Croda International

Croda International plc is a British specialty chemicals company headquartered at Snaith in East Yorkshire, England, and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Founded in 1925 by George William Crowe and Henry James Dawe, the company began by developing a domestic British process for extracting lanolin from sheep’s wool. Lanolin is a natural wax-like material with protective and water-resistant properties, and Croda initially marketed it for cosmetics, leather treatment, waterproofing, and other industrial uses. The business nearly failed during its early years. Its prospects improved after technical research identified lanolin’s usefulness as a rust inhibitor, giving Croda additional industrial applications and helping it build export markets during the 1930s. During the Second World War, Croda supplied materials for Britain’s war economy, including camouflage paints, gun lubricants, cleaning oils, and insect repellents. After the war, the company increasingly focused on cosmetics and other markets that valued functional, specialized ingredients rather than bulk commodity chemicals. International expansion accelerated after the appointment of Fred Wood, a member of the founding family, as managing director in 1953. Croda established a presence in the United States, acquired Hummel Chemical Company, and expanded its manufacturing and sales network. It moved to its present Snaith location in 1956 and became a publicly listed company in 1964. Acquisitions during the 1960s and 1970s broadened its activities into oils, glues, chemicals, inks, synthetic resins, and tar-derived products. From the late twentieth century onward, Croda repositioned itself more clearly as a specialty chemicals supplier. Its portfolio developed around formulation ingredients and performance additives used by other manufacturers. Personal care products include surfactants, emulsifiers, emollients, and active ingredients used in creams, lotions, hair products, and other formulations. In health and life sciences, Croda supplies specialty lipids and related technologies for drug-delivery, vaccine, pharmaceutical, and nutritional applications. Its industrial portfolio has included fatty-acid amides that improve the slip and processing behavior of plastics, as well as lubricants, coatings ingredients, and other performance materials. The company has also pursued technologies connected with biotechnology and renewable raw materials. It developed Lorenzo’s oil, a specialty lipid formulation associated with the treatment of adrenoleukodystrophy, and entered distribution and collaboration arrangements in wool biotechnology. During the 2010s and early 2020s, Croda expanded through acquisitions in agricultural bioscience, vaccine and life-science ingredients, and fragrances. The purchases of Plant Impact, Brenntag Biosector, Iberchem, and a majority stake in Parfex increased its exposure to agricultural adjuvants, vaccine-related technologies, fragrance formulations, and consumer-product ingredients. Croda’s strategic direction has increasingly emphasized higher-value, research-intensive businesses and sustainability-related innovation. In 2022 it sold most of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals division, concentrating the group more strongly on Consumer Care, Life Sciences, and related specialty markets. It also received public support for expanded British production of specialty lipids and announced investment in its vaccine manufacturing site in Leek. Croda sells primarily to business customers rather than directly to consumers, and its ingredients are incorporated into finished cosmetics, medicines, supplements, agricultural products, plastics, coatings, and industrial formulations.

Croda was established in 1925 by George William Crowe and Henry James Dawe. Crowe acquired an abandoned waterworks facility at Rawcliffe Bridge for a nominal sum and used it as the company’s first manufacturing site. The name Croda combined elements of Crowe’s surname and Dawe’s surname. The founders sought to create a British source of lanolin, a protective natural fat obtained from sheep’s wool. Dawe’s initial extraction method was unsuccessful, and he subsequently left the business. Philip Wood, Crowe’s nephew, became site manager and worked with a Belgian chemist to develop a commercially viable process. Croda produced its first successful batch of lanolin before the end of 1925. The company struggled financially during its first decade, but the discovery and publication of research describing lanolin’s corrosion-prevention properties created new industrial opportunities. Wood refined the process and expanded the range of uses, while Croda developed domestic and export sales during the 1930s. During the Second World War, its products were used in camouflage paints, gun lubricants, cleaning oils, insect repellents, and other wartime applications. In the postwar period, Croda moved toward cosmetics, where lanolin and related ingredients were valued for their protective and conditioning properties. Philip Wood died in 1949. The board initially managed the company by committee, while his son Fred Wood became sales director. Fred Wood established Croda’s United States subsidiary in New York in 1950 and became managing director in 1953. Under his leadership, Croda expanded rapidly, won business from major cosmetics companies, moved to its current Snaith location in 1956, and expanded American manufacturing after Croda Inc. acquired Hummel Chemical Company in 1957. Croda joined the London Stock Exchange in 1964. The company broadened its operations through acquisitions including United Premier Oil in 1967, British Glues & Chemicals in 1968, L&H Holdings and A B Fleming in 1970, and Midland-Yorkshire Tar Distillers in 1975. These transactions added capabilities in oils, glues, inks, synthetic resins, and related industrial chemicals. In 1990, Croda developed Lorenzo’s oil, a specialty lipid product associated with the management of adrenoleukodystrophy. The company acquired the Paris-based STOA Group in 1997 and Westbrook Lanolin in 1998. In the early twenty-first century it increasingly concentrated on specialty chemicals. It signed a distribution and collaboration agreement with New Zealand wool-biotechnology company Keratec in 2003, and in 2006 agreed to acquire ICI’s Uniqema business for £410 million. Croda later closed its Wilton facility after Dow Chemical decided to close an adjoining plant, making continued operation uneconomic. During the 2010s, Croda used acquisitions and product development to expand in agriculture, life sciences, personal care, and sustainable ingredients. It acquired Plant Impact and Brenntag Biosector in 2018 and launched renewable, bio-based non-ionic surfactants. In 2020 it agreed to buy Iberchem, followed in 2021 by the purchase of a 93 percent stake in Parfex. In 2022, Croda obtained a grant for specialty-lipid manufacturing, announced investment in its Leek vaccine site, and sold most of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals division. These actions reinforced its strategic emphasis on high-value, research-led ingredients and technologies rather than broad commodity chemical production.

1. 2022Life-sciences investment and portfolio refocusing

   Croda receives support for specialty-lipid production, invests in its Leek vaccine site, and sells most of its PTIC division.

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2. 2020Iberchem acquisition announced

   Croda agrees to acquire Iberchem to expand fragrance formulation capabilities and geographic reach.

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3. 2018Expansion into agricultural bioscience and renewable surfactants

   Croda acquires Plant Impact and Brenntag Biosector and introduces renewable, bio-based non-ionic surfactants.

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4. 2006Acquisition of ICI’s Uniqema

   Croda agrees to acquire Uniqema from ICI for £410 million, substantially expanding its specialty-ingredients activities.

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5. 1990Development of Lorenzo’s oil

   Croda develops a specialty lipid formulation associated with adrenoleukodystrophy treatment.

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6. 1964London Stock Exchange listing

   Croda becomes a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange.

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7. 1956Move to Snaith

   Croda moves to the site that became its present headquarters in Snaith, England.

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8. 1950United States subsidiary established

   Fred Wood establishes Croda’s American subsidiary in New York.

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9. 1930Industrial lanolin applications expand

   Research on lanolin’s rust-prevention properties helps Croda broaden sales and export markets.

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10. 1925Croda is founded

    George William Crowe and Henry James Dawe establish Croda to manufacture lanolin in Britain.

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11. 1925First successful lanolin production

    Philip Wood and a Belgian chemist develop a workable process for extracting lanolin from sheep’s wool.

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A technology-led, high-value specialty chemicals supplier focused on formulation ingredients, life sciences, personal care, agriculture, and performance materials.

• Personal care ingredientsPersonal care chemicals

  Croda supplies surfactants, emulsifiers, emollients, conditioning agents, and active ingredients used by manufacturers of skin-care, hair-care, color-cosmetic, and cleansing products. These materials help control texture, stability, spreadability, foaming, moisturization, and delivery of functional actives. Croda’s role is primarily as an ingredient and formulation-technology supplier to other businesses rather than as a consumer-facing cosmetics brand.

• Specialty lipidsLife sciences and nutrition ingredients

  Specialty lipids are used in pharmaceutical delivery systems, vaccine-related technologies, nutritional products, and dietary supplements. Croda’s lipid activities build on its historical expertise in fats and lipid chemistry and include materials such as omega-3-related ingredients and other formulation components. The company has also invested in expanding United Kingdom manufacturing capacity for specialty lipids.

• Vaccine adjuvants and life-sciences ingredientsPharmaceutical and vaccine ingredients

  Croda supplies ingredients and technologies for pharmaceutical, vaccine, and biotechnology customers. Its life-sciences portfolio was strengthened by the acquisition of Brenntag Biosector, a producer of vaccine adjuvants, and by later investment in vaccine manufacturing capacity at Leek. These products are intended to support drug formulation, immune-response technologies, and other specialized healthcare manufacturing processes.

• Agricultural bioscience ingredientsAgricultural chemicals

  Croda’s agricultural activities include adjuvants and bioscience technologies designed to improve the performance, deposition, stability, or uptake of crop-protection formulations. The acquisition of Plant Impact expanded the company’s position in agricultural bioscience, while its broader specialty-ingredients model supports formulation customers seeking more efficient or lower-impact agricultural products.

• Fragrance formulationsFragrance and home-care ingredients

  Through Iberchem and its stake in Parfex, Croda expanded into fragrance formulation and related home and personal care applications. These businesses develop fragrance compounds and formulation solutions for consumer-product manufacturers, with capabilities serving markets in Europe, China, the Middle East, and other regions. The offering complements Croda’s existing expertise in specialty ingredients used in finished consumer products.

• Industrial performance additivesIndustrial specialty chemicals

  Croda has supplied industrial additives including fatty-acid amides, lubricants, coatings ingredients, synthetic-resin components, and other materials that modify processing or surface performance. Fatty-acid amides can add slip to plastic surfaces, helping films and bags separate during manufacturing and use. Much of the former industrial portfolio was divested or refocused as Croda concentrated on higher-value specialty markets.

• Lorenzo’s oilMedical nutrition and specialty lipids1990

  Developed by Croda in 1990, Lorenzo’s oil is a specialty lipid formulation associated with dietary management of adrenoleukodystrophy. It is one of the company’s best-known examples of lipid chemistry applied to a specialized medical need and illustrates Croda’s historical transition from lanolin and fats into more technically demanding life-sciences products.

• 2022Refocus the portfolio on specialty growth marketsStrategy

  Croda sought to concentrate resources on Consumer Care, Life Sciences, and other higher-value specialty businesses.

  What changed. The company completed the sale of most of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals division.

  Aftermath. The sale raised £667 million and reduced Croda’s exposure to the divested industrial portfolio.

  Proceeds from divestment. £667 million (2022)

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• 2020Acquire IberchemM&A

  Croda wanted to increase its fragrance formulation presence and reach consumer-product markets in regions including China and the Middle East.

  What changed. The company announced the purchase of Iberchem for €820 million.

  Aftermath. The transaction expanded Croda’s fragrance and home-products platform.

  Acquisition consideration. €820 million (2020)

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• 2018Expand agricultural and vaccine technologiesM&A

  Croda identified agricultural bioscience and life sciences as growth areas within specialty chemicals.

  What changed. It agreed to acquire Plant Impact for £10 million and Brenntag Biosector for £65 million.

  Aftermath. The acquisitions broadened Croda’s agricultural adjuvant, bioscience, and vaccine-related capabilities.

  Combined stated acquisition consideration. £75 million (2018)

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• 2006Acquire ICI’s Uniqema businessM&A

  Croda sought to expand its specialty-ingredients platform and add Uniqema’s technologies and customer relationships.

  What changed. Croda agreed to acquire Uniqema from ICI for total consideration of £410 million.

  Aftermath. The transaction increased Croda’s scale and reinforced its strategic focus on specialty chemicals.

  Acquisition consideration. £410 million (2006)

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• 2022Croda receives grant for specialty-lipid manufacturing

  Croda was awarded a £15.9 million grant intended to expand the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capacity for specialty lipids.

  Regulation
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• 2022Croda announces investment in Leek vaccine manufacturing site

  The company announced a £31 million expansion of its vaccine manufacturing site at Leek in England.

  Other
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• 2022Croda sells most of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals division

  Croda completed the sale of most of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals division, a portfolio move that raised £667 million and sharpened its focus on specialty growth markets.

  M&A
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• 2021Croda acquires majority stake in Parfex

  Croda purchased a 93 percent stake in French fragrance company Parfex for €45 million.

  M&A
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• 2020Croda announces acquisition of Iberchem

  Croda announced plans to purchase Spanish home-products and fragrance specialist Iberchem for €820 million, strengthening its fragrance formulations business in markets including China and the Middle East.

  M&A
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• 2018Croda agrees to acquire Plant Impact

  Croda announced an agreement to acquire Plant Impact, an agricultural bioscience company, for approximately £10 million, expanding its agricultural technologies portfolio.

  M&A
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• 2018Croda acquires Brenntag Biosector

  The company acquired Brenntag Biosector, a producer of vaccine adjuvants, for approximately £65 million.

  M&A
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• 2018Croda launches renewable and bio-based surfactants

  Croda introduced a range of non-ionic surfactants made wholly or substantially from renewable, bio-based feedstocks.

  Product launch
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1. Croda International
2. Croda International official website