Our Heritage
The company has been a leader in synthetic rubber manufacturing with world-class production facilities in the U.S. During that time Lion Elastomers and its legacy companies have developed and emphasized a solid, trusting and dependable relationship with our customers. Lion Elastomers has a heritage that expands several decades and includes a longstanding lineage of synthetic rubber companies.
Beginning with our longest operating site, the United States Rubber Co. began producing emulsion SBR in Port Neches, Texas in 1942. Prior to Lion Elastomers’ acquisition, the plant was owned by Ashland, which had been the owner since its acquisition of the asset from ISP Synthetic Elastomers in 2011.
In Louisiana, the United States Rubber Company, later becoming Uniroyal Chemical Company, began producing Royalene® EPDM rubber at the Geismar, La., site in 1964. In 1989, Uniroyal Chemical Company transitioned to Uniroyal Chemical Corporation, and in 1996, merged with Crompton & Knowles. Following a merger in 1999 and an acquisition involving Crompton, Chemtura Corporation was formed in 2005. Lion Elastomers acquired this legacy EPDM business in 2007.
Lion Elastomers’ latest acquisition was of Firestone Polymers in Orange, Texas in 2019. Synthetic rubber operations began at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1961 and was later purchased by Bridgestone in 1988.
