1920s
1929
- Hydrite Chemical Co. founded in Milwaukee, WI
Hydrite’s first warehouse and office located in the Menomonee Industry Valley in the heart of Milwaukee’s tanning industry.
1930S
1935
- Hydrite Chemical Co. purchased by Wayne Thompson and Richard Honkamp
1938
- First tank car of sulfuric acid received
Wayne Thompson and Richard Honkamp with Hydrite’s first sulfuric acid tank car at our Menomonee Industry Valley location.
1940S
1941-1945
- Raw materials were allocated due to World War II
- Post World War II chemical distributors like Hydrite became channel partners for the producers
Hydrite's first logo, an early indicator of dry chemicals being converted into liquid products.
1950S
1953
- Profit sharing plan established
1955
- Milwaukee chlorine packaging plant starts up and first Hydrite chlorine cylinder is filled
1958
- Hydrite reaches $1,000,000 in annual sales
Wayne Thompson and Richard Honkamp at Hydrite’s first chlorine plant.
1960S
1961
- Construction of a phosphoric acid plant begins in Milwaukee, WI
1963
- Phosphoric acid plant is completed and manufacturing starts up
Wayne Thompson cutting the tape at Hydrite’s phosphoric acid plant dedication. The plant, in partnership with Monsanto, operated for 23 years.
1970S
1970
- North Central Chemical, Inc. (Cottage Grove, WI) acquisition
1973
- Purchased majority interest in U.S. Chemical Corp. (Watertown, WI)
1974
- La Crosse, WI warehouse constructed
1976
- Overton Chemical Sales, Inc. (Sumner, IA) 50% stock purchase
1977
- Built organic solvent reclamation plant (Cottage Grove, WI)
- Bought Chem-Sol, Inc. (Waterloo, IA)
Overton Chemical was Hydrite’s first acquisition in Iowa, expanding our geographical reach in the Midwest.
1980S
1980
- Purchased remainder of U.S. Chemical Corp. (Watertown. WI)
1981
- Purchased remaining stock in Overton Chemical Sales, Inc. (Combined Overton & Chem-Sol)
- Oshkosh, WI plant opened
- Organic solvent reclamation plant expansion/fractionation capability added
1982
- Added 1.6 million gallons of bulk liquid caustic soda storage at La Crosse, WI warehouse to receive barge shipments
1984 - 1985
- Iowa consolidation (Waterloo, IA)
1985
- Beaver Chemical purchase (Stockton, CA) by U.S. Chemical Corp.
- Avganic Industries, Inc. (Cottage Grove, WI) subsidiary of Hydrite Chemical Co.
- Established a food processing business unit
After Hydrite’s 2nd Iowa acquisition of Chem-Sol, consolidation at a new larger facility with room to grow made sense.
1990S
1990
- Moved to current offices in Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee, WI
- Benlo Industries, Inc (Milwaukee, WI) acquired
1991
- Chemicals Plus, Inc. (Park Forest, IL) purchased
1992
- Avganic Industries, Inc. (Cottage Grove, WI) merged into Hydrite
1993
- University Park, IL facility constructed
1994
- Our first sulfur burner started up in Waterloo, IA
1995
- Jayar-Hoag Chemical Co. (Lake Zurich, IL) purchased
- Sulfur burner installed in Terre Haute, IN
1997
- Acquired Phillips and Martin Company (Addison, IL)
1998
- Sold U.S. Chemical Corp. to S.C. Johnson
Hydrite’s former corporate office in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
2000S
2000
- Acquired Solvox Mfg Company (Milwaukee, WI)
2004
- ISO 9001:2000 registration received in Cottage Grove, WI
2005
- Solvox Mfg Company relocated to Bradley Road and new Technical Center opens in Milwaukee, WI
- Acquired Patco Defoamer Products (Kansas City, MO)
2006
- Acquired Murnco, Inc. (Libertyville, IL)
2009
- Epoxy plant joint venture with Advanced Polymer Corporation starts up (Hydrite Advanced Resins or HAR)
Hydrite’s investment into more complex manufacturing continues, pictured is a reactor train in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.
2010S
2010
- Acquired Cognis N.A. Food & Fermentation defoamer business
2011
- Acquired Choice Chemical, Inc. (Visalia, CA)
2012
- Ammonium Thiosulfate (ATS) production starts in Waterloo, IA and a five year agreement is signed with Kugler Company
- Sold our paper non-defoamer Solvox line to ChemTreat
- Milwaukee-West building is purchased
2015
- Exclusive production for Dow starts in Cottage Grove, WI and Lucidene/Morcryl product line is purchased from Dow
2017
- Acquired SERVCO® Chemical (Lubbock, TX)
2018
- Acquired Organic Defoamer Group (ODG)
2019
Servco® in Lubbock, Texas was acquired to bring us closer to our growing food customers. The acquisition of Servco also brought Hydrite into the energy industry.
2020s
2020
- Broke ground on the new company headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin, merging customer service, engineering, and corporate groups
2021
- New company headquarters construction is completed
Backed by our committed employees, customers, and partners, Hydrite continues to nurture sustainable growth through creative solutions as we move closer to 100 years in business.
The new Hydrite headquarters is a two-story, 45,000-square-foot space with floor-to-ceiling windows, energy-saving features, and recycled building materials.