Targray

Targray is the trading and distribution brand of Targray Technology International Inc., a privately held Canadian company headquartered in Kirkland, Quebec. The company was established in 1987 in Beaconsfield, Quebec, by metallurgical engineer Thomas A. Richardson. Its original business supplied manufacturing materials and consumables to the compact-disc industry, including clean-room gloves, optical-media inputs, and sputtering targets used in disc production. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Targray expanded its optical-media portfolio and built an international sales organization. By 2004, it had opened offices in Dordrecht, Laguna Niguel, Taipei, Panenské Břežany, and New Delhi. The company was legally incorporated in 1989 under the name Targray Technology International Inc. In 2005, Targray began a broader diversification strategy aimed at industries with higher growth potential. Solar photovoltaics became the first major expansion area. The company supplied solar wafers, polysilicon, photovoltaic manufacturing materials, electronics, and supply-chain services. By 2008, solar products generated more sales than the company’s optical-media business, reflecting a decisive shift away from its original market. Targray was subsequently recognized in Canadian growth-company rankings, and the company reported annual revenue above US$250 million in 2009. Targray later added lithium-ion battery materials and bio-based fuels as separate business divisions. Its battery activities cover materials and components used in cell manufacturing, including anode and cathode materials, battery-grade lithium hydroxide, coated electrodes, separators, current collectors, electrolyte, supercapacitors, and packaging materials. Its biofuels operations focus primarily on biodiesel marketing and trading in the United States and Europe. The company operates fuel-terminal and inventory infrastructure in several U.S. markets and has obtained industry and regulatory credentials relevant to biodiesel distribution. The company also trades agricultural and environmental commodities. Its agricultural business sources, stores, trades, and distributes pulses such as chickpeas, beans, lentils, and peas, while its cotton activities source product from multiple producing countries. Its environmental-commodities activities include carbon credits, carbon offsets, and renewable-energy certificates for compliance and voluntary markets. Targray’s international operating footprint has included sales offices, warehouses, fuel terminals, and trading operations across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In 2019, the company announced a European biodiesel trading desk in Geneva. It has also expanded its photovoltaic product range into junction boxes and related manufacturing components. In 2022, Financial Post placed Targray at number 297 in its FP500 ranking of large Canadian corporations by revenue. Targray’s business model combines commodity trading, materials distribution, technical product sourcing, and logistics for industrial customers in energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and environmental markets.

Targray originated in Quebec’s compact-disc manufacturing supply chain. Thomas A. Richardson established the company in 1987 in Beaconsfield to supply manufacturing materials and consumables to optical-media producers. Its first recorded sale was a shipment of clean-room gloves to Americ Disc in Drummondville, Quebec. The business later broadened its optical-media offering to include sputtering targets for multiple disc formats. Targray was incorporated in 1989 as Targray Technology International Inc. The company expanded during the late 1990s and early 2000s as optical-media manufacturing grew. By 2004, Targray had established five international sales offices in Dordrecht, Laguna Niguel, Taipei, Panenské Břežany, and New Delhi. These locations gave the company a wider commercial base and supported its role as a specialized global distributor rather than a purely domestic supplier. A major strategic transition began in 2005, when Targray diversified into solar photovoltaics. It supplied raw materials and manufacturing inputs including solar wafers and polysilicon, together with electronics and supply-chain services. The solar business grew rapidly; by 2008, its sales had exceeded those of the company’s original optical-media line. Targray was recognized in Canadian growth-company rankings during this period, and its annual revenue exceeded US$250 million in 2009. Targray continued its expansion into energy-transition markets by forming a lithium-ion battery division in 2010 and a bio-based fuels division in 2012. The battery division supplies materials and components used in cell production, while the biofuels division markets and trades biodiesel, principally in the United States and Europe. Targray developed U.S. biodiesel inventory and terminal infrastructure, beginning with Bakersfield, California, in 2014 and subsequently adding locations in Stockton, Fresno, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Chicago, Tampa, and New Orleans. The company’s biofuel activities include regulatory and industry compliance work. Targray is identified as a National Biodiesel Board BQ-9000 Biodiesel Marketer and as a registered supplier with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. In 2018, CARB issued an executive order concerning Targray’s CATANOX biodiesel additive, certifying it as an emissions-equivalent additive under the state’s alternative diesel-fuel rules. In 2019, Targray announced a European biodiesel trading desk in Geneva. Alongside energy and industrial materials, Targray developed agricultural and environmental commodity businesses. Its pulses desk handles the sourcing, storage, trading, and distribution of legumes including chickpeas, beans, lentils, and peas. The company also distributes cotton sourced from several regions in Africa, the Americas, Australia, and India. Its environmental commodities business deals in carbon credits, carbon offsets, and renewable-energy certificates for both compliance and voluntary markets, including markets associated with recognized carbon registries. Targray has also extended its solar and battery activities with products such as photovoltaic junction boxes, anodes, cathodes, separators, electrolyte, current collectors, supercapacitors, and battery packaging. The company’s international network has included offices, warehouses, fuel terminals, and trading operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In 2016, Ernst & Young named President Andrew Richardson the Quebec recipient of its Entrepreneur of the Year award. In 2022, Financial Post ranked Targray number 297 in the FP500. The company remains a privately held B2B distributor and trader focused on industrial materials, commodities, and energy-transition supply chains.

• 2022

  Targray appears in the FP500

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Financial Post ranks Targray number 297 in its FP500 listing.

• 2019

  European biodiesel trading desk announced

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Targray announces a European biodiesel trading desk based in Geneva, Switzerland.

• 2018

  CARB certifies CATANOX additive

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  The California Air Resources Board issues an executive order recognizing CATANOX under its alternative diesel-fuel framework.

• 2014

  Bakersfield biodiesel inventory site opens

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Targray opens a biodiesel inventory location in Bakersfield, California.

• 2012

  Bio-based fuels division established

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  The company enters biodiesel and other bio-based fuel markets.

• 2010

  Lithium-ion battery division established

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Targray creates a division supplying materials and components for lithium-ion battery production.

• 2008

  Solar sales overtake optical-media sales

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Solar products surpass the optical-media line in total sales, marking the company’s strategic shift toward energy markets.

• 2005

  Solar Division launched

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Targray begins its diversification into solar-photovoltaic materials and supply-chain services.

• 2004

  International sales network reaches five offices

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Targray has international sales offices in Dordrecht, Laguna Niguel, Taipei, Panenské Břežany, and New Delhi.

• 1995

  Optical-media product range expands

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Targray’s optical-media portfolio grows to include a complete line of sputtering targets for optical-disc formats.

• 1989

  Legal incorporation as Targray Technology International Inc.

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  The company is legally incorporated under the name Targray Technology International Inc.

• 1987

  Targray is established in Quebec

  [1]Targrayen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas A. Richardson establishes Targray in Beaconsfield to supply materials and consumables for compact-disc manufacturing.

A private, internationally oriented B2B materials distributor and commodity trader serving energy-transition, industrial-manufacturing, agricultural, and environmental markets. Targray positions itself around technical sourcing, market access, inventory management, regulatory compliance, and global supply-chain execution rather than consumer-facing products.

• Biofuels · 2012

  Biodiesel

  Targray markets and trades biodiesel and biodiesel blends for local markets in the United States and Europe. Its business includes inventory management, terminal distribution, and supply to customers operating under regional fuel and emissions requirements.

• Biodiesel additive

  CATANOX

  CATANOX is a Targray biodiesel additive. In 2018, the California Air Resources Board issued an executive order certifying it as an emissions-equivalent additive under California’s alternative diesel-fuel regulations.

• Solar energy manufacturing inputs · 2005

  Solar photovoltaic materials

  Targray supplies materials and manufacturing inputs for the photovoltaic industry, including solar wafers and polysilicon. The business also provides electronics and related supply-chain services for international solar manufacturers.

• Solar photovoltaic components · 2017

  Photovoltaic junction boxes

  Junction boxes are among the photovoltaic manufacturing components added to Targray’s solar offering. The company announced that it had begun supplying these products in 2017.

• Battery materials and components · 2010

  Lithium-ion battery materials

  Targray distributes materials and components used in lithium-ion battery manufacturing, including anode materials, cathode materials, battery-grade lithium hydroxide, coated electrodes, separators, current collectors, electrolyte, supercapacitors, and packaging materials.

• Agricultural commodities

  Pulses

  Targray’s pulses trading desk sources, stores, trades, and distributes chickpeas, beans, lentils, peas, and other legumes for wholesale and industrial customers.

• Carbon and renewable-energy markets

  Environmental commodities

  The environmental commodities business supplies carbon credits, carbon offsets, and renewable-energy certificates for compliance and voluntary markets. Its activities include trading through recognized carbon-market directories.

• Industrial manufacturing supplies · 1987

  Optical-media manufacturing materials

  Targray began by supplying compact-disc manufacturing consumables and later developed a broader optical-media portfolio, including clean-room gloves and sputtering targets for different optical-disc formats.

• 2019

  Creation of European biodiesel trading deskStrategy

  Background

  Targray sought to strengthen its access to European biodiesel markets and support regional trading activity.

  Action taken

  The company announced a European biodiesel trading desk in Geneva, Switzerland.

  Aftermath

  The desk expanded Targray’s European biofuel trading presence.

  Source

• 2017

  Expansion into photovoltaic junction boxesProduct launch

  Background

  Targray continued extending its solar offering from raw materials into components used in photovoltaic manufacturing.

  Action taken

  The company announced that it had begun supplying photovoltaic junction boxes.

  Aftermath

  The move increased the breadth of Targray’s solar manufacturing-component portfolio.

  Source

• 2012

  Entry into bio-based fuelsStrategy

  Background

  Targray expanded its energy-market activities into renewable fuels and fuel logistics.

  Action taken

  The company created a bio-based fuels division focused primarily on biodiesel marketing and trading.

  Aftermath

  Targray developed U.S. inventory and terminal infrastructure and later established a European biodiesel trading desk.

  Source

• 2010

  Entry into lithium-ion battery materialsStrategy

  Background

  Growing demand for rechargeable-energy technologies created an opportunity for Targray to apply its materials-distribution expertise to battery manufacturing.

  Action taken

  Targray established a battery division supplying advanced materials and electronic components for lithium-ion cells.

  Aftermath

  The battery division broadened Targray’s energy-transition offering beyond solar and fuels.

  Source

• 2005

  Diversification into solar photovoltaicsStrategy

  Background

  Targray sought to reduce reliance on its established optical-media supply business and pursue higher-growth industrial markets.

  Action taken

  The company launched a Solar Division supplying photovoltaic materials, electronics, and supply-chain services.

  Aftermath

  Solar products exceeded optical-media sales by 2008 and became a central part of Targray’s energy-oriented business portfolio.

  Source

1. 1Targrayen.wikipedia.org