Kolb conquers Europe from Brabant

The alkoxylates or non-ionic tensides that KOLB manufactures serve as a raw material for hundreds of industrial and consumer products, including almost all the well-known European detergent and cosmetics brands. When the company started operations in Brabant in 1992, production of end-product stood at 30,000 tons with a staff complement of a mere 20. Gradual expansion and optimization resulted in production reaching 60,000 tons in 2005 with a staff of 35. The commissioning 2 new reactors has now tripled these figures and, with a maximum production of 200.000 tons, KOLB Nederland B.V. today accounts for a significant proportion of the European market. About 7 percent of the company’s production consists of packaged products that are shipped globally by container.

The Brabant location involved an investment of around 75 million guilders at the time. KOLB had a choice of a variety of locations in European cities where a conducive production environment was catered to by the presence of major chemical companies. These selfsame conditions existed at the Moerdijk industrial estate thanks to the presence of, amongst others, Shell. It is from Shell that KOLB obtains – through a pipeline stretching almost two kilometers – ethylene oxide, which is essential in its manufacturing process.