Acquisitions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended							12 Months Ended						0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2014		Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Oct. 01, 2013	Jan. 12, 2015	Feb. 19, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash payments related to acquisitions								$ 0		$ 2,565,000		$ 3,360,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01							$ 0.01		$ 0.01
Acquisition and integration related costs (Note 23)	15,054,000	[1]	10,261,000	[1]	4,843,000	[1]	0	30,158,000	[1]	0	[1]	0	[1]
Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs (Note 23)								23,600,000
Other significant projects
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs (Note 23)								6,600,000
Cambridge Chemical Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred														3,600,000
Cash payments related to acquisitions										2,300,000
Subsequent Event | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred															5,600,000,000
Cash payments related to acquisitions															3,600,000,000
Cash issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock															$ 50.65
Equity issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock															0.4803
Common Stock | Subsequent Event | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred															$ 2,000,000,000
Equity consideration, shares issued															34,110,008
Appraisal shares																882,000
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Subsequent Event | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)															$ 0.01

[1] See Note 23, “Acquisitions.”