Despite the ongoing distraction of an on-again, off-again merger with Dow Chemical Company, Rohm and Haas is showing why it’s such a valuable acquisition in the first place. It was recently named Best Innovation Contributor (2008) by Henkel’s Laundry and Home Care business. The award was given for breakthrough technology for automatic dishwashing detergents.
Dow’s $15.4 billion buyout of the global specialty chemical manufacturer has been postponed because of “economic uncertainties,” while Rohm and Haas, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, has pushed for the deal to get done.
Meanwhile, the 100-year-old company has developed a new, super-efficient dispersant based on polyacrylic technology that allowed Henkel to reformulate its automatic dishwashing detergents and offer new features for its products. It’s a line of work Rohm and Haas has been involved with for more than 30 years.
”We have been focused on relationship building, and we understand that the investment in these relationships pays off for both parties involved,” says Ian Burke, Global General Manager for Primary Materials at Rohm and Haas. ”The closeness of our customer partnerships is what allows us to be successful together, even during an economic downturn.”
The technology means preventing film and scale build up especially noticeable in areas of hard water, so dishes and glassware can be pulled out shiny, clean and in the case of glasses–crystal clear. It took Rohm and Haas nearly three years of scientific research and testing to achieve the breakthrough, most of which was done in its global research center in Spring House, Montgomery County.
Source: Ian Burke, Global General Manager for Primary Materials at Rohm and Haas
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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