Chairman's - FMC Corporation

Specialty CHEMICALS
Specialty Chemicals’ sales were $753.1
million in 2009, a decline of 1 percent versus
the prior year, driven by strong commercial
performance in BioPolymer and lithium
specialties. We achieved record segment
earnings of $159.6 million, an increase of
5 percent versus the year earlier due to
favorable commercial performance including
the successful integration of our most recent
BioPolymer acquisitions, despite lower
lithium volumes that were impacted by the
global recession.
BioPolymer: Leading Positions in
Resilient Global Markets
In BioPolymer, over 90 percent of revenues
are realized by products with number one
positions in their respective markets —
6
markets with a history of steady, predictable
growth and that are largely independent of
economic cycles.
Food ingredients - our innovative solutions
provide texture, structure and physical
stability to the products of the world’s
leading food companies. Our strength
comes from having a deep understanding
of our customers’ needs complemented by
superior quality and innovative technologies.
Health and convenience trends as well as
emerging-market demand continue to be
the major drivers of our growth. We are
encouraged by our success in emerging
economies such as China, Brazil and
Thailand, which offer attractive growth
potential.
Specialty Chemicals, driven
by strong performance in
BioPolymer and lithium
specialties and the successful
integration of recent
acquisitions, achieved record
earnings in 2009.
As part of its acquisition of ISP’s alginates
and hydrocolloids business, FMC BioPolymer
made signifcant upgrades to its Haugesund,
Norway, alginates extraction facility (above),
expanding production and blending capacity to
meet continued demand growth. Rune Saltveit,
Haugesund supervisor services (below left), operates
a new pharmaceutical-grade blender. FMC is the
world’s leading manufacturer of alginates used in
pharmaceutical, processed foods, personal care and
specialty applications.
Pharmaceuticals - we are a global leader
in providing functional excipients to major
pharmaceutical innovators and leading
generic companies worldwide. Our Avicel ®
brand continues to be the gold standard
for the binding of oral tablets. We market a
broad line of other high-value excipients that
serve a wide range of applications, including
tablet dissolution, liquid suspension,
controlled release, anti-refux and dental
impressions. Similar to our food business,
we have a global footprint and are actively
expanding in emerging markets.
To drive our internal growth initiatives, in
2009 we opened a new research center in
Ewing, New Jersey. In combination with six
other technical labs throughout the world,
we are in an excellent position to develop
innovative concepts to serve our expanding
global customer base.