Ciba Specialty Chemicals
Encyclopedia
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. "Ciba" stood for "Chemische Industrie Basel" (Chemical Industries Basel). It was formed as the non-pharmaceuticals elements of Novartis
Novartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
were spun out in 1997, following the merger in the previous year of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz
Sandoz
Founded in 2003, Sandoz presently is the generic drug subsidiary of Novartis, a multinational pharmaceutical company. The company develops, manufactures and markets generic drugs as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnological active ingredients....
that created Novartis.
In 2008, Ciba was overtaken by the German chemical company BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
and, in April 2009, integrated into the BASF concern. Ciba AG first continued to firm under the old name, but was renamed into BASF Schweiz AG in March 2010.
The BASF subsidiary makes products in the following areas: Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, Automotive, Construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
& Pipe
Pipe (material)
A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder, usually but not necessarily of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow — liquids and gases , slurries, powders, masses of small solids...
s, Electronic materials, Extractive & Process Technologies, Home & Fabric Care, Ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
s & Graphics
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
, Lubricants, Monomers & Water Soluble Polymers, Packaging, Paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
s and Coating
Coating
Coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. In many cases coatings are applied to improve surface properties of the substrate, such as appearance, adhesion, wetability, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and scratch resistance...
s, Paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, Personal Care
Personal care
Personal care or toiletries is the industry which manufactures consumer products used for beautification and in personal hygiene.-Subsectors:Subsectors of personal care include cosmetics and feminine hygiene....
, Photo & Digital Imaging
Digital imaging
Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images...
, Plastics & Rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, Textiles & Fibers, Water treatment
Water treatment
Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the...
http://www.cibasc.com/pf/
History
Part of the merger agreement of 1997 between Ciba Geigy and Sandoz was that the former's industrial chemicals business would be spun off as a separate business, leading to the formation of Ciba Specialty Chemicals plc.In 2004 Ciba bought paper chemical manufacturer Raisio Chemicals from Raisio Group
Raisio Group
Raisio Oyj, known internationally as Raisio Group , is a Finnish company that makes cereal products, animal feeds and engage in life-sciences. Raisio produces Benecol, a ingredient used in a range of Cholesterol-reducing spreads, dairy products and condiments marketed under its Benecol brand name...
. In 2006, Ciba divested its Textile Dyes and Chemical Auxiliaries business in a sale to Huntsman Corporation.
In 2007 the company announced the intention to adopt the name Ciba Inc.
Ciba's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
agreed to a €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
3.4 billion takeover offer from BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
, the world's largest chemicals company, on 15 September 2008.
Board of directors
- Michael Heinz Chief Executive Officer
- Armin Meyer Chairman of the Board
- Beat W. Hess Vice Chairman of the Board
- Utz-Hellmuth Felcht Member of the Board
- Erwin W. Heri Member of the Board
- Gertrud Höhler Member of the Board
- Jean-Marie Pierre Lehn Member of the Board
- Peter Littmann Member of the Board
- Uli Sigg Member of the Board