The science of solutions:
building value through technological differentiation
The essence of a specialty chemical company is its ability to deliver value by optimizing chemistry to meet the needs of specific applications. Witco will stay ahead of the competition by building "technology platforms" for innovative new chemistries that add value for customers by providing the solutions they need.
It's Fundamental.
Several years ago, Witco Polymer Chemicals launched a study into the mechanisms of vinyl degradation. The result? A new way to build far more effective mixed metal vinyl stabilizers. Our new stabilizers alter the chemistry of vinyl to improve its performance, reduce waste and provide wider processing windows. Using our stabilizers, customers can process vinyl faster without compromising product quality. Our detailed understanding of vinyl additive interactions lets us reformulate many of our products to improve performance and simplify use.
Last year, the Vinyl Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers awarded the Best Paper of 1998 to a group of Witco Scientists in recognition of the outstanding research effort that developed these new chemistries. This marked the second year in a row Witco has won this prestigious award.
Hiding From Water...In Water.
Not too many years ago, conventional wisdom held that silanes and waterborne coatings would not coexist in the same package. Water set off the silanes' reactivity prematurely, keeping them from delivering the desired benefits at the time of application. This relegated silanes to niches in the development of environmentally friendly waterborne systems.
Witco OrganoSilicones researchers came up with a creative solution - hide silanes' reactive sites until the time their services are needed. This approach lets our customers add silanes to waterborne paints, sealants, and polymer solutions. After application, the drying process begins and the silanes' reactive sites come out of hiding, crosslinking the resin and improving adhesion and durability.
Witco is continuing to introduce water stable silanes. Some fight scuffs and stains, while others make it possible for a coating to be both tough and flexible. One new molecule makes it easier for Witco customers to formulate outstanding sealants, while another enables packagers to print on ink- resistant plastics.
Our environmentally friendly CoatOSil® silanes give water-based coatings the outstanding abrasion and chemical resistance ordinarily associated with solvent systems. In the near future, Witco will introduce new crosslinking technology for powder coatings, and a unique wetting agent that coats plastics more uniformly, even when operating at higher process speeds.
Witco's ability to hide silanes in water also gives customers a way to formulate more consistent sealants with better properties and less scrap. Our silylated urethanes improve sealant performance, cost less to handle and have less solvent emission to the environment. And, our new XL-PEarl™ systems make it possible for customers to run cross-linked polyethylene pipe on existing equipment, rather than invest in expensive precision specialized extruders.
A New Platform.
Vast oil and gas reserves lie under the sea. To tap them, oil and gas field operators are drilling in excess of one mile beneath the ocean surface before reaching bedrock. Within a few short years, they will probe even deeper to satisfy the world's thirst for energy.
The extreme pressures and temperatures of deepwater drilling and production make it the most challenging segment of the oilfield chemicals business. It is also the fastest growing segment. From inhibitors that prevent icing in gas pipelines to gellants that prop open fractured rock to release oil, Witco Industrial Specialties and OrganoSilicones researchers are creating the first broad platform of technologies specifically designed for deepwater hydrocarbon recovery.
We're also partnering with a leading research institute, CANMET Western Research Center, to develop a new generation of production additives that will make it more economical to recover Canada's massive reserves of heavy oil and tar sands.
Breaking Barriers:
In 1997, Witco Refined Products developed a unique high-viscosity white mineral oil for industrial lubrication. In 1998, we introduced this exciting new chemistry to the cosmetics industry for use in skin care creams and lotions. Our new Hydrobrite® 1000 white oil has all the moisturization properties of petrolatum. Unlike petrolatum, however, it remains liquid when formulated, so it goes on more smoothly and feels more luxuriant on the skin. Witco is working with many personal care companies on future formulations.
Previous | Return to Annual Report Main page | Next
