Evonik Degussa Canada Donates $3,500 To ‘You Be The Chemist’ Program

Evonik Degussa Canada, Inc., part of one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies, is donating $3,500 to the Canadian Association of Chemical Distributors for their participation in the “You Be the Chemist” (YBTC) program.

Gary Mitchell, president of Evonik Degussa Canada which is based in Burlington, said the donation was extremely important because chemistry is an integral part of everyone’s life. “By donating these funds, we seek to interest students in chemistry at a young age, which we hope will help change perceptions about chemicals and the chemicals industry.”

A number of Evonik’s North American businesses contributed funds to support the YBTC program, Mitchell said, including Health & Nutrition, Industrial Chemicals, RohMax, and Goldschmidt.

Cathy Campbell, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Chemical Distributors (CACD), praised Evonik Degussa Canada for its generous donation, adding that the money will be used for the education, outreach and promotion to teachers and children on the good works of the chemical industry.

“Evonik Degussa has been a long time partner and friend to CACD, and for this we say thank you,” said Campbell. “CACD recognized the company a few years ago for continuous support to the Education Fund and CACD’s responsible management program – Responsible Distribution®. We wish we had more companies like Evonik Degussa Canada.”

Uli Miersch, vice president of administration and sales at Evonik Degussa Canada, said additional chemistry and science education early on will enable students to make informed decisions later in life. “The more young people understand chemistry and science, the more rationally they will respond to the technological and scientific issues that our society faces,” he added.

The YBTC Program was started by the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) in the US as an outreach resource and it was introduced to Canada in 2005. Since that time, more than 500 educational kits have been utilized across Canada, said Campbell.

Evonik Degussa Canada, Inc., based in Burlington, Ontario, reported more than $171 million in sales in 2008 including hydrogen peroxide, coatings and colorants, feed additives and specialty chemicals products. The company, established in 1979, employs about 110 individuals in several locations including production sites in Gibbons, Alberta, and Brampton, Ontario.

CACD represents 52 member companies with 170 sites across Canada and with approximately 3,300 employees and have total annual sales of $5.5 billion as of December 31, 2007. CACD member companies are part of the supply chain that purchase product globally from 10,000 supplier companies and our members sell to a customer base of no less than 80,000 clients.