Albemarle Corporation, announced last Tuesday that it will relocate its corporate headquarters and its Performance Chemicals business from Baton Rouge, La. to Charlotte, N.C. In addition, it will relocate Baton Rouge employees in its Refining Solutions business to its existing Clear Lake, Texas office. Approximately 120 of the company's employees will be relocated to Charlotte and Clear Lake, with the majority of the relocations expected to take place in June 2016.

Albemarle manufactures 15,000 metric tons per year of PAO, all under contract to ExxonMobil Chemical, and also manufactures synthetic renewable base oils for Novvi S.A., a joint venture between Amyris and Cosan.
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"As we look at the ever-increasing demands for communication, collaboration and mobility for our employees and our customers, Charlotte is the best strategic location to base the new Albemarle," said Luke Kissam, Albemarle's president and chief executive officer. "Located approximately 35 miles from our state-of-the-art lithium facility in Kings Mountain, metropolitan Charlotte provides easy and fast connectivity with customers and colleagues, fostering a collaborative environment and culture for our team. We look forward to expanding our presence in North Carolina becoming an even more significant partner in the communities where we live and operate."

Kissam continued, "Our U.S.-based Refining Solutions team will be strategically placed amidst our customers and partners in the Houston area, a major hub of the global refining industry, creating a more collaborative environment for them to serve our customers."

Baton Rouge will continue to be home to the company's R&D and manufacturing operations at its Process Development Center and several functional and support operations at its current downtown office. "Albemarle has enjoyed several successful years in Baton Rouge, and we are grateful for the partnership we share," added Kissam. "Through the Albemarle Foundation, our employees have donated over $11 million and countless hours toward enhancing the community, and we look forward to continuing this work well into the future."

The move follows the company's transformational $5.7 billion acquisition of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. in January of this year. The company nearly doubled in size and significantly increased its global presence, now employing approximately 6,900 people and serving customers in approximately 100 countries.

Albemarle’s manufacturing site, located in Pasadena, Texas, on the Houston ship channel, produces 15,000 metric tons per year of PAO, all under contract to ExxonMobil Chemical. On January 5, 2009, Albemarle announced the successful start-up of the new unit to produce SpectraSyn(TM) polyalphaolefins (PAO), a high viscosity basestock for lubricants, for ExxonMobil Chemical.

Also, Albemarle announced on August 23, 2011 that it has entered into a manufacturing agreement to supply base oils to Novvi S.A., a joint venture between Amyris, Inc. and Cosan S.A. Industria e Comércio focused on the development, production, marketing and distribution of high-performance renewable base oils from Biofene®, Amyris’ renewable farnesene. Under the terms of the agreement, Albemarle’s Fine Chemistry Services Division serves as a custom scale-up and production partner for synthetic, renewable base oils for the lubricants market. Novvi markets NovaSpec™, the venture’s synthetic renewable base oils produced at Albemarle, to finished lubricant manufacturers globally.