Dr. Werner Kolb established Dr. W. Kolb AG of Hedingen, Switzerland, in 1964. It now employs approximately 260 people, who are committed to upholding its international reputation as an innovative and dynamic supplier of nonionic surfactants, as well as of process chemicals and services to the paper industry.

The Kolb Group's head office is located in Switzerland, has around 200 employees working on the development, production and marketing of surfactants and process chemicals.Kolb Moerdijk, The Netherlands is a large-scale surfactant production plant employing around 60 people. Kolb sales companies have been established in Germany, France and The Netherlands to strengthen the company's market development activities.

The Kolb Group is a successful manufacturer of nonionic surfactants, paper process chemicals and chemical intermediates.

Kolb products are used in the formulation of cosmetic products and are key ingredients in detergent and cleaning agents and are also used for specific applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Well-known Kolb brands include Sympatens™, Imbentin™ and Hedipin™.

In 2007 Kolb was bought by the Malaysian multinational KLK (Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad) and is a wholly owned subsidiary.

KLK's core business is the production of palm oil and derivates, such as fatty acids and fatty alcohols - raw materials used by Kolb in its products.

The company processes natural and synthetic raw materials into high-quality products at its production plants in Hedingen, Switzerland and Moerdijk, The Netherlands. It supplies these products to a wide variety of industries through a worldwide network of distributors.

Environment, health, safety and quality (EHS and Quality) have always been key elements of the Kolb philosophy. The certification of our integrated management system to ISO 9001 / 14001 is the foundation for our quality and environmental responsibility.

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and GHS (Globally Harmonised System of classification and labelling of chemicals) will also fundamentally change the European Chemicals' legislation in the coming years. Kolb is well aware of these developments and is committed to implementing the new regulations correctly, fully and in time.

General Overview

As Europe's largest independent alkoxylator, Kolb delivers a broad portfolio of nonionic surfactants and is represented in approximately 40 countries worldwide.

Other mainstay activities of the company include esterification and methylation. Kolb possesses a flexible business model which is tailored to the demands of the market. Kolb welcomes strategic partnerships through which it can leverage its know-how for the benefit of its partners. Another aspect of the company's core business lies in providing complex process chemical and associated service solutions to the international paper industry, an area in which it is a European market leader.