Johnson Matthey

Infobox_Company
company_name = Johnson Mathey plc
company_
company_type = Public (lse|JMAT)
company_slogan =
foundation = 1817
location = London, England, UK
key_people = Sir John Banham (Chairman), N A P Carson, (CEO)
num_employees =
industry = Chemicals
products = Precious Metals, Industrial catalysts
revenue = £6,152 million (2007)
operating_income = £253 million (2007)
net_income = £206 million (2007)
homepage = [http://www.matthey.com/ www.matthey.com]

Johnson Matthey plc (lse|JMAT) is a British chemical company which has its headquarters near Holborn in central London. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

Johnson Matthey traces its origins to 1817, when Percival Norton Johnson set up business as a gold assayer in London. [http://www.matthey.com/about/history.htm Johnson Matthey History] ] 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 Jewelry and Silverware & Cutlery trade with raw materials ancillary supplies, such as Silver solder and flux which they manufactured.

Johnson Matthey Bankers

In the 1960s, Johnson Matthey formed a subsidiary "Johnson Matthey Bankers", which took its seat in the London Gold Fixing.

In the early 1980s the bank expanded its activities outside the bullion business, and by making high-risk loans provided over half of the parent company's profits in 1983. The quality of some of these loans turned out to be worse than expected, and the size of them exceeded the capital of the bank. To prevent a wider banking crisis, the Bank of England organised a rescue package in the evening of 30 September 1984, including purchasing JMB for £1. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7250668.stm When was the last nationalisation?] BBC News, February 2008]

Current operations

The company's head office is located in Hatton Garden, central London. The principal operating facility in the UK is located at Royston in Hertfordshire, with other facilities at Brimsdown in Enfield, north London and Clitheroe in Lancashire. The company's UK Technology Centre is based at Sonning Common in Oxfordshire. In the US its principal site is located at West Deptford, New Jersey.

The company now has three divisions: [ [http://www.matthey.com/about/divisions.htm Johnson Matthey Divisions] ]
*Environmental Technologies manufactures catalysts and catalytic converters for the automobile sector, automobile emissions controls and fuel cells.
*Precious Metals refines and distributes platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, gold and silver. Johnson Matthey is the world leader in platinum distribution and the sole marketing agent for Anglo Platinum, the world’s largest producer of platinum. It also produces colour technology products for the glass and ceramics industries.
*Fine Chemicals & Catalysts manufactures fine chemicals, electrochemical products and pharmaceutical ingredients.

References

External links

* [http://www.matthey.com/ Official site]
* [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=JMAT.L Yahoo profile]
* [http://www.platinum.matthey.com/ Johnson Matthey's Platinum today]
* [http://www.platinummetalsreview.com/dynamic/ Johnson Matthey's Platinum Metals Review]