Cabot Corporation
| Cabot Corporation | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: CBT | |
| Founded | 1882 |
| Founder | Godfrey Lowell Cabot |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Products | Aerogel, Carbon Black, Caesium Formate Fluids, Conductive Compounds, Elastomer Composites, Fine Caesium Chemicals, Fuel Cell Electrocatalysts, Fumed Metal Oxides, Inkjet Colorants, Masterbatch, Mined Minerals, Niobium, Tantalum |
| Revenue | USD$2.5 billion (2006) |
Number of employees | 4,400 |
| Website | www.cabot-corp.com |
Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates in four segments: the Carbon Black Business, the Metal Oxides Business, the Supermetals Business, and the Specialty Fluids Business. Cabot's headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company's slogan is "Creating What Matters".
History
In 1882, Cabot Corporation was founded by Godfrey Lowell Cabot. The company started by focusing on certain metalloids and pharmaceuticals in the 20th century and continued into the 21st century by creating small electronic devices.
Products
Some of the products produced at Cabot Corporation are:
- Aerogel
- Carbon Black
- Caesium formate fluids
- Conductive Compounds
- Elastomer Composites
- Fine Cesium Chemicals
- Fuel Cell Electrocatalysts
- Fumed Metal Oxides
- Inkjet Colorants
- Masterbatch
- Mined Minerals
- Niobium
- Tantalum
Although the company produces multiple products, 77% of the company's FY 2007 revenue came from the sale of Carbon Black, an ultra fine particle used primarily in the production of tire rubber.[1] Other products include the Nanogel brand of aerogel.
Criticisms
Pollution
Sam Bodman, CEO of Cabot during the coltan boom, was appointed in December 2004 to serve as President Bush’s Secretary of Energy. Under Bodman’s leadership from 1987 to 2000, according to Jason Leopold in a Huffington Post article, Cabot was one of the U.S.’s largest polluters, accounting for 60,000 tons of airborne toxic emissions annually.[2] In this same article, Leopold states Cabot had a third-party agreement with Eagle Wings Resources International to supply coltan obtained from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (a misstatement of fact).
Cabot Position on Mining in Africa
Responding to United Nations' Security Council Document (S/2001/357) "Final Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo", Cabot has issued a position statement on Mining in Africa.[3]
Issued in August 2008, this statement outlines Cabot's sources of tantalum and coltan in Canada, Australia and Mozambique. They also have company-wide procedures to prevent raw materials being sourced inappropriately in Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Burundi or Republic of Rwanda.
Cabot is EICC/GeSI Conflict-Free in Tantalum
In December 2010, the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) Conflict-Free Smelter Review Committee concluded that Cabot Supermetals is compliant with the EICC/GeSI Tantalum validation protocol.[4]
This was based on Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) assessments conducted in September and October 2010 at the Cabot Supermetals sites at Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and Aizu, Japan.
References
- ^ CBT 2007 10-K, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, page 104 via Wikinvest article
- ^ "The Environment is Doomed". The Huffington Post. 2005-09-25. Retrieved 2005-09-29.
- ^ "Cabot Position on Tantalum and Coltan and the Democratic Republic of Congo"
- ^ "Memo to Cabot Super Metals from EICC and GeSI"