OUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
1947: Filo Chemical was first incorporated on September 2, 1947 in New Jersey as Filo Color & Chemical Corp by founder Simon C. Scheuer. The company began as an offshoot of Fidelity Color Works, from which the Filo name originates. One of the more successful products was Olive Drab, manufactured with the chemical Copper Naphthenate, which was used as a fungicide on military fatigues.
1950’s: Filo’s history as an importer & distributor began in the early 1950’s when Filo began selling Iron Blue (aka Prussian Blue or Milori Blue) manufactured by Hardman and Holden in England and used for printing inks and carbon paper. From this time and up to the 1970’s, Filo was the primary trader and distributor of this product in the United States, maintaining roughly 15% of the U.S. market.
Beginning in the 1950’s and continuing into the 1980’s, Filo began selling Ferrocyanide products in Europe from Degussa, SADACI, and NVCP, which now operates under the name DSM in Holland.
Two other mainstay products during the 1950’s and 1960’s were Copper Chloride and Iodine. The Copper Chloride was produced by William Blythe in England, for whom Filo also distributed other chemical products through 2004.
1960’s: Filo moved its headquarters from New Jersey to New York and evolved to be primarily an importer and distributor of specialty chemicals from major European manufacturers, including DeGussa (Ferrocyanides) and William Blythe (Copper Chloride).
Bill Higgins, who later became part owner of Filo, joined the company in 1969.
1970’s: Simon Scheuer sold 50% ownership of Filo Color and Chemical Corp to Bill Higgins in 1973 as Filo began emerging as a broad line chemical importer and distributor, expanding its product line and achieving greater stature in the chemical industry. In 1977, Filo Color and Chemical Corp officially became Filo Chemical Corporation.
This was a decade of building long-term relationships with European suppliers (below) and establishing storage facilities for key products. Filo has enjoyed ongoing relationships with Rhodia, Perstorp, Solvay, and Degussa well into the 21st century.
1980’s: In 1982, Berol Kemi of Sweden, a subsidiary of Kema Nobel acquired Filo Chemical from its owners, with Bill Higgins remaining as President of the company. During this time period, Filo successfully navigated Berol taking over the bulk sales of Ethylene Amines, through changing needs of customers, and fluctuating supplier positions. Filo lead the way in complying with growing governmental regulations regarding the storage, handling, and transportation of chemicals it supplied. Additional suppliers and products were added, and lines that were less profitable were eliminated.
In 1984, Filo Chemical moved its headquarters to Broadway in New York City near Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1988, Kema Nobel and its daughter companies were acquired by Nobel Industries of Sweden, the largest chemical corporation in Northern Europe. Filo Chemical and its distribution business did not fit into Nobel’s corporate strategy and they decided to divest. In 1989, Filo Chemical was acquired by Nyland Industries of Massachusetts, with Arne Gustafson as President and CEO.
1990’s: The increasing dominance of chemical manufacturers in the in Far East caused Filo to redirect a growing portion of its sourcing to manufacturers in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China, while many relations with the European suppliers were maintained, but for fewer products. The new suppliers in the Far East allowed Filo to greatly expand its product line. Some new European suppliers were also added including Hagedorn of Germany, a manufacturer of nitrocellulose and pigment preparations.
2000’s: With headquarters in close proximity to The World Trade Center in New York City, Filo Chemical was greatly impacted by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Our office was forced to close for several weeks while electricity, telephone lines, internet connections, and US mail services were being restored. U.S. docks were effectively shut down and then backed up, causing delays in imports and distribution.
Beginning in 2003, Filo began representing Thermphos of The Netherlands, a manufacturer of a broad range of phosphorus derivatives, including phosphorous pentoxide, polyphosphoric acid, potassium tripolyphosphate, and sodium monofluorophosphate. Thermphos became the largest supplier to Filo Chemical, creating a mutually beneficial relationship and a substantial increase in sales.
In 2007, Filo Chemical formed a European subsidiary in The Netherlands called Filo Chemical, B.V. Michel Roelse, formerly of Thermphos, was named as Managing Director and became a part owner, focusing mainly on phosphorus derivatives.
In 2010, Filo Chemical, Inc. moved its US headquarters to Wellesley Hills, MA.
2010’s: Filo Chemical has become a leading global supplier and distributor in the chemical industrial market. Our decades worth of networking experience and relationships has allowed us to fulfill our client’s specifications and packaging requirements for specialty chemicals, raw materials, nitrocellulose and pigments at affordable prices.
The development of our larger global footprint and product diversity has included:
- 2014 Filo International established in The Netherlands
- 2015 Filo International expands into Italy with the acquisition of Novaphos SRL
- 2016 Filo Chemical Asia Ltd is organized in Singapore
- 2017 Filo International establishes an office in Japan
- 2018 Filo International acquires the bulk of the chemical distributor PhosTec Ltd in Tokyo, Japan and renames the business Filo Chemical Ltd. Shinobu Mori is named Managing Director and becomes a shareholder in the company.
MAJOR SUPPLIER HISTORY BY COUNTRY
Austria • Chemie-Linz
Belgium • UCB
China • Sino Linchem
Germany • Kalie Chemie (now Solvay) • Unichema • Huls (later Degussa; now Evonik) • Hagedorn
Korea • Samsung (now Lotte Fine Chemical)
the Netherlands • Thermphos
Sweden • MoDo Kemi (later Berol Kemi, which is now part of AkzoNobel) • Neste (now Perstorp) • Karlshamn
Taiwan • Imperial Chemical Corporation
UK • Albright & Wilson (later Rhodia; now Solvay) • British Tar
Vietnam • ESACO