Solvay: History of a Multinational Family Firm

Kenneth Bertrams; Nicolas Coupain; Ernst Homburg

ISBN 10: 1107024803 / ISBN 13: 9781107024809

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2013

About this Item

Oversized hardcover, xviii + 630 pages, b&w photos in text, weight 1.1kg, NOT ex-library. Book is clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Untorn dust jacket shows gentle wear. -- This is the first scholarly history of the Solvay company, one of the world's earliest and most successful chemical multinationals. The book covers 150 years (1863-2013) of the firm's evolution from a family-run partnership into a global industrial leader. It details how Ernest Solvay patented a revolutionary process for making soda ash in 1863, which was cleaner and more cost-effective than the previous Leblanc process. The narrative tracks the company's expansion from soda ash into plastics, peroxides, and pharmaceuticals, including major milestones like the acquisition of Rhodia in 2011. The authors examine the firm's "calculated generosity," such as building housing, schools, and hospitals for workers in remote areas to ensure loyalty while simultaneously opposing labour unions.

Seller Inventory # 012746

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Solvay: History of a Multinational Family Firm
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1107024803
• ISBN 13: 9781107024809
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Ernest Solvay, philanthropist and organizer of the world-famous Solvay conferences on physics, discovered a profitable way of making soda ash in 1861. Together with a handful of associates, he laid the foundations of the Solvay company, which successfully branched out to other chemicals, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. Since its emergence in 1863, Solvay has maintained world leadership in the production of soda ash. This is the first scholarly book on the history of the Solvay company, which was one of the earliest chemical multinationals and today is among the world's twenty largest chemical companies. It is also one of the largest companies in the field to preserve its family character. The authors analyze the company's 150-year history (1863–2013) from economic, political, and social perspectives, showing the enormous impact geopolitical events had on the company and the recent consequences of global competition.

About the Authors

Kenneth Bertrams is Research Fellow at the National Fund for Scientific Research in Belgium and Lecturer in History at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium.

Nicolas Coupain is Historian and Scientific Advisor at Solvay S. A.

Ernst Homburg is Professor of History of Science and Technology at Maastricht University, The Netherlands.