SADLER RECEIVES SCI MEDAL: Former Solvay America CEO discusses his two careers as chemical industry executive and advocate

THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT, EXECU-tives from across the chemical industry will gather at New York City's Plaza Hotel to see Whitson Sadler, 62, retired president and chief executive officer of Solvay America, receive the coveted Chemistry Industry Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section). The award will be given to Sadler for his "leadership as a strong advocate for the chemical industry, educating those within and outside the industry on the role of its members' products in improving lives." Sadler's tenure as head of Solvay America, the U.S. arm of Brussels-based Solvay, lasted from 1977 until his retirement at the end of 2001. His service to industry organizations was of about the same length. To understand Sadler's career, it helps to know the early history of Solvay in the U.S. Solvay entered the U.S. in 1884, forming Solvay Process Co. and building a soda ash plant in an industrial area that would become the village ...