Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda / NaOH) for Kraft Pulping

British privately held petrochemicals company (HQ Rolle, Switzerland; operations HQ London); major European KOH producer via chlor-alkali at Runcorn, UK (one of Europe's largest chlor-alkali complexes), Köln Germany, and other sites. INEOS is also the primary European source of chlorine for PVC production and the largest private employer in Scotland (North Sea). INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired British cycling team INEOS Grenadiers and Manchester United Football Club — the same company that makes the KOH in European alkaline batteries also owns one of the world's most prominent cycling teams.

US chlor-alkali and VCM producer (NYSE: OLN, HQ Stamford CT; ~$6B revenue); the largest US chlorine producer and a major feedstock supplier to the PVC resin industry. Olin does not directly produce PVC resin but produces the chlorine and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) that PVC resin manufacturers (Westlake, Shintech, OxyChem) depend on. Olin's chlor-alkali operations in Freeport TX (the largest chlorine plant in the US), McIntosh AL, Niagara Falls NY, and other sites collectively make Olin the critical upstream enabler of the US PVC supply chain. Olin also owns Winchester ammunition — meaning the same company that produces the chlorine input for PVC pipe also manufactures rifle and shotgun ammunition, a striking dual-use combination under one NYSE ticker. Olin's chlorine pricing directly sets the economics for US PVC resin production.

American petrochemical and building products company (NYSE: WLK, HQ Houston TX; ~$14B revenue; Chao family controlled); major US caustic soda producer via its chlor-alkali operations (including former Axiall/PolyOne chlor-alkali assets acquired 2016). Westlake produces NaOH for pulp/paper, aluminum smelting, and chemical applications alongside chlorine for PVC production. Westlake's Houston TX headquarters and Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast chlor-alkali operations were significantly disrupted by February 2021's Winter Storm Uri — contributing to the 28% US chlor-alkali capacity outage that drove NaOH prices from ~$280/tonne to over $600/tonne. Westlake is the world's largest PVC pipe manufacturer (through its GENOVA Products, Charlotte Pipe, and other brands) — the same company that makes PVC water supply pipes in every new US home also makes the caustic soda in the kraft pulping liquor producing the cardboard that those pipes are shipped in.