ROC

Rockwood Holdings, Inc.

A maker of specialty chemicals, Rockwood Holdings produced lithium compounds used in batteries, titanium dioxide for pigments, and surface treatments that protected metal and plastic parts across dozens of industries. It was born in 2000 when the private-equity firm KKR carved out parts of the British chemical company Laporte, moved the operation to Princeton, New Jersey, and grew it by buying the German firm Chemetall, which brought its lithium business along. Its name was chosen to sound solid and industrial, and its lithium operations trace back to Silver Peak, a mining town whose chemicals still wind up in the batteries that power everyday electronics.