Wikipedia
The Lubrizol Corporation is a provider of specialty chemicals for the transportation, industrial, and consumer markets. These products include additives for engine oils and other transportation-related fluids, additives for industrial lubricants, and additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, Lubrizol makes ingredients and additives for personal care products and pharmaceuticals, specialty materials, including plastics technology, and coatings in the form of specialty resins and additives. In 2007, the company was listed as 512 on the Fortune 1000. It has since moved up to 453 on the 2010 list.
On the basis of 2010 profitability metrics, total shareholder return (TSR) and earnings per share growth, Lubrizol was the top performing company among the 16 chemical companies that are on the Fortune 500.
As of May 2011, the company was ranked at 1220 in the Forbes Global 2000 list, based on a combination of revenues, net income, assets and market value.
On March 14, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway announced an agreement to purchase Lubrizol for US$9.7 billion. This happened just weeks after a top Berkshire executive, David Sokol, made a major bet on the stock price with his own money.
On April 3, 2014, Lubrizol announced the setting-up of a US$ 50 million compound manufacturing unit in Dahej, Gujarat, which will be Buffett's first investment in India.
On November 17, 2015, a fire occurred at Lubrizol's Oilfield Chemistry Leetsdale, Pennsylvania facility, formally owned by Weatherford International. The fire started in a manufacturing facility during the process of adding chemicals to a production tank that blends products used in oilfield applications, such as hydraulic fracturing. Chemicals housed in the facility included ammonium persulfate and sodium chlorite. During the fire, local authorities directed nearby businesses and residents on safety procedures, including evacuations and/or sheltering in place. Eight people reported injuries due to the fire. All were treated and released. As of December 2015, the cause of the fire is not yet known.