Emery Oleochemicals

Emery Oleochemicals is an international oleochemicals company whose products are derived primarily from natural oils and fats. Its portfolio serves industrial, agricultural and consumer-product applications, combining basic oleochemicals with specialty materials intended to provide renewable or lower-impact alternatives to some petrochemical-derived inputs. The company operates production facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States, and Loxstedt, Germany; both locations also support technical development activities. The business traces its origins to Cincinnati in 1840, when Thomas Emery Sr. began converting lard discarded by meat processors into candles and lamp oil. This early resource-recovery model established the company’s long association with fats, oils and chemistry. The Emery Candle Company was incorporated in 1887, and the organization later diversified beyond candles and lighting materials. Under John J. “Jack” Emery Jr., Thomas Emery’s grandson, the family business expanded substantially and eventually adopted the name Emery Industries. Jack Emery led the company until 1968 and was the last member of the Emery family to manage it. Ownership changed several times during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. National Distillers and Chemical Corporation acquired Emery Industries in 1978, partly to strengthen its chemicals activities with products based on renewable resources during the energy pressures of the 1970s. Henkel acquired the business in 1989 and incorporated it into the Henkel Chemicals Group. That group was subsequently renamed Cognis and separated from Henkel in 2001. In 2006, Cognis transferred its global oleochemicals activities into Cognis Oleochemicals, a 50:50 joint venture with Malaysia’s Golden Hope Plantations. The joint venture’s headquarters moved to Teluk Panglima Garang near Banting, Malaysia. Golden Hope later became part of the enlarged Sime Darby group following its 2007 merger with Guthrie and Sime Darby. Cognis sold its half of the joint venture to Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical in 2008. Following Cognis’s departure, the business restored the Emery name and became Emery Oleochemicals. The other ownership interest is associated with the Malaysian plantation and agribusiness group that is now known as SD Guthrie. Emery organizes its activities into five principal business units: Agro Green, Bio-Lubricants, Eco-Friendly Polyols, Green Polymer Additives and OleoBasics. These units cover agricultural inputs, lubricants, polyurethane-related materials, additives for polymers and a range of basic and specialty oleochemical products. The company positions itself around renewable feedstocks, application development and the use of natural oils and fats in products for agriculture, heavy industry and consumer goods. In September 2021, Emery moved its headquarters back to Cincinnati, reconnecting the corporate center with the company’s historical place of origin while retaining its international production and technology footprint. Emery remains an operating global oleochemicals business and a 50:50 joint venture between PTT Global Chemical and SD Guthrie.

Emery Oleochemicals began in Cincinnati in 1840, when Thomas Emery Sr. found a commercial use for lard discarded by meat producers. He converted the material into candles and lamp oil, creating an early business based on the processing of animal fats. The Emery Candle Company was incorporated in 1887. Over time, the company broadened its activities beyond candles and lighting products and became a diversified chemicals enterprise. The company’s major expansion took place under John J. “Jack” Emery Jr., Thomas Emery’s grandson. Jack Emery led the organization until 1968 and was the final member of the Emery family to run the business. During this period, the enterprise developed into Emery Industries, with a broader industrial and chemical identity than its original candle-making operation. In 1978, National Distillers and Chemical Corporation acquired Emery Industries. The buyer sought to complement its petrochemical operations with chemicals derived from renewable resources, a strategic rationale that gained importance during the energy crisis of the 1970s. In 1989, Henkel purchased the business and placed it within the Henkel Chemicals Group. Henkel later reorganized that chemicals operation as Cognis, which was spun off in 2001. A significant ownership and geographic change occurred in 2006. Cognis moved its global oleochemicals business into Cognis Oleochemicals, a 50:50 joint venture with Golden Hope Plantations of Malaysia. The joint venture’s headquarters were transferred to Teluk Panglima Garang near Banting in Malaysia. Golden Hope subsequently participated in a 2007 merger with Guthrie and Sime Darby; the enlarged organization retained the Sime Darby name at that stage. In 2008, Cognis sold its 50 percent interest to Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical. After Cognis left the venture, the company revived the Emery name and adopted the current name, Emery Oleochemicals. The venture’s Malaysian ownership lineage later became associated with SD Guthrie, while PTT Global Chemical remained the Thai partner. Emery therefore developed from a nineteenth-century American fats-and-oils business into a jointly owned international oleochemicals company. The modern business manufactures commodity and specialty chemicals based on natural oils and fats. Its activities are organized into Agro Green, Bio-Lubricants, Eco-Friendly Polyols, Green Polymer Additives and OleoBasics. These areas support applications in agriculture, lubricants, polymers, heavy industry and consumer products. The company’s principal manufacturing locations are Cincinnati, Ohio, and Loxstedt, Germany, which also contain technical development centers. In September 2021, Emery moved its headquarters to Cincinnati. The relocation restored the corporate center to the company’s historical birthplace while preserving its production and technical operations in the United States and Germany. Emery continues to operate as a global oleochemicals supplier and a 50:50 joint venture between PTT Global Chemical and SD Guthrie.

• 2021

  Headquarters return to Cincinnati

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  Emery relocates its headquarters to Cincinnati, Ohio, in September.

• 2008

  PTT Global Chemical acquires Cognis stake

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  PTT Global Chemical acquires Cognis’s 50 percent interest in the oleochemicals joint venture. The business subsequently revives the Emery name.

• 2007

  Golden Hope joins the enlarged Sime Darby group

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  Golden Hope becomes part of a merger with Guthrie and Sime Darby, creating the enlarged group that retained the Sime Darby name at the time.

• 2006

  Cognis Oleochemicals joint venture formed

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  Cognis transfers its global oleochemicals business into a 50:50 joint venture with Golden Hope Plantations of Malaysia, and the headquarters move to Malaysia.

• 2001

  Chemicals business becomes part of Cognis

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  Henkel spins off its chemicals activities, which operate under the Cognis name.

• 1989

  Acquisition by Henkel

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  Henkel acquires the business and places it within the Henkel Chemicals Group.

• 1978

  Acquisition by National Distillers

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  National Distillers and Chemical Corporation acquires Emery Industries to complement its petrochemical business with chemicals from renewable resources.

• 1887

  Emery Candle Company incorporated

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  The Emery Candle Company is formally incorporated in the United States.

• 1840

  Thomas Emery Sr. begins the original business

  [1]Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas Emery Sr. starts processing discarded lard in Cincinnati into candles and lamp oil, establishing the company’s fats-and-oils heritage.

A global producer of natural-oil- and fat-based commodity and specialty chemicals, positioned around renewable feedstocks, application performance and lower-impact alternatives for industrial, agricultural and consumer markets.

• Agricultural chemicals and bio-based agricultural inputs

  Agro Green

  The Agro Green business unit serves agricultural applications with oleochemical-based ingredients and related specialty materials. Its role within Emery’s portfolio reflects the company’s use of natural oils and fats in products designed for agricultural formulations and associated performance requirements.

• Lubricant ingredients

  Bio-Lubricants

  Bio-Lubricants covers materials derived from natural oils and fats for lubricant applications. The unit is positioned around renewable feedstocks and the development of oleochemical ingredients that can support industrial and other lubricant formulations.

• Bio-based polyols

  Eco-Friendly Polyols

  Eco-Friendly Polyols provides bio-based polyol materials for applications including polyurethane-related products. The business reflects Emery’s focus on incorporating renewable raw materials into specialty chemical systems while maintaining suitability for industrial and consumer uses.

• Polymer additives

  Green Polymer Additives

  Green Polymer Additives supplies oleochemical-based additives for polymer processing and performance. These materials are intended for plastics and related applications where formulation performance and the use of renewable inputs are both relevant.

• Basic oleochemicals

  OleoBasics

  OleoBasics represents Emery’s basic and commodity oleochemical activities. Products in this area are derived from natural oils and fats and serve as intermediates or functional ingredients for downstream industrial, consumer and specialty chemical applications.

• 2021

  Headquarters relocation to CincinnatiStrategy

  Background

  After years headquartered in Malaysia, the company reassessed the location of its corporate center.

  Action taken

  Emery moved its headquarters to Cincinnati, Ohio, in September 2021.

  Aftermath

  The headquarters returned to the company’s historical birthplace while the manufacturing and technical footprint in the United States and Germany continued.

  Source

• 2008

  PTT Global Chemical purchase of Cognis interestM&A

  Background

  Cognis was exiting the oleochemicals joint venture it had established with Golden Hope Plantations.

  Action taken

  PTT Global Chemical acquired Cognis’s 50 percent stake, leaving a 50:50 venture with the Malaysian partner and enabling the business to restore the Emery identity.

  Aftermath

  The company became known as Emery Oleochemicals and continued operating as an international oleochemicals producer.

  Source

1. 1Emery Oleochemicalsen.wikipedia.org