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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission file number 333-17827-01

ISP CHEMCO INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (302) 427-5818

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

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 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

        Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o    No ý

        As of March 23, 2004, 100 shares of common stock, par value $.01 per share of the registrant were outstanding. There is no trading market for the common stock of the registrant. As of March 23, 2004, each of the additional registrants had the number of shares outstanding that is shown on the table below. There is no trading market for the common stock of the additional registrants. As of March 23, 2004, no shares of the registrant or the additional registrants were held by non-affiliates.

THE REGISTRANT AND THE ADDITIONAL REGISTRANTS MEET THE CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN GENERAL INSTRUCTION I(1)(a) AND (b) OF FORM 10-K AND ARE THEREFORE FILING THIS FORM WITH THE REDUCED DISCLOSURE FORMAT.

ISP CHEMCO INC.

Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003

Table of Contents

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PART I

        The Business section and other parts of this annual report on Form 10-K contain both historical and forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Many of the forward-looking statements are located in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." These forward-looking statements are only predictions and generally can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "believes," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "foresees" and other related terms. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals are also forward-looking statements. Our operations are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date of this annual report on Form 10-K. We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.

Item 1.    Business

General

        ISP Chemco Inc. is a leading multinational manufacturer and supplier of specialty and industrial chemicals and mineral products for a wide variety of personal care, pharmaceutical, food, beverage and industrial applications. We produce more than 400 specialty chemicals which we market and sell worldwide. We are an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of International Specialty Products Inc., or ISP. We were incorporated in Delaware in 1998. As a result of a proposal by Samuel J. Heyman, ISP's Chairman, to acquire beneficial ownership of all shares of ISP common stock that he did not already beneficially own, which was completed in February 2003, which we refer to as ISP's going private transaction, ISP's common stock is no longer publicly traded and Mr. Heyman is now the beneficial owner (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of 100% of ISP's common stock and our common stock. Following the completion of ISP's going private transaction, ISP's common stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission was terminated. Unless otherwise indicated by the context, "we," "us," "our," and "ISP Chemco" refers to ISP Chemco Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries and "ISP" refers to International Specialty Products Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

        ISP owns all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of International Specialty Holdings Inc., which we refer to as IS Holdings. IS Holdings was formed in 2001 in connection with an internal corporate restructuring ISP completed in June 2001. IS Holdings owns all of our and ISP Investco LLC's issued and outstanding capital stock. We operate ISP's businesses exclusively through our direct and indirect subsidiaries. ISP Investco was formed in 2001 for the purpose of holding all of ISP's investment assets and related liabilities.

        The address and telephone number of our principal executive offices is 300 Delaware Avenue, Suite 303, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, (302) 427-5818.

        Effective January 1, 2003, we changed the composition of our reportable business segments to be consistent with the current structure of our businesses. Over the last five years, we have moved toward increasing our focus on our consumer-oriented and service intensive businesses while consolidating and downsizing our low margin butanediol business and controlling costs. Consistent with that business focus, we now report three business segments: specialty chemicals, industrial chemicals and mineral products. Our specialty chemicals business segment consists of the personal care; pharmaceutical, food and beverage; performance chemicals; and fine chemicals product lines.

        We have and continue to increase our consumer-oriented focus through new, more profitable product offerings, enhanced technical capabilities and penetration into new markets. We also have

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supplemented our internal resources with strategic alliances and complementary acquisitions. We continue to lower our costs through operating efficiencies and plant consolidations.

        Product offerings include a hair care product that provides faster drying time and greater hold for styling flexibility and a solvent that improves the stability and absorption of pharmaceutical products. We have also introduced a patented, water-based micro-emulsion that more effectively disperses the active agricultural ingredient for easier application and improved environmental safety in crop spraying.

        To enhance support provided by our technical service team, we have added technical service laboratories to our current global network of applications. In this regard we opened a new technical service laboratory in Mexico.

        Strategic alliances have allowed us to leverage our core strengths in marketing, sales and technical services to obtain access to new technologies and expand the breadth and utility of our product offerings. These product offerings as a result of these strategic alliances include skin conditioners and other skin care products, pharmaceutical over-the counter, nutritional and oral care applications, personal care products, and a line of polymers.

        We continually explore possible acquisitions where we seek to acquire complementary technologies or products, expand our customer base and leverage our sales and distribution infrastructure and existing client relationships. For example, we acquired our alginates business and now provide naturally derived food thickeners and stabilizers to a variety of markets that complement our existing products and technology, such as the pharmaceutical ingredients, food and beverage markets. We also acquired our industrial biocides business that includes a product line of fungicides, preservatives, algaecides and biocides to expand our performance chemicals product line.

        In May 2003, we acquired Germinal S.A., a company that supplies the meat and dairy industry in Southern Latin America with ingredient systems. The acquisition adds to the expansion of our high-value specialty products in our food ingredients business.

        We expanded our Freetown, Massachusetts manufacturing facility's production capabilities to allow for the manufacture of some specialty chemical products for our personal care product line and to offer custom manufacturing capability to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural and chemical process industries. In connection with the relocation of some of our production lines for our personal care product line to our Freetown facility, we shut down our manufacturing operation at our Belleville, New Jersey plant in 2001.

        During the last five years, we have invested approximately $300 million in maintaining and upgrading our manufacturing plants including equipment modifications and de-bottlenecking solutions which have significantly increased our manufacturing efficiency and capacity. We have also streamlined and consolidated our operations to increase efficiency and reduce our operating costs. For example, we shut down our high cost butanediol production at our Calvert City, Kentucky plant in 1999, at our Seadrift, Texas plant in 2000 and at our Texas City, Texas plant in 2001. In addition, we shifted butanediol production following these shutdowns to our lower cost Marl, Germany facility.

Business Segments

Specialty Chemicals

Products and Markets.

        We manufacture a broad spectrum of specialty chemicals having numerous applications in consumer and industrial products. We use proprietary technology to convert various raw materials, through a chain of one or more processing steps, into increasingly complex and higher value-added specialty chemicals specifically developed to meet customer requirements.

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        Our specialty chemicals segment is organized based upon the markets for our products. Accordingly, we manage our specialty chemicals segment through the following product lines:

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Personal Care—whose products are sold to the skin care and hair care markets;



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Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverage—whose products are sold to these three government-regulated industries;



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Performance Chemicals—whose products are sold to the medical, aerospace, defense, electronics and powder metallurgy markets and numerous consumer and agricultural markets; and



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Fine Chemicals—whose products are sold to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, imaging and numerous consumer markets.

        In each of the years ending December 31, 2001, 2002 and 2003, sales of our specialty chemicals represented approximately 70%, 71% and 70%, of our revenues respectively. For information about the amount of sales by each of our specialty chemical product lines, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations" and Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

        Most of our specialty chemical products fall within the following categories:

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vinyl ether monomers—includes several products for use in specialty and radiation-cured coatings. Our vinyl ether monomers are marketed by the performance chemicals group of our performance chemicals and fine chemicals product lines.



•

vinyl ether copolymers—includes our Gantrez® line of products. These products serve as a bioadhesive resin in consumer products such as tartar-control toothpaste, denture adhesives and facial pore strips. Vinyl ether copolymers are marketed by our personal care and pharmaceutical, food and beverage product lines.



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polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymers and copolymers—represents our largest product group. These polymers and copolymers are marketed by all of our product lines. Our Plasdone®, Polyclar® and Gafquat® product lines, which are used as tablet binders, beverage clarifiers and hair fixative resins, respectively, are included in this group.



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alginates—includes sodium alginate, propylene glycol alginate and other alginate derivatives for use as thickeners, stabilizers and viscosity modifiers. These products are marketed by our personal care; pharmaceutical, food and beverage; and performance chemical product lines, with the majority of our sales to the food industry.

        The balance of our specialty chemical products are marketed by our performance chemicals, and fine chemicals product lines. In addition, our sunscreens, preservatives and emollients, are each marketed by our personal care product line.

        Personal Care.    Our personal care product line markets numerous specialty chemicals that serve as critical ingredients in the formulation of many well-known skin care, hair care, toiletry and cosmetic products. For example, our polyvinylpyrrolidone polymers, which are derived from acetylene, are critical components in hair styling gels. If this polymer were removed, hold, stiffness and styling would be lost.

        Our skin care ingredients include:

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ultraviolet (UV) light absorbing chemicals, which serve as sunscreens;



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emollients which provide skin softness;



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moisturizers, which enhance the skin's water balance;

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waterproofing agents, which enhance the performance of eye-liners and sunscreens in wet environments; and



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preservatives, which extend the shelf life of aqueous-based cosmetic formulations by preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.

        Our Escalol® sunscreen actives serve as the primary active ingredient in many of the most popular sunscreens today and increasingly find applications in many other products such as lipsticks and facial creams. Our Ceraphyl® line of emollients and moisturizers provides a variety of popular bath products with their softening and moisturizing characteristics. We produce a growing number of specialty preservatives, including Germall® Plus, a patented product that offers broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity, and Suttocide® A, a preservative gentle enough for infant care products.

        Our Bio-Functional Ingredients platform offers unique, clinically-proven and consumer-perceivable benefits that contribute to healthier skin. Vital ET™ is a Vitamin E phosphate complex that that has outstanding efficacy as an anti-inflammatory and anti-erythemal agent that offers particular benefits in our sun care formulations.

        Our hair care ingredients, marketed under the Gantrez®, Gafquat®, and PVP/VA family of products, include a number of specially formulated fixative resins which provide hairsprays, mousses and gels with their holding power, as well as thickeners and stabilizers for shampoos and conditioners. Utilizing our combined expertise in hair care and sunscreen applications, we developed the world's first high-performance hair protectant, Escalol® HP-610, to prevent sun damage to hair. We also developed a polymer, Aquaflex® FX-64, for use in styling products and low VOC hair sprays, which provides a soft feeling with a long lasting hold for both aerosol and pump spray applications.

        Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverage.    Our specialty chemicals for the pharmaceutical, food and beverage market provide a number of end-use products with their unique properties while enabling these products to meet increasingly strict regulatory requirements.

        In the pharmaceutical market, our specialty chemicals serve as key ingredients in the following types of products:

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prescription and over-the-counter tablets;



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injectable prescription drugs and serums;



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cough syrups;



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antiseptics;



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toothpastes; and



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denture adhesives.

        Our Plasdone® and Polyplasdone® polymers for tablet binders and tablet disintegrants are established excipients for use in the production of wet granulated tablets. Our Gantrez® bioadhesive polymers serve as critical ingredients in denture adhesives and tartar control toothpastes. In denture adhesives, Gantrez® provides the strength and duration of the hold of the denture to the gums. In tartar control toothpastes, Gantrez® inhibits enzyme activity in the mouth to increase the effectiveness of the product's tartar control.

        In the food and beverage markets, our alginates and acetylene-derived polymers serve as critical ingredients in the manufacture of numerous consumer products, including salad dressings, cheese sauces, fruit fillings, beer and health drinks. For example, our alginates products, marketed under the Kelcoloid® tradename, are used as stabilizers in many well-known consumer products and prevent the separation of oil emulsions. Our acetylene-based specialty polymers, marketed under the Polyclar®

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tradename, serve the beverage market by assuring the clarity and extending the shelf life of beer, wine and fruit juices.

        Performance Chemicals.    Our performance chemicals product line includes acetylene-based polymers, vinyl ether monomers and advanced materials for consumer, agricultural and industrial applications. Our acetylene-based chemistry produces a number of performance chemicals for use in a wide range of markets including:

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coatings;



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agriculture;



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imaging;



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detergents;



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electronics; and



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metalworking.

        ViviPrint™ is our line of polymers developed for specialty coating applications in ink jet printing. These products provide significant moisture and abrasion resistance, high gloss and excellent resolution for high-quality printers and photo reproductions.

        Our performance chemical product line also includes our biocides business which is comprised of a broad range of preservatives and fungicides for various product applications, including paint and coatings.

        Our advanced materials include the Ferronyl® brand of dietary iron supplement, which is marketed to the pharmaceutical industry and also includes high-purity carbonyl iron powders, sold under the Micropowder® name, for use in the aerospace, defense, electronics and powder metallurgy industries.

        Fine Chemicals.    Our fine chemicals product line focuses on the production of a variety of highly specialized products sold to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural and imaging markets. We also offer custom manufacturing services for these industries.

Marketing and Sales.

        We market our specialty chemicals using a worldwide marketing and sales force, typically chemists or chemical engineers, who work closely with our customers to familiarize them with our customers' products, manufacturing processes and markets. We primarily sell our specialty chemicals directly to our customers through our global distribution network. We sell a limited portion of our specialty chemicals through distributors. We conduct our domestic marketing and sales efforts from our headquarters in Wayne, New Jersey and regional offices strategically located throughout the United States.

International Operations.

        We conduct our international operations through 46 subsidiaries and 50 sales offices located in Europe, Canada, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. We also use the services of local distributors to reach markets that might otherwise be unavailable to us.

        International sales of our specialty chemicals in 2001, 2002 and 2003 were approximately 48%, 47% and 52% of our total sales of the specialty chemicals segment for those periods, respectively. For more information about our international sales, see Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. International sales are subject to exchange rate fluctuation risks. For a discussion of our policy regarding the management of these risks, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity

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and Financial Condition." Other countries in which we have sales are subject to additional risks, including high rates of inflation, exchange controls, government expropriation and general instability.

        We operate an alginates manufacturing plant in Girvan, Scotland and a research and administrative center in Tadworth, England. In addition, we hold equity investments in three seaweed processing joint ventures located in Ireland, Iceland and Tasmania. These joint ventures serve to provide our alginates business with a steady supply of its primary raw material, seaweed.

        For information about the locations of our international long-lived assets, see Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

Industrial Chemicals

Products and Markets.

        We manufacture a broad spectrum of industrial chemicals having numerous applications in industrial products. We use proprietary technology to convert various raw materials, through a chain of one or more processing steps, into increasingly complex and higher value-added products specifically developed to meet customer requirements.

        In each of the years ending December 31, 2001, 2002 and 2003, sales of industrial chemicals represented approximately 20%, 18% and 19% of our revenues respectively. For more information about industrial chemicals sales, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations" and Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

        Most of our industrial chemical products fall within the following categories and are all marketed by our industrial chemicals segment:

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intermediates—includes butanediol, butenediol, butynediol, and propargyl alcohol for use in numerous industrial applications. Our largest selling intermediate product is butanediol, which is utilized by industrial companies to manufacture polyesters, urethanes and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) plastics for use in automobiles.



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solvents—includes our M-pyrol® brand of N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), for use in electronic chemicals, agricultural chemicals, cleaning and stripping applications and as a reaction solvent for engineering plastics, BLO® brand of gamma-butyrolactone, for use by electronics companies in the manufacture of semiconductors and micro-processing chips, and tetrahydrofuran (THF), which is used as solvent for PVC pipe cements, vinyl top coatings and a reaction solvent for pharmaceuticals.

        We market several intermediate and solvent products, such as butanediol, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), for use in a variety of industries, including:

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high performance plastics;



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lubricating oil and chemical processing;



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electronics cleaning; and



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coatings.

        In addition, we offer a family of environmentally friendly products that can replace chlorinated and other volatile solvents for a variety of industrial uses, including cleaning, stripping and degreasing.

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Marketing and Sales.

        We market our industrial chemicals using a worldwide marketing and sales force, typically chemists or chemical engineers, who work closely with our customers to familiarize them with our customers' products, manufacturing processes and markets. We primarily sell our industrial chemicals directly to our customers through our global distribution network. We sell a limited portion of our industrial chemicals through distributors. We conduct our domestic marketing and sales efforts from our headquarters in Wayne, New Jersey and regional offices strategically located throughout the United States.

International Operations.

        We conduct our international operations through 46 subsidiaries and 50 sales offices located in Europe, Canada, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. We also use the services of local distributors to reach markets that might otherwise be unavailable to us.

        International sales of our industrial chemicals in 2001, 2002 and 2003 were approximately 81%, 83% and 83% of our total sales of the industrial chemicals segment for those periods, respectively. For more information about our international sales, see Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. International sales are subject to exchange rate fluctuation risks. For a discussion of our policy regarding the management of these risks, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Financial Condition." Other countries in which we have sales are subject to additional risks, including high rates of inflation, exchange controls, government expropriation and general instability.

        We own and operate ISP Marl GmbH, primarily a butanediol manufacturing facility, and ISP Acetylene GmbH, an acetylene production plant. We lease the property where this manufacturing facility and plant are located pursuant to a long-term ground lease. Both production facilities are located at Degussa's Chemiepark site in Marl, Germany, and each relies upon Degussa to provide specific services, including utilities, rail transport and waste handling. We believe that the production costs for butanediol and THF at ISP Marl are among the most competitive in the industry. ISP Acetylene operates a fully dedicated modern production facility that provides ISP Marl with its primary raw material, acetylene. ISP Acetylene, which employs electric arc technology for the production of acetylene from various hydrocarbon feedstocks, utilizes state-of-the-art gas separation technology. ISP Acetylene's entire production is dedicated to fulfilling ISP Marl's requirements and has no third-party sales.

        For information about the locations of our international long-lived assets, see Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

Mineral Products

Products and Markets.

        We manufacture mineral products consisting of semi-ceramic-coated colored roofing granules, algae resistant granules and headlap granules, which are produced from rock deposits that are mined and crushed at our quarries. We utilize a proprietary process to produce our colored and algae resistant roofing granules. We sell our mineral roofing granules primarily to the United States roofing industry for use in the manufacture of asphalt roofing shingles. The granules help to provide weather resistance, decorative coloring, heat deflection and increased weight in the shingle. We believe that we are the second largest of only three major suppliers of colored roofing granules in the United States in terms of production capacity and sales revenue. For information about the amount of sales of our mineral products, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of

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Operations" and Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

        We believe that approximately 80% of the asphalt shingles currently produced by the roofing industry are sold for the re-roofing/replacement market, in which demand is driven not by the pace of new home construction but by the needs of homeowners to replace existing roofs. Homeowners generally replace their roofs either because they are worn, thereby creating concerns as to weather-tightness, or because of the homeowners' desire to upgrade the appearance of their homes. We believe that the balance of the roofing industry's asphalt shingle production historically has been sold primarily for use in new housing construction. Sales of our colored mineral granules have benefited from a trend toward the increased use of heavyweight, three-dimensional laminated roofing shingles which results in both functional and aesthetic improvements. These shingles require, on average, approximately 60% more granules than traditional three-tab, lightweight roofing shingles.

        Sales to Building Materials Corporation of America, or BMCA, our affiliate, and its subsidiaries constituted approximately 75% of our mineral products net sales in 2003.

        See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. See also "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—2003 compared with 2002."

Marketing and Sales.

        We market our mineral products on a national basis to residential and commercial roofing manufacturers utilizing a direct sales team with expertise in product application and logistics. We ship finished products using rail and trucks from four manufacturing facilities strategically located throughout the United States. From our offices located in Hagerstown, Maryland, we provide logistical support and operate a customer design center to engineer product applications according to our customers' requirements. Our technical services and manufacturing teams provide support and consultation services upon specific requirements by our customers.

Raw Materials

        Because of the multi-step processes required to manufacture our specialty and industrial chemicals, we believe that our raw materials costs represent a smaller percentage of the cost of goods sold than for most other chemical companies. We estimate that approximately one-third of our manufacturing costs are for raw materials, including energy and packaging. As a result, we believe that fluctuations in the price of raw materials have less of an impact on our specialty chemicals business than on those chemical companies for which raw materials costs represent a larger percentage of manufacturing costs.

        The principal raw materials used in the manufacture of our acetylene-based specialty chemicals are acetylene, formaldehyde and methylamine. Most of the raw materials for consumption in the United States are obtained from third party sources pursuant to supply agreements. Acetylene, a significant raw material used in the production of most of our specialty chemicals, is obtained by us for domestic use from unaffiliated suppliers pursuant to supply contracts. We have a contract with a multinational supplier to supply a substantial amount of our acetylene requirements to our Texas City, Texas facility that expires at the end of March 2004. As a result of this contract expiration we have reduced our acetylene requirements at our Texas City facility by 50% through shifting production of acetylene-consuming products to our Calvert City, Kentucky manufacturing facility. We have also entered into a long-term supply agreement for the remaining Texas City facility requirements with a local acetylene producer. Under this agreement, we are obligated to purchase specified quantities of acetylene through the end of 2013. Pricing under the contract is on a fixed basis with escalators related to changes in the Producer Price Index.

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        We also have an acetylene supply contract for our requirements of acetylene delivery via pipeline to our Calvert City, Kentucky manufacturing facility. The current term of this contract expires December 31, 2009 and allows us, at our sole option, to extend the agreement for two additional terms of five years each. Pricing under the contract is on a fixed basis with escalators related to changes in the Producer Price Index.

        We believe that the diversity of our acetylene supply sources and our use of a number of acetylene production technologies provide us with a reliable supply of acetylene. In the event of a substantial interruption in the supply of acetylene from current sources, we cannot assure that we would be able to obtain as much acetylene from other sources as would be necessary to meet our supply requirements. To date, we have not experienced an interruption of our acetylene supply that has had a material adverse effect on our sales of specialty chemicals.

        Due to the nature of the manufacturing process, electricity and hydrocarbon feedstocks, primarily butane, are critical raw materials for the production of acetylene at our operations in Marl, Germany. The Marl facility obtains the majority of its critical supplies and services from Degussa including electricity and butane via a long term supplies and services agreement.

        In the event of a substantial interruption in the supply of electricity and hydrocarbon feedstocks to ISP Marl, we cannot assure that we would be able to obtain as much acetylene from other sources as would be necessary to meet our supply requirements.

        We use natural gas and raw materials derived from petroleum in many of our manufacturing processes. We experienced no significant problems in the purchase of these raw materials during 2003, although we experienced upward pressure on certain raw material pricing. Availability of other raw materials, including methanol and methylamine, remained adequate during 2003. Although it is impossible to predict future shortages of raw materials or the impact any such shortages would have, we believe that in the event of a supply interruption we could obtain adequate supplies of raw materials from alternate sources.

        The principal raw material used in the manufacture of alginates consists of select species of seaweed. We process seaweed in both wet and dry forms. We use our own specially designed vessels to harvest, under government license, wet seaweed from leased kelp beds in the Pacific Ocean to supply our San Diego, California facility. Our Girvan, Scotland facility processes primarily dry seaweed purchased from our joint ventures in Iceland, Ireland and Tasmania, as well as from independent suppliers in South America. We believe that the species of seaweed required to manufacture alginates will remain readily available and that we will have adequate access to this seaweed to provide us with adequate supplies of this raw material for the foreseeable future.

        Our mineral products business owns three quarries and leases one quarry with rock deposits that have specific performance characteristics, including weatherability, the ability to reflect UV light, abrasion-resistance, non-staining characteristics and the ability to absorb pigments. These quarries each have proven reserves, based on current production levels, of more than 20 years. We have a royalty arrangement based on the amount of rock deposits extracted annually from our Ione, California quarry.

Competition

        We believe that we are the second largest seller, based on revenues, worldwide of specialty chemicals derived from acetylene, other than butanediol and tetrahydrofuran, and we believe that we are the second largest seller, based on revenues, worldwide of alginates.

        In each end-use market, there are a limited number of companies that produce substitutable products for our acetylene-derived specialty chemicals. These companies compete with us in the personal care, pharmaceutical, beverage and industrial markets and have the effect of limiting our market penetration and pricing flexibility. For our specialty chemicals not derived from acetylene,

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including alginates, sunscreens, emollients, moisturizers and fine chemicals, a number of world-wide competitors can provide similar products or services.

        Butanediol, which we produce primarily for use as a raw material, is also manufactured by a limited number of companies throughout the world for both their captive use or to supply the merchant market. We believe that there are three competitors of significance for merchant market butanediol. BASF Corporation and Lyondell Corporation supply the merchant market from their plants in the United States and in Europe. British Petroleum currently supplies the merchant market from their single manufacturing plant in the United States. Tetrahydrofuran and N-methyl pyrrolidone are manufactured by a number of companies throughout the world.

        With regard to our mineral products, our primary competitors are the 3M Company and Reed Minerals. We believe that competition has been limited by the substantial capital expenditures associated with the construction of new mineral processing and coloring plants and the acquisition of suitable rock reserves; the limited availability of proven rock sources; the complexity associated with the construction of a mineral processing and coloring plant, together with the technical know-how required to operate such a plant; the need to obtain, prior to commencing operations, reliable data over a substantial period of time regarding the weathering of granules in order to assure the quality and durability of the product; and the difficulty in obtaining the necessary permits to mine and operate a quarry.

        Competition in the markets for our specialty chemicals, industrial chemicals and mineral products is largely based upon product and service quality, technology, distribution capability and price. We believe that we are well-positioned in the marketplace as a result of our broad product lines, sophisticated technology and worldwide distribution network.

        Financial information concerning our industry segments and foreign and domestic operations required by Item 1 is included in Notes 19 and 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

Research and Development

        Our worldwide research and development expenditures were $25.4, $26.0 and $25.3 million in 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively.

        Our research and development activities are conducted primarily at our worldwide technical center and laboratories in Wayne, New Jersey. Additional research and development is conducted at plant sites in Calvert City, Kentucky; Texas City, Texas; Chatham, New Jersey; Freetown, Massachusetts; Columbus, Ohio; San Diego, California; and Girvan, Scotland, as well as at technical centers in the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Germany, China, Singapore and Mexico. Our mineral products research and development facility, together with our customer design and color center, is located in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Environmental Services

        We received approval from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for a direct access ramp extension from the New Jersey Turnpike to our Linden, New Jersey property. With the planned New Jersey Turnpike access, it is likely that development alternatives such as warehousing will provide greater economic benefits than our previously considered development alternative of construction of a hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility at this site. See Item 3, "Legal Proceedings—Environmental Claims and Proceedings."

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Patents and Trademarks

        As of December 31, 2003, we owned or licensed approximately 425 domestic and 605 foreign patents or patent applications and owned or licensed approximately 150 domestic and 1,525 foreign trademark registrations or applications related to our business. While we believe the patent protection covering some of our products is material to those products, we do not believe that any single patent, patent application or trademark is material to our business or operations. We believe that the duration of the existing patents and patent licenses is consistent with our business needs.

Environmental Compliance

        Since 1970, a wide variety of federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to environmental matters have been adopted and amended. By reason of the nature of our operations and the operations of our predecessor and certain of the substances that are or have been used, produced or discharged at our or our predecessor's plants or at other locations, we are affected by these environmental laws and regulations. We have made capital expenditures of approximately $6.3 million in 2001, $3.6 million in 2002 and $7.0 million in 2003, in order to comply with these laws and regulations. These expenditures are included in additions to property, plant and equipment. We anticipate that aggregate capital expenditures relating to environmental compliance in 2004 and 2005 will be approximately $6.5 and $7.5 million, respectively.

        The environmental laws and regulations deal with air and water emissions or discharges into the environment, as well as the generation, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous waste, and the remediation of any releases of hazardous substances and materials to the environment. We believe that our manufacturing facilities comply in all material respects with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and, while we cannot predict whether more burdensome requirements will be adopted by governmental authorities in the future, we believe that any potential liability for compliance with environmental laws and regulations will not materially affect our business, liquidity, results of operations, cash flows or financial position.

Employees

        At December 31, 2003, we employed approximately 2,800 people worldwide. Approximately 758 employees in the United States were subject to seven union contracts. We believe that our relations with our employees and their unions are satisfactory.

Other Information

        We have not established and do not maintain an internet website. However, we do make our annual report on Form 10-K and current quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") available electronically via ISP's internet website at www.ispcorp.com. Any materials that we have filed with the SEC may be read and copied by the public at the SEC's Public Reference Room located at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20549 or by telephoning the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. These reports are also available electronically on the SEC's EDGAR website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, if you wish to receive a paper copy of our reports or any of the exhibits filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, they may be obtained by writing to: the Corporate Secretary, ISP Chemco Inc., c/o ISP Management Company, Inc., 1361 Alps Road, Wayne, New Jersey 07470.

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Item 2.    Properties

        Our corporate headquarters and principal research and development laboratories are located at a 100-acre campus-like office and research park owned by one of our subsidiaries at 1361 Alps Road, Wayne, New Jersey 07470.

        The principal domestic and foreign real properties either owned by, or leased to, us are described below. Unless otherwise indicated, the properties are owned in fee. In addition to the principal facilities listed below, we maintain sales offices and warehouses in the United States and abroad, substantially all of which are in leased premises under relatively short-term leases.

*

Leased property

**

Long-term ground lease

        We believe that our plants and facilities, which are of varying ages and are of different construction types, have been satisfactorily maintained, are in good condition, are suitable for their respective operations and generally provide sufficient capacity to meet production requirements. Each plant has adequate transportation facilities for both raw materials and finished products. In 2003, we made capital expenditures in the amount of $62.7 million relating to plant, property and equipment.

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Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

Environmental Claims and Proceedings

        We, together with other companies, are a party to a variety of proceedings and lawsuits involving environmental matters under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and similar state laws, in which recovery is sought for the cost of cleanup of contaminated sites or remedial obligations are imposed, a number of which are in the early stages or have been dormant for protracted periods. We refer to these claims in this report as "Environmental Claims."

        We estimate that our liability in respect of all Environmental Claims, including those relating to our closed Linden, New Jersey plant described below, and certain other environmental compliance expenses, as of December 31, 2003, is approximately $20.8 million, before reduction for insurance recoveries included in our balance sheet of $28.1 million that relate to both past expenses and estimated future liabilities, which we refer to as "estimated recoveries." While we cannot predict whether adverse decisions or events can occur in the future, in the opinion of management, the resolution of such matters should not be material to our business, liquidity, results of operations, cash flows or financial position. However, adverse decisions or events, particularly as to the liability and the financial responsibility of our insurers and of the other parties involved at each site and their insurers, could cause us to increase our estimate of our liability or decrease our estimate of insurance recoveries in respect of those matters. It is not currently possible to estimate the amount or range of any additional liability.

        After considering the relevant legal issues and other pertinent factors, we believe that it is probable that we will receive the estimated recoveries discussed above. We believe we are entitled to substantially full defense and indemnity under our insurance policies for most Environmental Claims, although our insurers have not affirmed a legal obligation under the policies to provide indemnity for these claims. In addition, the recoveries could be in excess of the current estimated liability for all Environmental Claims, although there can be no assurance in this regard.

        In June 1997, G-I Holdings Inc. commenced litigation on behalf of itself and its predecessors, successors, subsidiaries and related corporate entities, including ISP, in the Superior Court of New Jersey-Somerset County, seeking amounts substantially in excess of the estimated recoveries. This action was removed in February 2001 to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey in connection with the filing of G-I Holdings' Chapter 11 petition. In November 2002, all parties consented to have the action remanded to the Superior Court of New Jersey-Somerset County, where it remains pending. While ISP believes that the claims are meritorious, it cannot be certain that it will prevail in its efforts to obtain amounts equal to, or in excess of, the estimated recoveries. Unless otherwise indicated by the context, "G-I Holdings" refers to G-I Holdings Inc. and any and all of its predecessors, including GAF Corporation and GAF Fiberglass Corporation.

        In June 1989, we entered into a Consent Order with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection requiring the development of a remediation plan for our closed Linden, New Jersey plant and the maintenance of financial assurances, currently $7.5 million, to guarantee our performance. This Consent Order does not address any potential natural resource damage claims for which an estimate cannot currently be made. In April 1993, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued orders which require the prevention of discharge of contaminated groundwater and stormwater from the site and the elimination of other potential exposure concerns. We believe, although we cannot be certain, that, taking into account our plans for development of the site, we can comply with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection order at a cost of approximately $13.2 million. See Item 1, "Business—Environmental Services."

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Stockholder Litigation Against ISP

        In connection with ISP's going private transaction that was completed on February 28, 2003, six purported class action lawsuits were filed on behalf of ISP stockholders in July 2002 in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against ISP and members of its board of directors, which were consolidated. We refer to these lawsuits as the Delaware action. Also in July 2002, a seventh purported class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of ISP stockholders in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against ISP and members of its board of directors, which we refer to as the New Jersey action. The plaintiffs in the Delaware action and the New Jersey action variously sought a court order enjoining the going private transaction, an award of unspecified damages and attorneys' fees, the unwinding of any transaction and other unspecified equitable relief.

        The parties to the Delaware action reached a settlement of that litigation and following a hearing on August 14, 2003, the settlement was approved by the Court of Chancery, which approval became a final order. As a result of the settlement, all claims were dismissed without any admission of fault by the defendants and all defendants were released from any and all claims made or that could have been made by the plaintiffs and all members of a purported plaintiff class consisting of all record and beneficial holders of ISP common stock related to the going private transaction (including the claims made in the New Jersey action). In September 2003, the New Jersey action was dismissed with prejudice based upon the final order of the Court of Chancery in the Delaware action.

        See Notes 8 and 22 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K for additional information about legal proceedings.

Item 4.    Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

        Omitted pursuant to General Instruction 1(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

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PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

        All of our common stock is owned by IS Holdings. All of the common stock of each of the additional registrants is owned, directly or indirectly, by us. Accordingly, there is no public trading market for our or the additional registrants' common stock.

        In 2002 and 2003, we declared and paid dividends of $0 and $50 million, respectively, to IS Holdings. In 2003 we received a $50 million capital contribution from IS Holdings. See Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K for information regarding restrictions on the payment of dividends set forth on pages F-2 to F-22 and page F-51 respectively. Any decision to pay dividends, and the timing and amount thereof, is dependent upon, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, prospects and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.

Item 6.    Selected Financial Data

        See page F-23.

Item 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

        See page F-2.

Item 7A.    Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

        See Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Financial Condition—Market Sensitive Instruments and Risk Management" on page F-20.

Item 8.    Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

        See Index on page F-1 and Financial Statements and Supplementary Data on pages F-26 to F-81.

Item 9.    Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

        There were no disagreements with accountants on accounting or financial disclosures during the last two fiscal years. On June 20, 2002, we replaced Arthur Andersen LLP as our independent public accountants and engaged KPMG LLP to serve as our independent public accountants. For more information with respect to this matter, see our current report on Form 8-K filed on June 24, 2002.

Item 9A.    Controls and Procedures

        Disclosure Controls and Procedures:    Our management, with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of such period, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by us in the reports filed, furnished or submitted under the Exchange Act.

        Internal Control Over Financial Reporting:    There were no significant changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in management's evaluation during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2003 that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

17

PART III

Item 10.    Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

        Omitted pursuant to General Instruction 1(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

Item 11.    Executive Compensation

        Omitted pursuant to General Instruction 1(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

Item 12.    Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Stockholder Matters

        Omitted pursuant to General Instruction 1(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

Item 13.    Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

        Omitted pursuant to General Instruction 1(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

Item 14.    Principal Accountant Fees and Services

        The following table presents fees for professional services rendered by our independent public accountants, KPMG LLP, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2002 and 2003.

Audit and Non-Audit Fees(1)

(1)

On June 20, 2002, we replaced Arthur Andersen LLP as our independent public accountants and appointed KPMG LLP as our new independent public accountants.

(2)

Audit fees relate to professional services rendered by KPMG in connection with the audit of our annual financial statements, quarterly review of financial statements included in our Forms 10-Q and audit services provided in connection with other statutory and regulatory filings.

(3)

Audit-related fees include professional services rendered by KPMG related to consultation on accounting standards or transactions including ISP's going private transaction, and audits of employee benefit plans.

(4)

Tax fees include professional services rendered by KPMG in connection with tax compliance, preparation of foreign tax returns, rendering advice with regard to tax audits and other tax consulting. We do not engage KPMG to perform personal tax services for our executive officers.

Policy on Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services Performed by the Independent Auditors

        Our Board of Directors approves, prior to the audit engagement, consistent with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any audit, audit-related and permitted non-audit services reasonably likely to be required by us from KPMG during the coming fiscal year. The Board may delegate the approval of unanticipated (but otherwise permitted) non-audit services during the coming fiscal year to our principal financial or accounting officer as required.

18

PART IV

Item 15.    Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules and Reports on Form 8-K

        The following documents are filed as part of this report:

(a)

(1) Financial Statements: See Index on page F-1.



(a)

(2) Financial Statement Schedules: See Index on page F-1.



(a)

(3) Exhibits:

19

20

*

Filed herewith.

(b)

Reports on Form 8-K

        No current reports on Form 8-K were filed in the fourth quarter of 2003.

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SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 23, 2004

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below on March 23, 2004, by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated.

22

SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 23, 2004

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below on March 23, 2004, by the following persons on behalf of the additional registrants and in the capacities indicated.

23

ISP CHEMCO INC.

FORM 10-K

INDEX TO MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS,
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL