Firmenich history

Firmenich was founded in 1895 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Philippe Chuit, a talented Swiss chemist, in association with Martin Naef, a shrewd businessman.

In 1897, Chuit & Naef bought land for the construction of a new site at La Queue d'Arve, and the following year the business moved to its new quarters, known as La Jonction.

1898: The company incorporates as a limited partnership, Chuit, Naef & Cie.

1900 Fred Firmenich joins the Group

Chuit remained the head of the group's research and development efforts into the early 1920s.

1930 Launch of Exaltolide®

1934: After Chuit and Naef retire, the company takes on name of Firmenich & Cie.

1937 Opening of Firmenich France in Paris

Fred Firmenich took over as the group's top manager, while Ruzicka remained at the head of the group's research and development program and led Firmenich into the development of the first synthesized raspberry ketone in 1938.

1945: A dedicated Flavors division is created.

1948 Opening of affiliate in Mexico City, Mexico

1951 Acquisition of La Plaine chemical production factory

1952: Swiss rival Usines de l'Allondon is acquired.

That purchase brought the company a new manufacturing complex, known as the La Plaine site, which became the group's primary production plant in 1962.

Launched commercially in 1971, the chemical, a volatile molecule extracted from jasmine flowers, quickly became one of the most widely used base ingredients for the international perfume industry.

The company had changed its name to Firmenich SA in 1972, and Fred-Henri Firmenich took over as CEO the following year.

1975 Launch of Rose Ketone bases Dorinia, Damascenia 185 and Cetylia®

In 1976, Firmenich added a new production facility, a compounding plant, in Geneva's Meyrin-Satigny.

Firmenich released a new rose ketone, damascenone, in 1982, as well as citrus-scented Citronova.

1986: The New Jersey-based firm of Chem-Fleur is acquired.

The company also began branching out into a number of new fragrance categories, adding, for example, the first 100 percent synthetic amber product, Ambrox, in 1989.

In 1990, also, the company opened a new, 7,000-square-foot office in New York city, complete with laboratory, which became the center of much of the group's fragrance development in the 1990s.

1994: The company steps up international expansion, opening subsidiaries in China, India, Malaysia, and elsewhere.

In the meantime, the group saw enormous success on the fragrance front as well, especially with the launch of such company-developed perfume successes as CK One in 1995 and designer perfumes for Jean-Gaultier, Hugo Boss, and Tommy Hilfinger, among many others.

1999 Expansion of the R&D laboratories - Geneva, Switzerland

A major development for the group's Flavors division came in 2001, when the company began development on a new, Geneva-based Food & Flavors Expertise Center.

The company is led by Partick Firmenich, who took over as CEO in 2002.

Simultaneous with its latest acquisitions campaign, Firmenich continued to score major new customers, leading to triumphs such as the October 2003 launch of a new fragrance, C'est Moi, developed by Firmenich to be sold as the house brand of the retailing giant Walgreens.

2004 Launch of Flexarome®