since 1898
In 1898, Dirk de Wit started up the Eerste Noord-Hollandse Olie- en Smeerfabriek, the first wax factory in the Netherlands. He produced paraffin-based polishes for carriages and leather. With this initiative he established the basis of the wax industry in the Netherlands.In the 1930s business had expanded widely. Noord-Holland was an obvious location for selling cheese wax and the company developed a wide range of products.
import, export and trading
The manufacturing activities at this time were complemented by import, export and trading in oils, fats and semi-refined paraffin wax, which were bleached and refined and sold as raw materials to industry. They also supplied montan wax for carbon paper, paraffin wax as a basis for sweeping and polishing compounds, special waxes for the cosmetics and dental sectors and impregnating wax for the textile industry.
The basis of Paramelt as it is today, was formed by a merger in 1977 of two Dutch companies, Paramelt and Syntac, both tracing their roots back to the original 1898 company of Dirk de Wit.
During the 1990s, Paramelt grew rapidly by acquisition, taking over competitors or by ‘buying out’ their wax blending activities. The related manufacturing was subsequently consolidated into Paramelt’s Dutch production location.
- 1993: take over of RMC Belix, Antilly (F)
- 1996: Paramelt Syntac and RMC Belix are renamed Paramelt
- 1996: take over of wax activities of Van Stockum (D)
- 1996: take over of Schlickum Werke (D)
- 1997: take over of wax activities of Chr. Hansen (DK)
- 1998: take over of wax activities of H.B. Fuller (D)
international team
In order to cope with the considerable growth of the business in Western Europe, sales offices were established in France, Germany, Sweden and Denmark. The combination of these businesses led to the development of an increasingly international team, forming the first foundations of today’s global organisation.
The comprehensive history of Paramelt’s first century has been outlined in the book ‘100 years Paramelt: a century in wax 1898-1998’.
2000–2010: spreading our wings
Having consolidated much of the wax blending activities in Western Europe, Paramelt began to spread its wings, moving into a new phase of diversification: both in terms of complementary technologies as well as geographical reach.
- In February 2002 we made a strategic move into water based & reactive adhesives to complement our existing range of hot melts through the acquisition of Scholten Adhesives from AVEBE (potato starch and derivates). The business continued to operate as Paramelt Veendam B.V. and became an integral and rapidly expanding part of Paramelt.
- In April 2005 Paramelt acquired the activities of Honeywell´s Industrial Wax in Europe and Asia. With this acquisition, Paramelt secured a manufacturing location in Suzhou, China, which provided the platform for future growth in the Asia Pacific region.
- In October of the same year the blended wax business of H&R in Chorley (UK) was acquired and integrated into the Paramelt European organisation, supported by a new sales office in the UK.
becoming the global market leader
Over the following years Paramelt invested significant effort in identifying suitable partners in North America to complete the global footprint of the business. This process culminated in 2010, when Paramelt completed a number of important acquisitions.
These acquisitions were concentrated around the investment casting market, in a stroke enabling Paramelt to become the global market leader and establishing manufacturing coverage across the USA. M. Argüeso & Co Ltd and Kindt-Collins LLC were acquired as well as the casting wax business of Koster Keunen USA and the wax recycling activities of Taylor’s Wax Processing. This resulted in a dynamic new organisation, headquartered out of Muskegon (MI), with additional manufacturing capability in both Rosemead (CA) and Cleveland (OH).
2011 and beyond: expressing our dna...
As a result of the previous two decades activities, Paramelt entered a new phase as medium sized multinational company with the critical mass to act independently and make significant financial investments in support of technology developments and process expansion.
- In September 2011 Paramelt acquired Evonik’s Dilavest® thermostat expansion wax business. This brought a whole new technology platform into the portfolio, requiring significant capital investment in new processes and at the same time turned a largely European business into a global activity.
- In October 2011 Paramelt took over the water-based labelling adhesives activities of BENEO-Bio Based Chemicals, investing in a new manufacturing capability in Veendam to enable the transfer of the production.
- In 2015 Paramelt acquired Valan Wax Products Ltd casting wax recycling activity, serving mainly the UK investment casting market. This was further enhanced in 2018 when we invested in a new, state of the art facility in Redditch, to allow a full upgrading of the recycling process.
- In 2017 the Ter Group become the sole owner and shareholder of Paramelt, increasing critical mass, strengthening the organisation and maintaining our independence.
In 2023 Paramelt will celebrate it’s 125 years anniversary
Which we hope will be just the next milestone as our history stretches out into the future…
120
years of experience
500+
experts
8
manufacturing sites
80+
countries we deliver to
our dna
Paramelt is global leader in specialty waxes, adhesives and dispersions. For more than 120 years we are essentially wax formulators and are an independent, privately owned company.
Paramelt heritage
Paramelt
Dutch, since 1898
revenue 2019: €224 mln
# employees 2019: 525
owned by Ter Group
Ter Group
German, since 1908
revenue 2019: €816 mln
# employees 2019: 1150
owned by Westphal family
As the recognized wax specialists, we harbor industry experts and rank # 1 or 2 positions in our core markets. We continue to invest in process technology leadership and consolidation in these core wax markets and grow by offering ‘value for money’. Over time this position has enabled us to grow strongly in adhesives and dispersions markets. Value is our driver and custom-made products the norm.
Specialists (niche player)
Top 3 reasons to
recommend Paramelt*)
– reliable supplier
– consistent quality
– value for money
*) Customers survey Europe and USA
# active formulas
~2750
We are specialists, but are always open to complementary opportunities. We have direct decision making and short communication lines, our people throughout the organization take ownership and with a can-do attitude we make it happen. The annual re-investment rate is high and the company’s financial mass can underpin substantial investments.
With an entrepreneurial attitude
Annual re-investment rate
~10%
Technology drives our thinking. We combine long term strategic product and process research with flexible and responsive product development. We are inquisitive and challenge conventions which can result in ‘blue sky investments’. We are recognized by our knowledge leadership in core markets.
Driven by technology and innovation
# laboratory requests
> 1000 last year
# new commercial products
~ 110 last year
‘Batch-to-batch consistency is our constant goal’: this is our focus both for investment casting waxes used for aerospace parts and our food grade waxes and adhesives produced in our FSSC/ISO 22000 sites. This is why our customers rely on us.
Delivering security and consistency
Financial stability
D&B rating 1
From our 8 manufacturing sites we can address regional differences and trends and provide product equivalence with local sourcing. We have our own regional sales and technical staff and have a specialized and knowledgeable distributor network for ‘selected market niches’.
With a global reach and local service
manufacturing sites
Europe : 3
USA : 3
China : 2
customers in
87 countries
At the core of our performance lies a team of experienced and knowledgeable employees. We build long-term partnerships and are responsive, flexible, committed and loyal.
Building on people and partnership
Average employee retention
> 12 years
Paramelt = ‘knowledge & experience’
recognized by > 85% customers
(Customers survey Europe and USA)
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With 8 production facilities delivering in more than 80 countries, we have truly global perspective and local service.