SOCMA CELEBRATES 75 YEARS

Abstract

Oct. 28 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA). Then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover helped baptize the newly formed association in 1921 at a meeting in the Hotel Washington, in Washington, D.C., at which 50 representatives from 47 U.S. textile dye, pharmaceutical, and explosives manufacturers were present. I have the feeling that this coming together of manufacturers in the different trades for the purpose of the advancement of their industry as a whole is a profound step towards cooperation in the entire business world, and that out of it will be gained tremendous benefits to the whole business public, said Hoover 75 years ago. In broad terms, SOCMA has succeeded in advancing the cause of synthetic organic chemicals manufacture. On the eve of World War I, the U.S. textile dye industry, the largest segment of what would become SOCMA's original membership, consisted ...