Print ArticleCentral Florida papers once described Jacksonville as an industrial city that sweats, and pretty much smells that way. This is a city that could use a shot of municipal-strength deodorant. On the other hand, local advocates countered that the city's rotten egg stench was the "smell of money". Here's a look back at the five places that once gave the city an image it's still trying to rid itself of.
4. SCM Glidco Organics
Glidden Company organic chemicals division plant during the 1960s. Here Turpentine is converted through chemistry into fine flavor chemicals, which are formerly obtained only from natural oils. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/38634
Located on a 54-acre site along Moncrief Creek, this century old site is the longest continuous operating manufacturing site in the City of Jacksonville. In 1910, the Standard Turpentine Company was established on the outskirts of town to distill pine tree sap into turpentine.
Out of the five major sites targeted by the city's odor fights of the 1980s, this one has had the most change in ownership. In 1936, it became a division of the Glidden Company. In 1957, Glidden was acquired by SCM Corporation. By this time, the city had grown up around the industrial facility. In 1986, Hanson PLC purchased SCM and renamed the Norwood plant SCM Glidco Organics. During the 1980s/1990s crack down on odor emissions by Mayor Tommy Hazouri, investments were made in advanced technology to control the release of foul sulfuric odors in the manufacturing process.
The plant became Millennium Chemicals in 1996, after the Hanson PLC demerger. Millennium was then sold to Lyondell Chemicals in 2004. Three years later, Lyondell was acquired by Basell, forming LyondellBasell Industries. In 2010, Pinova Holdings acquired LyondellBasell Flavors & Fragrances, leading to the formation of Renessenz LLC.
Today, the 105-year-old plant is still alive and well, employing 180 workers making over 20,000 tons of flavors and fragrances annually. Renessenz uses crude sulfate turpentine from paper mills to produce terpene-based fragrance ingredients and flavor ingredients for the oral-care and confectionery markets.
Stop by Metro Jacksonville's Book Launch Party at 6pm today at San Marco Bookstore learn more about Jacksonville's modern history. Click HERE for more information.
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