A great number of Canadians have heard of Hoechst Canada, but many are not exactly sure what the company does: The company manufactures and markets thousands of different products for thousands of different uses. Although the company does not sell directly to the consumer, probably the majority of Canadians own products that use a Hoechst-made component.

Hoechst has its head office in Frankfurt, Germany and is one of the three largest chemical companies in the world. Hoechst is represented in more than 120 countries and employs 170,000 people worldwide. In Canada the company employs 700 people and generates sales of close to $300 million annually. The Canadian organization, which began operations in 1953, is headquartered in Montreal and now comprises three divisions in three different locations. Agriculture, with its home base in Regina, is responsible for crop protection and animal health products. The Pharmaceutical Division, based in Montreal, manufactures and markets brand-name prescription drugs, dental products, and diagnostics and instruments to detect and diagnose illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. The Industrial Division, operating out of Toronto, handles the company’s line of printing plates, engineering resins, dyestuffs, specialty chemicals and fibres.

As part of its long-term industrial commitment to the whole of Canada, Hoechst opened its first branch office in Toronto in 1955. The Ontario market quickly grew in size and importance. In 1976 the Printing Products Plant opened in Cambridge, followed in 1978 by the inauguration of the adjacent Film Plant. Today the Ontario market accounts for one-third of the company’s total sales.

1. The present Toronto office and warehouse was built in 1973. 2. A car on display at a high-tech show demonstrates the many applications of Hoechst's high-grade plastics and engineering resins. Today’s modern automobiles are lighter-weight and more energy efficient thanks to these components.

Hoechst Canada is active in all the communities where it does business. The company contributes one percent of net income to organizations and institutions involved in health and welfare, education, culture, recreation and civic activities designed to enhance the quality of life. In Ontario that community involvement stretches from supporting little-league hockey teams to providing major grants to institutions such as the University of Guelph where a laboratory for herbicide metabolism research was named after Hoechst.

The protection of the environment has become a priority over the years. Hoechst Canada is fully committed to the “Responsible Care” program initiated by the Canadian Chemical Producers Association (CCPA). Hoechst has assumed the moral obligation of ensuring that its operations present no unacceptable risk to the environment or to the health and safety of its employees and the public. This means maintaining the highest standards of environmental protection both inside and outside the company regardless of costs.

Hoechst Canada’s main objective has always been to manufacture and sell only the highest quality products with the help of the most qualified and competent employees. The company’s history is the sum of individual efforts by hundreds of men and women. Some people may have trouble pronouncing the name, but more and more are learning that, at Hoechst, “Good things happen when the chemistry is right.”