Arkema SA

PAR:AKE

Business Description

Sector

Materials

Industry

Chemicals

Headquarters

France FR

Employees

20 700

IPO date

May 18, 2006

Arkema is a specialty chemicals company. It makes materials that other companies use in products such as coatings, adhesives, sealants, batteries, packaging, construction materials, and plastics. Its business is less about selling to consumers and more about supplying manufacturers that need chemicals with specific performance properties, such as strength, durability, heat resistance, or light weight.

The company earns money by selling these chemicals and materials to industrial customers around the world. Its main customers include makers of cars, buildings, electronics, consumer goods, and industrial equipment, as well as distributors and formulators that blend Arkema’s products into their own finished goods. Because many of its products are used as ingredients rather than final products, Arkema sits in the middle of the industrial supply chain.

What makes Arkema different is its focus on specialty products instead of basic commodity chemicals. That means it competes on technical performance, product design, and customer support rather than only on price. This gives the company closer ties to customers that need tailored materials for demanding applications, and it tends to make its business more dependent on long-term industrial demand and product qualification than on short-term consumer trends.