AGSCO Corp

What AGSCO Corp does

AGSCO Corp is a privately held U.S. manufacturer and distributor of industrial minerals, abrasives, blasting equipment, and related materials headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, with a second processing facility in Pine Brook, New Jersey. Founded in 1888 as the American Graded Sand Company and rebranded in 1980 under current private ownership, AGSCO operates an ISO 9001 certified, two-plant coast-to-coast footprint serving manufacturers, contractors, fabricators, and government/institutional buyers in metal fabrication and foundry, aerospace and defense, automotive and heavy equipment, contractors and blasting services, and flooring and construction.

The company's product portfolio spans industrial minerals and abrasives (silica sand, calcined alumina, silicon carbide, garnet, specialty materials), blast abrasives (Armex soda media, Starblast, Black Diamond, ceramic and glass beads, steel shot and grit, walnut shells, corn cob), floor aggregates (anti-slip, colored quartz, EasyCove, custom blends), blasting equipment (cabinets, sandblast pots, blast rooms, wheel/tumble/spindle blasters, including distributed brands such as Clemco and Schmidt), mass finishing equipment (vibratory bowls, aqueous parts washers, centrifugal barrels), and custom toll processing services (screening, classifying, blending, coating, treating, bagging, and private labeling). Several product lines operate under owned sub-brands including Armex, Starblast, EasyCove, and Barefoot.

AGSCO operates a sales-led, quote-based B2B go-to-market with no public pricing, no subscription contracts, and no app platform. Revenue derives from one-time industrial mineral and abrasive sales, equipment resale (hardware), and custom processing services (professional services-style toll work) to industrial customers across North America. The company is small (11-50 employees), has remained privately held since 1980, and has no disclosed institutional investors, subsidiaries, or parent entities.

Name

AGSCO Corp

Legal name

AGSCO Corporation

Website

https://agsco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AGSCO Corp manufactures and distributes industrial minerals, abrasives, and blasting equipment from two ISO 9001 certified facilities in Illinois and New Jersey, serving metal fabrication, aerospace, automotive, construction, and flooring customers across North America via direct sales and custom toll processing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wheeling

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Minerals and Abrasives Sales: Direct sales of industrial minerals, abrasives, blasting equipment and related materials to manufacturers, contractors, and fabricators.
2. Custom Processing Services: Toll processing services including screening, classifying, blending, coating, and packaging to customer specifications.
3. Equipment Sales: Sales of blasting equipment including cabinets, pots, mass finishing equipment, and safety equipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AGSCO Corp manufactures and distributes industrial minerals, blasting abrasives, floor aggregates, blasting equipment, and mass finishing equipment, while providing custom toll processing services (screening, classifying, blending, coating, treating, bagging, packaging, and private labeling) to customer specifications. The company serves metal fabrication, aerospace and defense, automotive, contractors, and flooring customers across the United States from two ISO 9001-certified facilities in Libertyville, Illinois and Pine Brook, New Jersey. Products are sold via a quote-based direct sales channel supported by in-house specialist consultation.

Product overview

AGSCO Corp is a manufacturer and distributor of industrial minerals, blasting equipment, and related materials and services since 1888. The company operates as a portfolio of complementary product lines: Minerals and Abrasives (industrial-grade minerals like silica sand, alumina, silicon carbide, garnet, and specialty materials); Blast Abrasives (Armex soda blasting media, ceramic beads, glass beads, steel shot/grit, Starblast, Black Diamond abrasives, garnet, crushed glass, walnut shells); Floor Aggregates (anti-slip aggregates, colored quartz, EasyCove, vinyl chips, colored glass, custom floor blends); Blasting Equipment (blast cabinets, sandblast pots, blast rooms, wheel blasters, spindle blasters, tumble blasters, rental equipment); Mass Finishing Equipment (vibratory bowls, aqueous parts washers, centrifugal barrels, vibratory media compounds); and Custom Services (screening, blending, coating, bagging, and private labeling). The company serves metal fabrication, aerospace, defense, automotive, construction, and flooring industries across North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Armex®: Soda blasting media product brand
• Starblast®
• EasyCove®
• Barefoot©

Products and services

• Industrial Minerals and Abrasives

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Barton International: Producer and supplier of garnet abrasives for waterjet cutting and blasting; directly comparable in garnet abrasive media for surface preparation customers.
• Kramer Industries: Supplier of abrasive blasting media, vibratory finishing media, and parts-washing compounds; comparable specialty distributor competing for similar industrial finishing customers.
• Clemco Industries: Manufacturer of abrasive blast machines, blast cabinets, and blast rooms whose blast pots are sold by AGSCO; directly comparable in blasting equipment product portfolio and target customers.
• Marco Group International: Manufacturer and distributor of abrasive blasting equipment and media; directly comparable in product mix (blast pots, cabinets, media) and industrial customer base.
• Empire Abrasive Equipment: Manufacturer of abrasive blast cabinets and blasting equipment serving industrial finishing customers; directly overlaps with AGSCO's equipment distribution business.
• Washington Mills: Manufacturer of fused aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and other industrial mineral abrasives; directly competes in the same engineered abrasive SKUs that AGSCO distributes.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Silica Holdings: Large-scale producer of industrial silica sand and specialty minerals; overlapping product line (silica sand, filter media) at substantially greater scale and broader market reach than AGSCO.
• Saint-Gobain (Norton Abrasives): Global manufacturer of bonded and coated abrasives including aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and specialty blasting media; broad incumbent overlapping AGSCO's engineered abrasive categories.
• 3M Abrasive Systems Division: Diversified global manufacturer of coated abrasives, blasting media (including roofing granules AGSCO distributes), and surface preparation products; broad incumbent with overlapping industrial channels.

Regional players

• Surface Preparation Solutions: Regional distributor of blasting media, equipment, and consumables serving industrial surface-preparation contractors; comparable go-to-market and product mix in select geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agsco-corp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 AGSCO Corp