By Liz White, UT staffMiddlebury, Connecticut-Chemtura Corp. is raising prices of brominated flame retardant worldwide by 20-40 percent, in an effort to improve profitability in the business. The increases will apply to a wide range of grades, from 1 Oct 2005, where contracts allow, Chemtura said. "This price increase is necessary to restore profitability and to better reflect the true value of these products in the high-performance end use applications where they are employed," said Myles Odaniell, executive vice president of Performance Chemicals. "Concurrently, we continue to work on improving the overall cost structure and manufacturing productivity of this business."Chemtura-formed 1 July by the merger of Crompton Corp. and Great Lakes Chemical Corp.-is a global producer of flame retardants. The group describes itself as having "an aggressive commitment to technological innovation and product development." Its products includes bromine-, phosphorus- and antimony-based flame retardants-many used in the polyurethane sector. "
