Filo Chemical

History

Filo Chemical Incorporated celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007.  The Company was formed in 1947 as Filo Color & Chemical Corporation, an off-shoot of a chemical company called Fidelity Color Works, from which the name Filo is derived.

In the early 50's, Filo was the primary importer and distributor of Iron Blue for printing inks and carbon paper.  By the 1960's, Filo had transformed itself into an importer and distributor of specialty chemicals from major European manufacturers, representing companies like DeGussa on Ferrocyanides and William Blythe on Copper Chloride. 

During the 1970's Filo broadened its product line, adding suppliers such as Albright & Wilson (now Rhodia) and British Tar in the UK, MoDo Kemi (later Berol Kemi and now part of Akzo Nobel), Neste (now Perstorp) and Karlshamn in Sweden, Kali Chemie (now Solvay), Unichema and Huls (now Degussa) in Germany and UCB in Belgium.  Filo still distributes products from many of these same suppliers, including Rhodia, Perstorp, Solvay, and Degussa.

Berol Kemi of Sweden became the successor to MoDo Kemi.  Filo's growing sales of Berol's Ethylene Amines soon made Berol the largest supplier to Filo.  In 1982, when Filo's owners decided to sell the business, Berol acquired its U.S. distributor.  Subsequently, when Berol and its parent company Kema Nobel were acquired by Bofors (which later became Nobel Industries), the new management decided in 1989 that it did not want to be in the distribution business and Filo was sold to Nyland Industries of Massachusetts.

Filo today is a leading importer of foreign and specialty chemicals.  The Company emphasizes its proven ability to supply hard-to-find chemicals on a global basis.