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Kemin history
Kemin company history timeline
From our humble start developing agricultural products for Midwestern United States farmers in 1961 to now serving customers in 120 countries, our vision has expanded to match the reach and scale of our global work.
When the company was founded in 1961, R.W. and Mary Nelson had five children under the age of seven, USD $10,000 in a savings account, two product lines and a manufacturing plant in an old wool barn.
1970 - Opened first regional headquarters in Herentals, Belgium.
1988 – Established second regional headquarters with sales and manufacturing facilities in Singapore.
Since he took on the role in 1994, Kemin has more than quadrupled in size and ventured into new industries, technologies, and regions around the globe.
1994 – Established sales office site in Zhuhai, China.
Doctor Chris Nelson, son of R.W. and Mary Nelson, serves as President and CEO. Since Doctor Nelson became president in 1994, Kemin has more than quadrupled in size, venturing into new industries, technologies, and regions around the globe.
1998 – Opened sales and manufacturing facilities in Chennai, India.
2000 - Moved the Chennai manufacturing facilities to Gummidipundi, India.
The Nelsons’ eldest daughter, Elizabeth “Libby” Nelson, joined Kemin as Vice President and General Counsel in 2001.
In 2001, Elizabeth (Libby) Nelson, daughter of R.W. and Mary Nelson, became Vice President and General Counsel for Kemin.
2002 - Established a manufacturing site in Zhuhai, China.
2004 – Purchased sales and manufacturing facility in Indaiatuba, Brazil.
2009 – Opened the second European manufacturing site in Veronella, Italy.
2010 – Purchased encapsulation company and facility in Cavriago, Italy.
2014 – Created a new regional headquarters in Johannesburg.
David Nelson, son of R.W. and Mary Nelson, joined the Board of Advisors in 2014.
In 2017, the third generation of Nelson family members began taking on roles within Kemin.
Throughout years of global growth, Kemin has remained headquartered with sales, research and manufacturing facilities in Des Moines, Iowa, United States In 2017, Kemin opened a $30 million worldwide headquarters buildingin the same site as the wool barn the company manufactured its first products.
In 2017, Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Doctor Chris Nelson, joined Kemin as a business development manager for the company’s textile chemicals venture.
Starting July 1, 2019, she will serve as President of Garmon Chemicals, the textile auxiliaries business unit.
Then in 2021, Kemin broke ground on a USD$4.5 million expansion of its headquarters campus and added solar panels to power its headquarters office
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Kemin competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HFP Corporation | 1972 | $13.0M | 100 | - |
| Balchem | 1967 | $953.7M | 1,342 | 50 |
| QualiTech | 1967 | $930,000 | 5 | 11 |
| Taste of Solae | 1987 | $750.0M | 2,700 | - |
| Henkel | 1970 | $21.5B | 9,000 | 1,023 |
| Stepan | 1932 | $2.2B | 2,096 | 8 |
| Sandoz | 1946 | $21.0M | 34 | 20 |
| Arkema | 1850 | $9.5B | 20,000 | 67 |
| International Specialty Holdings LLC | 2001 | $79.0M | 50 | - |
| Applied Physics Systems | 1976 | $28.4M | 100 | 14 |
Kemin history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Kemin, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Kemin. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Kemin. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Kemin. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Kemin and its employees or that of Zippia.
Kemin may also be known as or be related to KEMIN INDUSTRIES INC, Kemin, Kemin Industries, Kemin Industries Inc, Kemin Industries Inc. and Kemin Industries, Inc.