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    Johnson Matthey

    Johnson Matthey Plc history, profile and history video

     Johnson Matthey Plc produces catalysts, precious metals and specialty chemicals. It operates through three global divisions: Environmental Technologies, Precious Metal Products and Fine Chemicals. The Environmental Technologies division supplies catalysts and related technologies for applications which benefit the environment such as pollution control, cleaner fuel, more efficient use of hydrocarbons and the hydrogen economy. This division consists of four global businesses: Emission Control Technologies, Process Technologies, Fuel Cells and Battery Technologies. The Emission Control Technologies business manufactures of catalysts for vehicle exhaust emission control and catalyst systems for the reduction of emissions from industrial processes. The Process Technologies business manufactures specialty catalysts, absorbents and additives for the methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, gas/coal to products, oil refineries and gas processing industries. The Fuel Cells business develops and manufactures catalysts and catalysed components for fuel cells, a technology for generating low carbon power. The Battery Technologies business engages in the design, development and manufacture of integrated battery systems. The Precious Metal Products division’s activities comprise two main areas: Services and Manufacturing businesses. The Services business engages in the marketing, distribution, refining and recycling of platinum group metals and the refining of gold and silver. The Manufacturing businesses include the fabrication of products using precious metals and related materials, platinum group metal and base metal catalysts and platinum group metals chemicals. The Fine Chemicals division supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients, fine chemicals and other specialty chemical products and services. This division consists of two businesses: API Manufacturing and Research Chemicals. The API Manufacturing business supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediate products for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries and provide contract research services to the pharmaceutical industry. The Research Chemicals business is a globally integrated supplier of specialty inorganic and organic chemicals and biochemicals. Johnson Matthey was founded by Percival Norton Johnson in 1817 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

    “Johnson Matthey History

    Johnson Matthey traces its origins to 1817, when Percival Norton Johnson set up business as a gold assayer in London. In 1851 George Matthey joined the business and its name was changed to Johnson & Matthey. The following year the firm was appointed Official Assayer & Refiner to the Bank of England. The company had branches in the cities of Birmingham and Sheffield to supply the jewellery and silverware and cutlery trade with raw materials ancillary supplies, such as silver solder and flux, which it manufactured.

    In the 1960s Johnson Matthey formed a subsidiary, Johnson Matthey Bankers (JMB), which took its seat in the London Gold Fixing. In the early 1980s the bank expanded its activities outside the bullion business and started making high-risk loans. Bank assets more than doubled between 1980 and 1984, and loans became concentrated to a few borrowers, including Mahmoud Sipra and his El Saeed group, Rajendra Sethia and ESAL Commodities, and Abdul Shamji. The quality of some of these loans turned out to be worse than expected, such as the £21 million lent to Abdul Shamji of Gomba Holdings (the then owner of Puddle Dock and theMermaid Theatre in London). The size of the loans grew to exceed the level of the bank’s capital. (Shamji was sentenced to 15 months in prison for lying about his assets during aHigh Court inquiry into the bank’s collapse.) Because JMB was one of five members of the London Gold Fixing, Bank of England officials were worried that if it became insolvent confidence in the other bullion banks would be undermined, and panic could spread to the rest of the British banking system. To prevent a wider banking crisis the Bank of England organized a rescue package on the evening of 30 September 1984, purchasing JMB for £1. Most of JMB’s business was subsequently sold to Mase Westpac.

    In 2008 Johnson Matthey acquired Argillon, a business specialising in catalysts, for €214 million. In December 2008 US subsidiary Johnson Matthey Inc was fined $3 million for afelony violation of the United States Clean Water Act, after admitting to violating the act at its Salt Lake City precious metals refining facility.

    In October 2010 Johnson Matthey acquired InterCAT, a supplier of fluid catalytic cracking additives for the petroleum refining industry, for $56.2 million. Also in 2010 Johnson Matthey opened a new £34 million European emission control catalyst plant in Macedonia, which leveraged its manufacturing technology to produce catalysts for both light- and heavy-duty vehicles.”

    *Information from Forbes.com and Wikipedia.org

    **Video published on YouTube by “Johnson Matthey

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