Producer
Afton Chemical (NewMarket Corporation)
Afton Chemical Corporation (Richmond, Virginia; subsidiary of NewMarket Corporation; NYSE: NEU; ~$3B revenue) is a major global petroleum additive company producing fuel additives, lubricant additives, and specialty chemicals. Afton produces corrosion inhibitor products for petroleum fuels. In aviation, Afton has a minor CI market presence — its primary strength is lubricant additive packages and gasoline/diesel additives. Afton also has manufacturing at Ellesmere Port, UK, in the same industrial complex as Innospec, creating geographic clustering of aviation fuel additive production.
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Inputs supplied
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Goods downstream
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Facilities
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Stories
What they make
4 inputs Afton Chemical (NewMarket Corporation) supplies
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chemical
Sole supplierAmmonium Perchlorate (Solid Rocket Oxidizer) →
chemical
Jet fuel corrosion inhibitor / lubricity improver →
chemical
STADIS 450 antistatic additive (Innospec) →
chemical
Hydrazine (Satellite Monopropellant) →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
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What else they do
Business segments
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Petroleum Additives — Engine Oil
45%Petroleum Additives — Driveline
30%Petroleum Additives — Fuel & Industrial
18%Ammonium Perchlorate & Perchlorates (AMPAC)
5%Hydrazine & Space Propellants (Calca Solutions)
2%
Intelligence
What's known
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Did you know2025
NewMarket Corporation — publicly known as Afton Chemical, a maker of car engine oil and transmission fluid additives — is the dominant North American manufacturer of ammonium perchlorate (AP), the primary oxidizer in solid rocket propellant, through its AMPAC subsidiary. AMPAC's Cedar City, Utah facility was designed to supply all U.S. government AP requirements and has a 40 million pound/year capacity. AP is the oxidizer in Minuteman III ICBMs, Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the Space Launch System, SpaceX Falcon solid rocket boosters, and tactical missiles including Sidewinder. In April 2025, NewMarket's board approved a $100 million expansion to add a second production line — more than 50% capacity increase — driven by surging defense and commercial space demand. A car lubricant company is, structurally, the gatekeeper for US solid rocket capability.
Trade and Industry Development ↗Chokepoint2017
AMPAC's Cedar City, Utah facility is a single-point-of-failure for US solid rocket capability: it is the sole domestic producer of aerospace-grade ammonium perchlorate and was explicitly designed to supply the entire US government's AP needs. The April 2025 $100M expansion was approved specifically in response to surging demand from SpaceX (Falcon booster solid motors), ULA, and classified hypersonic weapon programs. AP lead time from order to delivery for new customers is 18–36 months due to the specialized electrolytic oxidation process and facility qualification requirements. Any disruption — fire, seismic event, environmental permit revocation — would ground US solid rocket launches with no domestic alternative and ITAR barriers to imports.
Defense News ↗Origin2024
Afton Chemical's parent, NewMarket Corporation, traces to Ethyl Corporation — founded in 1923 as a joint venture between General Motors and Standard Oil to manufacture tetraethyl lead (TEL). Thomas Midgley Jr. and Charles Kettering invented TEL as an antiknock additive; within two months of production, 17 workers suffered severe lead poisoning and five died, a scandal suppressed for decades. As leaded automotive fuel was phased out globally through the 1970s–2000s, Ethyl diversified and spun off unrelated businesses — including the 1994 specialty chemicals spinoff that became Albemarle Corporation (today a top-three global lithium battery materials supplier). In 2004, Ethyl rebranded its petroleum additives operations as Afton Chemical and renamed the holding company NewMarket Corporation.
Wikipedia ↗