What Ivanhoe Industries does

Ivanhoe Industries, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned specialty chemical manufacturer founded in 1979 and headquartered in Zion, Illinois. The company produces foam control agents (antifoams/defoamers), non-ionic surfactants and emulsifiers, silicone release agents, and hydrophobic silica, serving end markets that include food processing, fermentation, agriculture, coatings and colorants, household/industrial/institutional (HI&I) cleaning, lubricants, oil field, personal care, water treatment, and other defoamer manufacturers. Its technology base rests on backward-integrated manufacturing of key defoaming actives—including non-ionic surfactants, silicone compounds, and hydrophobic silica—using stainless steel hot oil esterification reactors (150- to 3,000-gallon batch sizes), a 15-gallon pilot scale reactor, and a full R&D and applications laboratory for foam generation and defoamer performance testing.

The company operates two independent FSSC 22000-GFSI certified food-grade manufacturing facilities in Zion, IL totaling more than 100,000 square feet of combined manufacturing and warehousing space, and holds an extensive regulatory certification portfolio covering ISO 9001:2015, NSF, cRc Kosher, AHF Halal, OMRI Listed, Non-GMO Project Verified, MOSA Organic Certified, and EcoVadis Silver sustainability ratings. Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) sale of specialty chemical products, (2) custom product development services for foam control agents and surfactants, and (3) private labeling arrangements; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market combines a direct technical sales force covering U.S. food processors, fermentation companies, and industrial manufacturers with national/regional distribution partners, third-party procurement portals, third-party warehouse and consignment options, and global channel partners for international distribution. The company emphasizes technical sales engagement, custom formulation capabilities, regulatory compliance support, and short lead times, reporting near 100% OTIF performance metrics.

Name

Ivanhoe Industries

Legal name

Ivanhoe Industries, Inc.

Website

https://ivanhoeind.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ivanhoe Industries is a privately held, family-owned specialty chemical manufacturer founded in 1979 that produces foam control agents, non-ionic surfactants, silicone release agents, and hydrophobic silica for food, fermentation, agricultural, industrial, and consumer-goods customers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing

NAICS

Surface Active Agent Manufacturing (325613), Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Surfactants & Performance Additives (IMAEABAL)

Keywords

• Specialty chemicals manufacturing
• Foam control agents
• Silicone defoamers
• Non-ionic surfactants
• Food grade emulsifiers

Headquarters

HQ city

Zion

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Specialty Chemical Products: Manufacturing and sale of foam control agents, non-ionic surfactants, emulsifiers, silicone release agents, and hydrophobic silica to food processors, fermentation companies, agricultural formulators, and industrial manufacturers.
2. Custom Product Development: Custom formulation services for foam control agents and surfactants specifically designed for customer applications, including regulatory compliance and application testing support.
3. Private Labeling: Private labeling options available for customers as part of tailored customer service offerings.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ivanhoe Industries is a specialty chemical manufacturer that produces foam control agents (silicone and non-silicone defoamers/antifoams), non-ionic surfactant emulsifiers (glycerol esters, polyglycerol esters, sorbitan esters, polysorbates), silicone release agents, and food-grade hydrophobic silica. Products are sold to B2B customers across food processing, fermentation, agriculture, coatings, lubricants, oil field, water treatment, HI&I, personal care, and defoamer manufacturing industries, with custom formulation services and private labeling available.

Product overview

Ivanhoe Industries is a specialty chemical manufacturer offering three core product lines: Foam Control Agents (antifoams/defoamers), Emulsifiers (non-ionic surfactants), and Silicone Release Agents, along with Hydrophobic Silica. The company operates two FSSC 22000-GFSI certified manufacturing facilities with over 100,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space. Their products serve diverse industries including food processing, fermentation, agriculture, coatings and colorants, HI&I cleaning, lubricants, oil field, personal care, and water treatment. Ivanhoe also provides custom development services for both foam control agents and surfactants/emulsifiers, utilizing hot oil esterification reactors and full R&D and applications laboratories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foam Control Agents Antifoam/defoaming agents for controlling foam in food and non-food applications across multiple industries including fermentation, food processing, agriculture, coatings, lubricants, oil field, water treatment, and HI&I cleaning products.
• Emulsifiers Non-ionic surfactants and emulsifiers including glycerol esters, polyglycerol esters, sorbitan esters, and polysorbates used across food, agricultural, personal care, and industrial applications.
• Silicone Release Agents Silicone emulsion concentrates for mold release, polishing, and water repellency in food and HI&I applications.
• Hydrophobic Silica Food grade hydrophobic precipitated silica used in defoamer formulations and sold to the open market.
• Custom Foam Control Agent Development Custom formulation and development services for defoaming agents tailored to specific customer applications, including R&D lab testing and field trials.
• Custom Surfactant and Emulsifier Development Custom synthesis of non-ionic esters including glycerol esters, polyglycerol esters, sorbitan esters, and PEG/PPG/EO-PO fatty acid esters using hot oil esterification reactors.
• Food Defoamers Foam control agents for food processing applications including beverages, corn processing, egg washing, fruit and vegetable processing, jellies/jams/syrups/condiments, potato processing, protein processing, sugar beet processing, and whey processing.
• Food Emulsifiers Emulsifiers approved for direct food additives including polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (PGEs), mono- and diglyceride glycerol esters, sorbitan esters, and polysorbates.
• Food Silicone Release Agents Silicone emulsion concentrates for direct food contact and thermoforming applications manufacturing food packaging.
• Agricultural Defoamer Formulations 100% active and water extended silicone defoaming agents for agricultural spray packaging and tank side additive applications.
• Agricultural Surfactants Non-ionic surfactants for agricultural formulations with 40 CFR 180 clearances for reducing surface tension and improving spray efficiency.
• Fermentation Defoamer Applications Foam control agents for fermentation applications including alcohols, amino acids, antibiotics, biogas, enzymes, organic acids, polymers, and vitamins.
• HI&I Defoamers Silicone and non-silicone defoaming agents for HI&I cleaning products formulated for various pH and temperature ranges.
• HI&I Emulsifiers Non-ionic surfactants for HI&I formulations offering emulsifier, solubilizer, detergent and defoamer functions.
• Lubricant Defoamers Foam control products for lubricant applications including metalworking fluids, hydraulic fluids, and metal cleaners.
• Lubricant Emulsifiers Non-ionic surfactants for lubricant formulations offering emulsifier, boundary lubricant, base stock, solubilizer, and foam control additive functions.
• Oil Field Defoamer Solutions Foam control solutions for drilling, completion, workover fluids, fracking, cementing, effluents, downhole, gas/oil separations, and oil sands extraction.
• Personal Care Emulsifiers Non-ionic surfactants for personal care formulations including polyglycerol esters, glycerol esters, sorbitan esters, and PEG esters.
• Water Treatment Defoamers Defoaming agents for industrial and municipal water treatment processes including silicone emulsions, oil-based, surfactant-based, and non-silicone options.
• Coatings and Colorants Defoamers Foam control additives for coating applications used in grinding and letdown portions of the manufacturing process.
• Silicone Defoaming Compounds Silicone defoaming compounds and hydrophobic silicas for food and industrial defoamer formulations, compliant with 21 CFR 173.340(a)(2).

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce overall defoamer use while increasing fermentation batch yields
• +2 more outcomes

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National & Regional Distribution PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnnamed national and regional distribution partners that extend Ivanhoe's reach beyond direct sales capabilities for domestic distribution.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Shin-Etsu Chemical: Shin-Etsu is a major global producer of specialty silicones including silicone defoamers and antifoam compounds. While significantly larger and more diversified than Ivanhoe, it competes in the same silicone-based foam control chemistries sold into food and industrial applications.
• Wacker Chemie: Wacker is a global leader in specialty silicones including silicone defoamers, antifoams, and silicone emulsions for food, personal care, and industrial applications — directly comparable to Ivanhoe's silicone defoaming compounds and silicone release agents, including 21 CFR food-grade formulations.
• Croda International: Croda is a specialty ingredient manufacturer focused on personal care, food, and industrial applications with a strong position in emulsifiers and surfactants. Comparable customer base and product overlap with Ivanhoe's personal care, food emulsifier, and HI&I surfactant lines.
• Stepan Company: Stepan is a specialty surfactant and polymer manufacturer with overlapping product families in non-ionic surfactants, esters, and emulsifiers serving food, agricultural, personal care, and industrial markets — directly comparable to Ivanhoe's emulsifier and surfactant portfolio.
• Momentive Performance Materials: Momentive manufactures specialty silicones including silicone defoamers, release agents, and emulsions for food, personal care, and industrial customers. Direct overlap with Ivanhoe's silicone-based product lines across multiple end-segments.

Broad incumbents

• Evonik Industries: Evonik is a large German specialty chemicals company with significant defoamer, silicone, and surfactant businesses serving food, personal care, and industrial customers. Broader portfolio and global scale than Ivanhoe, but directly overlapping in core foam-control and surfactant chemistry.
• Lonza Group: Lonza provides specialty ingredients and chemicals across food, personal care, and industrial end-markets. Larger and more diversified than Ivanhoe, but competes in overlapping surfactant and specialty additive chemistries for similar customer segments.
• Dow Inc. Dow produces specialty silicones, defoamers, and surfactants across multiple industrial and food-related end-markets. Operates at much greater scale and global reach than Ivanhoe but competes for similar defoamer and silicone release agent specifications.
• BASF: BASF operates a large specialty chemicals portfolio including defoamers, emulsifiers, and silicone additives for food, agricultural, coatings, and industrial customers. Far larger and more diversified than Ivanhoe, but a direct competitor in foam control and specialty surfactant chemistries.

Emerging players

• Cabot Corporation: Cabot is a global specialty chemicals company with a significant precipitated silica and performance chemicals business. Overlaps with Ivanhoe's hydrophobic silica product line, though Cabot's broader portfolio and larger scale place it as a broader incumbent in silica rather than a pure foam-control peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IvanhoeInd
• Facebookfacebook.com/IvanhoeInd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ivanhoeindustries

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Ivanhoe Industries