The Chemstar Story – A Look Back and a Look Ahead
We’re very excited about our new blog and sharing information about our starch polymers, which improve products and processes in numerous industries around the world.
I’ve always believed it’s important to know who you’re dealing with, so we wanted to give you a better sense of our history and culture.
My father, Paul Werler, started Chemstar back in 1965 by making extruded pre-gel corn products for the oil and gas industries at our plant in McPherson, Kansas. It has been a family-owned business ever since.
The oil boom of the 1970s propelled Chemstar to new heights, and soon we began finding new opportunities for our starch-based products in other industries. By the end of the decade we had opened a plant in Carlton, Minn. to serve the mining and drilling markets. We hit a rough patch in the mid-1980s, when the oil markets dried up. But in a way that was a blessing, as it forced us to explore new avenues for our starch-based polymers.
As with any business, there have been good times and struggles. But there were three key milestones that let us know we were on the right path:
- We not only survived the oil market downturn of the ‘80s – we came out stronger and more diversified.
- We established our starch derivatives business in the 1980s to develop specific starch formulations.
- Once we were confident in the company’s financial position, we knew we could operate independently. It’s important for our customers to know the company they partner with will be there for the long term and has the financial strength to make strategic investments in its business.
Today we are a company of 90 employees strong, and Chemstar products are used by leading companies around the globe in a variety of industries. Our ability to partner with customers to develop specific scientific formulations for their processes, along with the unique environmentally-friendly aspects of our starch-based products, has been the key to our success.
We’re at our best when we can partner with you to put our science to work and create specific solutions to meet your needs As president; I’m making sure we’re investing in the appropriate R&D so we can continue to innovate. We’ve also created a series of internal audits to make sure we don’t just meet, but exceed, quality control standards throughout different aspects of our business– all in an effort to deliver results that exceed your expectations.
Please feel free to contact us to discuss what challenges you are facing.
-Jim Werler
President