What Chemstations does

Chemstations is a Houston, Texas-based chemical process simulation software company founded in 1988, operating with 11-50 employees as a private, for-profit entity. The firm is led by co-founders Steve Brown (President, CEO & COO) and Mingder Lu (Senior Vice President and CTO). Its core product line is centered on simulation and modeling tools for chemical engineering workflows, including CHEMCAD for chemical process simulation, plus Fathom, Arrow, Impulse, and xStream within its engineering portfolio. Fathom is positioned as the "#1 modeling software for fluid flow" in source materials. The company appears to operate within a broader enterprise software ecosystem branded under the related Datacor identity, which adds business automation capabilities (ERP, MES, WMS, CRM, BLISS LIMS, BLISS SQC+, regulatory control, formulation management), animal-nutrition ERP (Feed ERP), and asset tracking (TrackAbout).

The business model is sales-led enterprise software: revenue is generated from software licensing and subscriptions for the engineering and business automation modules, plus professional services for implementation, consulting, and system integration. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagement runs through consultative 'Contact Us' CTAs and direct field sales rather than self-serve or transparent per-seat pricing. The go-to-market targets process manufacturers and engineers across multiple verticals — chemicals, petrochemicals, oil & gas, food & beverage, energy, EPC, animal nutrition, packaged gas, LNG, and personal care — and is organized both by vertical and by buyer role (Engineering, Operations, Quality Control, Accounting/Finance, Sales, Regulatory Compliance, IT/IS), supporting a multi-threaded enterprise sales motion.

Named enterprise references in source materials include Pilot Chemical Company, Guttman Energy, Fluid Quip Technologies, Ridley Agriproducts, and Lewis Chemical, with reported customer outcomes such as 10%+ inventory accuracy improvement at Lewis Chemical and energy-consumption reduction at Fluid Quip Technologies via CHEMCAD. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales with global scope claim; the firm also maintains a partnership with PNC Bank as a registered Independent Sales Organization. Detailed revenue, ownership, and competitive-position data are not disclosed in the inputs.

Name

Chemstations

Legal name

Datacor, Inc.

Website

https://chemstations.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chemstations is a Houston-based chemical process simulation software company founded in 1988, providing modeling and flow simulation tools (CHEMCAD, Fathom, Arrow, Impulse, xStream) for chemical engineers and process manufacturers across multiple vertical industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Process Manufacturing ERP Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Manufacturing ERP (Discrete, Process, Batch) (HDAEAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Process & Batch Control Software (Recipe Management, ISA-88) (IMAGABAH), Quality, Compliance & Validation Software for Labs (GxP/CSV, eQMS for QC Labs) (HLAGAJAI)

Keywords

• Chemical process simulation
• Process manufacturing ERP
• Engineering simulation software
• Manufacturing execution systems
• Formulation management software

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Datacor generates revenue through enterprise software licensing and subscriptions for its ERP, MES, WMS, CRM, chemical process simulation (CHEMCAD), formulation management, and related modules sold to process manufacturers and chemical distributors.
2. Professional Services: Implementation, consulting, and system integration services supporting deployment of Datacor's software suite across enterprise process manufacturing environments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chemstations, operating as Datacor, Inc., develops and sells process manufacturing software spanning chemical process simulation (CHEMCAD, Fathom, Arrow, Impulse, xStream) and a business automation suite that includes ERP, CRM, MES, WMS, formulation management, regulatory control, BLISS LIMS, BLISS SQC+, Nutrition Labeling, and asset tracking (TrackAbout), along with Feed ERP for animal nutrition. The software is sold to chemical, petrochemical, food & beverage, animal nutrition, energy, oil & gas, EPC, and other process-intensive enterprises for engineering simulation, production operations, quality control, and regulatory compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHEMCAD: Chemical Process Simulation software
• Fathom
• Arrow
• Impulse
• xStream
• BLISS LIMS
• BLISS SQC+
• TrackAbout
• Feed ERP
• Datacor Interaxions

Products and services

• Datacor ERP Enterprise Resource Planning system designed specifically for process manufacturing enterprises to manage financials, inventory, and operations end-to-end.
• Datacor CRM Customer Relationship Management software tailored for process manufacturers and chemical distributors to manage customer relationships and sales pipelines.
• Datacor MES Manufacturing Execution System providing real-time production visibility and control for process manufacturing operations.
• Datacor WMS Warehouse Management System for managing warehouse operations within process manufacturing and chemical distribution environments.
• Datacor Formulation Management Formulation management software that optimizes ingredient usage across multiple batches based on cost, nutrition, and shelf life constraints for process manufacturers.
• TrackAbout Asset Tracking Asset tracking software delivering real-time visibility into physical assets to boost efficiencies and improve productivity across operations.
• Datacor Nutrition Labeling Nutrition labeling software that generates compliant nutrition labels for food, beverage, and animal nutrition products.
• Datacor Regulatory Control Regulatory control software that supports compliance with industry regulations for process manufacturers and chemical distributors.
• BLISS LIMS Laboratory Information Management System software that automates laboratory workflows and quality control processes for process manufacturers.
• BLISS SQC+ Statistical quality control software that supports quality control processes and analysis for process manufacturers.
• Feed ERP ERP software designed specifically for animal nutrition and feed manufacturing companies to manage operations, formulation, and compliance.
• CHEMCAD Chemical process simulation software used by chemical engineers to model and optimize chemical engineering processes, identify efficiency gains, reduce energy consumption, and enhance system-wide performance.
• Fathom Flow simulation software that provides tools for completing accurate fluid flow calculations, positioned as a leading modeling solution for fluid flow.
• Arrow Engineering simulation software within Datacor's engineering suite for chemical and process engineering workflows.
• Impulse Engineering simulation software within Datacor's engineering suite for chemical and process engineering workflows.
• xStream Engineering simulation software within Datacor's engineering suite for chemical and process engineering workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10%+ improvement in inventory accuracy
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hexagon PPM: Hexagon's Process, Power & Marine division sells design, engineering, and operations software (e.g., CAESAR II, PV Elite, HxGN SDx) serving the same process and EPC customer set, with overlapping use cases in simulation, asset integrity, and project execution that Datacor addresses via CHEMCAD and ERP/MES.
• Aspen Technology (AspenTech): AspenTech is the closest direct peer: it sells Aspen Plus and HYSYS chemical process simulation software alongside process manufacturing optimization and digital twin solutions, overlapping directly with Datacor's CHEMCAD and broader engineering suite in the same chemical engineer buyer base.
• Infor (Industry-specific ERP): Infor's process industry ERP (formerly Infor Process Industries) targets chemicals, food & beverage, and similar verticals with formulation and recipe management — directly competing with Datacor's ERP and Formulation Management suite for mid-market process manufacturers.
• AVEVA: AVEVA (now part of Schneider Electric) provides process simulation, MES, and industrial software (PI System, AVEVA Process Simulation) used by the same process manufacturer personas Datacor targets. It competes most directly in MES and process engineering tools within chemical, oil & gas, and EPC accounts.

Broad incumbents

• Siemens Digital Industries Software: Siemens sells Xcelerator and Opcenter for process manufacturing and engineering (including COMOS for plant design and engineering), competing with Datacor's MES, WMS, and engineering simulation portfolio in larger enterprises that prefer a global incumbent with broad portfolio coverage.
• Rockwell Automation: Rockwell's FactoryTalk and PlantPAx suites serve process and discrete manufacturers with MES, HMI, and process automation capabilities that overlap Datacor's operations software, particularly in mid-market industrial accounts that require tight integration between MES and underlying control systems.
• Honeywell Process Solutions: Honeywell bundles process simulation (UniSim), DCS (Experion), and MES/applications for chemicals and refining, competing with Datacor's process manufacturing stack at large enterprise accounts and offering an integrated single-vendor alternative that can displace a multi-vendor Datacor deployment.
• Emerson (DeltaV / AspenTech ecosystem): Emerson's DeltaV DCS, Syncade MES, and AspenTech partnership put it in direct competition with Datacor's MES and simulation offerings, especially in process plants where Emerson controls the underlying automation layer and can offer bundled software.
• ABB Ability: ABB's Ability portfolio spans process automation, MES, and digital twin capabilities (e.g., ABB OPTIMAX, ABB Ability Manufacturing Operations Management) that overlap with Datacor's operations software for process industries, often bundled with ABB's broader automation footprint.

Regional players

• Yokogawa: Yokogawa's CENTUM DCS and Exaquantum/Exaplog MES/operations management suite serves process manufacturers in oil & gas, chemicals, and power, competing in adjacent automation-and-MES deals where Datacor also pitches, particularly across Asia where Yokogawa has stronger regional reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chemstations
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chemstations-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chemstations