UNION CARBIDE AND CARBON CORPORATION was organized in the State of New York on November 1, 1917. It is a holding company owning all of the common stock of more than thirty-five subsidiary operating companies. The subsidiaries have been pioneers in scientific development in their respective fields, and because of mutual interest in a number of basic proc esses, the future growth of each has been materially assisted by coordinated. effort and common ownership. Their raw materials are basic, including limestone, silica, coal, iron, oxygen, ores and metals, graphite, rare earths, air, rare gases, natural gas and pe troleum. From these have been developed a highly inter-related list of products essential in peace and war. They maintain labora tories for fundamental scientific research.
The following groups classify the products of the subsidiaries: The operations of the commercial gases group include the manu facture and sale of oxygen, acetylene, calcium carbide, plus ap paratus and supplies for oxyacetylene welding and cutting; also, nitrogen and rare gases of the atmosphere. The distribution and sale of oxygen and acetylene for use in the oxyacetylene process of welding and cutting metals constitutes a major activity.
tial quantities of this material.
In recent years, one subsidiary, Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation, has pioneered in the development of a synthetic organic chemical industry. The science of organic chemistry is in general the chemistry of the carbon compounds which contain the element carbon together with other elements. This subsidiary has developed processes and chemical reactions which build up organic chemical compounds directly from chemical elements or from simpler compounds. The synthetic products produced cover a wide range of aliphatic alcohols, ethers, esters, ketones, aldehydes and resins. They are widely used in the textile, lacquer, automotive, construction, pharmaceutical, paper, photographic, explosive and many other industries.
The carbon products group manufactures and sells a wide range of products made partly or wholly from carbon, such as Eveready batteries for flashlights, radios and similar equipment; also, car bon and graphitized electrodes for electric furnaces, carbons for motion picture projections, studio lighting, searchlights and bea cons, carbon brushes for motors and generators.