Rohm and Haas Louisville Plant (Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky)

 factory, production, chemical industry

 Upload a photo

The Rohm and Haas Louisville plant got its start World War II. The government sponsored the construction of several facilities in western Jefferson County to produce synthetic rubber so badly needed in the war effort. The area soon earned the nickname of Rubbertown.

When the war ended, the government-owned plant was placed on standby. The facility was all but abandoned except for a brief time during the Korean War.

Enter Rohm and Haas, a major chemical producer that can trace its own roots to 1909. The company, with headquarters in Philadelphia, has research and manufacturing facilities all over the world. In 1960, the company bought the rusting Louisville plant at an auction. The facility was virtually rebuilt from the ground up. We dismantled equipment used to make butadiene for synthetic rubber and replaced it with apparatus suitable for our products.

Rohm and Haas hardly burst onto the scene in Louisville. From the start , the company planned for sure, steady progress. We picked up the pace un the 1980s by investing $275 million in improvements and new production areas.