Perstorp

Founded by Wilhelm Wendt in Perstorp, southern Sweden, in 1881, Perstorp began as Stensmölla Kemiska Tekniska Industri, producing acetic acid, tar, charcoal and wood alcohol. The company has repeatedly changed its focus and product range over its long history. Its earlier development included plastics and laminates, parquet flooring and a broad range of manufactured plastic goods. From the 1960s, polyalcohols supplied to the paint industry became increasingly important. In the 1990s, Perstorp refocused on specialty chemicals; the company says that this shift was completed in 2005. Today, Perstorp describes itself as a specialty chemicals innovator operating across organic chemistry, process technology and application development. Its products and solutions serve global markets and industrial value chains, with applications including powder and UV-cured coatings, plasticizers, synthetic lubricants, grain preservation and animal gut health. The company also highlights ingredients used in consumer-facing applications such as scratch-resistant screens and durable vehicle interiors, as well as materials that support coatings for wood, steel and fire protection. Its stated emphasis is on helping customers develop products that are safer, more convenient and more environmentally sound. Perstorp offers solutions through application-oriented business areas that include Animal Nutrition, Advanced Polymer Solutions, Coating Solutions, Engineered Fluids Solutions, Intermediates and Pro-Environment Solutions. A named offering is ProPhorce™ SR 130, a dry butyric-acid glycerol-ester product marketed for animal gut health and targeted delivery of butyric acid. The company serves customers internationally; its site describes its products as reaching applications around the world. Since 2022, Perstorp has been a wholly owned subsidiary of PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), which is part of PETRONAS Group. Since 2025, Perstorp has been part of PCG’s Specialty Chemicals Division alongside sister company BRB. The available company materials identify Perstorp as active, but do not specify its headquarters address, current chief executive or other named top executives.

Perstorp traces its origins to 1881, when Wilhelm Wendt registered Stensmölla Kemiska Tekniska Industri in Perstorp, southern Sweden. Its first production included acetic acid, tar, charcoal and wood alcohol. Over subsequent decades, the business expanded beyond these original products and repeatedly adapted to changing industrial needs. In the 1920s, Swedish industry became a major consumer of plastics, including Perstorp’s Isolit, described by the company as similar to Bakelite. The company began laminate production. During the 1930s, despite financial crises, it continued introducing plastic products. Beech parquet flooring became a success and led to the creation of what the company describes as Sweden’s largest parquet factory. In the 1940s, Perstorp opened Scandinavia’s first modern plastics factory, producing more than 10,000 different products, from billiard balls to aerial masts. The 1960s brought rapid growth in the company’s size, workforce and research activity. Perstorp began supplying polyalcohols made from formalin to the paint industry, and these products became increasingly important. In the 1990s, the company refocused its core business on specialty chemicals. Its history page states that this transition was completed in 2005. In the modern era, Perstorp has positioned itself as a global specialty chemicals company, with solutions in organic chemistry, process technology and application development. Its stated application areas include coatings, plasticizers, synthetic lubricants, grain preservation and animal gut health. The company also describes chemical ingredients used in applications such as scratch-resistant screens, vehicle interiors and protective coatings for wood and steel. Its portfolio is organized around application areas including Animal Nutrition, Advanced Polymer Solutions, Coating Solutions, Engineered Fluids Solutions, Intermediates and Pro-Environment Solutions. A major ownership change occurred in 2022, when Perstorp became a wholly owned subsidiary of PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), part of PETRONAS Group. The company states that from 2025 it belongs to PCG’s Specialty Chemicals Division, alongside sister company BRB. Its current website presents Perstorp as an active global business and publishes product information, technical materials and company news.

• 2025

  Perstorp joins PCG’s Specialty Chemicals Division

• 2022

  Perstorp becomes a wholly owned PCG subsidiary

• 2005

  Specialty-chemicals refocus is completed

• 1990

  Core business refocuses on specialty chemicals

• 1960

  Polyalcohols become important to the business

• 1940

  Modern plastics factory opens

• 1930

  Plastic products and parquet flooring expand

• 1920

  Plastics and laminate production develop

• 1881

  Wilhelm Wendt registers the company

A global specialty chemicals innovator focused on application-specific solutions across industrial value chains, with stated attention to product performance and environmental impact.

• ProPhorce™ SR 130

  A dry product based on butyric acid glycerol-esters, marketed for animal gut health and targeted delivery of butyric acid.

• Isolit

  A Perstorp plastic innovation used during the growth of Sweden’s plastics industry in the 1920s; the company compares it to Bakelite.

• Wholly owned subsidiary status under PCGOther

• Integration into PCG Specialty Chemicals DivisionOther

1. 1Perstorp | Global Leader in Specialty Chemicalsperstorp.com
2. 2Our History | Perstorp Since 1881perstorp.com
3. 3ProPhorce™ SR 130 | Gut Health Feed Additiveperstorp.com
4. 4About Perstorp | Specialty Chemicals Companyperstorp.com
5. 5Perstorp acquires GEO’s Di-Methylolpropionic acid business - European Coatingseuropean-coatings.com
6. 6Perstorp announces production capacity increase for 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid - European Coatingseuropean-coatings.com
7. 7Perstorp Introduces ‘Project Air’ to Produce Sustainable Methanolprocess-worldwide.com