Ferric Chloride (PCB Etching / Water Treatment)

Major US merchant sulfuric acid producer; 1,400+ employees; 17 manufacturing plants and multiple distribution facilities across US, Europe, Canada, and Asia. Founded 1945 in Detroit. Key facilities: Chicago, IL (H2SO4 production); Gent, Belgium (300 MT/day capacity, recently upgraded converter). Primarily a merchant H2SO4 distributor and producer — supplies industrial, chemical, and fertilizer customers who do not produce their own acid. Also produces oleum, battery acid, and spent acid regeneration services.

Belgian agro-industrial group with a major specialty chemicals division. Runs Europe's largest ferric chloride coagulant facility at Loos, France (Produits Chimiques de Loos subsidiary) after 50M EUR investment. Also produces crop nutrients, proteins, and animal nutrition products.

Finnish water treatment and paper chemicals company. Major global ferric chloride producer; expanded Tarragona, Spain facility in 2024 for growing biogas/phosphorus-removal demand. 63 manufacturing sites globally.

World's largest chemical company by revenue; dominant Western producer of food-grade sodium nitrite. BASF expanded sodium nitrite production capacity in Germany specifically to meet growing demand for high-purity pharmaceutical and food applications. Primary production at Ludwigshafen (world's largest contiguous chemical complex). Also produces sodium nitrite catalysts, sulfuric acid, and intermediates for pharmaceutical synthesis. BASF sells food-grade sodium nitrite to meat processors globally through distribution networks and third-party channels.