Acquisitions (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
	Jan. 12, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	[1]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill			$ 2,931,293	$ 2,893,811
Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total purchase price	$ 5,725,321
Cash and cash equivalents	1,555,139
Trade and other accounts receivable	262,947
Inventories	290,496
Other current assets	86,267
Property, plant and equipment	1,383,480
Investments	529,453
Other assets	25,538
Current liabilities	(406,532)
Long-term debt	(1,319,132)
Pension benefits	(316,086)
Other noncurrent liabilities	(195,052)
Deferred income taxes	(845,884)
Noncontrolling interests	(17,582)
Total identifiable net assets	2,906,694
Goodwill	2,818,627
Total net assets acquired	5,725,321
Pro forma Net sales		$ 917,734
Pro forma Net income		$ 122,145
Pro forma Net income per share: Basic (in dollars per share)		$ 1.13
Pro forma Net income per share: Diluted (in dollars per share)		$ 1.13
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Trade names and trademarks
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	104,380
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Other
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	26,670
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Patents and technology
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Definite-lived intangible assets	227,840
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Trade names and trademarks
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Definite-lived intangible assets	234,610
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Customer lists and relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Definite-lived intangible assets	$ 1,280,142

[1] The December 31, 2015 balances have been recast to reflect a change in segments. See Note 12, "Segment Information," for further details.