Producer
Stepan Company
Stepan Company (Northfield IL; NYSE: SCL; ~$2.3B revenue) is the largest US-based surfactant manufacturer. Stepan's Surfactants segment (approximately 65% of revenue) produces SLES and a broad range of anionic, nonionic, and amphoteric surfactants for personal care, detergent, agricultural, and industrial markets. Key US plants: Maywood NJ (fatty acid sulfonation), Elwood IL, and Millsdale IL (largest plant — Joliet IL area). International plants in Voreppe France, Manno Switzerland, Nanjing China, Pasir Gudang Malaysia, and Ecatepec Mexico. Stepan holds exclusive rights to produce certain specialty low-1,4-dioxane SLES grades — a competitive advantage as New York and other states tighten dioxane limits.
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Inputs supplied
3
Goods downstream
4
Facilities
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Stories
What they make
5 inputs Stepan Company supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
chemical
Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonic Acid / LAS (LABSA) →
chemical
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (BAC/DDAC) →
chemical
Benzalkonium Chloride (BAK) Preservative →
chemical
Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS/LABSA) →
chemical
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) Surfactant →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Stepan Company makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
4 facilities
Stepan Company Fieldsboro NJ Quat Plant →
USFieldsboro, Burlington County, New Jersey · chemical_plant
Stepan's primary East Coast quat (BAC/BTC line) manufacturing site. Also produces surfactants and specialty chemicals. One of Stepan's three confirmed quat-capable US manufacturing sites alongside Millsdale IL and Winder GA. Stepan acquired NatSurFact's specialty antimicrobial division in July 2024 to expand BAC capabilities.
Stepan Company Maywood NJ (DEA Coca Processing) →
USMaywood, Bergen County, New Jersey · chemical_plant
The only DEA-authorized coca leaf processing facility in the United States. Imports ~100 MT/year of dried coca leaves from Peru under Schedule II DEA registration and UN INCB quota. Performs cocaine alkaloid extraction: (1) decocainized coca leaf extract sold to The Coca-Cola Company as a natural flavoring, and (2) isolated pharmaceutical cocaine sold to Mallinckrodt for use as an FDA-approved topical anesthetic in ENT procedures. Stepan acquired this site from Maywood Chemical Works (which had the Coca-Cola contract since ~1903). Site also has FUSRAP environmental legacy from WWI-era thorium/radium processing. Not a LABSA production site — Stepan's primary surfactant plants are in Millsdale IL and elsewhere — but this NJ facility establishes Stepan's unique regulatory position.
Stepan Company Millsdale Plant (Joliet IL) →
USIllinois · chemical-plant
Stepan Company's Millsdale Illinois plant (Will County, near Joliet) is Stepan's largest manufacturing site and a major SLES production facility. The Millsdale plant houses Stepan's sulfation/sulfonation capacity for anionic surfactants including SLES, linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), and alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS). Stepan's Millsdale plant is the primary source of SLES for major US personal care and household products manufacturers. Source: https://www.stepan.com/content/stepan-com/global/en/about-us/locations.html
Stepan Millsdale Surfactant Complex →
USElwood (Millsdale), Illinois · surfactant manufacturing
Stepan's largest production facility; produces LAS, AOS, SLES and other anionic surfactants. 2025 expansion adding 25% AOS capacity. Also processes decocainized coca leaf extract under DEA Schedule II authorization — the only facility in the US authorized to import coca leaves, serving as the exclusive supplier of cocaine-free coca flavor to Coca-Cola Company.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Surfactants (US Largest)
65%Polymers
20%Specialty Products (Including Coca Leaf)
15%
Stories from the supply chain
Editorial about Stepan Company
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains — chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2019
Stepan Company is simultaneously the largest US merchant anionic surfactant producer AND the only DEA-authorized importer and processor of coca leaves in the United States. At Stepan's Maywood, New Jersey facility, approximately 100 metric tons of dried coca leaves are imported annually from Peru under a Schedule II DEA registration and UN INCB quota. The processing yields two products: (1) decocainized coca leaf extract, sold to The Coca-Cola Company as a proprietary natural flavoring — the 'coca' in Coca-Cola, cocaine-free — and (2) pharmaceutical-grade cocaine, sold to Mallinckrodt and used by ENT surgeons as the only FDA-approved vasoconstricting topical anesthetic. The company that makes the soap in your dishwasher is also the company that makes Coca-Cola's secret ingredient.
NJ101.5 ↗Capacity2025
Stepan Company invested $245M to add 75,000 MT/year of new alkoxylation capacity at Pasadena TX, coming online in early 2024 — the largest single SLES capacity expansion in North America in a decade.
SEC / Stepan Company ↗Concentration2025
Stepan Company describes itself as the largest global merchant manufacturer of anionic surfactants, with 20+ manufacturing facilities globally. Its Millsdale (Elwood) IL plant is the primary US sulfonation hub; a June 2025 expansion boosted alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) capacity by 25%. Stepan acquired PerformanX Specialty Chemicals surfactant assets, further consolidating the US anionic surfactant supply base.
Stepan Company ↗