Kaiser Chemicals

Kaiser Chemicals was a major industrial chemical division of the Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation, primarily active during the mid-to-late 20th century. The company was a significant producer of industrial and specialty chemicals, including chlorine, caustic soda, and fluorocarbons, the latter of which were historically used as propellants in medical metered-dose inhalers (MDIs). In the late 1980s, the division was divested as part of a corporate restructuring, with its industrial chemicals business sold to LaRoche Industries and its specialty chemicals business acquired by other entities such as AlliedSignal (now Honeywell). While it provided essential precursors and materials to the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, it was not a drug development or biotechnology firm in the modern sense.