Have you used an ink pen lately? How about deodorant?

Perhaps you have done some painting recently… a living room or bedroom? Maybe you have even applied some color to your fingernails or lips.

If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, you have likely encountered a chemical additive made by Elementis Specialties. A wide array of everyday products from paints, inks, and coatings to cosmetics,and greases contain compounds produced by Elementis Specialties.

In 1972 construction began on a new processing plant at a twelve-acre site in Charleston. Located at 1003 MacCorkle Ave S.W. along Rt. 61 just east of the Patrick Street Bridge, the Charleston organoclay plant was built to manufacture a specialty rheological product line to compliment the company’s existing operations in the eastern U.S. Readers will most likely recall the plant’s former name as it was known in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, RHEOX (now you know the origin of the name).

Thanks to a significant capital expansion in 1998, the Charleston plant is the largest of three organoclay plants within Elementis Specialties. (Note: an organoclay is a specialized rheological agent or thickener.) The site is primarily made up of wet and dry blending, specialized drying, milling and packing processes. Today Elementis employs 47 full-time workers at its Charleston facility, which processes in excess of 14,000 metric tons of bagged product each year.

The Specialties division is part of an international specialty chemicals group, Elementis, PLC of London, England. Elementis, PLC is comprised of four divisions including Chromium, Pigments, Specialties and Linatex, which combine to generate annual sales of $800 million. Elementis employs over 2,600 people worldwide.

The company is committed to creating value for its shareholders, while proactively seeking improvements to the environment and caring for the occupational health and safety of its employees. The company maintains a target of zero environmental incidents in all aspects of its business and aspires to maintain the best environmental management practices. Elementis strives to be a responsible member of every community in which it operates.