Tessenderlo Kerley

What Tessenderlo Kerley does

Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. is a Phoenix, Arizona-headquartered, privately-held manufacturer of sulfur-based specialty fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, and industrial process chemicals, operating as the North American subsidiary of Belgian diversified conglomerate Tessenderlo Group. The company employs 251-500 people and produces a broad portfolio of liquid crop nutrition products (Thio-Sul, KTS, K-Row 23, CaTs, N-Sure), dry fertilizers (Tiger-Sul pastilles, SoluPotasse, GranuPotasse, plus K-Leaf for Mexico), and crop protection products spanning herbicides (Linex, Lorox, Sinbar, Solicam, Velpar), insecticides (Lannate, Sevin, Surround), fumigants (Sectagon-42, Sectagon-K54), fungicides (Lime-Sulfur Solution), soil amendments (Solmenda), and solar protectants (Purshade). Core proprietary technology centers on sulfur chemistry — thiosulfate formulations, sulfur recovery, and industrial fabrication — supported by manufacturing facilities including a Cal/OSHA VPP STAR-certified plant in Hanford, California, and wholly-owned subsidiaries Tiger-Sul (dry crop nutrition) and Moleko (industrial sulfur chemistry).

The company sells through a B2B sales-led go-to-market model with direct relationships to agricultural growers across North America (U.S. and Mexico) and to industrial customers in mining, oil & gas, and water treatment. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; revenue is generated through hardware/chemical product sales across three primary streams (crop nutrition, crop protection, industrial chemicals), with no software, subscription, or licensing component identified. Marketing channels include LinkedIn and Facebook brand presence, a crop insights educational content library, and direct sales infrastructure.

Recent strategic activity centers on regulatory-driven product expansion (2026 Linex alfalfa label extension), operational safety recognition (Cal/OSHA VPP STAR 2026, Union Pacific 2025 Pinnacle Award), and adjacent industrial diversification through the Moleko subsidiary. The company is mature (firmographic founding year 1947), privately held with no funding rounds or M&A disclosed in the available data, and embedded within a larger European parent's corporate structure that provides scale but constrains standalone equity optionality.

Name

Tessenderlo Kerley

Legal name

Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc.

Website

https://tkinet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Tessenderlo Kerley is a Phoenix-based, privately-held specialty chemicals manufacturer producing sulfur-based crop fertilizers, crop protection products (herbicides, insecticides, fumigants), and industrial sulfur chemistry for agricultural growers and industrial customers (mining, oil & gas, water treatment) across North America, operating as the U.S. subsidiary of Belgium's Tessenderlo Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Fertilizers & Crop Protection Chemicals

NAICS

Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253), Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532), Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing (325311), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Crop Protection Chemicals (Herbicides/Insecticides/Fungicides) (IMAEAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Liquid Specialty Fertilizers (Suspensions, Solutions, UAN Blends) (AFABACAF), Fertilizer & Micronutrient Formulations (NPK blends, chelates, suspensions) (AFABAIAB), Nitrogen Fertilizers (Ammonia/Urea/UAN) (IMAEAEAA)

Keywords

• Specialty fertilizers
• Crop protection chemicals
• Sulfur chemistry
• Agricultural chemicals
• Industrial chemical solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Crop Nutrition Products: Sale of sulfur-based specialty liquid and dry fertilizers including Thio-Sul, KTS, K-Row 23, N-Sure, SoluPotasse, and GranuPotasse products to agricultural growers
2. Crop Protection Products: Sale of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fumigants, and soil amendments including branded products Linex, Lannate, Sevin, Sinbar, and Surround
3. Industrial Chemical Solutions: Sulfur chemistry products and fabrication services for industrial markets including mining, oil & gas, and water treatment sectors

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tessenderlo Kerley manufactures and sells sulfur-based specialty fertilizers (liquid and dry), a comprehensive crop protection portfolio (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fumigants, soil amendments, solar protectants), and industrial chemical solutions based on sulfur chemistry, manufacturing, and fabrication expertise. The company serves agricultural growers and industrial customers across North America (USA, Mexico) with applications spanning crop nutrition, crop protection, mining, oil & gas, and water treatment.

Product overview

Tessenderlo Kerley is a producer of sulfur-based specialty fertilizers and crop protection products for agriculture, along with industrial chemical solutions. The company offers a diversified portfolio of liquid crop nutrition products (Thio-Sul, KTS, K-Row 23, CaTs, N-Sure) and dry crop nutrition products (Tiger-Sul Pastilles, SoluPotasse, GranuPotasse), as well as comprehensive crop protection offerings including fumigants (Sectagon-42, Sectagon-K54), fungicides (Lime-Sulfur Solution), herbicides (Linex, Lorox L, Lorox, Sinbar, Solicam, Velpar), insecticides (Lannate, Sevin, Surround), soil amendments (Solmenda), and solar protection products (Purshade). The company also serves industrial markets with sulfur chemistry, manufacturing, and fabrication expertise for mining, oil & gas, and water treatment applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tiger-Sul: Dry crop nutrition products including sulfur-based pastilles for agriculture
• Moleko
• Linex
• Thio-Sul
• KTS
• Sectagon

Products and services

• Thio-Sul Liquid sulfur-based fertilizer for crop nutrition in agricultural applications.
• KTS Liquid potassium thiosulfate fertilizer for crop nutrition in agricultural applications.
• K-Row 23 Liquid potassium fertilizer for agricultural applications.
• CaTs Calcium thiosulfate liquid fertilizer for agricultural crop nutrition.
• N-Sure Liquid nitrogen fertilizer solution for crop nutrition.
• K-Leaf Potassium fertilizer product available in Mexico for agricultural use.
• Tiger-Sul Pastilles Sulfur-based dry fertilizer in pastille form for agricultural crop nutrition.
• SoluPotasse Soluble potassium fertilizer for agricultural use.
• GranuPotasse Granular potassium sulfate fertilizer for agricultural crop nutrition.
• Sectagon-42 Fumigant product for soil pest control in agricultural applications.
• Sectagon-K54 Fumigant product for agricultural pest and soil applications.
• Lime-Sulfur Solution Fungicide solution for crop disease control in agriculture.
• Linex Herbicide for weed management in agricultural crops, with expanded label use for alfalfa (dormant periods and between cuttings) starting in 2026.
• Lorox L Herbicide for weed control in agricultural crops.
• Lorox Herbicide for agricultural weed management.
• Sinbar Herbicide for crop protection and weed management.
• Solicam Herbicide for agricultural weed control applications.
• Velpar Herbicide for weed control in agricultural crops.
• Lannate Insecticide for pest control in agriculture.
• Sevin Broad-spectrum insecticide for crop protection in agriculture.
• Surround Insecticide product for agricultural pest management, also categorized under solar protection.
• Solmenda Soil amendment product for agricultural applications.
• Purshade Solar protection product for crops.
• Industrial Sulfur Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Fabrication Solutions Sulfur chemistry products and fabrication services for industrial markets, supporting mining, oil & gas, and water treatment applications with specialized sulfur recovery and manufacturing capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.99% of hazmat shipments by U.S. freight railroads arrive safely

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Union Pacific RailroadcoreOthers · 1 January 2025Union Pacific Railroad is a major U.S. freight railroad that provides transportation services for Tessenderlo Kerley's chemical products. The company was honored with Union Pacific's 2025 Pinnacle Award recognizing 138 companies for safely transporting hazardous materials by rail, demonstrating zero non-accident releases of regulated hazardous materials shipments.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ICL Specialty Fertilizers: Specialty plant nutrition division of ICL focused on water-soluble, liquid, and controlled-release fertilizers — direct overlap with Tessenderlo Kerley's liquid crop nutrition portfolio.
• Helena Agri-Enterprises: U.S. distributor and formulator of crop inputs including specialty fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, and seed treatments — directly comparable to Tessenderlo Kerley's U.S. distribution model and product categories.
• Nutrien Ag Solutions: Retail arm of Nutrien, the world's largest crop input provider, distributing specialty fertilizers and crop protection products directly to North American growers — overlapping directly with Tessenderlo Kerley's agricultural channel and product categories.
• ICL Group: Specialty fertilizer and crop nutrition company with a strong portfolio of soluble potassium (SoluPotasse-like) and specialty plant nutrition products — directly comparable to Tessenderlo Kerley's SoluPotasse, GranuPotasse and Thio-Sul lines.
• American Vanguard Corporation: U.S.-based crop protection and specialty agriculture products company with a portfolio of herbicides, insecticides, and soil fumigants — overlapping with Tessenderlo Kerley's Sectagon fumigants and Linex/Lorox herbicide portfolio in North America.

Broad incumbents

• UPL Limited: Global crop protection and specialty chemicals producer with broad herbicide, insecticide and fungicide portfolios plus seed treatment — comparable across both crop protection and adjacent specialty chemistry segments.
• Yara International: Global nitrogen and specialty fertilizer leader producing liquid and granular fertilizers including sulfur-containing products. A broad incumbent serving the same growers but at much larger scale and across multiple regions.
• FMC Corporation: Global agricultural sciences company with a crop protection portfolio spanning insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides — comparable to Tessenderlo Kerley's Linex, Lannate, Sevin and other crop protection brands.

Regional players

• LSB Industries: U.S. nitrogen fertilizer and industrial chemicals producer serving agricultural and industrial markets — overlaps with Tessenderlo Kerley's N-Sure nitrogen fertilizer and industrial chemistry offerings.

Emerging players

• ADAMA: Leading global generic crop protection company offering off-patent herbicides, insecticides and fungicides — directly competitive with Tessenderlo Kerley's mature pesticide brands Lannate, Sevin, Linex, and Lorox.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TessenderloKerley
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tessenderlo-kerley
• Xx.com/TessKerley

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 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 Tessenderlo Kerley