Nordmann

What Nordmann does

Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH is a Hamburg-based, family-owned international chemical distribution group founded in 1912 by Eduard Nordmann and Fritz Rassmann. Originally a trading house for raw rubber and raw cocoa, the company pivoted into chemical distribution in 1949, exited natural rubber entirely in 2010, and today focuses exclusively on sourcing specialty chemicals and raw materials from leading global manufacturers and distributing them to manufacturing and processing industries worldwide. The group operates through a network of wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries spanning 24 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America, with additional historical reach into Liberia and recent entry into India via a 2026 partnership. Nordmann is family-controlled through Georg Nordmann Holding AG (established 2003) and is currently led by Managing Directors Martin Rathke and Ulrich Cramer.

The company's core offering is specialty chemical distribution — encompassing sourcing, logistics (including just-in-time delivery, cold chain, hazardous materials warehousing, and tank storage), custom processing (premixing, mixing, finishing, sampling with quality control), and application-based technical support. Complementary to distribution, Nordmann Lab+ is an in-house application laboratory platform with dedicated Food, Personal Care, and Health Care sub-brands that delivers formulation development, product testing, regulatory guidance, supplier news, and webinars to registered business customers. The commercial portfolio is organized around six industry verticals — Health Care, Food, Personal Care, CASE (Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Elastomers), Composites & Construction, and Plastics & Rubber — with named product offerings including anti-aging agents for elastomers and the LipoGalen line of lipid-based pharmaceutical excipients distributed in partnership with IOI Oleo. GTM is sales-led, with industry-segmented sales teams supported by the laboratory platform and a marketing mix that includes a quarterly newsletter (Nordmann News), trade fair participation (e.g., PURday), webinars (Nordmann Health Talk), and active social media presence.

Revenue is generated through distribution margins on specialty chemical volumes sold B2B under quote-based pricing, with FY2022 revenue of €620 million and approximately 520 employees. Growth has historically been driven by a combination of organic vertical deepening and acquisition-led geographic expansion (e.g., Kemi-Intressen in Sweden 2005, prochem in Switzerland 2007, Jointec and Copci-Metamine in 2013, Neoquímica in Portugal 2015, Melrob in the UK 2017, SD Chemicals in Italy 2024). The chemical distribution end-market is projected to reach $503B by 2030 at a 9.1% CAGR, providing a supportive macro tailwind for a mid-sized European specialty distributor with established manufacturer relationships and a 111-year operating history.

Name

Nordmann

Legal name

Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH

Website

https://nordmann.global

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Nordmann is a Hamburg-based, family-owned international chemical distribution group founded in 1912 that sources specialty raw materials from leading manufacturers and distributes them across 24 countries, serving manufacturing industries including Health Care, Food, Personal Care, CASE, and Plastics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices22 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Chemical Distribution: Nordmann sources highest quality raw materials and specialties from leading manufacturers and supplies them worldwide. Revenue is generated through distribution margins on specialty chemicals sold to manufacturing and processing industries.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nordmann is an international chemical distribution company that sources specialty chemicals and raw materials from leading manufacturers and distributes them to manufacturing and processing industries worldwide. The company provides application-based technical support, formulation development, logistics solutions, warehousing, and regulatory guidance through its subsidiary network in 24 countries and the Nordmann Lab+ application laboratory platform.

Product overview

Nordmann is an international chemical distribution company that operates as a single unified business rather than a modular platform. Their core offering centers on distributing specialty chemicals and raw materials sourced from leading manufacturers to industries worldwide. The product portfolio is organized around: (1) Chemical distribution services including logistics solutions and warehousing; (2) Nordmann Lab+, an application laboratory platform with three sub-brands (Food Lab+, Personal Care Lab+, Health Care Lab+) offering formulations, supplier news, and webinars; (3) Named product lines such as anti-aging agents for elastomers and LipoGalen® excipients; and (4) the Nordmann News quarterly newsletter. The company serves diverse industries including adhesives, agrochemicals, coatings, electronics, food, health care, personal care, plastics, rubber, and more.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nordmann Lab+: Application laboratories platform offering formulation guides, supplier news, webinars, and product testing services for Health Care, Food, and Personal Care industries.

Products and services

• Chemical Distribution Services International distribution of specialty chemicals and raw materials from leading manufacturers to manufacturing and processing industries worldwide. Includes sourcing, logistics solutions (just-in-time delivery, cold chain), warehousing (including hazardous materials and tank storage), and custom processing services (premixing, mixing, finishing, sampling with quality control).
• Nordmann Lab+ Application laboratory platform offering customized formulations, product testing, regulatory support, customer training, and webinars for manufacturers in Health Care, Food, and Personal Care industries. Includes three dedicated sub-platforms for each industry vertical.
• Anti-aging Agents for Elastomers Specialty chemical product line of anti-aging agents designed to protect elastomer materials from oxygen, heat, ozone, UV radiation, and mechanical stress. Includes antioxidants and ozone-protective waxes for dynamically stressed black compounds and color-stable light-colored applications.
• LipoGalen® Functional lipid-based excipients from partner IOI Oleo for the healthcare industry, based on polyglycerol esters with defined molecular structures and high stability. Designed as excipients for pharmaceutical development with applications in drug formulation.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Layn Natural IngredientsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Nordmann partnered with Layn Natural Ingredients for the Nordmann Health Talk webinar on Premium Quality Botanical Extracts. Layn Europe SRL presents innovative botanical ingredients and scientifically-supported health benefits for Health & Wellness applications.
• Gelest (Mitsubishi Chemical Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 3 March 2026Gelest, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Group, has expanded collaboration with Nordmann to enhance support for customers in India across advanced coatings materials including silanes, silicones, and specialty chemicals. The partnership leverages Nordmann's established local presence in India to improve responsiveness, technical support, and customer engagement for applications in electronics, medical technologies, pharmaceuticals, and advanced coatings.
• NutriearthcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Nutriearth partnered with Nordmann in 2025 to expand mealworm-derived vitamin D3 functional flour across 28 European territories. This distribution partnership supports Nordmann's entry into innovative functional food ingredients.
• IOI OleocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025IOI Oleo introduced LipoGalen, a new generation of functional lipid-based excipients based on polyglycerol esters for the healthcare industry, distributed through Nordmann. The product combines defined molecular structures with high stability and opens new possibilities in pharmaceutical development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Azelis: Listed specialty ingredients distributor serving personal care, health care, food and CASE markets with a strong application laboratory network. Closely mirrors Nordmann's segment mix and Lab+ style technical-support model, making it a direct comparable.
• Helm AG: German family-owned chemical distribution and marketing company headquartered in Hamburg, distributing specialty and crop protection chemicals worldwide. Comparable in size, ownership structure and core distribution business model.
• Biesterfeld AG: Family-owned Hamburg-based specialty chemical distributor (same home city as Nordmann) serving industrial chemicals, specialty chemicals and consumer products. A direct regional peer with similar ownership heritage and customer mix.
• Barentz International: European-headquartered specialty ingredients distributor focused on food, personal care, animal nutrition and pharmaceuticals. Direct competitor in Nordmann's Life Sciences, Personal Care and Food verticals with a similar application-support sales motion.
• Caldic (now Caldic North America / Advent portfolio): Global specialty ingredients distributor serving personal care, food, pharma and industrial markets. Comparable to Nordmann in vertical mix and value-added formulation services.
• IMCD N.V. Specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor focused on application-driven sales across life sciences, coatings, plastics and personal care — a direct competitor in Nordmann's verticals (CASE, Life Sciences, Personal Care). Both emphasize technical/application support alongside distribution, making the business models closely aligned.

Broad incumbents

• Univar Solutions: North American-headquartered chemical and ingredients distributor with broad specialty and industrial product portfolios. Overlaps with Nordmann in specialty distribution and ingredients for life sciences and industrial markets, though heavier in industrial chemicals than Nordmann.
• Brenntag: Global market leader in chemical distribution with ~€19B revenue across specialty and industrial chemicals. Most comparable to Nordmann in core business model (B2B specialty chemicals distribution with manufacturer-principal relationships), but materially larger and broader in geography and end-market exposure.

Regional players

• ICC Chemical Corporation: Mid-sized specialty chemical distributor headquartered in New York serving industrial, personal care and pharmaceutical markets. Comparable in scale and specialty focus, though geographically centered in the Americas rather than Europe.
• TER Chemicals GmbH & Co. KG: European specialty chemical distributor focused on CASE, plastics, rubber, personal care and food ingredients. Mid-sized regional peer with strong overlap in Nordmann's industrial verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nordmann_global
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@nordmann-global
• Facebookfacebook.com/nordmann.global
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nordmann
• Instagraminstagram.com/nordmann_global

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Nordmann