Ingevity Corp., the North Charleston maker of specialty chemicals and high-performance carbon materials, began regular trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange as an independent company after WestRock Co. completed its spinoff.

Ingevity’s shares started regular trading under the symbol NGVT, the company said. WestRock stockholders received one Ingevity share for every six WestRock shares they held at the close of business May 4. The distribution took effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We are excited about the opportunities that being a standalone company will provide us,” said Michael Wilson, Ingevity’s president and CEO. “For the past 100 years, our business has been part of larger paper and packaging companies. Now, as an independent company, Ingevity will have the strategic flexibility and financial resources to pursue multiple avenues of growth.”

Ingevity shares had traded on a “when-issued” basis under the symbol NGVT.WI since May 2, letting investors trade the right to receive shares in the distribution. That trading ended Friday, the company said.

A Westvaco business since 1964

Ingevity was the specialty chemicals division of WestRock, formerly MeadWestvaco. The business began as part of paper company Westvaco Corp., using byproducts of the kraft pulping process, mainly crude tall oil and lignin, along with hardwood sawdust, according to an information statement Ingevity filed with federal regulators. It has operated as a division of Westvaco and its successors since 1964.

MeadWestvaco announced in January 2015 that it planned to spin off the specialty chemicals business. After MeadWestvaco combined with Rock-Tenn Co. in July 2015 to form WestRock, the new company continued the plan, according to the filing.

“We are extremely pleased to complete the separation of Ingevity,” said Steve Voorhees, chief executive officer of WestRock. “Ingevity has the right team and strategy in place, and I am looking forward to following their successes as an independent company.”

What Ingevity makes

Ingevity’s products are used in asphalt paving, oil exploration and production, agrochemicals, adhesives, lubricants, printing inks and automotive parts that reduce gasoline vapor emissions, the company said. It operates eight manufacturing plants in the United States, Brazil and China and employs about 1,500 people. The division’s revenue was $968 million in 2015.

About 76% of its employees work in the United States, and about 34% are represented by unions, according to the information statement.

The company reports two segments, according to the filing. Performance Chemicals makes pine-based chemicals for paving, adhesives, agricultural uses, inks and other industrial markets. Performance Materials makes activated carbon, including products for automotive gasoline vapor emission control systems.

North Charleston roots

Ingevity is headquartered at 5255 Virginia Ave. in North Charleston, the company said. Its North Charleston property, which the company owns, houses its corporate headquarters, application labs and a Performance Chemicals manufacturing plant, according to the information statement.

Part of the North Charleston chemicals plant sits on land leased from KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. and is next to KapStone’s paper mill. Ingevity depends on that mill for water, compressed air, steam and wastewater treatment, the filing says.

Wilson came to Ingevity from Albemarle Corp., where he was an executive vice president and president of its Performance Chemicals business, according to the filing.

Debt from the split

To complete the separation, Ingevity borrowed $300 million under a term loan May 9 and $200 million under a revolving credit line May 13, according to a quarterly report filed Tuesday. Those borrowings, along with cash on hand, paid for a $448.5 million distribution to WestRock and a $68.9 million trust that secures an $80 million obligation due in 2027.

The company said it expects to pay down that debt using cash from operations.

A mixed first quarter

Ingevity reported first-quarter net sales of $203.9 million, down from $239.2 million a year earlier, in the quarterly report. Lower volumes in Performance Chemicals, in markets including rubber, publication inks, adhesives and oilfield products, drove the decline.

Oil prices have hurt demand for the company’s oilfield products. West Texas Intermediate crude fell from a high of $108 a barrel in June 2014 to a low of $27 in January 2016, the company noted.

Performance Materials sales rose 10% to $70.8 million, helped by stronger sales into the automotive emissions market, the report said.

For 2016, Ingevity expects net sales of $870 million to $910 million. The company expects revenue to fall from 2015 and said it will take on new costs as a stand-alone public company, including replacing services WestRock used to provide.