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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2001

Commission File Number 1-9753

GEORGIA GULF CORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (770) 395-4500

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

        Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý    No o

        Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

        Aggregate market value of the voting stock held by nonaffiliates of the Registrant, computed using the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange for the Registrant's common stock on March 26, 2002, was $832,030,229.

        Indicate the number of shares outstanding of the Registrant's common stock as of the latest practicable date.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
(To the Extent Indicated Herein)

        Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 21, 2002, in Part III of this Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

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PART I

Item 1. BUSINESS.

General

        We are a leading North American manufacturer and international marketer of two highly integrated product lines, chlorovinyls and aromatics. In our chlorovinyls business, we are:

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the third largest North American producer of vinyl chloride monomer, or VCM,



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the third largest North American producer of vinyl suspension resins and



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the second largest North American producer of vinyl compounds.

        In our aromatics business, we are:

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one of the largest North American producers of cumene, and



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a leading North American producer and marketer of phenol.

        Our manufacturing processes also include the production of caustic soda and acetone. The primary products we sell externally include vinyl resins, vinyl compounds and caustic soda in our chlorovinyls business and phenol and acetone in our aromatics business. These products are used globally in a wide variety of end-use applications, including construction and renovation, engineered plastics, pulp and paper production, chemical intermediates, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. We believe our vertical integration, world scale facilities, operating efficiencies, facility locations and the productivity of our employees provide us with a competitive cost position in our primary markets.

        For selected financial information concerning our chlorovinyls and aromatics product lines and our domestic and international sales, see Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8.

Acquisitions, Discontinued Operations and Plant Shutdowns

        On November 12, 1999, we completed the purchase of substantially all of the assets and working capital of the vinyls business of CONDEA Vista Company (now Sasol North America, Inc). Assets acquired in the purchase include:

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one VCM facility with annual capacity of 950 million pounds;



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50% ownership of PHH Monomers, L.L.C., a manufacturing joint venture that operates a VCM facility with capacity to produce 1.15 billion pounds of VCM annually, which entitles us to one-half of the production capacity, or 575 million pounds;



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two vinyl resin facilities with combined annual capacity of 1.5 billion pounds; and



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vinyl compound facilities with an annual combined capacity of 265 million pounds.

        Additionally, we entered into a long-term supply contract with CONDEA Vista for the supply of ethylene and assumed a chlorine supply contract with PPG Industries, Inc., our joint venture partner in PHH Monomers, for the acquired VCM facilities.

        On May 11, 1998, we acquired North American Plastics, Inc., a manufacturer of flexible PVC compounds with two manufacturing locations in Mississippi having a combined annual production capacity of 190 million pounds.

        On August 31, 2000, we ceased manufacturing vinyl compounds at the Mansfield, Massachusetts facility leased from the CONDEA Vista Company and on October 12, 2001, we ceased manufacturing vinyl compounds at the Jeffersontown, Kentucky facility. Manufacturing of compounds was transferred to our other compound plants. A lease termination and release agreement pertaining to the Mansfield site was

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executed between CONDEA Vista and Georgia Gulf Corporation on May 21, 2001. The cost associated with closing the facility and removing equipment was immaterial. The Jeffersontown property is currently for sale.

        During 1998 the methanol market suffered from overcapacity and low-cost imports with significant increases in global supply in areas of the world with low-cost natural gas. As a result, several domestic methanol producers including Georgia Gulf, idled their methanol plants. We ceased operating our methanol plant in December 1998. During 1999, we met our contractual obligations to supply methanol to our customers by purchasing imported methanol. Although the shutdown of several methanol plants resulted in a supply contraction and an increase in spot prices during the first half of 1999, several new overseas methanol plants began production late in the year. This additional supply added further pressure to the sales price of methanol. As a result of these trends, in September 1999, we announced that we would exit the methanol business entirely at the end of 1999. As a result, we incurred a charge against earnings of $7.6 million, net of tax benefits, during the third quarter of 1999 to write-off certain methanol assets and to accrue losses related to our methanol buy and resale program through the end of 1999.

Products and Markets

        The following table shows our total annual production capacities as of December 31, 2001 in each of our product lines:

Chlorovinyls

        Vinyl Compounds.    These formulations provide specific end-use properties that allow vinyl compounds to be processed directly into our customers' finished products. All of our production is sold to third parties. We produce flexible and rigid compounds used in the following products and process applications.

        Flexible vinyl compounds.    Our flexible vinyl compounds are used in wire and cable insulation and jacketing, automotive modular window encapsulation, custom strips and profiles, automotive trim and body side molding, and flexible tubing. In 2001, the largest end-uses of our products were automotive (25%) and telecom (20%).

        Rigid vinyl compounds.    Our rigid vinyl compounds are used in a wide range of applications and production processes. Our injection molding compounds are used in the production of computer housings and keyboards, electrical outlet boxes and pipe fittings. Our extrusion compounds are used in window and furniture profiles and sheets for household fixtures and decorative overlays. Our blow molding compounds are primarily used for both food-grade and general-purpose bottles used to package cosmetics, shampoos, charcoal lighter fluid, water and edible oils. We also supply chlorinated vinyl compounds to the extrusion and injection molding markets, mainly for hot water pipe and pipe

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fittings. In 2001, the largest end-uses of our products were fittings (43%) and profiles and sheets (20%).

        Vinyl Resins.    Vinyl resins are among the most widely used plastics in the world today, and we supply numerous grades of vinyl resins to a broad number of end-use markets. During 2001, about 79% of our vinyl resin production was sold to customers who use our resins to formulate vinyl compounds which are then heated and shaped utilizing various extrusion and molding processes to create finished products. In 2001, the largest end-uses of our products were pipe and pipe fittings (29%), home siding and windows (21%), and wire and cable coatings (10%). We used about 21% of our production of vinyl resin internally during 2001 in the manufacture of our vinyl compounds.

        VCM.    During 2001, we used about 85% of our VCM production in the manufacture of our vinyl resins. VCM production not used internally is sold to other vinyl resin producers in domestic and international markets.

        Chlor-alkali Products.    Substantially all of the chlorine we produce is used internally in the production of VCM. As a co-product, caustic soda further diversifies our revenue base. We sell all of our caustic soda domestically and overseas to customers in numerous industries, with the pulp and paper and chemical industries constituting our largest markets. Our other markets for caustic soda include the alumina, soap and detergent, textile and water treatment industries.

        Pursuant to SFAS No. 121, "Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets to be disposed of," we assessed the recoverability of the remaining carrying value of the sodium chlorate plant when it became evident that it was technologically obsolete by industry standards and it could not currently comply with recently issued Louisiana environmental regulations. The estimated future undiscounted cash flows of the sodium chlorate plant did not justify the asset valuation that was recorded on our books. Pursuant to SFAS No. 121, a fair value analysis of the sodium chlorate plant indicated that it should be completely written off to reduce the carrying amount to its fair value. In addition to the impairment-related charges of $4.9 million, we accrued $0.5 million for post-closure related items. We intend to cease production of sodium chlorate in the third quarter of 2002.

Aromatics

        Phenol.    Our phenol is primarily sold to producers of phenolic resins and to manufacturers of engineered plastics. Phenolic resins are used extensively as adhesives for wood products such as plywood and chipped wood panels. Engineered plastics are used in compact discs, automobiles, household appliances, electronics and protective coating applications. We also sell phenol for use in insulation, electrical parts, oil additives and pharmaceuticals. In 2001, the largest end-uses of our products were phenolic resins (41%) and engineering plastics (30%).

        Acetone.    As a co-product of phenol, acetone further diversifies our revenue base. Acetone is primarily used as a key ingredient in acrylic resins and as an ingredient for surface coating resins for automotive and architectural markets. Acetone is also an intermediate for the production of engineered plastics and several major industrial solvents. Other uses range from solvents for automotive and industrial applications to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

        Cumene.    About 68% of our cumene was consumed internally during 2001 to produce phenol and acetone. Cumene production not used internally is sold to other phenol and acetone manufacturers.

Production, Raw Materials and Facilities

        Our operations are vertically integrated as a result of our production of some of our key raw materials and intermediates used in the manufacture of our products. Our operational integration enhances our

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control over production costs and capacity utilization rates, as compared to our non-integrated competitors.

        In our chlorovinyls product line, we produce chlorine and its co-product caustic soda by electrolysis of salt brine. We produce VCM by reacting purchased ethylene with chlorine produced internally or purchased from third parties; our internal production of VCM exceeds our internal demand requirements. We produce vinyl resin by polymerization of our internally supplied VCM in a batch reactor process. We formulate our vinyl compounds by blending our vinyl resins with various additives such as plasticizers, impact modifiers, stabilizers and pigments, most of which are purchased. We also have the capacity to produce ethylene dichloride, an intermediate in the manufacture of VCM, for external sales. In our aromatics product line, we produce cumene utilizing benzene and propylene purchased from third parties, which we react using low cost zeolite catalyst technology. We produce phenol by reacting internally produced cumene under high temperatures and pressure. We produce acetone as a co-product in our production of phenol.

        The important raw materials we purchase from third parties include chlorine, natural gas, ethylene, compound additives, benzene and propylene. The majority of our purchases of chlorine, ethylene, propylene, and benzene are made under long-term agreements, and we purchase natural gas both in the open market and under long-term contracts. We have not experienced a major disruption in our supplies of raw materials over the past five years, and we believe we have reliable sources of supply under normal market conditions. We cannot, however, predict the likelihood or impact of any future raw material shortages. Any shortages could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. For instance, 2001 started with natural gas prices at all-time highs, and even though natural gas prices were lower by year end, total expense for natural gas for 2001 was significantly higher than 2000.

        Plaquemine, Louisiana Facilities.    Our operations at these facilities include the production of chlorine, caustic soda, sodium chlorate, VCM, vinyl resins, phenol and acetone. We produce chlorine and its co-product caustic soda at our chlor-alkali facility by electrolysis of salt brine. We have a long-term lease on a nearby salt dome with reserves in excess of twenty years, from which we supply our salt brine requirements. We use substantially all of our chlorine production in the manufacture of VCM at this facility and we sell substantially all of our caustic soda production externally. We also use sodium hypochlorite, a by-product from our chlor-alkali production process, to produce sodium chlorate for sale to third parties. Although, as indicated above, we intend to cease production of sodium chlorate in the third quarter of 2002. All of the ethylene requirements for our VCM production are supplied by pipeline. Most of our Plaquemine VCM production is consumed on-site in our vinyl resin production or shipped to our other vinyl resin facilities with the remainder sold to third parties. Our cumene requirements for the production of phenol and its co-product acetone are shipped from our Pasadena, Texas facility by dedicated barges.

        Our 250-megawatt co-generation facility supplies all of the electricity and steam needs at our Plaquemine facilities, and it also provides us with the capability to generate excess electricity for sale to the local utility. We also own an on-site air separation unit operated by a third party that provides all of the facility's nitrogen and oxygen gas requirements.

        Lake Charles, Louisiana Facilities.    We produce VCM at our Lake Charles, Louisiana facility and, through our joint venture with PPG Industries have the right to 50% of the VCM production of PHH Monomers, which is located in close proximity to our Lake Charles VCM facility. The chlorine needs of our Lake Charles VCM facility and the PHH Monomers' facility are supplied by pipeline, under a long-term contract with PPG Industries, who is also our partner in PHH Monomers. Ethylene is supplied to both facilities by pipeline from the adjacent CONDEA Vista ethylene facility and by pipeline from other third parties. The majority of our ethylene requirements for our Lake Charles VCM facility are supplied under a take-or-pay contract which expires November 12, 2006, and PHH Monomers is supplied under a requirements-based contract. These chlorine and ethylene contracts are primarily market price-based.

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VCM from these facilities supplies our Aberdeen, Mississippi and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma vinyl resin facilities. A portion of VCM produced at the Lake Charles facilities is sold in domestic and export markets.

        Pasadena, Texas Facilities.    At our Pasadena, Texas facilities we produce cumene, phenol, its co-product acetone and alpha-methylstyrene, a saleable by-product of our phenol production. We produce cumene utilizing purchased benzene and propylene that we react using low cost zeolite catalyst technology. Our cumene facility is integrated by pipeline with our phenol and acetone facility at Pasadena. We consume a portion of our cumene production at this facility in phenol and acetone production, with the remainder shipped to the Plaquemine phenol and acetone facility and sold to third parties. We purchase propylene and benzene at market prices from various suppliers connected by multiple transportation modes to our cumene facility. A portion of the benzene is supplied under contracts at market prices, and the propylene is provided from numerous refineries at market prices. Based on current industry capacity, we believe we have adequate access to benzene and propylene under normal conditions.

        Aberdeen, Mississippi and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Facilities.    We produce vinyl resins at both our Aberdeen, Mississippi and Oklahoma facilities from VCM supplied by railcar from our various VCM facilities. In addition, the Aberdeen facility produces plasticizers, some of which are consumed in internal vinyl compound production with the remainder sold to third parties.

        Vinyl Compound Facilities.    We operate five compound facilities located in proximity of our vinyl resin operations. All of our vinyl compound facilities are supplied from our vinyl resin facilities by railcar, truck or pipeline. These operations consumed about 21% of our annual vinyl resin production during 2001. We purchase our compound additive needs from various sources at market prices.

Sales and Marketing

        Our sales and marketing program is aimed at supporting our existing customers and expanding and diversifying our customer base. Our sales and marketing force consists of 33 employees. In addition, distributors are used to market products to our smaller customers. This sales force is organized by product line and region. We have a product development and technical service staff that primarily supports our vinyl resin and vinyl compound businesses. This staff works closely with customers to qualify existing Georgia Gulf products for use by our customers. They also work to develop new products for the customers' existing and new requirements. Our products are sold primarily to domestic industrial companies, and no single customer accounted for more than 10% of our sales of chlorovinyls or aromatics for the years ended December 31, 2001, 2000 and 1999. In addition to our domestic sales, we export some of our products, including our VCM and vinyl resins, vinyl compounds, caustic soda and aromatics products. Export sales accounted for about 13% of total sales for 2001, 11% for 2000, and 14% for 1999. The principal international markets we sell to are Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Competition

        We experience competition from numerous manufacturers in all of our product lines. Some of our competitors have substantially greater financial resources and are more highly diversified than we are. We compete on a variety of factors such as price, product quality, delivery and technical service. We believe that we are well-positioned to compete as a result of integrated product lines, the operational efficiency of our plants and the location of our facilities near major water and/or rail transportation terminals.

Environmental Regulation

        Our operations are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental quality. These regulations are enforced principally by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and comparable state agencies. These regulations govern the management of

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solid hazardous waste, emissions into the air and discharges into surface and underground waters, and the manufacture of chemical substances.

        There are several serious environmental issues concerning the VCM facility we acquired from CONDEA Vista at Lake Charles, Louisiana. Substantial investigation of the groundwater at the site has been conducted, and groundwater contamination was first identified in 1981. Groundwater remediation through the installation of groundwater recovery wells began in 1984. The site currently contains about 90 monitoring wells and 18 recovery wells. A further investigation to determine the full extent of the contamination is currently being planned. It is possible that offsite groundwater recovery will be required, in addition to groundwater monitoring. Soil remediation could also be required.

        Investigations are currently underway by federal environmental authorities concerning contamination of an estuary near the Lake Charles VCM facility we acquired known as the Calcasieu Estuary. It is likely that this estuary will be listed as a Superfund site and be the subject of a natural resource damage recovery claim. It is estimated that there are about 200 potentially responsible parties associated with the estuary contamination. CONDEA Vista is included among these parties with respect to its Lake Charles facilities, including the VCM facility we acquired. The estimated cost for investigation and remediation of the estuary is unknown and could be quite costly. Also, Superfund statutes may impose joint and several liability for the cost of investigations and remedial actions on any company that generated the waste, arranged for disposal of the waste, transported the waste to the disposal site, selected the disposal site, or presently or formerly owned, leased or operated the disposal site or a site otherwise contaminated by hazardous substances. Any or all of the responsible parties may be required to bear all of the costs of cleanup regardless of fault, legality of the original disposal or ownership of the disposal site. Currently, we discharge our wastewater to CONDEA Vista who has a permit to discharge treated wastewater into the estuary.

        Additionally, offsite groundwater contamination was identified in 1990 in the Mossville subdivision located west of the VCM facility we acquired at Lake Charles. Over 80 lawsuits were filed by the Mossville residents in 1995 and 1996. The lawsuits alleged personal and property damages due to groundwater contamination. Most of the lawsuits were settled by the end of 1998, and the vinyls business of CONDEA Vista incurred a charge in 1998 of $42.1 million relating to these settlements. In addition, many of the residences in the Mossville subdivision have been purchased by CONDEA Vista.

        CONDEA Vista has agreed to retain responsibility for substantially all environmental liabilities and remediation activity relating to the vinyls business we acquired from them, including the Lake Charles, Louisiana VCM facility. For all matters of environmental contamination that are currently known, we may make a claim for indemnification at any time; for environmental matters that are unknown, we must generally make claims for indemnification before November 12, 2009. Further, Georgia Gulf's agreement with CONDEA Vista provides that CONDEA Vista will be subject to the presumption that all later discovered on-site environmental contamination arose before closing, and is therefore CONDEA Vista's responsibility; this presumption may only be rebutted if CONDEA Vista can show that we caused the environmental contamination by a major, unaddressed release.

        At the Lake Charles VCM facility, CONDEA Vista will continue to conduct the ongoing remediation at its expense until November 12, 2009. After November 12, 2009, we will be responsible for remediation costs up to $150,000 of expense per year, as well as costs in any year in excess of this annual amount up to an aggregate one-time amount of $2,250,000. We will be responsible for remediation costs at the other acquired facilities until the level of expense we incur meets the specified amount for each facility which in the aggregate equals $700,000. The indemnity given by CONDEA Vista also includes off-site contamination created before November 12, 2009, including CONDEA Vista's contribution to any claim based upon contamination of the Calcasieu Estuary.

        The property owned by CONDEA Vista in Mansfield, Massachusetts, for which we negotiated an early lease termination, has been the subject of ongoing environmental investigations under an order with

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the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Groundwater investigations continue at the Mansfield property to address identified on-site groundwater contamination and investigate the possible off-site migration of contaminated groundwater. It is also possible that the United States Environmental Protection Agency may list the property as a Superfund site. The environmental investigations and actions are associated with the past operations at the property and were not assumed in our lease of the property. In addition, CONDEA Vista has indemnified us for claims related to this environmental contamination beyond an aggregate threshold amount of $250,000, including coverage for potential joint and several liability under the environmental statutes. The lease termination calls for our payment of the unspent portion of the aggregate threshold amount. Upon removal of manufacturing equipment and termination of the lease, the site with buildings and infrastructure equipment reverted to CONDEA Vista.

        As for employee and independent contractor exposure claims, CONDEA Vista is responsible for exposures before November 12, 2009, and we are responsible for exposures after November 12, 2009 on a pro rata basis determined by years of employment or service before and after November 12, 1999 by any claimant. There is, however, a presumption for claims brought before November 12, 2004 by current or former CONDEA Vista employees and contractors that, absent a showing of new acute exposure after November 12, 1999, all responsibility will be deemed to have arisen before November 12, 1999 and will be solely CONDEA Vista's.

        Except as described above, we believe that we are in material compliance with all current environmental laws and regulations. We estimate that any expenses incurred in maintaining compliance with these requirements will not materially affect earnings or cause us to exceed our level of anticipated capital expenditures. However, there can be no assurance that regulatory requirements will not change, and it is not possible to accurately predict the aggregate cost of compliance resulting from any such changes.

Employees

        As of December 31, 2001, we had 1,232 full-time employees. Approximately 164 of our employees are unionized under two collective bargaining agreements that expire in 2003 and 2005. We believe our relationships with our employees are good.

Risk Factors

The chemical industry is cyclical and volatile, which affects our profitability.

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Our industry experiences alternating periods of tight supply and overcapacity.

        Our historical operating results reflect the cyclical and volatile nature of the chemical industry. Historically, periods of tight supply have resulted in increased prices and profit margins and have been followed by periods of substantial capacity addition, resulting in oversupply and declining prices and profit margins. As a result of changes in demand for our products, our earnings fluctuate significantly, not only from year to year but also from quarter to quarter. Capacity expansions or the announcement of these expansions have generally led to a decline in the pricing of our products in the affected product line. We cannot assure you that future growth in product demand will be sufficient to utilize any additional capacity.

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Raw materials costs and other external factors beyond our control can cause wide fluctuations in our margins.

        The cost of our raw materials and other costs may not correlate with changes in the prices we receive for our products, either in the direction of the price change or in absolute magnitude. Raw materials costs represent a substantial part of our manufacturing costs. Most of the raw materials we use are commodities and the price of each can fluctuate widely for a variety of reasons, including changes in availability because of major capacity additions or significant facility operating problems. For instance, 2001 started with natural gas prices at all-time highs, and even though natural gas prices were lower by year end, total expense for natural gas for 2001 was significantly higher than 2000. Other external factors beyond our control can cause volatility in raw material prices, demand for our products, product prices, sales volumes and margins. These factors include general economic conditions, the level of business activity in the industries that use our products, competitors' actions, international events and circumstances, and governmental regulation in the United States and abroad. These factors can also magnify the impact of economic cycles on our business. A number of our products are highly dependent on markets that are particularly cyclical, such as the construction, paper and pulp, and automotive markets.

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The cyclicality and volatility of the chemical industry affects our capacity utilization and causes fluctuations in our results of operations.

        The operating rates at our facilities will impact the comparison of period-to-period results. Different facilities may have differing operating rates from period to period depending on many factors, such as feedstock costs, transportation costs, and supply and demand for the product produced at the facility during that period. As a result, individual facilities may be operated below or above rated capacities in any period. We may idle a facility for an extended period of time because an oversupply of a certain product or a lack of demand for that product makes production uneconomical. The expenses of the shutdown and restart of facilities may adversely affect quarterly results when these events occur. In addition, a temporary shutdown may become permanent, resulting in a write-down or write-off of the related assets.

The chemical industry is highly competitive, with some of our competitors having greater financial resources than we have; competition may adversely affect our results of operations.

        The chemical industry is highly competitive; we compete with many chemical companies, a substantial number of whom are larger and have greater financial resources than Georgia Gulf. Moreover, barriers to entry, other than capital availability, are low in most product segments of our business. Capacity additions or technological advances by existing or future competitors also create greater competition, particularly in pricing. We cannot assure you we will have access to the financing necessary to upgrade our facilities in response to technological advances or other competitive developments.

Extensive environmental, health and safety laws and regulations impact our operations and assets; compliance with these regulations could adversely affect our results of operations.

        Our operations on and ownership of real property are subject to extensive environmental, health and safety regulation at both the national and local level. The nature of the chemical industry exposes Georgia Gulf to risks of liability under these laws and regulations due to the production, storage, transportation and sale of materials that can cause contamination or personal injury if released into the environment. Environmental laws may have a significant effect on the costs of transportation and storage of raw materials and finished products, as well as the costs of the storage and disposal of wastes. We may incur substantial costs, including fines, damages, criminal or civil sanctions, remediation costs, or experience interruptions in our operations for violations arising under these laws.

        Also, Superfund statutes may impose joint and several liability for the cost of investigations and remedial actions on any company that generated the waste, arranged for disposal of the waste, transported the waste to the disposal site, selected the disposal site, or presently or formerly owned, leased or operated

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the disposal site or a site otherwise contaminated by hazardous substances. Any or all of the responsible parties may be required to bear all of the costs of cleanup, regardless of fault, legality of the original disposal or ownership of the disposal site. A number of environmental liabilities have been associated with the facilities at Lake Charles, Louisiana and Mansfield, Massachusetts that we acquired or leased as part of the acquisition of the vinyls business of CONDEA Vista Company and which may be designated as Superfund sites as described in "Environmental Regulation" above. Any or all responsible parties, including us, may be required to bear all of the costs of cleanup regardless of fault, legality of the original disposal, or ownership of the disposal site. Although CONDEA Vista retained substantially all financial responsibility for environmental liabilities that relate to the facilities we acquired from them and which arose before the closing of that acquisition, we cannot assure you that CONDEA Vista will be able to satisfy its obligations in this regard, particularly in light of the long period of time in which environmental liabilities may arise under the environmental laws. If CONDEA Vista fails to do so, then we could be held responsible.

        Our policy is to accrue costs relating to environmental matters when it is probable that these costs will be required and can be reasonably estimated. However, estimated costs for future environmental compliance and remediation may be too low or we may not be able to quantify the potential costs. We expect to continue to be subject to increasingly stringent environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. It is difficult to predict the future interpretation and development of these laws and regulations or their impact on our future earnings and operations. We anticipate that compliance will continue to require increased capital expenditures and operating costs. Any increase in these costs could adversely affect our financial performance.

Hazards associated with chemical manufacturing may occur, which would adversely affect our results of operations.

        The usual hazards associated with chemical manufacturing and the related storage and transportation of raw materials, products and wastes may occur in Georgia Gulf's operations. These hazards could lead to an interruption or suspension of operations and have an adverse effect on the productivity and profitability of a particular manufacturing facility or on Georgia Gulf as a whole. These hazards include:

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pipeline and storage tank leaks and ruptures;



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explosions and fires;



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terrorist acts;



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inclement weather and natural disasters;



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mechanical failure;



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unscheduled downtime;



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labor difficulties;



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transportation interruptions;



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remediation complications; and



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chemical spills and other discharges or releases of toxic or hazardous substances or gases.

        These hazards may cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to or destruction of property and equipment, and environmental damage; any of these could lead to claims under the environmental laws. In addition, individuals could seek damages for alleged personal injury or property damage due to exposure to chemicals at our facilities or to chemicals otherwise owned or controlled by Georgia Gulf. Furthermore, Georgia Gulf is also subject to present and future claims with respect to workplace exposure, workers' compensation and other matters. Although we maintain property, business interruption and

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casualty insurance of the types and in the amounts that we believe are customary for the industry, we are not fully insured against all potential hazards incident to our business.

We rely heavily on third party transportation, which subjects us to risks that we cannot control; these risks may adversely affect our operations.

        We rely heavily on railroads and shipping companies to transport raw materials to our manufacturing facilities and to ship finished product to our customers. Rail and shipping operations are subject to various hazards, including extreme weather conditions, work stoppages and operating hazards. If we are delayed or unable to ship finished product or unable to obtain raw materials as a result of the railroads' or shipping companies' failure to operate properly, or if there were significant changes in the cost of these services, we may not be able to arrange efficient alternatives and timely means to obtain raw materials or ship our goods, which could result in an adverse effect on our revenues and costs of operations.

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness, which could limit our business and operations.

        At December 31, 2001, we had approximately $624.1 million of indebtedness outstanding. In addition, we had approximately $95.0 million of additional credit available under our revolving credit facility. As a result, Georgia Gulf is highly leveraged. This high level of indebtedness could have important consequences to our operations, including:

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we may have difficulty borrowing money in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes;



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we will need to use a large portion of our available cash for debt service, which will reduce the amount of money available to finance our operations and other business activities;



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some of our debt, including the debt under our senior credit facility, has variable rates of interest, which exposes us to the risk of increased interest rates; and



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we may have a much higher level of debt than some of our competitors, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage; make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse developments in our business; and reduce our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions.

        We expect to obtain the money to pay our expenses and to pay principal and interest on our debt from our cash flow and from additional loans under our senior credit facility. Our ability to meet these requirements will depend on our future financial performance. We cannot be sure that our cash flow will be sufficient to allow us to pay principal and interest on our debt as well as meet our other obligations. If we do not have enough money to do so, we may be required to refinance all or part of our debt, sell assets or borrow more money. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including our senior credit facility and the indenture related to our 10³/8% senior subordinated notes, may restrict us from pursuing any of these alternatives.

We may encounter difficulties in integrating the assets of businesses we acquire, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

        We cannot be sure that we will be able to successfully integrate any acquisitions into our operations without substantial costs, delays or other problems. The integration of any business we acquire may be disruptive to our business and may result in a significant diversion of management attention and operational resources. In addition, we may suffer a loss of key employees, customers or suppliers, loss of revenues, increases in costs or other difficulties.

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Our participation in joint ventures exposes us to risks of shared control.

        As part of the vinyls business we acquired from CONDEA Vista Company, we purchased a 50% interest in a manufacturing joint venture, the remainder of which is controlled by PPG Industries, Inc., which also supplies chlorine to the facility operated by the joint venture. We may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. The nature of a joint venture requires us to share control with unaffiliated third parties. If our joint venture partners do not fulfill their obligations, the affected joint venture may not be able to operate according to its business plan. In that case, our operations may be adversely affected or we may be required to increase our level of commitment to the joint venture. Also, differences in views among joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or failures to agree on major issues. Any differences in our views or problems with respect to the operations of our joint ventures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We rely on outside suppliers for specified feedstocks and services.

        In connection with our acquisition of the vinyls business of CONDEA Vista Company, we entered into agreements with CONDEA Vista to provide specified feedstocks for the Lake Charles facility. Moreover, this facility is dependent upon CONDEA Vista's infrastructure for services such as waste water and ground water treatment, site remediation, fire water supply and rail car management. Any failure of CONDEA Vista to perform those agreements could adversely affect the operation of the affected facilities and our results of operations. The agreements relating to these feedstocks and services had initial terms of one to ten years. Although most of these agreements provide for automatic renewal, they may be terminated after specified notice periods. If we were required to obtain an alternate source for these feedstocks or services, we may not be able to obtain pricing on as favorable terms. Additionally, we may be forced to pay additional transportation costs or to invest in capital projects for pipelines or alternate facilities to accommodate railcar or other delivery or to replace other services.

        We also obtain a significant portion of our other raw materials from a few key suppliers. If any of these suppliers is unable to meet its obligations under present supply agreements, we may be forced to pay higher prices to obtain the necessary raw materials. Any interruption of supply or any price increase of raw materials could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Sales made in international markets expose us to risks that may adversely affect our operations or financial condition.

        During 2001, 13% of our revenues were generated in international markets. Substantially all of our international sales are made in U.S. dollars and, as a result, any increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies will increase the effective price of our products in international markets. Our international sales are also subject to other risks, including differing and changing legal and regulatory requirements in local jurisdictions; export duties and import quotas; domestic and foreign customs and tariffs or other trade barriers; potentially adverse tax consequences, including withholding taxes or taxes on other remittances; and foreign exchange restrictions. We cannot assure you that these factors will not have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our senior credit facility and the indenture for our 10³/8% senior subordinated notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions, which may prevent us from capitalizing on business opportunities and taking some actions. For example, in 2001 because we could not meet the debt incurrence test in the indenture related to our senior subordinated notes, we were forced to terminate our asset securitization program resulting in increased interest costs and less liquidity.

        Our senior credit facility and the indenture for our 10³/8% senior subordinated notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions will limit our ability to:

•

incur additional indebtedness and liens;

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•

make capital expenditures;



•

make investments and sell assets, including the stock of subsidiaries;



•

make payments of dividends and other distributions;



•

purchase Georgia Gulf stock;



•

use the proceeds of the sale of specified assets;



•

engage in business activities unrelated to our current business;



•

enter into transactions with affiliates; or



•

consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets.

        In addition, our senior credit facility also requires us to maintain specified financial ratios. We cannot assure you that these covenants will not adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs or to pursue available business opportunities. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default in respect of the related indebtedness. If a default occurs, the relevant lenders could elect to declare the indebtedness, together with accrued interest and other fees, to be immediately due and payable and proceed against any collateral securing that indebtedness. In addition, any acceleration of indebtedness under our senior credit facility will constitute a default under some of our other indebtedness.

Forward-Looking Statements

        This Form 10-K and other communications to stockholders may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to, among other things, our outlook for future periods, supply and demand, pricing trends and market forces within the chemical industry, cost reduction strategies and their results, planned capital expenditures, long-term objectives of management and other statements of expectations concerning matters that are not historical facts.

        Predictions of future results contain a measure of uncertainty. Actual results could differ materially due to various factors. Factors that could change forward-looking statements are, among others, those contained in the "Risk Factors" section above as well as changes in the general economy, changes in demand for our products or increases in overall industry capacity that could affect production volumes and/or pricing, changes and/or cyclicality in the industries to which our products are sold, availability and pricing of raw materials, technological changes affecting production, difficulty in plant operations and product transportation, governmental and environmental regulations and other unforeseen circumstances. A number of these factors are discussed in this Form 10-K and in our other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Item 2. PROPERTIES.

        Our asset base was established from 1971 to the present with the construction of the Plaquemine, Louisiana, complex, the construction of the Pasadena, Texas cumene plant, and the purchase of the vinyl compound plants. There was also the purchase of the Bound Brook, New Jersey, phenol/acetone facility which was subsequently relocated to Pasadena, Texas, and modernized in 1990. In 1997, we completed construction of cogeneration and air separation plants in Plaquemine, Louisiana, in order to supply all of our requirements for electricity, oxygen and nitrogen at that location. The cogeneration plant was leased under an operating lease agreement until we purchased it in 1999. In 1998, we purchased North American Plastics, Inc., a manufacturer of flexible vinyl compounds with production facilities in Aberdeen and Madison, Mississippi. In 1999, we purchased substantially all of the assets of the vinyls business of CONDEA Vista Company, an integrated producer of VCM, vinyl resins and vinyl compounds with production facilities in Aberdeen, Mississippi, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Jeffersontown, Kentucky, Mansfield, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We have since ceased production in Mansfield, Massachusetts and Jeffersontown, Kentucky. A lease termination and release agreement pertaining to the Mansfield site was executed between CONDEA Vista and Georgia Gulf Corporation on May 21, 2001. The Jeffersontown property is currently for sale.

        We continue to explore ways to expand both our plant capacities and product lines. We believe current and additional planned capacity will adequately meet anticipated demand requirements. Average capacity utilization of our production facilities was 75.5% in 2001.

        The following table sets forth the location of each manufacturing facility we own, the products manufactured at each facility and the approximate processing capability of each, assuming normal plant operations, as of December 31, 2001:

(1)

Reflects 100 percent of the production at our owned facility in Lake Charles and our 50 percent share of PHH Monomers' 1,150 million pounds of total VCM capacity.

        Our manufacturing facilities are located near major water and/or rail transportation terminals, facilitating efficient delivery of raw materials and prompt shipment of finished products. In addition, we

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have a fleet of about 3,481 railcars of which about 618 are owned and the remainder leased pursuant to operating leases with varying terms through the year 2014. The total lease expense for these railcars and other transportation equipment was approximately $17,677,000 for 2001.

        We lease office space for our principal executive offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and for information services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Space is leased for sales and marketing offices in Houston, Texas, and Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Space for numerous storage terminals is leased throughout the United States, and in the Netherlands, Canada and Mexico.

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

        Georgia Gulf is a party to numerous individual and several class-action lawsuits filed against the company, among other parties, arising out of an incident that occurred in September 1996 in which workers were exposed to a chemical substance on our premises in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The substance was later identified to be a form of mustard agent, which occurred as a result of an unforeseen chemical reaction. All of the actions claim one or more forms of compensable damages, including past and future wages, past and future physical and emotional pain and suffering. The lawsuits were originally filed in Louisiana state court in Iberville Parish.

        In September 1998, the state court trial judge granted the plaintiffs' motion permitting the filing of amended petitions that added the additional allegations that we had engaged in intentional conduct against the plaintiffs. Amended petitions making such allegations were filed. Our two insurers notified us that they were reserving their rights to deny coverage to the extent liability could be established due to such intentional conduct in accordance with their insurance policies. We disputed the insurers' reservation of rights. In December 1998, as required by the terms of the insurance policies, each insurer demanded arbitration of the issue of the insurers' duties relating to the intentional conduct allegations.

        As a result of the arbitrations relating to the insurance issue, as permitted by federal statute, the insurers removed the cases to United States District Court in December 1998. The plaintiffs' motion to remand was denied in March 1999.

        Following removal of these actions and unsuccessful attempts by plaintiffs to remand the cases, we were able to settle the claims of all but three worker plaintiffs (and their collaterals) who had filed suit prior to removal. These settlements included the vast majority of those claimants believed to be the most seriously injured. The settled cases are in the final processes of being dismissed with prejudice. Negotiations regarding the remaining claims of the three worker plaintiffs are ongoing.

        Following these settlements, we were sued by approximately 400 additional plaintiff workers (and their collaterals) who claim that they were injured as a result of the incident. After negotiation, including a mediation, we reached an agreement for the settlement of these additional claims. This settlement, which is on a class basis, will resolve the claims of all workers who claim to have been exposed and injured as a result of the incident other than those workers who opt out of the class settlement. We are aware of two worker plaintiffs and one collateral who have filed suit in state court who have opted not to participate in the class settlement, as well as the three worker plaintiffs whose claims are pending in federal court (see discussion above).

        We have also been notified that we may be added as a party to a currently pending suit in federal court brought by our present and former employees for injuries allegedly stemming from the incident. We believe that we possess a number of valid legal defenses to such claims, including worker's compensation immunity and statutes of limitations defenses.

        Based on the present status of the proceedings, we believe the liability ultimately imposed on us will not have a material effect on our financial position or on our results of operations.

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        On July 31, 2000, Georgia Gulf Lake Charles, LLC, received a Complaint, Compliance Order and Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 ("EPA"), which arose from an inspection conducted by the EPA at the Lake Charles facility on December 6-8, 1999. The EPA is seeking to assess a fine of $701,605 and to require certain corrective actions to be taken as a result of various alleged violations of the United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, including failure to make adequate hazardous waste determinations, failure to adequately characterize wastes before disposal, and failure to obtain permits for operations of alleged hazardous waste facilities.

        In July 2001, the Administrative Law Judge assigned to the case consolidated the case with a case the EPA had asserted against CONDEA Vista (now Sasol North America Inc.) involving common issues of law and fact. A case management order has been issued and the EPA has filed its prehearing exchange. Procedural motions relating to the prehearing exchange are pending. We believe the EPA's allegations are without merit. In addition to the administrative actions, we are participating in ongoing settlement discussions with the EPA. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement by which we acquired the Lake Charles VCM plant from CONDEA Vista, we have notified CONDEA Vista of our claim that these potential penalties are properly the responsibility of CONDEA Vista, and we have requested indemnity from CONDEA Vista. We have not received a response to this request.

        In addition, we are subject to other claims and legal actions that may arise in the ordinary course of business. We believe that the ultimate liability, if any, with respect to these other claims and legal actions will not have a material effect on our financial position or on our results of operations.

Item 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.

        No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders during the fourth quarter of 2001.

PART II

Item 5. MARKET PRICE OF AND DIVIDENDS ON THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.

        Georgia Gulf Corporation's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GGC." At March 27, 2002, there were 1,160 stockholders of record. The following table sets forth the New York Stock Exchange high, low and closing stock prices and dividend payments for Georgia Gulf's common stock for the periods indicated.

        We intend, from time to time, to pay cash dividends on our common stock as our board of directors deems appropriate. Our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants in our senior credit facility (see "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Liquidity and Capital Resources").

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Item 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Five-Year Selected Financial Data

In Thousands, Except Per Share Data, Ratios & Employees