Company

Our heritage

Leveraging nearly 400 years of experience

Our name

#WeAreNouryon - a new company with a 400-year head start

We're Nouryon, previously known as AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals. Our new name is inspired by two of our company’s many pioneers, Jan Nourij and Gerrit van der Lande. In 1838, they bought two mills in the Netherlands to produce oil and flour. The discovery that oxidized flour made better bread sparked the transformation of their humble grain milling business into an international chemicals company and safety leader. Their pioneering spirit continues to inspire us to be a leader that can shape an industry.

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Our heritage

While Nouryon officially formed in October 2018 after separating from AkzoNobel, its origins go back much further. Our history is an intricate web of mergers, acquisitions, and divestments spanning four centuries and locations ranging from the Netherlands to Germany, Sweden, China, the US, and Brazil.

1646

The Bofors forge, the earliest origin of Nobel Industries, was founded in Sweden. Bofors began as an iron foundry, but by the time Alfred Nobel bought it in 1894, it had become a munitions manufacturer.

1835

Apothecary Gerhard Tileman Ketjen founded a plant in Amsterdam for manufacturing sulfuric acid, used primarily for dyeing textiles. A predecessor of our ethylene and sulfur derivatives business, Ketjen became part of KZO and then Akzo.

1838

Jan Nourij and Gerrit van der Lande purchased two mills in the Netherlands to produce oil and flour. Their company’s discovery that oxidized flour made better bread led to the founding of a research laboratory in Deventer and led to the evolution of our company into the safety experts we are today.

1841

Tallow candle factory Liljeholmens Stearinfabrik, predecessor of our surface chemistry business, was founded in Stockholm. Liljeholmens went on to become part of KemaNobel and then Nobel Industries.

1867

An important predecessor of Akzo in the US and our surface chemistry business, Armour was founded in Chicago as a meat processer but shifted its focus to meat byproducts such as tallow and soap.

1871

The fertilizer company Stockholms Superfosfat was founded by Oscar Carlson in Stockholm. The company eventually bought Nitro Nobel and became part of KemaNobel and then Nobel Industries.

1895

Stauffer was founded in California by partners John Stauffer Sr. and Joseph Mayer to extract chemicals from the waters and shores of the San Francisco Bay. The company expanded to become an international specialty chemicals company, reflecting the relentless drive to grow we possess today.

1895

EKA was founded in Sweden by Rudolf Lilljeqvist, who wanted to develop an alternative to imported chloride of lime. Lilljeqvist’s spirit of entrepreneurship and responsiveness to customer needs exemplifies the way we approach innovation to this day.

1918

KNZ, the Royal Dutch salt company, was founded in the Netherlands to take advantage of natural salt reserves. Today, salt and the many useful products derived from it play an essential role in everyday life for people around the world.

1928

Casco AB was founded in Stockholm and started producing casein glue, a wood adhesive made from animal products and lime; Casco eventually became part of Nobel Industries.

1929

Vereinigte Glanzstoff Fabriken, a German synthetic fibers company, merged with its Dutch rival Nederlandse Kunstzijdefabriek to form AKU, a market leader in synthetic fibers and predecessor to Akzo.

1937

Berol was founded in Södertälje, Sweden by a fisherman named Bernström and a pharmacist named Olsson who teamed up to produce chemicals to make fishing line stronger and water resistant - a great example of how partnerships have formed the foundation of our success.

1960

Mo och Domsjö (MoDo) started producing ethylene from petrochemicals in Stenungsund. MoDo had its origins in forestry before branching out into alcohol-based chemistry, acquiring Berol, and eventually becoming part of AkzoNobel's ethylene and sulfur derivatives business.

1969

Having recently formed from the merger of Koninklijke Zout-Ketjen (comprised of KNZ, Ketjen, and others) and Koninklijke Zwanenberg-Organon (comprised of Noury & Van der Lande and others), KZO merged with AKU to form Akzo, the fourth biggest company in the Netherlands and the 10th biggest chemicals company in the world.

1980

Expancel microspheres, a key Casco innovation, were launched. Expancel was owned by Casco until 2006, when it became part of Akzo Nobel's pulp and paper chemicals business.

1984

Bofors acquired KemaNobel to form Nobel Industries, a Swedish chemicals giant with deep ties to Alfred Nobel and markets in amines, paint and building chemicals, coatings, and paper chemicals.

1994

Dutch company Akzo merged with the Swedish company Nobel Industries to create Akzo Nobel. The company published its first environmental report that year, kick-starting our journey to become the sustainability leader we are today.

2018

The sale of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals to The Carlyle Group and GIC was completed and Nouryon, your partner in essential chemistry for a sustainable future, was formed.

2020

Acquisition of the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) business of J.M. Huber Corporation

2020

Divesting the redispersible polymer powders (RPP) business, offered under the Elotex® brand, to Celanese Corporation,

2021

Completing the spin-out of Nobian (formerly Industrial Chemicals), the base chemicals business, into a separate company remaining under the ownership of Nouryon’s equity owners, The Carlyle Group and GIC.

About Nouryon

Nouryon is a global specialty chemicals leader innovating essential solutions for everyday consumer and industrial products, many of which contribute to a more sustainable world. We report in three operating segments: Consumer and Life Sciences enhances the effectiveness of hair, skin, cleaning and agricultural products, and purification media for pharmaceutical production; Performance Materials delivers the leading enabling technology for global polymer production and enables tailored performance of paints and coatings; and Resource Solutions offers key ingredients for pulp bleaching used in white paper goods and packaging, and industrial end-markets like transportation, mining, fuels, lubricants and hydrocarbon processing. We employ 8,000+ individuals across a global footprint that boasts 15 innovation centers where we jointly accelerate customer product development. We have headquarters in Radnor, Pa., and Amsterdam, Netherlands, and are incorporated in Ireland.

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