BYK locations
BYK is a leading global supplier of specialty chemicals. The company’s innovative additives and differentiated solutions optimize product and material properties as well as production and application processes. Amongst other things, BYK additives improve scratch resistance and surface gloss, the mechanical strength or flow behavior of materials, and properties such as UV- and light stability or flame retardancy. In the field of quality assurance, BYK’s measuring and testing instruments serve to effectively assess appearance and physical properties.
The company’s customers include manufacturers of coatings and printing inks, plastics, adhesives and sealants, as well as cleaners, floor coatings, and lubricants. BYK additives are also successfully used in the construction chemistry, oil and gas, and foundry industries.
BYK has a global network of subsidiaries and operates production sites in Germany (Wesel, Kempen, Schkopau, Moosburg, Geretsried), the Netherlands (Deventer, Denekamp, Nijverdal), and the UK (Widnes), in the USA (Wallingford, Chester, Columbia, Earth City, Gonzales, Louisville, Pittsford), and in China (Shanghai, Tongling). The company is part of the ALTANA Group and employs a workforce of more than 2,500 people worldwide.
Dr. Heinrich Byk
1917
1962
2020
BYK acquired the Texan solutions provider Gulf Scientific.
BYK further expanded its plastics business by acquiring PolyAd Services.
BYK acquired the Dutch additives manufacturer Addcomp.
BYK acquired Rockwood’s rheology business with four manufacturing sites in Germany, England and the USA, expanding its portfolio to include clay-based additives.
BYK acquired Kometra, a manufacturer of polymer modifiers.
Susanne Klatten, majority shareholder in ALTANA, acquired all shares in the name of her SKion GmbH. ALTANA was thus fully transferred to family ownership.
BYK acquired CERA Chemie B.V. and expanded its portfolio to include wax additives.
With the acquisition of Labotron AG, BYK laid the foundation for its instruments business.
VARTA AG was divided into three separate companies. One of those is ALTANA AG, to which BYK belongs.
BYK-Gulden founded BYK-Chemie USA. In 1981, the company moved to Wallingford, where the company still has its US headquarters.
BYK-Gulden founded a subsidiary plant in Wesel. AFA, the parent company of BYK-Gulden, was renamed VARTA AG.
The greater part of the manufacturing and office space in Berlin was completely destroyed. The company evacuated documents and formulations to a bank safe in Constance. Company renamed as BYK-Gulden.
Dr. Günther Quandt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Accumulatoren-Fabrik AG (AFA), acquired a majority stake in the company and became Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
BYK launched the first dispersing agent on the market. Down to the present day, ANTI-TERRA-U remains one of the most successful coating additives.
Byk’s chemicals manufactory merged with Leipziger Farbwerke Paul Gulden & Co. to form BYK-Guldenwerke Chemische Fabrik AG.
Dr. Heinrich Byk founded a chemicals manufactory in Berlin and began producing industrial and commercial chemicals.
