The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Board of Directors has approved the membership of seven companies and the status of one other as a Responsible Care Partner company.

The association’s continued growth is a direct result of an initiative created to improve member services, expand the Responsible Care community, and increase industry engagement in the political process. Among other things, the initiative provides incentives for qualifying smaller companies to join ACC by offering dues relief, pre-membership readiness assessments, and mentoring, benchmarking, and regional support to aid in the implementation of Responsible Care. During this time companies are provided the full benefits of ACC membership.

“With today’s additions, the chemical manufacturing industry again has confirmed that ACC delivers bottom-line business value to large and small companies alike,” said ACC president and CEO Cal Dooley. “The benefits of membership -- exceptional advocacy, opportunities for business development, and access to industry intelligence -- help ACC members build their business, creating a climate that fosters innovation, competition, and job growth.”

The companies approved represent diversity in the chemical manufacturing sector, producing products ranging from phenolic resins and propane to pesticides, fertilizers, and biodegradable PHA plastics. The new members are:

    * Cytec Industries Inc. of Woodland Park, NJ
    * Hi-Tec Laboratories Inc. of Freeport, FL
    * Metabolix of Cambridge, MA
    * Northern Tier Energy of St. Paul Park, MN
    * Southern Agricultural Insecticides of Palmetto, FL
    * Spanol Chemicals of Navi Mumbai, India
    * Valentine Chemicals of Lockport, LA

The new Responsible Care Partner Company is Hercules Transport Inc. based in Choudrant, LA.

ACC’s Board of Directors also approved seven new Associate members:

    * Accenture of New York, NY
    * AECOM of Westford, MA
    * Beveridge & Diamond PC of Washington, DC
    * Charles River Associates of Boston
    * Holland & Knight LLP of Washington, DC
    * Sidley Austin LLP of Washington, DC
    * Steptoe & Johnson LLP of Washington, DC

Learn more about ACC membership.