Rhodia - Martinez

Acid Plant Database August 1, 2019

Owner	PQ Corporation - Eco Services
Location	100 Mococo Road Martinez, California USA 94553
Background	Formerly Rhodia Inc. 2011 - Acquired by Solvay SA 2014 - Acquired by CCMP Capitol Advisors LLC 2016 - Merged with PQ Corporation
Website	www.rhodia.com www.rhodia-eco-services.com
Plant	-
Coordinates	38º 2' 3" N, 122º 6' 56" W
Type of Plant	Acid Regeneration/Sulphur Burning
Gas Source	Alkylation Waste Acid Elemental Sulphur
Plant Capacity	1834 STPD
SA/DA	3/1 DA
Emissions	SO₂: < 300 ppm @ 12% O₂, 4 h avg 2.20 lb/ton (Long-Term Limit as per Consent Decree) 3.00 lb/ton (Short-Term Limit as per Consent Decree) Acid Mist: 0.04 gr/dscf (SO₃ and H₂SO₄) 0.3 lb/ton
Status	Operating
Year Built	1971
Technology	-
Contractor	-
Remarks	Plant equipped with an ammonia tail gas scrubber
Permits	State of California, Bay Area Air Quality Management District www.baaqmd.gov Facility ID: B1661 Consent Decree - Effective Date: July 1, 2007
	Permit No.	Issue Date	Expiry Date	Date Modified
	B1661	May 30, 2002	April 30, 2007	-
	-	-	-	-
Pictures
General	-
References	-
News	May 4, 2016 - PQ Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of specialty inorganic performance chemicals, high-end catalysts, and engineered glass beads, and Eco Services Operations LLC (“Eco Services”), the North American leader in sulfuric acid recycling services, announced today the closing of a previously announced merger that bolsters PQ’s position as a world-class specialty inorganic chemical company. Concurrently with the closing of the merger between PQ and Eco Services, PQ has also refinanced its existing credit facilities by entering into a USD$1.2 billion senior secured term loan (consisting of a USD$900 million senior secured term loan and a USD$300 million Euro equivalent senior secured term loan), USD$625 million in new senior secured notes, USD$525 million in senior unsecured notes, and a USD$200 million asset-based secured revolving credit facility. The existing $200 million of Eco Services notes will remain outstanding. “Combining PQ and Eco Services and refinancing our credit facilities positions the new PQ to grow and prosper well into the future,” said George J. Biltz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. “Moving forward, our customers will continue to see superior product offerings and top-notch service from our dedicated team.” Biltz also noted that the combination joins two specialty inorganic chemical companies that have similar business models and complementary customers. Both companies provide mission-critical products and services to the refinery industry, with PQ supplying catalysts necessary for the refining of crude oil and Eco Services providing sulfuric acid regeneration services needed in the alkylation process. Biltz anticipates a smooth integration process that is expected to yield significant back-office savings and other synergies that will serve PQ’s growth initiatives. July 31, 2014 - Solvay SA (SOLB) agreed to sell its sulphuric acid operation serving the mining industry to private equity firm CCMP Capitol Advisors LLC in a deal valued at $890 million. The buyout firm is paying “just over” eight times adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the last 12 months through June, Solvay said in a statement today. Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Clamadieu is delivering a deal ahead of a year-end deadline to announce a buyer for the business, as he looks to enhance the Belgian company’s focus and profitability. Separately, Solvay reiterated today it expects high single-digit percentage earnings growth this year. “Eco Services has a market leading position and generates stable cash flows, but its business profile differs from Solvay’s strategic ambitions,” said Clamadieu. Sales in the second-quarter rose 2 percent to 2.64 billion euros, driven by higher volumes. Recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 10 percent to 485 million euros, buoyed by an acquisition to expand in oil-field chemicals that performed better than expectations, and advanced materials. (Bloomberg) June 29, 2014 - Solvay, a chemical plant located on 100 Mococo Road, was named on the Bay Area News Group’s 2014 Top Workplaces. Solvay, who placed 34th, was the only Martinez company honored. Over 1,400 Bay Area workplaces were considered, with surveys sent out to all employees before a panel selected the winners, who were announced June 15. Solvay is headquartered in Belgium and the Martinez site is one of 117 plants worldwide. The facility has been here since 1970, and is on the site of the former Mountain Copper Company. Solvay’s business is two-fold: it recycles a million pounds of sulfuric acid a day from area refineries and sends it back to the refineries to be used in their processing of crude oil. Solvay also uses the sulfur the refineries take out of crude and makes sulfuric acid, selling about a million pounds a day to other industries. “We are like a sulfuric acid dry cleaning business, if you will,” said plant manager Darrel Hodge. “We are also a very green company. “We generate a lot of steam, so we make our own carbon-free electricity. Enough for our own needs.” The 45 employees at Solvay have a unique culture according to Hodge, now in his eighth year as plant manager. “There is a strong sense of family, camaraderie and teamwork,” Hodge said. “We had 100 percent participation on a project to build a gym on an older building on campus. Employees decided to use no outside contractors for demolition and construction. They broke down solid block walls, removed plumbing, poured a new floor, put in a drop ceiling complete with power and lighting, added rubber flooring, painted and outfitted the gym with equipment either from home or purchased. “It turned out as if a professional had done the installation.” Employees also constructed a park on two acres of land near the administration building. “I don’t know of any other chemical plant with a park inside their fence line,” Hodge said. Again with no outside contractors, employees have built a park complete with two bocce courts, two horseshoe pits, a pitch and putt golf area, two barbecue pits, and three shade sails. Also planted were a hundred redwood and oak trees, cactus and palm trees. They even added a 100-foot water slide built into the side of a hill. It is used for company picnics, hosting visitors and community meetings. Solvay is also active in sponsoring community events providing the initial endowment for the Martinez Community Foundation that issues community-based grants. Employees are also active in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. “All the people here know we have something special,” Hodge added. “We have almost no turnover outside of retirement. We had one engineer quit three years ago when he relocated to the Midwest.” Every employee is trained in first aid and CPR and 80 percent are on the emergency response team. “In one instance our employee revived a jogger who had a heart attack; in another instance, an employee’s wife put out a fire in a church kitchen,” Hodge added. April 4, 2011 - Belgian chemicals and plastics company Solvay SA said Monday that it will buy Rhodia SA in a friendly deal that values the French specialty-chemicals maker at €3.4 billion ($4.84 billion) and will expand Solvay's footprint in fast-growing emerging markets. Solvay, which in 2009 sold its pharmaceuticals business to Abbott Laboratories for €4.5 billion, is offering €31.60 a share in cash, representing a premium of 50% to Rhodia's Friday closing price of €21.07. The deal has been recommended by the French company's directors. The new company will have combined annual revenue of €12 billion and will derive 40% of its sales from emerging markets, helped by Rhodia's strong presence in Brazil and China. Solvay Chief Executive Christian Jourquin said during a news conference that the combined company will have sufficient resources to target larger acquisitions in emerging countries. Rhodia Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Clamadieu pointed to opportunities for expansion in India, in addition to Brazil and China, as well as in the renewable raw-materials sector. Mr. Clamadieu will become deputy chief executive of Solvay and is expected to take the helm of the company once Mr. Jourquin retires. Rhodia shares in Paris closed up 48% at €31.21, slightly lower than the offer price, while Solvay closed 2.3% higher at €85.79 in Brussels. While Rhodia hadn't been considered a likely takeover target for Solvay, it offers the expansion into new markets that the Belgian company had been seeking, analysts said. They said Rhodia will boost Solvay's geographical exposure, particularly in Asia, one of the most promising markets for the companies' businesses. It will also reduce the energy footprint and increase the company's research and development of new products. But the new Solvay-Rhodia combination won't reduce Solvay's exposure to external economic shocks and the company's performance will continue to shift with macroeconomic trends. "Rhodia was not our best guess," Bernard Hanssens, an analyst at Bank Degroof in Brussels, wrote in a note about the deal. "The reduction of the cyclicality of the earnings seems less obvious," he wrote. Solvay was hard-hit by the economic downturn, as its business is heavily dependent on the construction and the automotive industries, both of which were affected by the slump. However, its pharmaceutical business had reduced the negative impact, propping up the company's numbers.

MTPD - Metric Tonne per Day           STPD - Short Ton per Day
MTPA - Metric Tonne per Annum      STPA - Short Ton per Annum
SA - Single Absorption
DA - Double Absorption

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