
industrialization of Spain, 385, 392
industries. See also national industry
capital intensive, 1
scholarly studies, 10
industry associations, 50, 119. See also Chemical Industries Association
Industry Structure Council, 323
inflation
as a fundamental problem, 116
periods with high, 212
information age, 4
information barrier for a bureaucratic organization, 312
information leaks, 34
in-house development
by large companies, 41
as a source of technology, 40
INI (Instituto Nacional de Industria), 381
monopolistic ambitions and obstructions of, 381
trying to get American economic and technical assistance, 390
innovation. See also financial innovation; organizational innovation; repeated innovation
competition by, 274
cyclical nature of, 403
differences between pharmaceuticals and chemicals at Rhône-Poulenc, 271–274
impact on capitalist systems, 403
from investments in research in the U.S., 414
L’Oréal basing new products on technical, 276
management of at Rhône-Poulenc, 258
no Spanish company making a relevant contribution to, 369
not initially very well understood, 170
potential for, 405
regaining linkages with downstream markets, 34
shifting the competitive advantage of firms, 23
slowing in pharmaceuticals, 405
Spanish government’s first enduring efforts to foster, 393
transformation related to at Rhône-Poulenc, 262
innovation project management
as means of integration at Rhône-Poulenc, 262–265
specificities of, 267–271
innovation projects
in the chemical division at Rhône-Poulenc, 266–267
distinctive characteristics of for pharmaceuticals, 271
innovative activities, environmental concerns changing selection criteria for, 211
innovative capabilities, 400
innovators, required for the second Industrial Revolution, 288
inorganic chemical firms, 22
inorganic chemicals
lowest export growth rates, 421
Spain an exporter of, 385
U.S. production, 29
inorganic sector, pricing in, 23
insecticides, Geigy R&D for, 203
Institut Quimic de Sarrià, 378
institutional investors. See also investors
as important shareholders of industrial firms, 102
shift to today’s oversight by, 99
institutionalization of environmental concerns and agendas, 123
Instituto Español de Farmacologia (IFE), 384
Instituto Nacional de Industria. See INI
integrated teams at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
intellectual property, 273
Intercontinental Quimica, 393
interdependency of chemical companies, 172
Interessen-Gemeinschaft
formation of, 196
gradual dissolution of, 204
partition of product lines within, 204
Interessengemeinshaft (Community of Interests), 26
interest
eroding profit margins of Italian chemical firms, 98
stable cash flow required to repay, 107
interest rates
impact on chemical firms during the 1970s, 97
impacting debt levels, 92
interfirm agreements
German, 24
in R&D, 47
sectoral distribution of since 1988, 46
interfirm commercial alliances, developed by German companies, 25
interfirm networks, 21
during and after World War II, 31
of German companies with British oil companies, 33
opportunities in the U.S. opened by World War III, 32
in R&D, 47
restructuring process involved in production and R&D, 45
intergroup rivalry, making mergers across groups in Japan, 314
interindustry associations, 45
interindustry mobility barrier for individual companies in Japan, 314
intermediates
enabling the expansion of the chemical industry in the U.S., 178
import of to Spain, 377
producing, 59
internal market. See also home market
as an advantage in the U.S., 29
of the American economy, 85
internalizing advantages, changing, 222
international cartels, 28, 400. See also cartels
international chemical industry view, 120
International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), 120
international development by L’Oréal, 276
international dyestuff cartel, 196. See also cartels
international goods and capital flows, abolishing restrictions for, 198
International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi, 250
International Standard Industrial Classification revision 2 (ISIC rev. 2), 451
internationalization
of the chemical industry, 114
at Ciba-Geigy, 214
forms of, 203
in Germany, 152
of Japanese chemical companies, 310
motives for the strong drive toward, 208
of ownership, 221
of rules and procedures, 198
by Ube Industries, 341
intervention by the state in Spain, 377
interwar period, 30
investment. See also foreign investment
approved by the Italian government between 1969 and 1972, 355
in chemicals, 405
cutbacks in ICI’s plans for, 302
decisions of ICI interpreted as having broader political consequences, 302
encouraged by MITI’s new guideline, 322
in facilities wholly owned by the technology owner, 236
international funding industrialization in Spain, 392
in petrochemical plants in Europe, 225
in Spain by Swiss and German firms, 386
strategies adopted by petrochemical enterprises in Japan, 331
investors. See also corporate investor; institutional investors
financing from corporate, 90
French in Spain, 387
Spain attractive to foreign, 392
invisibility for Japanese chemical companies, 311
invisible player, Japan’s chemical industry remaining, 309
Ireland, turnover, 252
IRI, 352
ISIC code 351, 53
Isor, 352
isotactic polypropylene, 349
Italiana Carburo di Calcio, 91
Italy
American and German technologies, dependent on, 419
chemical companies
in 1971, 354
net gain or loss as a percent on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
specializing in allied fields, 352
chemical exports and imports, 310
chemical industry
badly placed in, 347
concentrating on niches not requiring advanced research and high technology, 365
currently made up of small and medium size firms, 363
efforts to establish, 348
evolution and financing of, 90–91
present structure of, 364
reasons behind failure in, 348
rise and fall of, 1950s–1990s, 347–367
sad story of the result of a host of deficiencies, 365
share of production in 2003, 364
chemical plants quite large, 442
chemical production by branch (1970–1990), 419
chemicals
average annual growth rates in the production of (1963–1991), 410
exports of, 426, 435
production of, 419
share in exports of (1952–1992), 419
share in the production of (1968–1989), 412
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
employment by plant in the total production of chemicals and manufactures, 444, 445
as a follower country, 16
German chemicals industry, as a sales market for by, 153
government intervention blurring strategic perspectives, 109
industrial chemicals, best performance in, 410
manufactures, total (1963–1991), 410
oil shocks, worst performer in regard to, 410
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
petrochemical plants
at Ferrara, 97
rush to build, 349–358
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
restructuring through the 1981 state national chemical plan, 109
SEF licensing, market share of (1980–1990), 39
SEFs’ services, percentage of total market of, 39
specialization index of the gross output of chemicals, 411
specializations in the chemicals trade (1952–1992), 436
specializing in fertilizers and rubber, 449
state responsible for excessive fragmentation, 366
trade balances, 348, 349
tradition of cross-ownership of companies, 352
turnover and mean growth, 252
VA level, lowest, 434
value added per worker, 442
Iwasaki, Koyata, 329
Japan
acquisitions, 47, 48, 49
chemical enterprises, development of all-around, 325–327
chemical exports and imports, 310
chemical firms
concentrating in relatively narrow product areas, 313
concentrating on project execution and operational capabilities, 317
diverse origins and developments before petrochemicals, 331
evolved as technological borrowers and learners, 325
growth strategy of, 327
prominence not achieved in international markets, 314
chemical firms, business structures and governmental policy effects on, 404
chemical industry
basic characteristics, 309–312
development and struggle since the petrochemical revolution, 308–343
evolution and financing of, 88–90
evolutionary phases of, 317–325
fragmented and crowded, 314
growth of, 5
and manufacturing production growing faster in, 410
quantitative growth of, 15
chemical market, entry into the world, 41–44
chemical plants
relatively small average size of, 442
smallest average size of, 441
chemical production by branch (1970–1990), 418
chemical products world output of, 5
chemicals
average annual growth rates in the production of (1963–1991), 410
highest rate of growth in, 426
production of, 412, 417
productivity in the production of, 434
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
customization of high quality products, 45
domestic market, concentrating on, 9
employees wedded to their company, 59
employment in the total production of chemicals and manufactures (1970–1990), 444, 447
export of chemicals (1952–1992), 419, 428
exports and imports of chemical products: 1995, 324
government intervention blurring strategic perspectives, 109
industries, research and development activities of, 326
internal finance, reliance on, 98
international technology transfer of industries, 342
licensing agreements, 40
manufactures, total (1963–1991), 410
manufacturing, largest industries in, 309
ownership structure based on Keiretsu, 109
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
restructuring co-ordinated by MITI, 44
SEF licensing, market share of, 40
SEFs’ services total market, 39
specialization index of the gross output of chemicals, 411
specializations in the chemicals trade (1952–1992), 429
specializing in fertilizers and rubber, 449
synthetic resin production more important, 410
as a technology learner and a commercializing specialist, 313
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
value added per worker in the production of chemicals by branch (1963–1990), 439
Japan Dyestuff Manufacturing, 328
Japan Electrical Industries, 330
Japan Iodine, 330
Jefferson, Ed, 63, 65
joint ventures, 236
in foreign markets by Mitsui Toatsu, 339
with high-technology firms by Japanese companies, 337
of oil companies and chemical companies, 226
in production, marketing and technology, 47
used differently over time, 80
using to open up markets, 71
joint works (Gemeinschaftswerke), 206
joint-stock Kreditbanken, 87
J. R. Geigy AG. See Geigy
junk bonds, 106
just-in-time production regimes, 67
K and A transaction, 293
Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes for Chemistry and Physical Chemistry, 25
Kao, 316
keiretsu, 43, 327
belonging to during a recession, 110
integrated nature of, 109
limiting opportunities for diversification, 98
stable ownership structure provided by, 110
Zaibatsu reappearing as, 98
Kemira-Ube, 341
Kennedy, Robert D., 74
Kevlar, 187
Keynesian project, 12
Keynesian welfare state, 115
khaki dye, 292
kigyo shudan, 43, 310. See also keiretsu
Knorr, Ludwig, 25
know-how, German confiscated, 415
Kodak, 311
Koppers-type oven, 329
Kreditbanken. See joint-stock Kreditbanken
Kuhlmann, 226, 383
Kuwait, agreement with Hoechst, 63
Kymmene Oy, 229
Kyoto University, 334
La Felguera, 383
La Fondiaria, 65
La Seda de Barcelona, 376, 396
La Unión Resinera Española. See LURE
labor shortage in Switzerland, 198, 199, 205, 209
Lafarge, 279
Landau, Ralph, 181
Lawson boom, large indispensable for the chemical industry, 286
LDPE
consumption per inhabitant in industrialized countries, 230
potential suppliers of, 236
leadership, national and geographical, 8
learning from the USA, 161
learning processes at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
Leblanc process
displacement by the Solvay process, 122
large-scale emissions of hydrogen chloride by, 122
replacement by the Solvay process, 290
versus the Solvay process in the soda business, 85
legislation, incident driven in regard to environmental regulation, 127
Lever Bros., 84
leveraged buyouts, unheard of in Japan, 110
leveraged transactions
development of hampered in Europe, 107
introduced in the early 1980s, 106
Levinsteins of Manchester, 292
Lewis, Warren K., 173
liberal capitalism, end of in Spain, 380
liberalization
of financial markets, 102
of international trade, 197
trend in the political sphere, 56
licenses, SEFs and, 38
licensing
SEFs market share by country, 40
technology to an unrelated firm, 236
by type of licensor and region, 40
types of companies involved in, 40
life science activities at Rhône-Poulenc, 265
life science businesses
acquisitions of increasing R&D intensity, 105
operating, 106
share of profits generated by, 102
life sciences
continual reinforcement of at Rhône-Poulenc, 255
requiring massive investments, 100
rise of at Rhône-Poulenc, 261–265
Liikanen, Erkki, 133
limit values approach to water pollution, 128
Limits to Growth report (1972), 123
Linde AG, 236
lineages of groups of Japanese chemical companies, 327
Lipperheide, Frederico, 384
Lipperheide group, dismantling of, 387
Liquichimica, 352
authorizations to new investments, 354
chemical investments approved by the Italian government, 355
helpless after the first oil crisis, 355
invited to 1971 hearings, 354
massive investments by, 353
Liquigas, 356, 357
living standards, chemicalization of the Spanish economy and, 387
local zaibatsu, 330
location specific advantages abroad for Ciba-Geigy, 215
location specific advantages and disadvantages
for the chemical industry in Basle, 200
in Switzerland, 221
location specific disadvantages of Swiss chemical firms, 194
L’Oréal, 251
innovative products for the general public, 277
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
transformation path of, 253
as the world cosmetics leader, 276
Love Canal incident, 127
Loye, Dieter zur, 154
Ludwigshafen home-plant, of BASF, 164
Luis, José, 383
Lummus, 235, 237
Lupolen, 149
LURE (La Unión Resinera Española), 371, 376
Lurgi, 381
Lyondell, 76
M&A (mergers and acquisitions), 49
Main Bank in Japan, 110
main banks of groups in Japan, 332
main product lines of Ciba, 206
maintenance practices, more effective in the United States when compared to Britain, 297
management control, 315, 324
management culture, international, 115
management structures, changed by Hoescht, Bayer, and BASF, 156
manufacturing
import penetration in, 287
investment in advanced economies as limited for Japanese chemical companies, 310
near consumption for sophisticated products, 67
surplus balance of trade as a whole for Italy, 347
value added per person employed in Japan, 309
Marion Merrell Dow, 75
market mechanisms, 85
market seeking, joint ventures, 72
market size
importance of, 85
shaping American firms, 88
market-based governance, 83
marketing
combining economies of scale with production activities, 24
formation of networks as a key factor, 24
U.S. firms investing in downstream, 30
markets
commitment to foreign, 67
extensive linkages with downstream required for innovation, 34
Marshall Plan, 32
Marubeni, 341
Maruzen Oil, 98
Maruzen Petrochemical, 321, 335
mass economy and economies of scale at Rhône-Poulenc, 262
mass production, German chemical industry turning to, 159
materials
by design, 33
replacing by newer synthetic, 171
Mathieson Alkali, 30
matrix structure of Rhône-Poulenc, 260
Mattei
AGIP liquidated by, 350
lost in an air crash, 353
McGowan, Sir Harry, 294
McKenna, Reginald, 294
medical devices, seeking alternatives to PVC, 136
medicinal products, 425
Mediobanca
financing the chemical bubble, 356
influence of, 58
major losses of, 357
return of, 70
Merck
establishing a branch of the Screening Program in Madrid, 384
joint venture with DuPont, 77
larger turnover than BASF, 54
mercury
as a bio-accumulative pollutant, 135
compulsory phase-out of, 135
mercury cell process, producing chlorine, 135
mergers
during the interwar period in the U.S., 30
sought on a national basis, 81
mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
dealing with economic depression after World War I, 27
in Japan, 43
during restructuring, 45
metallocene catalysts, 186
Mettler, 69
Metz, Günter, 157
Metzeler, 69
Miike Dyestuff Works, 329
Miike mine cooking plant, 329
Miles, acquisition by Bayer, 162
military establishment as the designer of Spanish industrial policy, 377
Milno Stock Exchange, 91
minerals, United States as the world leader, 29
Ministry of Industry in Spain, 400
Ministry of Welfare in Japan, 312
MIT
chemical engineering department of, 173
role in the development of chemical engineering, 35
university-industry network with New Jersey Standard, 36
MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan), 417
competitiveness, seriously concerned with international, 321
depression cartel created by, 43
ethylene centers approved by, 320, 321
ethylene producing facilities, minimum production capacity of, 321
ethylene-based petrochemical combines, 333
First Plan
adapting strong administrative guidance for, 320
principle for implementing, 320
influence weak in forming the structure of industries, 312
naphtha, freer import of, 323
petrochemical industry, consulting committee on, 319
petrochemicals
guiding the growth of, 312
reducing domestic capacity of a few major basic, 323
Second Plan to meet the demand for investment in petrochemicals, 321
target of international prices as a neutral measure for efficiency, 313
Mitsubishi, 43, 89
consolidation of petrochemical-related companies, 337
massive entry into petrochemicals, 98
Mitsubishi Chemical Company (Japan), 53
belonging to the Mitsubishi Group, 327
concentrating on coal, 64
consolidation with Mitsubishi Petrochemical, 337
descriptions centered as, 327
focus on the home market, 72
launching a large-scale petrochemical production, 333
originating in one of the zaibatsu combinations, 327
R&D investment of, 68
representative of the Japanese chemical industry, 325
return on profit (1995), 316
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
strategy of, 69
Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, 329
divided into three parts, 332
joint venture with Shell, 333
Mitsubishi Chemical (new), 337, 338
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, 327
Mitsubishi group, 44
chemical enterprises in, 310
chemical-related enterprises within, 327
reorganized after 1952, 333
Mitsubishi Kasei
Mizushima Ethylene as a joint venture of, 322
nonpetroleum company whose ethylene production was approved, 321
Mitsubishi Petrochemical, 320
entry into ethylene production, 321
expanding eletrochemicals and emphasizing life science, 338
formation of, 333
hit hard by the Oil Shock, 338
Mitsubishi Plastics, 327
Mitsubishi Rayon, 327
Mitsubishi-Shell Petrochemical, 333
Mitsui, 43, 89
involvement in the chemical industry, 329
massive entry into petrochemicals, 98
Mitsui Badish Dyes, 339
Mitsui Chemical, 325, 327
Mitsui Chemical Industries, 329
Mitsui group
chemical enterprises in, 310
consolidation in, 44
unable to combine petrochemical interests, 338
Mitsui Petrochemicals, 320
establishment of, 332
Iwakuni ethylene plant starting a naphtha-cracking facility, 332
strategy of expanding specialty product lines, 338
Mitsui Toatsu
independently advancing its strategy, 339
overseas expansion, 339
return on profit (1995), 316
suspending dividend payment, 338
Mizushima Ethylene, 322
Mo och Domsjø, 227
Mobay, 72
Mobil, 97
MoDo paper group, 227
molecules
“cracking” large, 179
efficacious uses of, 170
monomers, 34
monopolistic practices, allegations of against Montecatini, 349
Monsanto (USA), 53
acquiring G. D. Searle, 48
acquisition of less efficient companies, 30
concentrating on life-science products, pharmaceuticals and pesticides, 70
decreasing profits, 445
established business in life-science in the 1990s, 73
giving up secure source of supply, 64
joining forces with Bayer to form Mobay, 72
joint venture with Conoco, 62
merging pharmaceutical division with Pharmacia, Upjohn and Searle, 11
move into biotechnology, 70
overcoming major financial problems, 86
plants sold by, 107
return on profit (1995), 316
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
as too American, 73
Monsavon, 276
Montecatini, 70
entry in petrochemicals, 97
financed by Banca Commerciale, 91
interwar quasi-monopolist of the Italian chemical industry, 349
loss of markets and mismanagement of, 350
merger with Edison, 350
in 1960, 445
opening first petrochemical plant in Europe, 349
succeeded by Montedison, 16
technical cooperation at La Felguera, 383
Montecatini-Edison. See Montedison
Montecatini-Edison merger, pronounced inadequacy in management, 352
Montedison (Italy), 53
agreement with EMI, 357
asset swaps, 109
assigning to the group of industry drop-outs, 59
authorizations to new investments, 354
change in management, 353
chemical business concentrating on positions of strength, 70
chemical investments approved by the Italian government, 355
compared to other companies, 354
debts, 356, 363
demise of, 11
exit of, 16
failure of, 348
failure to leverage Natta’s discovery of polypropylene, 98
financed by Mediobanca and IMI, 356
formation of, 350
joint venture with ENI, 73
loans from ICIPU, 357
losses after the first oil crisis, 355
market situation of after the 1983 agreement, 359
in the mid-1980s, 360
net gain or loss as a percent on turnover, 1974–1981, 356
1971 data on, 354
petrochemicals, entry in, 97
production achieved in a myriad of smallish plants, 350
reconstructed by CEO Mario Schimberni, 64
reorganization ending in disaster, 362
reprivatizing, 357
reshaping of, 59
revenge of the electrical component of, 363
as a swift mover, 64
Montefibre, 362
Montell, 363
moplen, 349
Mori group
organized around large electrochemical firms, 318
Showa Denko a core firm of, 329
Morton International, 316
Mueller, Paul, 175
multinational concerns, role in Spain, 399
multinational corporations in the Spanish market, 390
multinational firms
consolidated in Tarragona and Southern Spain, 393
networks within, 21
Myklebust, Egil, 72
Myrurgia, 398
Naphtachimie, 226
naphtha
for the Esso ethylene cracker, 227
Mitsui’s cracking facility, 332
price of in US$ compared to DM, 158
prices dropped in Japan, 323
problem for Japanese petrochemicals, 323
national borders, as less important for global players, 109
national champions
as a drawing to an end, 5
giving way when political favors no longer fit reality, 404
playing a leading role in chemical production, 2
teased apart and restructured, 17
National Chemical Laboratory, 292
national chemical plan in Italy, 109
national competitive advantage, weakened, 222
national container for individual branches of production, 167
national context, emancipation from, 221
National Distillers and Chemical Corporation, 236
national enterprise status, gained by FNCE in 1926, 379
national financial systems. See also financial system
influences on the financing of chemical firms, 83–91
large among, 102
national governments. See also government
ability to display sufficient independence from chemical industries, 115
role in influencing network development, 22
national industry. See also industries
abandonment of the concept of, 167
law passed in 1917 to promote, 377
national interest, Spanish government declaring, 381
national markets, differentiation in Europe, 60
national research approach, 12–17
national responsibility, reduction of, 72
national system of innovation, Japanese, 313
nationalistic industrial drive in Spain, 377
nationalized industries, not a success in Britain, 288
Natta, Giulio, 349
natural resources, abundance in the U.S., 29
Nazi party law, cartels considered a legal political tool under, 28
neoprene, 174
Neste, 14
acquisition by Oy Uponor AS, 242
dominating position for plastics products in Finland, 241
downward trend in demand and prices felt by, 241
emergence as a major producer of petrochemicals, 245
expansion in petrochemicals and volume plastics, 241
holding in AB Celloplast, 242
long-term contract with Statoil Petrokemi AB, 245
merger with Statoil, 247
merging petrochemical operations with Statoil, 45
new polyethylene plants, 246
politics important in the emergence of, 250
profitability negatively affected by oversupply, 246
purchases
of a polypropylene plant in Beringen, Belgium, 245
of Unifos Kemi, 243
sale of 50 percent share in Borealis, 250
venture with Petrofina, 246
Neste Chemicals
appetite for further expansion, 246
at the beginning of the 1990s, 246
losses recorded by, 247
Neste Oy, 229
Nestlé
as a model for other Swiss firms, 222
shareholder of L’Oréal, 277
net acquirers, marginal changes experienced by, 105
net divestors, 105
net divestors in commodities, 105
Netherlands, the
chemical exports and imports, 310
direct access via the Rhine River, 153
environmental consequences of chemical production, 122
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
turnover, 252
networking analysis, 10
networks. See also co-operative networks
developed in the nineteenth century, 22
evolution of
in the chemical industry, 21–50
prior to the petrochemical revolution, 22
expanding in the United States after World War I, 172
formation due to restructuring of the chemical industry, 44
by German firms prior to World War I, 23
positive effects of, 403
types of, 21
types set up by German firms, 23
New Jersey Standard, 36
new zaibatsu, 329, 330
NewCo, 78, 164
niche and specialty strategies of Rhône-Poulenc, 274
niche markets, targeted by Air Liquide and L’Oréal, 275
niche players, new emerging, 103
niche products for pharmaceuticals, 272
Nichitsu, 328
Nippon Chemical Industries, 332
diversifying into coal chemicals, 329
explosive manufacturing for armed forces, 329
Nippon Mining, 322
Nippon Petrochemicals
launching the first petrochemical complex in Japan, 320
Showa Petrochemical participating with, 335
Nippon Soda, 320
Nippon Tar Industries, 329
Nippon Zeon, 320
Nissan, 328
Nisshin Chemical Industries, 334
Nisso, 318
nitrates, Spain a net importer of, 376
nitrogen, 29
fixation requiring two decades to perfect, 88
fixing from the air, 292
separating and liquefying, 275
Nitrogen Cartel (Convention International de l’Azote), 29
nitrogenous fertilizers, 376
Nobel Industries Ltd., 27, 84, 294
Nobel Plast, 245
Nobel Trust, 28
noninterference agreement, UEE and FNCE giving up plans, 379
Nordic countries
development patterns in the petrochemical industry (1960–2000), 224–250
successful strategies of mergers and internationalization, 14
Nordic petrochemicals companies, influenced by economic results in the short run, 250
Nordic petrochemicals industry, restructuring of, 241–243
Noretyl, 237
Norpolefin, 238
Norsk Hydro (Norway), 53
appointed operator for the ethylene cracker, 234
demanding economic compensation from Phillips, 237
divesting out of the chemical industry, 11
importing VCM from Britain, 233
lobbying for NGL, 232
sales, profit, and profit margin in 1995, 311
as well established in the production and marketing of PVC, 233
North America, employment share for Ciba-Geigy, 215
North Sea, petroleum field in, 231
North Sea oil, emergence of the Norwegian petrochemicals industry and, 229
North Sea Petrochemicals, 245, 246
Norway
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
development of the petrochemical industry in, 14, 229
import of polyethylenes, PVC and polystyrene, 1962–1974, 231
low product prices negating cheap feedstock, 238
parliament voting in favor of strong national management and control, 231
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
without a petrochemicals factory by the early 1970s, 231
Norwegian companies, scale and economies of scale as barriers to entry, 236
Norwegian oil policy, 231
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, 231
Norwegian shelf, 62
Novartis
formation of, 11, 14, 81, 202, 219
one of the leading European pharmaceutical enterprises, 258
product lines, 219
nylon
discovery of, 174
intensive and expensive effort by Dupont to produce, 184
traditional strength of DuPont, 76
OECD
abolishing restrictions for international trade, 197
report accenting investment policies of petrochemicals firms, 409
oil. See also petroleum
establishing a better supply of, 62
fluidized bed catalytic cracking for gasoline production, 179
growth in chemicals dependent on in the 1970s, 412
as the main feedstock of organic chemistry, 147
substituted for coal as the chemical industry feedstock, 369
oil companies. See also petroleum companies
chemical divisions of, 5
enlarging chemical divisions, 11
entering into the petrochemicals business, 225
heavy involvement in basic chemicals, 78
integrating forward, 225
investments in petrochemical plants, 3
joint ventures with chemical companies, 226
losses in chemicals operations, 239
most fully integrated, 180
oil crisis. See oil shocks
oil harbor, new deep-water at Wilhelmshaven, 150
oil industry. See also petroleum industry
petrochemicals as secondary to major strategies, 184
relying on outside sources for new technology, 180
transformation path for companies in, 254
oil prices
crisis reopening the question of raw material and energy, 60
increases causing diminished demand by user industries, 409
1973 and 1979 increases in, 407
oil products. See also petroleum products
export variable, 421
oil refining capacity, 91
oil shocks. See also Second Oil Shock of 1979
effects in Germany, 157–159
excess capacity and falling profits after first, 369
exposing the accumulation of petrochemical overcapacity, 99
first, 57
minor and temporary disturbance for Ciba-Geigy in 1974, 211
of 1973–74 and 1980–81, 3
period of, 44
raising the price of the main feedstock, 99
revealing underlying weaknesses in Britain, 285
worsened the excess capacity of petrochemicals in Japan, 323
oil-based chemicals, 449
oil-based organic compounds, 92
Okinokyma Coal Mine, 330
Oléochim, 279
one company for one trade tradition of Sumitomo, 334
operational capabilities, concentrated by Japanese chemical companies, 317
opportunity costs of group membership in Japan, 314
organic chemicals
enterprises in petrochemical complexes in Japan, 321
feedstocks used in producing in West Germany, 149
as main chemicals exports, 421
main goods exported by the U.S., 426
market, 25
transition to from inorganic, 402
organic herbicide, developed by DuPont, 175
organic products, development of a range of, 31
organic raw-materials, growth after World War II, 54
organic sector
technological change in, 23
in the U.S. by 1914, 29
organizational innovation, 404. See also innovation
Orkem, 279
OTC-products at Ciba-Geigy, 214
overcapacity
causing competition between European petrochemicals manufacturers, 238
of petrochemical firms, 409
ownership
decision to internationalize Ciba-Geigy’s, 219
dispersion resulting in more leeway for managers, 102
foreign at the new Ciba, 217
internationalization of, 221
of Swiss chemical firms, 222
oxygen, separating and liquefying, 275
Oy Uponor AS, 242
parachemicals, 253
partnering relationships between SEFs and chemical firms, 38
partnerships
developing with clients, 267
types of, 47
patent(s). See also chemical-patenting countries
advantage to the first on the market, 273
bartering of rights, 183
compulsory licensing of, 183
countries ranked by U.S. patents issued, 337
German confiscated after both world wars, 415
importance to innovative projects in pharmaceuticals, 272
preparing the ground for application, 273
progressive degeneration of laws, 210
protecting a wide field, 273
protection for process technologies, 181
significant drop-off in the late 1980s by American firms, 185
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), 134–135
dangers of, 134
environmental concern about, 134
stability of, 134
PCS, Sumitomo a major player, 340
Pechiney
acquisition by Rhône-Poulenc, 259
giving away chemical activities, 253
joint petrochemical venture with BP, 226
Pekema Oy, ethylene sold to, 229
penicillin
duopoly to produce in Spain, 391
mass production of, 176
production of, 142
Perfumeria Gal, 371
perfumery as a promising downstream industry, 398
perfumes
exported by Germany, 426
France’s long-standing specialization in, 417
persistent organic pollutants (POPs), 134
personnel. See also employees
positively binding to enterprises, 59
Perspex, 296
pesticides
environmental consequences of, 123
as a technology unleashed during World War II, 175
PETRESA (Petroquimica Española), 391, 393
petrochemical(s)
advent of, 385
in the age of restructuring, 99–110
characterized as a problem, 180
continuing struggles in Japan, 341
demand highly derived, 178
economies of scale of utmost importance in, 92
emergence and development of in Japan, 336
factors working for in Japan, 318
massive expansion of upstream basic, 3
new round of consolidations in the late 1990s, 186
rapid increase in the production of, 407
as a secondary concern for both chemical and petroleum companies, 179
share of U.S. organic chemical production, 35
petrochemical companies
development of, 225
plants sold by U.S., 107
profitability of the “all-around” in Japan, 322
petrochemical complexes as an inter-group combination of constituent enterprises, 320
petrochemical cycle, 403
petrochemical demand, overall underestimation of in Japan, 322
petrochemical development. See also development
between 1948 and 1958 in Britain, 299
in Japan, 318
petrochemical facilities
massive resources invested in, 3
restructuring and rationalization of in Japan, 324, 336
petrochemical industry. See also chemical industry
development patterns in Nordic countries, 224–250
dominated by large firms, 225
economy of scale as a fundamental feature, 234
emergence of after the Second World War, 114
growth to maturity, 225
restructuring of the Nordic, 241–243
rise of, 298
petrochemical intermediates. See intermediates
petrochemical markets, cheap feedstock not sufficient, 235
petrochemical plants. See also plants
built by ANIC in Ravenna, 350
first in Finland, 229–231
rush to build in Italy, 348, 349–358
in Scandinavia before 1970, 227–229
petrochemical processes. See also processes
transition to by the German chemical industry, 145
World War II accelerating the deployment of, 176
petrochemical production. See also production
MITI plan specifying directions for, 319
standardization of, 405
petrochemical products. See also chemical products; product(s)
decrease in trade of, 421
supplying to domestic users in Japan, 319
petrochemical revolution, 178
American chemical industry since, 168–189
enhancing chemical technology, 3
evolution of the chemical industry after, 83
feeding growth after World War II, 92
Japanese chemical industry since, 308–343
launching of, 403
relationships established by chemical companies before, 22
rise of the modern Spanish chemical industry coinciding with, 399
testing flexibility and innovative capacity of all institutions, 2
in the United States, 178–184
petrochemical scramble in Italy, 349
petrochemical technology
completely novel in Japan in the late 1940s, 319
international diffusion after World War II, 35
petrochemistry
conversion to in Germany, 148
extremely high costs for leaving, 61
profitability of in West Germany, 148
Petrofina
acquisition by Total, 277
created in 1920, 278
venture with Neste, 246
petroleum. See also oil
replacing coal and agricultural inputs, 2
petroleum companies. See also oil companies
chemical sales of, 184
petroleum hydrocarbons, shift from coal to, 35
petroleum industry. See also oil industry
sharing refining technology, 180
Petroleum Industry Development Plan. See First Plan
petroleum products. See also oil products
trade deficit in, 419
petroleum refining industry. See also oil refining capacity
growth of, 36
under occupation policies in Japan, 319
reconstructed itself in Japan, 319
relying on free trade and foreign capital in Japan, 319
Petroquimica Española. See PETRESA
pharmaceutical(s)
Ciba production of, 203
consolidation of in Europe, 108
experiencing a decisive transition, 4
in France, 252
German backwardness in some crucial, 142
growth in chemicals dependent on in the 1980s, 412
increasing as Swiss exports, 200
new companies related to the manufacture of, 380
pace of innovation slowing in, 405
Rhône-Poulenc acquisitions in, 262
shift toward biochemicals and molecular genetics, 403
Spain a net importer of, 376
as a success story in the 1980s in Germany, 161
pharmaceutical branches
becoming autonomous and specialized, 281
at Rhône-Poulenc, 275
pharmaceutical companies
companies resulting from mergers, 7
increase in the number of, 54
listing with chemical companies, 11
in the top global 500 in 2002, 8
pharmaceutical groups, trend to join forces, 273
pharmaceutical industry
distinct from chemicals in the U.S., 169
following a less tortuous and expensive path in Spain, 391
German success during the 1980s, 161
output across national frontiers, 425
perceived as separate in North America and Asia, 53
pharmaceutical innovation, science-base for, 4
pharmaceutical market, division of the world in 1999, 9
pharmaceutical products. See also product(s)
rising demand for, 425
pharmaceutical sector
BASF moving out of, 165
best representing the post-petrochemical industry in Spain, 398
German dyes firms diversifying into, 23
innovation projects introduced at Rhône-Poulenc, 271
Pharmacia
formation of, 11, 73
Montedison pharmaceutical sector sold to, 363
Phillips Group
economic compensation given for the delays in NGL deliveries, 237
NGL-plant at Teesside not opened when planned, 237
supplying the Norwegian petrochemicals industry, 232
Phillips Petroleum, 225
Pioneer Hi-Bred, 77
pipelines in Germany, 149
plant and equipment capital stock, development of, 92
plants. See also petrochemical plants
average size decreasing, 441
decreasing in size less than manufacturing, 441
engineered by SEFs, 38
experiencing catastrophic incidents, 119
large number of scattered in Italy, 362
relocating to green fields sites, 122
size of in the chemical industry, 434–442
sizes as a heterogeneous average in different countries, 449
vertical integration of in Japan, 110
plastic(s)
American lead over Germany, 144
consumption
by 1970, 3
in industrialized countries, 231
in Nordic countries, 229
demand and production running below capacity, 239
environmental problems associated with, 119
growth in chemicals dependent on in the 1960s, 412
industry in Japan, 320
markets booming in the 1950s and early 1960s, 147
producers in Western Europe, 158
production, world capacities of, 65
second rise in oil prices leaving in disarray, 157
world consumption by weight, 224
Plastics Division of ICI, 303
platforming, improving the octane rating of gasoline, 179
political barriers, not likely to defend firms and industries in the long term, 404
political environment, permanently changed, 124
political managers, new class of in Spain, 382
political organization
to address environmental concerns, 119
of the chemical industry, 126
political protection, enjoyed by the Italian chemical industry, 98
politically privileged, chemical industry as, 120
politicized target of the green movement, 119
politics
of collective consumption, 117–118
of production, 117
pollution abatement, 126
pollution control
agency, 290
as a business for Showa Denko, 340
polychlorinated biphenyls. See PCBs
polyethylene
Borealis nameplate capacity for, 249
consumption of in Nordic countries, 229
dominant product in the First Plan, 320
factory, 227
Norwegian import of, 231
production, 335
in World War II, 175
polymer chemistry
emerging discipline of, 173
rise of, 33–35
polymer revolution, placing before the petrochemical one, 179
polymer science, diffusion abetted by World War II, 174
polymers, 33, 173
competitors invading markets, 178
compounds produced by Borealis Industries AB, 248
creating with remarkable degrees of uniformity, 187
discovering, 174
as longer versions of ordinary organic molecules, 174
as the major growth area of the chemical industry, 177
proliferation of, 179
promoted to replace scarce or unavailable materials during World War II, 175
registration requirements dropped for, 133
to work on by Wallace H. Carothers, 174
polyolefins, 187, 238
polypropylene
consumption of in Nordic countries, 231
Montedison’s failure to leverage, 98
new production line constructed by Neste, 246
as a position of strength for Montedison, 70
production of third generation, 359
Statoil only manufacturer of in the Nordic countries, 244
technology bought from Dart, 237
Ube Industries facility for, 335
polystyrene
companies involved in, 34
Norwegian import of, 231
stereoregular forms of, 187
strengthening Neste’s unit, 242
polythene, 296
polyvinyl chloride, 285
POPs (persistent organic pollutants), PCBs as, 134
Porter, Michael, 60
portfolios
from diversification to concentration of in Germany, 163–167
reliance on existing, 187
post-oil crisis, 449
postpetrochemical industry in Spain, 398
PP (polypropylene) consumption, 230
precautionary principle
basing policy firmly on, 131
current chemicals policy ignoring in Europe, 131
fundamental importance of, 132
retention of, 133
price competitiveness in Japanese government plans, 319
prime contractor, 260
The Principles of Chemical Engineering, 173
private bankers (Privatbankiers), 87
privatized utilities, 116
proactive communication, 217
process design, SEFs competencies in, 38
process innovators, 235
process management at BASF, 164
process patents, 181
process technology
loss of control over, 181
making into a commodity, 37
processes. See also petrochemical processes
incentives for marketing, 182
SEFs as source of licenses of, 38
processing, generalized principles applying to all, 173
Procter & Gamble, 311
Prodi Commission, 131
producers mentality, 146
product(s). See also chemical products; petrochemical products; pharmaceutical products
customization in Japan, 89
development not the strength of Japanese chemical companies, 325
differentiation by U.S. companies, 30
focusing on sophisticated, 68–71
innovation
divergence in at Rhône-Poulenc, 274–275
Rhône-Poulenc focus on, 258–259
time and research reduced by polymer chemistry, 34
innovators, 235
specialized, 280
product- or process-based divisions of chemical companies, 172
product, strategies at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
production. See also petrochemical production
by branch for all countries combined, 408
change from batch to continuous in Britain, 301
of chemicals, 407–419
complicating the petroleum industry, 180
by country (1968–1989), 412
distribution of world, 5
externalities of, 118
facilities lost in Korea and northern China by new zaibatsu, 331
growth of after World War II, 54
highly concentrated, 369
internationalization of in Germany, 152
politics of, 117
rationalization of capacity, 44
reduced in the U.S., 186
shift to downstream, 369
stipulating requirements with regard to facilities, 260
productioneers movement after World War I, 293–294
productivity
in the chemicals industry, 434
of Japanese chemical industries, 310
Productos Quimicos Schering, 383
Productos Quimicos Sintéticos, 383
profit cycles, 188
profit margins, 99, 316
profitability
of the “all-around” petrochemical companies, 322
of American corporations versus European, 364
dramatically reduced in the 1970s, 100
of German chemical companies, 163
lacked by Italian plants built piecemeal, 358
of the largest chemical companies in Japan and the United States: 1995, 316
sustaining technological leadership in U.S. and Germany, 88
winning out over pursuit of size, 164
profits-R&D cycle in the U.S., 86
Progil, 259
project execution capabilities of Japanese chemical companies, 317
project management
based on the production and sale of major products, 259
methods, 268
model, 266–271
requiring integration between services and specialty areas, 265
tool at Rhône-Poulenc in the 1980s, 260–261
transformation related to at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
project monitoring tools, 260
projects
organization allowing for concurrent engineering, 274
selecting, 268
property rights, internationalization of, 198
proprietary technology as an effective barrier to entry, 235
propylene, 62, 407
Proquisa, 383
protectionist policies after World War I, 26
public affairs divisions of chemical firms, 119
public companies, no tradition of in Italy, 352
public health services, reducing patent protection and prices, 210
public investment, none in Spain, 377
public research establishments, 273
publishing of scientific research program at DuPont, 174
Puertollano oil refinery, 382
Puig, 398
pull factors, 208
push factor, 208
PVC
companies producing and doing research in, 34
consumption of in Scandanavia, 228
Norwegian import of, 231
produced by Norsk Hydro, 233
restructuring the European market, 45
QCF Bayer, 383
quantitative assessment of the chemical industry after World War II, 407–449
Quarles, John R., 124
quasi-cartel in Germany, 26
Quimica Comercial Farmacéutica QCF Bayer, 371
R&D. See also research
activities made more complex by environmental concerns, 211
concentrated in Switzerland at Geigy, 207
cutbacks in, 185
in different cultural settings, 67
establishing centers abroad, 205
expenditures
in Ciba and Geigy, 203
at Ciba-Geigy, 212, 213
decreasing domestically and increasing abroad, 200
falling in Switzerland for Ciba-Geigy, 215
in foreign countries, 222
at the new Ciba, 218
in Switzerland, 222
extensive investments to develop new product variants, 35
firm-centered in Switzerland, 196
intensity, 101
in Italy, 98
reversal of formerly diversified firms, 106
labor expenditures for, 205
as the least active side of the Spanish chemical industry, 390
making more competitive in Basle, 200
political initiatives against methods and objectives of in Switzerland, 200
practically nonexistent in Spain, 385
problem of market failure in, 47
of representative Japanese industries (1995), 326
sophisticated technologies, 186
spending increased in the 1980s, 185
sustaining efforts in research-intensive sectors, 47
unwillingness of Spanish entrepreneurs to invest in, 384
RAP (Autonomous Petrol Board), 278
raw material, German dependence on foreign supplies of, 151
RC. See Responsible Care
REACH (register, evaluate and authorize chemicals) proposal, 12, 132
reaction phase (mid-1970s to mid-1980s), 66
recessions
experienced worldwide by the chemicals industry, 237
influencing economic performance, 220
in the Japanese petrochemical industry, 323
oil shocks sending industrial economies into, 99
in the U.S. after World War I, 30
reconstruction
financed at BASF from internal resources (depreciation), 92
of the German chemical industry, 145–146
refineries in Bayer’s neighborhood, 150
refining processes, 179
regional concentration of Swiss firms manufacturing dyes, 195
regional markets, economic integration of U.S., 30
regulation
EU leaving implementation to member states, 117
increase in, 12
not requiring large sums of public expenditure, 117
requirements for innovative projects in pharmaceuticals, 271
regulatory burden, imposed by TSCA, 125
regulatory framework, welcomed by chemical companies, 120
regulatory politics, chemical industry’s education in, 125
regulatory process, incidents damaging public confidence in, 130
regulatory regimes, 121
regulatory state, emergence of, 116–117
Rehnberg, Harry, 181
relationship-based governance, 83
repeatable results, 171
repeated innovation, strategic model of, 274
REPESA
construction of, 386
founded in partnership with CEPSA and Caltex, 382
Reppe, Dr., 149
Reppe-Chemie, 145, 160
Repsol
ENCASO’s heir, 381
entrepreneurial capabilities of, 391
largest industrial research institution in Spain, 391
progress experienced by chemical subsidiaries, 393
requisitions by acquirer in the chemical sector, 47
research. See also company research labs; industrial research laboratories; R&D
approaches to the international chemical industry, 9–17
competition in, 169
expertise moving closer to the German model, 293
by a few large companies, 173
German firms encouraged to invest in, 88
institutes, German, 25
shifting the competitive advantage of firms, 23
strategies followed by Spanish pharmaceutical firms, 398
tales of serendipity, 170
research and development. See R&D
Responsible Care (RC), 129
restructuring
in the British chemical industry, 305
cross-border (1985–1997), 104
deals in the U.S., 107
effects on research and development, 104
financial and corporate governance considerations, 102
financial and nonfinancial (1985–1997), 108
financing of, 106
within the Nordic petrochemicals industry in the 1980s, 241
payoff for quick, 102
R&D intensity and (1987–1997), 105
by region and period (1985–1997), 103
speed, mode, and depth of, 103
throughout the chemical industry, 403
return on equity, 316
return on investment, 80
Rexene, 341
Rheinische Olefin Werke (ROW), 149
founding of, 226
joint venture creating, 149
Rhine, pollution of in 1986, 199
Rhodia
comparative evolution of with Rhône-Poulenc, 270
created and progressively separated, 268
creation of, 253, 258
evolution leading to a new firm, 281
spin off of, 74
Rhône-Poulenc (France), 53
acquiring specialty producers, 48
acquisition of the Health division of Hoechst, 258
acquisitions in the 1970s, 259
comparative evolution with Rhodia, 270
concentrating on life-science products, pharmaceuticals and pesticides, 70
created on a portfolio of diversified products, 254
from a diversified group to a strategy of specialization and concentration, 254–275
focus on life-science, 74
growth driven by “major” products, 259–260
internal organizational changes, 15
matrix structure of, 260
merger with Hoechst to form Aventis, 163
merging pharmaceutical division into Aventis, 11
nationalization of, 64, 253, 255
net income, 257, 263
operating margin by sector in the 1980s, 264
organizing varied but synergistic activities, 255
privatization of, 255
project management mode in the chemicals division, 258
purchase of Union Carbide agrobusiness, 71
sales by sector of activity, 269
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
selling oil-investment to Elf-Aquitaine, 64
as a swift mover, 64
textile-plan reducing workforce, 61
transformation path of, 252
Risk and Policy Analysis (RPA), 132
risk assessment
CEFIC and Commission estimates of the cost of, 132
procedures identifying the chemicals sector as a target for, 129
Rivera, Primo de, 378
Robert, Antonio, 382
Rohm & Haas, 340
Rorer, 70
Rotterdam-Rhine-Pipeline (RPR), 151
Rovelli, Nino, 351
ROW (Rheinische Olefin), producing polyethylene, 149, 226
Royal Commission on the Depression in Trade and Industry, 289, 291
Royal Dutch Shell, 226
Rubber Program of the U.S. government, 32
Rumianca, 351, 352
Ruth, partnership with LURE, 376
SABIC, 7
Saga Petrokjemi
acquisition by Statoil, 239–241
appointed operator for the polyolefin factory, 234
demanding economic compensation from Phillips, 237
establishment of, 233
losses sustained by, 240
potential suppliers willing to license technology to, 236
as a suitor for the NGL from Ekofisk, 233
Saga Petroleum
cooperating with Norwegian industrial companies, 233
part owned by Saga Petrokjemi, 240
Saint-Gobain
acquisition by Rhône-Poulenc, 259
giving away chemical activities, 253
sales. See chemical sales; total sales
Sammet, Rolf, 65
Sandoz
Ciba merger with, 14
Ciba-Geigy merging pharmaceutical divisions with, 11
competition eliminated for, 196
development since the 1970s, 213
as a dye manufacturing firm, 196
fire in the warehouses of, 199
merger with Ciba, 202, 219
slick of contaminated water entering the Rhine, 129
in Spain in 1973, 387
Sankyo Pharmaceutical, 341
Sanofi
Aventis falling victim to a hostile takeover by, 76
creation of, 280
Sanofi-Aventis, 253
Sanofi-Synthélabo, 280
formation of, 15
L’Oréal holding 20% of, 277
merger with Aventis, 251, 253
Sanwa Bank group, Ube Industries affiliation with, 335
Sanwa group, chemical enterprises in, 310
Saudi Arabia, joint venture with Dow, 63
scaling-up plants, 182
Scandinavia, petrochemical plants before 1970, 227–229
Schelde-Chemie, 69
Schering, 75
Schiapparelli, becoming relatively large, 90
Schimberni, Mario, 58, 65, 358
confidence in the future, 359
sack of, 70
Schueller, Eugène, 276
Schumpeter, Joseph A.
on bureaucracy, 2
compared to Chandler, 2
impact of major innovations on capitalist systems, 403
trumped by Chandler, 5
Schumpeterian combination, 318
Schweizerhalle accident (Switzerland), 58
Schweizerischer Handels- und Industrie-Verein, SSCI a member of, 199
science, quality of German damaged after World War II, 31
science-based industries, 14
science-based sector, German chemicals industry as a paradigm of, 415
Scientific Design
seeing opportunities for developing processes and plants, 181
well known in the 1970s, 235
scientific discoveries, 23
scientific knowledge, systematic application, 288
scientific orientation of Swiss chemical firms, 196
scientific policy, absence of in Spain, 391
scientific principles, organizing disparate information, 172
scientists, professional status maintained by, 37
Screening Program of CEPA, 384
screening rule, introduced by MITI, 312
SDC data, 46
seabirds, eggshell thinning among, 134
Searle, 11
SEC filings (10-Qs), 46
second industrial revolution
in Britain, 288–291
modern chemical industry emerging during, 369
Second Oil Shock of 1979. See also oil shocks
effects in the British chemical industry, 303
Japanese petrochemical industry becoming structurally depressed, 323
second phase of the Japanese chemical industry, 318–322
Second Plan
first phase of, 321
to meet the demand for investment in petrochemicals, 321
outcome mixed, 321
Second World War. See World War II
securities
considered speculative in the U.S., 86
high yield, 106
regulation of in Europe, 107
Securities Data Companies (SDC) database, 46
securities markets
rapid growth of in the 1980s and 1990s, 102
repressed in Japan, 98
smaller size of European, 107
security seeking, joint ventures, 72
Seefelder, Matthias, 62, 157
SEFs (specialized engineering firms). See also engineering firms
acting as independent licensors, 37
chemical plants engineered by, 38
country shares for licensing, 40
creation of an international market for petrochemical plants, 179
establishment of linkages with, 22
market share of engineering services (1980–1990), 39
as the most important source of chemical processes technologies, 40
networks with chemical companies, 37–41
as principal suppliers of technologies in the chemical sector, 41
promoting development, 403
speeding technology transfer, 403
starting as an American phenomenon, 38
Sekisui Chemical
return on profit (1995), 316
in the Sanwa Bank group, 335
self-regulation
of the chemical industry, 122
efforts by the chemical industry, 129
SENER, Arthur D. Little technical partner of, 386
7th Amendment (92/32), 124
Seveso accident (Italy), 58
Seveso Directive, 127
shareholder value, core BASF strategy, 78
shareholders. See also foreign shareholders
absence of pressure to create value for in Italy, 98
increasing awareness of the returns on investments, 102
none to force management to adapt policies in Japan, 324
Shell
building a large cracker, 234
building a new ethylene cracker, 239
effect of Greenpeace on, 73
joint gas-oil cracking unit in Ludwigshafen, 149
joint ventures
with BASF, 77, 226
with Mitsubishi Chemical, 333
with Montedison, 363
never able to erode ICI’s dominance of bulk chemicals, 299
offering technical assistance on ethylene and styrene monomer, 334
producing detergent at Stanlow in 1942, 299
reluctance to commit to petrochemical product portfolios in Japan, 333
represented in the General Headquarters advisory panel, 319
Sherwin-Williams, 316
Shinkawa Iron Works, 330
Shinko Rayon, 329
Showa, 89
Showa Denko
as a diversified Japanese chemical company, 98
entering into organic chemical areas, 334
from a new set of enterprises formed around large commercial banks, 327
representative of the Japanese chemical industry, 325
representing new zaibatsu, 329
restructuring of, 340
return on profit (1995), 316
slow in internationalization drive in chemicals, 340
suspending of dividend, 340
Showa Fertilizer, 330
Showa Light Metal, 340
Showa Petrochemical
absorbed by Showa Denko, 340
as a downstream chemical producer, 320
establishment of, 334
Showa Synthetic Chemical Industries, 334
Showa Unox, 340
Siam Resin and Chemical, 339
Siglienti, Stefano, 351
Sigma Coatings, 279
Silent Spring, 123
silicon breast implants, Dow compensation, 74
Singapore Adhesives and Chemical, 339
SIR (Società Italiana Resine)
entry in petrochemicals, 97
expansion into petrochemicals, 351
preferential treatment granted by IMI to, 351
SIR-Rumianca, 352
authorizations to new investments, 354
chemical investments approved by the Italian government, 355
creating companies to abide by subsidy rules, 353
debts of, 356
helpless after the first oil crisis, 355
ICIPU loans to, 356, 357
massive investments by, 353
1971 data on, 354
political ties of, 354
standing credits to in 1978, 358
SITC rev. 2, 449–450
6th Amendment (79/831), 124, 126
SMEs, Italian chemical production in the hands of, 16
SNIA, 352
attachment to prewar technology, 354
as an exception in Italy, 91
1971 data on, 354
SNIACE, government keeping the right to intervene in, 381
SNPA (National Society for Aquitaine Oils), 278
Sobo Marine Products, 330
Social Democrats (SPD), 127
Sociedad Anónima de Fibras Artificiales (SAFA), 376
Sociedad Ibérica del Nitrógeno SIN, 376
Società Italiana Bakelite. See SIR
Société Chimique des Usines du Rhône, 254
Société des Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveus (Society of Dyes Safe for Hair), 276
Société des usines chimiques Rhône-Poulenc, 255
sociopolitical environment, perceived as increasingly restricting Ciba-Geigy, 210
soda ash, 289
Solvay, 352
Ausimont sold to, 363
BASF PVC-activities merged with, 77
Fina agreements concluded with, 279
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
in Spain in 1973, 387
Solvay process
versus the Leblanc process in the soda business, 85
producing purer soda ash, 290
replacement of the Leblanc process, 290
South America, German chemical industry investment in, 153
South Korea
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
Spain
attempts to produce synthetic fuel from coal, 390
chemical firms
a few becoming international, 400
largest in 1959, 372–375, 388
largest in 1973, 389
largest in 1997, 394–395
weak position in periods of intense technological diffusion, 400
chemical industry
and (1880–1939), 370–380
difficulties in establishing a modern, 399
growth of, 399
intense growth of, 16
as the most innovative and fastest growing sector of, 393
not a founding nation of the modern, 369
output, trade balance, and self-sufficiency (1974–1998), 397
since the petrochemical revolution, 368–401
structure of (1958–1998), 396
take-off of dominated by foreign capital and technology, 376
technological and financial dependence on multinational concerns, 393
chemical technology, as an importer of, 368
chemicals and the modernization of, 385–392
conflicting responsibilities among ministries, 382
current productive structure of, 393
economy registering the fastest growth in Europe, 385
entrepreneurs, 400
global accommodation of a latecomer, 1875–2000, 392–398
innovation, first enduring efforts fostering, 392
pharmaceutical firms, 398
relative position gradually improving, 369
state intervention very weak as compared with other nations, 377
sustained economic growth following World War I, 378
synthetic fuel project for FNCE never approved, 379
turnover, 252
Spanish civil war, 380
Spanish miracle, 385
specialization
economies of, 37
as a strategy, 56
specialization index
for Britain, 426
in the chemicals trade, 449
for France, 426
for Germany, 426
of the gross output of chemicals, 411
for Italy, 434
for Japan, 426
for the U.S., 426
specialization path, shown by each country, 449
specialization patterns in branches of the chemical industry by country, 410
specialized companies
experiencing a tremendous growth, 275–277
growing continuously, 253
specialized engineering firms. See SEFs
specialties
British chemical industry characterized by production of, 415
competitive advantage in, 60
developing for niche markets, 266
European diversification towards, 364
fastest and most stable growth, 421
firms entering into, 45
market share increases of the countries producing, 412
produced by foreign affiliates of Switzerland, 205
as the products of the Swiss chemical industry, 220
Rhône-Poulenc acquisitions in, 262
strategic focus shifting to in Japan, 323
strategic redirection towards, 266–271
specialty sectors, 252
specialty strategy, 274
SSCI (Swiss Society of Chemical Industries), 197
avoiding any competitive disadvantage, 197
conforming domestic rules and procedures with those within the EU, 199
impact of the process of European integration, 199
participating actively within the CEFIC, 199
political issues in regard to freedom of research, 200
stabilization plan in Spain, 385
stagflation, 116
Stammhaus
activities expanding, 213
of Ciba, 204
expansion larger abroad than in, 208
functions shifted to foreign affiliates, 205
of Geigy, 204
maintaining a dominant position, 204
share in total sales almost maintained, 204
Standard International Trade Classification revision 2 (SITC rev. 2), 449–450
Standard Oil
converting specific crude oil fractions into aromatic compounds, 176
cooperating in the production of synthetic rubber, 32
Standard Oil (New Jersey)
as a longtime partner of IGF, 149
urging subsidiaries to invest in petrochemical plants, 226
Standard-Vacuum, 319
state
intervention
by the Italian government, 366
new era of in Spain, 380
relationship with the chemical industry, 121
state-owned financial institutions in Italy, 355
state-owned firms in Spain, 400
Statoil, 14
acquisition of Saga Petrokjemi, 239–241
ambitions of becoming a fully integrated oil company, 233
becoming a crude heavy upstream oil company, 243
becoming a fully integrated oil company, 241
buying Saga Petrokjemi, 240
creation of, 62
demanding economic compensation from Phillips, 237
as an end producer of plastics, 245
formation of, 231
improving operating profit from petrochemicals, 244
increasing volumes of NGL in the 1990s, 245
joint venture with Himont, 245
as a major producer of petrochemicals, 245
merger with Neste, 247
merging petrochemical operations with Neste, 45
negative operating profit in 1991, 246
purchase of
Exxon’s assets in Sweden, 244
Saga Petrokjemi, 243
recorded large losses in 1992 and 1993, 247
share in a cracker, 234
as a suitor for NGL from Ekofisk, 233
supplying Neste with ethylene feedstock, 245
temptation to integrate forward, 245
wet gas terminal at Kårstø, 243
Staudinger, Herman, 33
Sterling Chemical, 48
Stine, Charles M.A., 173
stock markets, German chemical firms raising capital from, 87
Stockholm conference on the environment (1972), 123
Stockholms Superfosfat Fabriks AB, 227
Stone & Webster naphtha-cracking technology, 334
stop-go cycles, British economy susceptible to, 301
strategic agreements among firms, 21
strategic reorientation
during the 1990s, 71–79
of the chemical industry, 11
strategic repositioning of diversified chemical groups, 281
strategy
of enterprises, 54
regulating the production of Swiss, 203
Streptomycin, 143
Strube, Jürgen, 165
structural change in the 1970s, 99
structural overcapacity crisis in the British chemical industry, 303
Stymer, 229
styrene, 176
Suanzes, 381
subsidies, granting in Italy to small companies, 353
substance-oriented controls, 129
substitution principle
basing policy firmly on, 131
making less binding, 133
Sumitomo, 43, 89
massive entry into petrochemicals, 98
as a pioneer in petrochemical-related technology, 334
Sumitomo Aluminium Reduction, 334
Sumitomo Chemical, 320
acquiring Japan Dyestuff Manufacturing, 328
developing overseas businesses, 340
expanding business lines in fine chemicals, 339
investing alone in petrochemical technology, 334
investment in petrochemicals, 320
as a mature firm, 328
originating in one of the zaibatsu combinations, 327
purchase of high-density polyethylene know-how, 334
rationalizing depressed operations, 339
representative of the Japanese chemical industry, 325
return on profit (1995), 316
sales, profit and profit margin in 1995, 311
slow in responding to the deteriorating business environment, 339
as a target of economic reconstruction policy after World War II, 334
Sumitomo Chemical France, 340
Sumitomo Chemical Netherlands, 340
Sumitomo Chemical (U.K.), 340
Sumitomo Fertilizer Factory, 328
Sumitomo Fertilizer Manufacturing, 328
Sumitomo group, chemical enterprises in, 310
Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals, 340
sun cream, marketed by L’Oréal, 276
Suomen Polystyreeni Tehdas Oy, 242
Superfund, 127. See also CERCLA
supply glut, 235
Svenska Esso AB, 227, 228
Sweden
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
development of the petrochemical industry in, 14
Esso ethylene cracker, 227
petrochemical plants on the edge of being uncompetitive, 234
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
Swiss IG, dyes cartel, 28
Swiss Society of Chemical Industries. See SSCI
Switzerland
chemical companies
hostility to with regard to pollution, 199
proliferation of, 14
sales product groups, 220
chemical exports and imports, 310
chemical industry
case studies, 202–220
as a dynamic part of the economy, 220
employees, 198, 202
expansion and internationalization of, 193–195
experts, 198
future prospects of, 222
overview of, 195–202
performance, 200
share in total industrial production and exports after World War I, 196
franc, overvaluation of, 210
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
turnover and mean growth, 252
synergy benefits, achieved by Borealis, 249
Synthélabo
acquired by L’Oréal, 277
merger of Sanofi with, 280
synthetic dyes
Britain leading the way in, 84
lead time for developing, 88
synthetic fertilizers, Spain a net importer of, 376
synthetic fiber industry
in Japan, 320
stabilization of the European, 157
synthetic fibers
consumption of, 224
driving Rhône-Poulenc’s growth after World War II, 255
remarkable development of at Rhône-Poulenc, 259
synthetic materials
demand for a range of, 224
growth rate of after the Second World War, 224
synthetic rubber
Allied ban on the production of, 142
prohibition on the manufacture of, 143
during World War II, 175
synthetics, Ciba production of, 203
Taiwan
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
Takeda Pharmaceutical, 341
takeovers
environment supportive of in Germany, 109
widening the scope for R&D activities at Ciba-Geigy, 214
tar-dyes manufacture, Ciba and Geigy roots in, 203
tariffs, establishment of, 377
Tarragona, 387
technical assistance services, 23
technical competencies in Japan, 331
technical education
deficient in Britain, 289
systematic required for the second industrial revolution, 289
technical leadership, cost-leadership related to, 56
technocratic culture in the German chemical industry, 146–147
technocratic government in Spain, 385
technocratic management in Germany, 142
technological capabilities
of U.S. companies, 30
weakness of becoming significant in Japan, 317
technological competencies
of Japanese chemical companies, 309
Japanese level of, 313
technological developments, importing, 308
technological frontier, Japan competitiveness conditioned by, 313
technological implementation, requiring steps beyond scientific discovery, 84
technological revolution, international chemical industry on the brink of another, 367
technological strength of ICI, 295
technology. See also chemical technology; foreign technology
acquisition in Japan, 313–314
antitrust climate in the U.S. encouraging licensing of, 183
British chemical firms unable to create innovative, 84
British firms failing to excel in, 85
closely held as more orderly and sustainable, 184
companies tending to specialize around, 172
diffusion of
abetted by World War II, 174
bringing an increase in competition, 99
foreign licensed in Italy, 90
getting in place cheaper by purchasing, 182
Japanese importing already-tested and commercialized, 325
learning process for Japanese companies, 314
market for, 38
quick learning and incremental improvement of imported in Japan, 325
transfers
channels used for, 236
occurring for each petrochemical factory, 235
types of firms involved in, 235
Teflon
fabrication technology and business, 188
in World War II, 175
Teijin, 335
ten oil commandments for Norway, 232
Texas Gulf, 278
textile industry, incentive to produce chemicals in Switzerland, 195
Thai Plastic and Chemical, 339
Thatcher, Mrs., 304
thematic research approach, 10–12
therapeutic properties of chemical intermediates, 23
Third Industrial Revolution, 4
third phase of the Japanese chemical industry, 322–325
Tidewater in the General Headquarters advisory panel, 319
Timm, Bernhard, 149
toluene for TNT high explosives, 176
Tonen Petrochemical, 321
Toray Industries, 311, 316
Total
acquisition of Petrofina, 277
Atofina as the chemical branch of, 79
created to exploit petroleum, 278
development of chemicals in, 278
total manufactures by country (1963–1991), 410
total sales
of Ciba-Geigy, 213
decrease in for Ciba-Geigy, 211
of the new Ciba, 218
of Novartis, 219
Total-Fina-Elf
chemicals division of, 251
created around a raw material, 278
creation of, 277–280
evolution compared to Rhône-Poulenc, 254
quoted on the Paris and New York stock exchanges, 279
Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), 124, 125
Toyo Rayon, 332
trade
of chemicals, 419–434
liberalizing through international organizations and agreements, 197
trade balances
by country, 1980–2003, 349
by Italian industry, 1985–2003, 348
trade payables, lending against in Britain, 84
trade restrictions, dependence on, 208
trademarks, German confiscated after both World Wars, 415
trading companies, exporting products of Japanese chemical companies, 317
trading cycle, movements of, 303
transfer process to Norwegian engineers and operators easier with English, 236
transformations at Rhône-Poulenc, 268
triade-rule, 162
tripartite firms, 300
Truman, President, ordering German proprietary records to be public, 31
TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976), 124, 125
turnover by country in 2000, 252
UAC, attachment to outmoded technology, 290
Ube Cement, 330
Ube Industries
diversification, 335, 341
ethylene, supply of, 335
investment in restructuring and refocusing, 336
joint venture with Wormser, 341
as a member of the group organized by Sanwa Bank, 335
from a new set of enterprises formed around large commercial banks, 327
representative of local zaibatsu, 330
representative of the Japanese chemical industry, 325
return on profit (1995), 316
suffering from low profitability, 341
Ube Nitrogen Industries, 330
Ube Rexene, 341
UBE-EMS, 341
UEE (Unión Española de Explosivos)
diversification and gradual nationalization, 376
in 1973, 387
now mainly in Spanish hands, 396
Ugine Kuhlman, 279
Uhde, 80
UK (United Kingdom). See also Britain
acquisitions, 49
chemical industry imports and exports, 287
chemical plants, steady drop in the size of, 442
chemical production by branch (1970–1990), 415
chemicals
average annual growth rates in the production of (1963–1991), 410
more diversified production of, 412
share in exports of (1952–1992), 419
share in the production of (1968–1989), 412
employment in the total production of chemicals and manufactures (1970–1990), 444, 446
export of chemicals by branch (1952–1992), 430
legislation on the Control of Chemicals, 124
licensing agreements, 40
manufactures, total (1963–1991), 410
SEF licensing, market share of (1980–1990), 39
SEFs’ services, percentage of the total market of, 39
specialization index of the gross output of chemicals, 411
specializations in the chemicals trade (1952–1982), 431
specializing in perfumes and cleaning goods, 449
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
value added per worker in the production of chemicals by branch (1970–1990), 440
value added, showing lower, 434
worst performer in regard to oil shocks, 410
uncertainty, 267
underestimation of basic petrochemical demand in Japan, 331
Unicolor, 371
Unifos Kemi, 227
purchase of by Neste, 243
selling polyethylene in the Scandinavian market, 228
Unilever, 73
Union Carbide (USA), 53
acquired by Dow Chemicals, 11
Bhopal as the beginning of its end, 58
contract with Stockholms Superfosfat Fabriks AB, 227
LDPE, new process to cut cost in the production of, 65
mergers
with Carbon Corporation, 30
with Dow, 81
natural gas to make ethylene glycol, 176
petrochemicals and air separation gases, 31
polyethylene, major producer of, 177
return on profit (1995), 316
Rhône-Poulenc acquired pesticides from, 70
sale of European plastics division, 61
selling petrochemical plants in Europe to British Petroleum, 239
as a special case, 70
struggles in the 1990s, 74
Unión Española de Explosivos. See UEE
Unión Quimica Lluch UQLL, 371
Union, represented in the General Headquarters advisory panel, 319
Unione Italiana Concimi Chimici, 91
unit operation, 35
United Alkali Company, 27, 28, 85, 290
United Kingdom. See Britain; UK
United States
acquisitions, 47, 49
antitrust policy, 22
capital market of, 216
chemical exports and imports, 310
chemical firms
shedding overcapacity in commodities, 103
starting as producers of basic chemicals, 414
chemical industry, 29–31
adopting more capital-intensive processes, 364
evolution and financing of, 85–87
growth of, 5
launched by World War II, 169
since the petrochemical revolution, 168–189
chemical plants
more modern than British, 297
productivity compared to British counterparts, 297
chemical products, percentage of the world output of, 5
chemical-producing firms, transformation of leading, 8
chemicals
average annual growth rates in the production of (1963–1991), 410
more diversified production of, 412
share in exports of (1952–1992), 419
share in the production of (1968–1989), 412
consumption of LDPE, HDPE, and polypropylene per inhabitant, 230
corporations, more profitable than European, 364
environment, experiences with, 12
environmental policy, development of, 124–129
European petrochemicals branches, setting up, 414
export
of chemicals by branch (1952–1992), 422
deficit in chemicals, 347
as an export leader, 426
export market share, biggest loss in, 421
as a field of expansion by German companies, 154–155
firms
acquiring companies to achieve large-scale operations, 46
assisting in the research department of CEPSA, 393
more likely to use acquisitions in restructuring, 45
pushing ahead of European rivals in new drug development, 4
government-business relations, 122
Japanese exports and imports of chemical products, 324
Justice Department, 183
licensing agreements, 40
manufactures, total (1963–1991), 410
market-driven restructuring process, 48
mercury, use of, 135
patents issued 1985–1995, 337
PCBs, disposal of, 134
petrochemical leadership tempered by an early maturity, 13
petrochemical revolution in, 178–184
petrochemical technologies, imported by German companies, 33
pharmaceutical firms, as significant competitors to European industry, 4
pharmaceuticals, significant position in, 8
plastics consumption per inhabitant, 230
prewar chemical industry (World War I), 172
producers utilizing natural gas as a raw material in place of naphtha, 323
production
by branch (1963–1990), 413
of chemicals, 412
productivity levels, 434
restructuring market driven, 44
SEF licensing, market share of, 40
SEFs services, percentage of the total market of, 39
speciality firms, acquiring, 414
specialization index of the gross output of chemicals, 411
specializations in the chemicals trade (1952–1992), 423
specializing in fertilizers, 449
technologies, companies willingness to sell, 32
as a technology generator and innovator, 313
trade balances, 1980–2003, 349
value added per worker in the production of chemicals by branch (1963–1991), 437
worst performer
in manufactures and in the production of chemicals, 410
in regard to oil shocks, 410
Universal Oil Products Company (UOP), 179, 391
universities
departments of chemical engineering established by American, 36
linkages with, 25
University of Erlangen, 25
university researchers, investigating more generalized phenomena, 172
university-industry networks, 21, 36–37
Unquinesa, 384, 387
Upjohn, Monsanto merging with, 11
Uponor. See Oy Uponor AS
upstream basic chemicals in Japan, 331
upstream integration, Auguste Victoria coal mine interfirm agreement, 24
upstream markets, exit from less profitable, 102
upstream production
shift from to downstream production, 369
suffering from poor performance in Japan, 310
UQLL, 379
Uriach, 398
Urquijo group, 383
U.S. See United States
U.S. Justice Department, 183
USA. See United States
user-producer networks, 21
during and after World War II, 31
after World War II in the U.S., 33
encouraged by polymer chemistry, 34
user-producer relationships in specialty chemical markets, 45
users
complex interactions with for technical reasons, 24
downstream chemical developed rapidly in the Japanese domestic market, 322, 331
networks with, 44
technology market for with vertical linkages to producers, 38
Valant USA, 340
value added
decision by DuPont to continue introducing, 184
in different countries, 434
per worker in the Japanese chemical industry, 309
per worker in the production of chemicals by branch (1963–1991), 437
VCI, 156
Verbund, 77, 164
vertical networks between chemical companies and SEFs, 38
vertical specialization for Japanese chemical companies, 309
vinyl resins, production during World War II, 175
Vision 2000
becoming increasingly blurred, 218
at Ciba-Geigy, 215
successful transformation of, 218
Volkswagenstiftung (Volkswagen Foundation), 160
wage driven inflation, 116
Wallström, Margot, 131, 133
waste water, purification of, 211
water pollution, 128
Weiler-ter-Meer, 26
welfare services, 116
Wenning, Werner, 164
West Germany. See also Germany
acquisitions, 49
market share of SEF licensing, 40
Western Europe. See also Europe
severe crisis in the volume of export, 421
shares of capacity in 1989, 361
Willersinn, H., 158
win-win partnership, 268
world leader companies, 10
world oligopoly of chemical industries, 313
World War I
aftermath of, 293–294
decisive in accelerating the industrialization process in Spain, 371
effects of in Britain, 291–293
new initiatives, 371
World War II
chemical industry and, 2
destructive impact on newly emerged groups in Japan, 318, 331
effects of, 31–35
effects on the American chemical industry, 174–176
German chemical industry immediately after, 141–145
important changes after, 54
launching the American chemical industry, 169
leveling effect on Japanese chemical companies, 330
Wormser, 341
W. R. Grace, 316
YPF, 393
Yusho, Japan, rice oil contaminated with PCBs, 134
zaibatsu, 43
caution of, 328
chemical firms catching up with new zaibatsu, 330
chemical firms within, 89
financing industrialization in Japan, 89
zaibatsu groups
catching up with new entrepreneurial zaibatsu companies, 320
deconcentrating the economic power of, 332
firms within old diversified, 327
in Japan, 317
reluctant to commit to chemicals and heavy industries, 317
Zeneca
emergence out of ICI, 100
merger with Astra, 109
sale of, 15
spin off of, 11, 73
Ziegler-Natta type catalysts, 177