ALB vs KRA

Albemarle Corporation

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Lithium, Bromine Specialties, and Catalysts. The Lithium segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and lithium specialties; and reagents, such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride for use in lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles, high performance greases, thermoplastic elastomers for car tires, rubber soles, plastic bottles, catalysts for chemical reactions, organic synthesis processes in the areas of steroid chemistry and vitamins, life sciences, pharmaceutical industry, and other markets. It also provides cesium products for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries; zirconium, barium, and titanium products for pyrotechnical applications; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services. The Bromine Specialties segment offers bromine and bromine-based fire safety solutions; specialty chemicals, including elemental bromine, alkyl and inorganic bromides, brominated powdered activated carbon, and other bromine fine chemicals for use in chemical synthesis, oil and gas well drilling and completion fluids, mercury control, water purification, beef and poultry processing, and other industrial applications; and other specialty chemicals, such as tertiary amines, biocides, disinfectants, and sanitizers. The Catalysts segment provides hydroprocessing, isomerization, and akylation catalysts; fluidized catalytic cracking catalysts and additives; and organometallics and curatives. The company serves the energy storage, petroleum refining, consumer electronics, construction, automotive, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, and custom chemistry services markets. Albemarle Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Kraton Corporation

Kraton Corporation manufactures and sells styrenic block copolymers, specialty polymers, and other products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Polymer and Chemical. The Polymer segment offers performance products, including styrene-butadiene-styrene for paving and roofing application; styrene-isoprene-styrene for personal care application; ethylene-vinyl acetate, polyolefins, and metallocene polyolefins for adhesives application; and specialty polymers, such as hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer, isoprene rubber, and isoprene rubber latex for use in medical and personal care products, adhesives, tackifiers, paints, and coatings. The Chemical segment provides pine-based specialty products that include rosin-based tackifiers for packaging and pressure-sensitive adhesive applications; terpene-based tackifiers for bookbinding, hygiene, and pressure-sensitive adhesive applications; alpha-methyl-styrene (AMS) resins for bookbinding and pressure-sensitive adhesive applications; and hot melt polyamides for flexible packaging, industrial, and road making applications. This segment also provides tall oil fatty acids; tall oil rosin; distilled tall oil; tall oil pitch; and rosin-based binders for the thermoplastic pavement marking submarket, as well as produces insoluble maleic-based tackifiers. In addition, this segment offers terpene-based tread enhancement resins and AMS-based tread enhancement additives; and dimer acids and terpene fractions for fuel additives, oilfield chemicals, mining fluids, coatings, metalworking fluids, and lubricants. It sells its products through various channels, including direct sales force, marketing representatives, and distributors under the Kraton brand. The company was formerly known as Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. and changed its name to Kraton Corporation in September 2016. Kraton Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Houston, Texas.