DuBois
DuBois Chemicals is a privately held, Ohio-based single-source specialty chemical supplier founded in 1920, serving industrial customers across manufacturing, water treatment, food and life sciences, paper, and transportation with proprietary chemistries, equipment systems, and field technical service across North America.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1920
- HeadquartersCincinnati, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What DuBois does
DuBois Chemicals, Inc. is a privately held, single-source specialty chemical supplier headquartered in Sharonville, Ohio (Cincinnati area), founded in 1920 and operating for over 100 years. The company develops and sells industrial and institutional chemical formulations across six primary verticals: Manufacturing (metalworking fluids, quenchants, rust preventatives, surface finishing), Water Treatment (cooling water, boiler water, wastewater, Legionella control, inhibited glycol), Food & Life Sciences (cleaners, sanitizers, TREO®, DryTrac™), Transportation/Auto Care (Blendco car-wash chemistries, CAR Products detailing, Guardian Graphene Shielded protectant), Paper & Pulp (NexShield™, pitch and stickies control), and Energy & Mining (dust suppression and process chemistries). Its technology base combines proprietary chemical formulations with purpose-built equipment systems (SuperBlend concentrate units, SuperSat, SuperClear water-reuse systems) and an in-house analytical, performance-testing, and R&D capability that supports local field technical service.
DuBois operates a hybrid go-to-market model: direct enterprise field sales supported by local technical service representatives, combined with a North American distributor network spanning the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Customer and distributor portal systems are used for account management, and pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Revenue is generated through one-time product sales across the catalog, with solution bundling of chemistry, equipment, and service into industrial accounts. Sub-brands including Blendco and CAR Products are operated as wholly owned acquired brands within the Auto Care division, and the company maintains separate LinkedIn and YouTube presences for DuBois Chemicals and Blendco Systems.
Strategically, DuBois is a programmatic consolidator in a fragmented North American specialty chemicals market, with at least eight disclosed acquisitions from 2009 through 2025, most notably Cimcool Fluid Technology (2020, approximately $224M) and Broadmoor Products (2025). The acquisition cadence targets adjacent chemistry capabilities, geographic expansion (notably into Canada via Broadmoor), and accretive customer relationships in water treatment and industrial fluids. The company is privately held, incorporated in Ohio, has no publicly disclosed ownership, and operates without venture or growth-equity funding signals in the available materials.
DuBois firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DuBois
- Legal name
- DuBois Chemicals, Inc.
- Website
- https://duboischemicals.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1920
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- DuBois Chemicals is a privately held, Ohio-based single-source specialty chemical supplier founded in 1920, serving industrial customers across manufacturing, water treatment, food and life sciences, paper, and transportation with proprietary chemistries, equipment systems, and field technical service across North America.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DuBois industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Chemicals
- NAICS
- Chemical Manufacturing (325), Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (3259), Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (4246)
- SIC
- Chemicals & Allied Products (2800), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Textile, Leather & Paper Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAM), Specialty Surfactants & Performance Additives (IMAEABAL), Sulfur & Sulfuric Derivatives (IMAEAAAG), PFAS & Emerging Contaminants Treatment Services (IMAIAGAJ)
Keywords
Where DuBois is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cincinnati
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
DuBois business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Specialty Chemical Products: DuBois generates revenue through the sale of specialty chemical products across multiple industrial segments including water treatment, metalworking fluids, maintenance cleaners, food processing chemicals, and auto care products. Products are sold directly to customers and through distributor networks across North America.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Quote-based pricing for industrial specialty chemicals |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
DuBois product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DuBois Chemicals is a single-source specialty chemical supplier that formulates and supplies advanced chemistry products combined with equipment solutions for industrial, water treatment, food processing, paper processing, and transportation/auto care applications. The company sells directly and through a North American distributor network, supported by local field technical service and customer/distributor portals. Its portfolio spans metalworking fluids, quenchants, rust preventatives, maintenance cleaners, water treatment chemicals, glycol heat-transfer fluids, pitch and stickies control, and auto wash/detailing products.
Product overview
DuBois is a single-source specialty chemical supplier with a comprehensive portfolio of industrial, water treatment, food processing, paper processing, and transportation cleaning products. The company operates across multiple solution categories: Food & Life Sciences (including DryTrac™ and TREO®), Industrial Solutions (metalworking fluids, quenchants, rust preventatives, dust suppression, heat treatment, maintenance oils), Water Treatment (inhibited glycol, wastewater treatment, water safety, Legionella control), Paper Processing (NexShield™, pitch and stickies control), and Specialty Offerings (process chemicals, tolling). The Auto Care division includes two sub-brands—Blendco for car wash products and CAR Products for detailing—along with equipment solutions (SuperSat, SuperBlend, SuperClear). The company also provides Guardian Graphene Shielded ceramic protectants. For over 100 years, DuBois has combined advanced chemistry, equipment solutions, manufacturing process knowledge, and local technical service to deliver value to customers in target industries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DryTrac™: A product brand under the Food & Life Sciences solution category.
- TREO®
- NexShield™
- CAR Products
- Blendco
Products and services
- TREO (Trivalent Receptive Oxide) Specialty chemical solution in the Food & Life Sciences category for food processing applications.
- DryTrac Industrial solution for dry tracking applications within the Food & Life Sciences category.
- NexShield Paper processing product for pitch and stickies control in paper mill applications.
- SuperSat Equipment solution for the Auto Care division used in car wash and detailing operations.
- SuperBlend Equipment system that enables on-site manufacturing of detergents and protectants using SuperBlend concentrates for auto wash applications.
- SuperClear Water treatment equipment system for the Auto Care division that treats recycled water in car wash applications to eliminate odors and ensure water reuse.
- Guardian Graphene Shielded Advanced ceramic protectant in the Auto Care division featuring graphene technology for enhanced vehicle protection.
- Metalworking Fluids Industrial specialty chemical fluids for metalworking processes, including machining and forming operations.
- Quenchants Heat treatment solutions used in industrial heat treating operations.
- Rust Preventatives Industrial chemical solutions for rust prevention and corrosion protection.
- Water Treatment Solutions Comprehensive industrial water treatment solutions including cooling water treatment, boiler water treatment, Legionella control, and wastewater treatment.
- Inhibited Glycol Heat transfer fluid solutions for industrial applications within the water treatment portfolio.
- Blendco Auto Wash Products Sub-brand offering auto wash cleaning products including alkaline concentrates, detergents, drying agents, foaming products, tire and wheel cleaners.
- CAR Products Detailing Sub-brand offering auto detailing products including cleaning chemicals, soaps, mitts, dressings, compounds, polishes, waxes, and accessories.
Companies that use DuBois
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
DuBois technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
DuBois partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Broadmoor ProductscoreDuBois Chemicals acquired Broadmoor Products, a water treatment specialist based in Michigan, as part of its strategic growth plan to expand its Water Solutions business in the U.S. and Canada. The acquisition aims to strengthen DuBois' water treatment capabilities and broaden its product portfolio while maintaining Broadmoor's customer relationships and service culture.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DuBois competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ecolab: Global leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions serving food & beverage, industrial, and healthcare markets. Ecolab is a broad incumbent whose water treatment and food safety chemicals directly overlap with DuBois' Water Treatment and Food & Life Sciences segments, though Ecolab operates at vastly larger global scale.
- Stepan Company: Specialty and intermediate chemical manufacturer producing surfactants, polymers, and specialty products for cleaning, personal care, agricultural, and industrial applications. Broader incumbent comparable on the surfactants and performance additives side of DuBois' chemistry portfolio.
- Innospec: Specialty chemical company with performance chemicals, fuel specialties, and oilfield services divisions. Comparable on the industrial specialty chemicals side, though Innospec's oilfield orientation differs from DuBois' broader industrial vertical mix.
Direct peers
- Solenis: Specialty chemical manufacturer focused on water treatment and process chemistries for paper, pulp, food & beverage, and industrial markets. Solenis is the closest direct peer to DuBois given the highly overlapping portfolio in paper processing (NexShield vs. Solenis pitch/stickies control) and industrial water treatment.
- Quaker Houghton: Global leader in industrial process fluids, primarily metalworking fluids, heat treatment quenchants, and specialty chemistries. Directly comparable to DuBois' Industrial Solutions segment (metalworking fluids, quenchants, rust preventatives, zinc plating) and competes in similar heavy-industry end markets.
- ChemTreat: Specialty water treatment chemicals and services provider for industrial and commercial cooling, boiler, and process water applications. Direct peer in DuBois' Water Treatment segment with similar cooling water, boiler water, and Legionella control offerings.
- Cimcool Fluid Technology (DuBois-owned): Industrial metalworking fluids and fluid management solutions, acquired by DuBois in 2020. Serves metalworking and manufacturing customers with cutting fluids, rust preventatives, and process chemicals — a wholly-owned DuBois subsidiary but historically operated as an independent peer competitor.
- Hydrite Chemical: US-based specialty chemical manufacturer and distributor serving food processing, industrial, and water treatment markets. Comparable mid-sized specialty chemical peer with similar vertical segmentation and direct sales + distributor model.
- Blendco Systems (DuBois-owned): Auto wash chemistry brand acquired by DuBois in 2009, offering detergents, foaming products, drying agents, and tire cleaners. Operates as a retained sub-brand but historically a peer in the car wash chemical space alongside companies like Simoniz and Arrow.
- CAR Products (DuBois-owned): Auto detailing products brand offering cleaning chemicals, polishes, waxes, and applicators. Retained as a DuBois sub-brand but functions as a peer competitor in the detailing chemistry market against Turtle Wax, Meguiar's, and similar brands.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DuBois social profiles
Digital presenceDuBois financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DuBois leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
DuBois subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
DuBois funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DuBois M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A8 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DuBois
What does DuBois do?
DuBois Chemicals is a single-source specialty chemical supplier that formulates and supplies advanced chemistry products combined with equipment solutions for industrial, water treatment, food processing, paper processing, and transportation/auto care applications. The company sells directly and through a North American distributor network, supported by local field technical service and customer/distributor portals. Its portfolio spans metalworking fluids, quenchants, rust preventatives, maintenance cleaners, water treatment chemicals, glycol heat-transfer fluids, pitch and stickies control, and auto wash/detailing products.
Is DuBois a public or private company?
DuBois is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was DuBois founded?
DuBois was founded in 1920. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is DuBois based?
DuBois is headquartered in Cincinnati, United States, in the North America region.
How does DuBois make money?
One revenue line is on record: specialty Chemical Products.
Who are DuBois's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ecolab, Stepan Company and Innospec. Direct peers are Solenis, Quaker Houghton, ChemTreat, Cimcool Fluid Technology (DuBois-owned), Hydrite Chemical, Blendco Systems (DuBois-owned) and CAR Products (DuBois-owned).
Does DuBois have an API?
No public API is recorded for DuBois.
What industry is DuBois in?
DuBois's product category is Specialty Chemicals. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAEABAN, Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals, with a secondary code of IMAEABAM, Textile, Leather & Paper Specialty Chemicals. Its NAICS code is 325 and its SIC code is 2800.