Ecovyst Inc. (formerly PQ Corporation)(ECVT)
HQ US20% share
Leading maker of silicates, zeolites and refining catalysts; historic major supplier of detergent-grade zeolite 4A and zeolite-based catalysts.
chemical · input
Zeolite 4A (laundry builder)
Synthetic aluminosilicate; replaced sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) as the water-softening builder in laundry detergents after state phosphate bans in 1970s-80s. Prevents mineral interference with surfactants.
10
Source countries
4
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
Goods that need this input
1 essential American goods rely on zeolite 4a (laundry builder) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Source countries
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| DEGermany (Federal Republic of Germany) | 37% |
| CNChina | 22% |
| CACanada | 16% |
| NLNetherlands | 6% |
| DKDenmark, except Greenland | 4% |
| JPJapan | 3% |
| BABosnia and Herzegovina | 2% |
| FRFrance | 2% |
| GBUnited Kingdom | 2% |
| BEBelgium | 2% |
Who makes it
Supplier companies
4 companies produce zeolite 4a (laundry builder).
Silkem d.o.o.
HQ SI8% share
Slovenian zeolite specialist; detergent-grade zeolite 4A and zeolites for construction/agriculture (part of Cinkarna/TKK group).
Industrias Químicas del Ebro (IQE)
HQ ES6% share
Spanish maker of sodium silicate and zeolite 4A for detergents and other applications.
Zeochem AG
HQ CH
Zeochem AG (Uetikon am See, Switzerland; privately held) is a specialty molecular sieve and chromatography adsorbent manufacturer with PSA-grade zeolite products serving medical oxygen concentrator and industrial nitrogen PSA markets. Zeochem produces 13X, 4A, 5A, and LiX zeolites at manufacturing sites in Uetikon am See, Switzerland and Louisville, Kentucky (US). The Louisville facility is the only significant Western Hemisphere molecular sieve production plant besides UOP's Baton Rouge operations, making Zeochem a strategically important non-Chinese supply alternative. Zeochem also produces high-purity silica gel and activated aluminas used in chromatography and pharmaceutical manufacturing — a customer base that overlaps with its PSA zeolite markets.