MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel will become the chief executive of W.R. Grace in January after industrial company Standard Industries Holdings completes the acquisition of the Maryland chemical company, reported Houston Chronicle.
Patel is set to retire at the end of the year from the chemical company LyondellBasell after leading it for 15 years. At W.R. Grace, he will succeed Hudson La Force, who has been CEO since 2018.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Bob to the Standard family as CEO of W.R. Grace,” said David Winter and David Millstone, co-CEOs of Standard Industries. “Bob has for decades been a visionary leader in the industry, with a record of transforming businesses to achieve robust, sustainable growth. He has proven himself to be the right person to lead Grace’s exceptional team and help architect Standard’s investment in the advanced materials space. He will be instrumental in taking Grace into its next chapter as we ensure a seamless transition post-close and embark on an ambitious growth strategy.”
Patel said it’s a “privilege” to join Standard Industries and to be asked to lead W.R. Grace through its next chapter.
Patel joined LyondellBasell, which has headquarters in the Netherlands and Houston, in March 2010 after 20 years at Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.
As senior vice president of olefins and polyolefins Americas and then executive vice president of that same segment for Europe, Asia and International, Patel helped consolidate and reorganize operations in the United States and Europe as the company worked to boost the capacity of its plants along the Gulf Coast.
As MRC informed previously, in April 2018, W. R. Grace & Co. completed the USD416 million acquisition of the Polyolefin Catalysts business of Albemarle Corporation.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
A leader in polyolefin catalysts and licensing, W.R. Grace has the world’s broadest portfolio of polypropylene and polyethylene catalyst technologies used to produce thermoplastic resins for a variety of applications. A leading innovator and strategic partner to its customers, Grace supplies catalyst solutions for all polyolefin processes, as well as polypropylene process technology and process controls. Grace employs approximately 3,700 people in over 30 countries.
MRC