Contact Us 157 Highway Avenue North Blooming Prairie, Minnesota 55917 Phone: 507.583.6641 Fax: 507.583.2804

Our Products and Markets

The Blooming Prairie plant produces over two dozen finished products. These products are manufactured by chemically bonding oxygen to unsaturated bonds found in natural vegetable oils, such as soybean, linseed or other olefinic oils. This bonding causes changes in the physical appearance and chemical properties of the oils, making them more suitable for industrial use. Our highest volume product is epoxidized soybean oil.

Epoxidized soybean oil and epoxidized linseed oil are primarily used for imparting flexibility, strength and ultraviolet stability to polyvinyl chloride resin formulations. We also produce other specialty epoxides, which are used in lubricating oil formulations, plastic formulations, and in the cosmetic field, including shampoo, lipstick, and perfume manufacture. Our products allow our customers to produce goods that are common in daily use, such as food wrap, furniture, automobile interiors, floor tile, and jar cap liners.

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Our History

Arkema, through its subsidiary, Viking Chemical Company, began operations in the Blooming Prairie, Minnesota area in 1970. Since that time, we have been an important contributor to the region's economy, with payroll, local purchases, and taxes currently exceeding $3.5 million per year.

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Commitment to Safety and the Environment

Arkema is well aware of the importance of safety throughout the production and distribution of our products. Here in Blooming Prairie, we have installed plant sprinkler systems, constructed a wastewater pre-treatment plant, and designed and installed spill containment systems, in order to protect our employees, the community, and the environment. We continue to work extensively with the Steele County Emergency Management and Safety Councils to help maintain and improve our site safety programs, including an ongoing program for monitoring and testing our workplace and the environment for exposure to chemicals. In conjunction with this effort, every employee receives a thorough physical examination once each year.

In 2001 the Blooming Prairie plant received the Arkema corporate Bronze Safety Excellence Award and President's Award for our safety record. We received the Silver Safety Excellence Award and President's Platinum Award in 2002 for continued exemplary performance. Additionally, the Minnesota Safety Council recognized the plant as Governor Jesse Ventura presented the Blooming Prairie facility with the Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Award. This is a very prestigious award which was given to only 192 employers in the state of Minnesota.

The Blooming Prairie plant is also dedicated to preserving the richness of our environment. In our history, we have been honored with the Governor's Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention and the Corporate AWARE Award, in recognition of our outstanding environmental performance.

On a local level, our employees demonstrate their commitment to a clean environment by participating in Minnesota’s Adopt-a-Highway program and picking up litter along a stretch of state highway near our facility.

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Community Involvement

July 2000 marked the Blooming Prairie plant's 30th year of production. Approximately 250 people from the surrounding area attended this celebration.

Aside from the anniversary celebration, we host numerous plant tours for the local elementary and high schools throughout the year. The Blooming Prairie Plant participates in the Arkema Inc. Science Teacher Program. Each year, eight teachers from four different local elementary schools spend a week at the Arkema Inc. Blooming Prairie Plant to learn new hands-on science activities to take back to the classroom. In addition, in 2004 we sponsored the Blooming Prairie Center’s Prairie Pride camps, which included weeklong ventures into the areas of Spanish, acting, science, math, nature, and engineering!

During our 2004 Science Teacher Program, Congressman Gil Gutknecht visited the Blooming Prairie plant and met with the teachers and Arkema staff. He thanked the teachers for taking time from their summer vacation to learn more about science. He also congratulated Arkema for promoting enhanced science education at the local and national levels.

Additionally, the Blooming Prairie plant provides resources and support to numerous organizations throughout the community, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Park and Recreation Department. Our facility maintains an active Citizen's Advisory Panel as well as providing an open dialogue regarding our activities and accomplishments at the site.

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