Union Carbide

History

The Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation was formed on November 1, 1917. It resulted from a merger of the Union Carbide Company (founded in 1898), the National Carbon Company (founded in 1886), Linde Air Products Company (a Buffalo-based supplier of liquid oxygen that was confiscated from Gesellschaft für Linde's Eismaschinen AG under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917), and the Prest-O-Lite company, which manufactured calcium carbide in Indianapolis. In 1920, the company set up a chemicals division which manufactured ethylene glycol for use as automotive antifreeze. The company continued to acquire related chemical producers, including the Bakelite Corporation in 1939. The company changed its name to "Union Carbide Corporation" in 1957 and was often referred to as Carbide. It operated Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 1947 to 1984.

During the Cold War, the company was active in the field of rocket propulsion research and development for aerospace and guided missile applications, particularly in the field of chemicals and plastics, solid rocket motors, and storable liquid fuels. R&D and engineering were conducted at the Technical Center in South Charleston, West Virginia. The Aerospace Materials Department was part of the company's Carbon Products Division.

Ucar batteries was Carbide's industrial and consumer zinc chloride battery business. The business, including Eveready and Energizer alkaline batteries, was sold to Ralston Purina in 1986, following a hostile takeover attempt.

After the Bhopal disaster in 1984, Union Carbide was the subject of repeated takeover attempts. In order to pay off its debt, Carbide sold many of its most familiar brands such as Glad Trashbags and Eveready Batteries. Dow Chemical announced the purchase of Carbide in 1999 for $8.89 billion in stock. The deal was consummated in 2001 and valued at $11.6 billion. Carbide became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical on February 6, 2001.