Two Innovation Centers Dedicated by Croda Inc

Opens two innovation centers at the Atlas Point manufacturing site.

Innovation is the cornerstone of every  successful supplier to the global personal care and household products industry. That Croda recently dedicated not one, but two innovation centers at its Atlas Point site in Delaware, speaks volumes about the company’s commitment to developing novel solutions for the industries it serves.
   

Kevin Gallagher, president, Croda Inc (left) and William C. Griffin in front of the innovation center that bears Mr. Griffin’s name.

One of the centers, The William C. Griffin Innovation Center, honors William Griffin, a longtime employee at the site and the inventor of the Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance (HLB) System. Mr. Griffin developed the system while working for Atlas Powder Company (now a part of Croda), which was located at Atlas Point. Mr. Griffin, 94, began his career with Atlas Powder Company in 1936. By the time he retired in 1979, he had more than 36 patents to his credit, and developed several key ingredients for the industry.
   
“Today is a special day in the history of Croda North America. It allows us to look back to the past to the history of this great facility and the future,” observed Kevin Gallagher, president of Croda Inc.

HLB: A Valuable Invention

Mr. Gallagher noted that when nonionic surfactants were first developed, many formulators didn’t know how to work with them. To facilitate their use, Mr. Griffin developed the HLB system to provide guidance on selecting the right emulsifier and surfactant.
   

On hand to dedicate the new William C. Griffin Innovation Center are (l-r): Kevin Gallagher, Robert Stewart, William C. Griffin and Bruce Calvert.

“Bill Griffin and his Atlas colleagues made an important contribution to the history of American chemistry,” noted Mr. Gallagher. “He invented this system to make these new nonionics emulsions and surfactants understandable to the chemists who would use them in so many different products.”
   
The William C. Griffin Innovation Center houses Croda’s industrial research and development laboratories. It will support innovation in the industrial markets of crop care, lubricants, oilfield, coatings and polymer additives.
   
The Atlas Point Commercial Center includes Croda’s Skin Innovation Laboratory, which will support skin care product concepts for the personal care industry, as well as office space for Croda’s industrial sales team.
   
The completion of the renovations to these two buildings brings Croda’s investment in the manufacturing site to $20 million since it acquired Uniqema from ICI in 2006. The company intends to make more capital expenditures during the next 10 years to allow the site to become a world class manufacturing facility, according to Croda.

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