Chemserve

What Chemserve does

Chemserve Co., Ltd. is a privately held specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1979 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company supplies four product families: (1) printing and photographic chemicals including Charge Control Agents (DZN, DAL, NTB), toner materials, and photo-resist resins; (2) cosmetic and health-care ingredients, notably CTFA-certified Super Squalane and Super Squalene derived from deep-sea shark liver oil; (3) polymer additives organized under the Richnox, Richfos, and Richvin brand series, comprising primary and secondary antioxidants, metal deactivators, PP clarifiers and nucleators, UV absorbers, and HALS light stabilizers, with products explicitly positioned as counter-types to BASF Irganox/Irgafos/Irgaclear and Ciba Tinuvin/Chimasorb lines; and (4) metal extractants including PC-88A (≥95% purity phosphonic acid for cobalt-nickel separation and rare-earth refining) and SFI-6 (dihexyl sulfide for palladium-platinum selectivity with 99.9–100% stripping efficiency).

Technically, the portfolio is built on classical chemical formulation rather than digital platforms, with differentiation resting on measured specifications—purity grades, selectivity coefficients, acid/base consumption reduction, and regulatory registrations under TSCA, EINECS, and ENCS. Notable product-specific strengths include PC-88A's documented superiority to D2EHPA in cobalt-nickel separation and Squalane's CTFA STANDARD certification for cosmetic applications.

Chemserve operates a direct B2B sales model, taking inquiries through its website (chemsv.com), email, telephone, and fax, and shipping industrial pack sizes (180kg drums, 20kg kraft bags, 500kg FLECON flexible containers, 15kg cans). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company serves global markets with documented presence in Japan and the United States, and the customer base spans four distinct verticals—imaging and printing manufacturers, cosmetic and nutritional supplement producers, plastics processors, and mining/metallurgical operations—with no named customer logos disclosed. The firm is independently owned with no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed institutional investors.

Name

Chemserve

Legal name

CHEMSERVE CO.,LTD.

Website

https://chemsv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Chemserve Co., Ltd., founded 1979 in Tokyo, is a privately held specialty chemicals manufacturer supplying plastic additives, imaging chemicals, cosmetic actives (Squalane/Squalene), and metal extractants (PC-88A, SFI-6) to industrial customers in Japan, the United States, and other countries via direct B2B sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemicals

NAICS

Photographic Film, Paper, Plate, Chemical, and Copy Toner Manufacturing (325992), Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (3259), Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890), Chemicals & Allied Products (2800)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAEABAL

Specialty Surfactants & Performance Additives

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Specialty Chemicals

SECONDARYIMAEABAJ

Personal Care & Cosmetic Ingredients

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Specialty Chemicals

SECONDARYIMAEADAK

Plasticizers & Solvents (Phthalates/Alternatives, Commodity Solvents)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Petrochemicals & Derivatives

SECONDARYIMAEAJAN

pH Control, Antiscalants & Corrosion Inhibitors

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Water Treatment & Process Chemicals

Keywords

• Specialty chemicals supply
• Plastic additives manufacturing
• Metal extraction reagents
• Imaging printing chemicals
• Cosmetic ingredients supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

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. Performance Chemicals Sales: B2B manufacturing supply of specialty chemicals including plastic additives, metal extractants, imaging chemicals, and cosmetic ingredients sold in industrial quantities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Chemserve Co., Ltd. manufactures and supplies specialty performance chemicals to industrial manufacturers worldwide. The company produces four main product categories: (1) printing/photographic materials including Charge Control Agents, Toners, and Photo Resists; (2) cosmetic/health ingredients including Squalane (CTFA STANDARD certified) and Squalene from deep-sea shark liver oil; (3) plastic additives including antioxidants, UV absorbers, light stabilizers, metal deactivators, and PP clarifiers; and (4) metal extractants including PC-88A for cobalt-nickel separation and SFI-6 for platinum-palladium separation.

Product overview

Chemserve Co., Ltd. is a chemical supplier established in 1979, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, offering performance chemicals across four main product categories: (1) Printing/Photographic materials including Charge Control Agents, Toners, and Photo Resists Materials; (2) Cosmetic/Health Products including Squalane and Squalene for skin care and nutritional supplements; (3) Plastic Additives encompassing a comprehensive Polymer Additive portfolio with sub-categories of Primary Antioxidants (Richnox series), Secondary Antioxidants (Richfos series), Metal Deactivators, PP Clarifiers and Nucleators, UV Absorbers (Richvin series), Light Stabilizers HALS (Richvin series), and B-Blend Type Antioxidants; and (4) Metal Extractants including PC-88A for rare metals/cobalt-nickel separation and SFI-6 for platinum-palladium recovery. The company serves global markets with technical-grade chemical products primarily sold in bulk quantities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SUPER SQUALANE: Hydrogenated squalane product from deep-sea shark liver oil, used for skin care cosmetics, passed CTFA STANDARD in USA
• SUPER SQUALENE
• Richnox
• Richfos
• Richnox
• Richvin
• Richvin
• Richnox
• Rich PP clarifier
• DZN/DAL/NTB

Products and services

• Charge Control Agent (CCA) Charge control agents used in toner materials for electrophotographic printing. Negative type includes DZN (Zinc salt) and DAL (Aluminum salt); Positive type includes NTB. Registered with TSCA, EINECS, and ENCS (Japan).
• Photo Resists Materials Imaging chemicals for photo-resist applications including Novolac Resins in meta-para-Mixture Type and Pure meta-Type variants, used in printing and photographic product manufacturing.
• Toners Toner materials for printing and imaging applications, supplied as part of the imaging chemicals product line including Charge Control Agents.
• Squalane (SUPER SQUALANE) Hydrogenated squalene derived from deep-sea shark liver oil through continuous hydrogenation, used primarily in skin care cosmetics and also as lubricating oil, smoothing material, and gas chromatography stationary phase. Certified to CTFA STANDARD in USA and adopted by major cosmetic manufacturers in USA, Japan, and other countries.
• Squalene (SUPER SQUALENE) Refined and distilled squalene from deep-sea shark liver oil, used as edible supplement nutrition in tablet form for health food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications.
• Polymer Additive Comprehensive line of polymer additives including primary and secondary antioxidants, metal deactivators, PP clarifiers and nucleators, UV absorbers, light stabilizers (HALS), and B-Blend type antioxidants for plastic processing and protection applications.
• THPA (Tetrahydrophthalic Anhydride) C8H8O3 anhydride with minimum 99.5% purity, supplied as white flakes in 20kg kraft paper bags or 500kg polypropylene-woven flexible containers (FLECON). Used in polymer and coating applications.
• TCP (Tricresyl phosphate) Neutral phosphoric ester (O=P(OC6H4CH3)3) with molecular weight 368, offering properties including weather resistance, fire retardancy, low volatility, electric insulation, and low water solubility for plastic additive applications.
• DMP (Dimethyl phthalate) Dimethyl phthalate ester (C6H4(COOCH3)2) with molecular weight 194, colorless to light yellowish clear liquid used as plasticizer.
• PC-88A (2-Ethylhexyl 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid) Purified solvent extraction reagent with minimum 95% purity (HEH(EHP)), CAS NO. 14802-03-0, EINECS NO. 2388653, TSCA registered. Superior to D2EHPA for cobalt-nickel separation, suitable for rare-earth metal extraction with reduced mineral acid costs in back extraction. Also used for indium and molybdenum extraction. Supplied in 180kg drums.
• SFI-6 (Dihexyl sulfide) Dihexyl sulfide (C6H13-S-C6H13) metal extractant with molecular weight 202, exhibiting extremely high selectivity for palladium against platinum from chloride media. Colorless clear liquid with 99.9-100% palladium stripping efficiency.
• Primary Antioxidant (Richnox series) Hindered phenolic type primary antioxidants including Richnox 1010, 1076, 1098, 1135, 3114, 565, 1790, 1520, DLTDP, DSTDP. Counter types to Irganox series for polymer processing and protection.
• Secondary Antioxidant (Richfos series) Phosphite and thioester type secondary antioxidants including Richfos 168, Pep8, 626, DPDP, PDDP, TNPP, TPP, Pep Q. Counter types to Irgafos, Weston, and Ultranox series for polymer protection.
• Metal Deactivator (Richnox series) Metal deactivators including Richnox MD 1024 (counter to Irganox MD1024) and Richnox XL1 (counter to Naugard XL1) for polymer stabilization applications.
• PP Clarifier and Nucleator Polypropylene clarifiers and nucleators including PP Clarifier 2868, Rich PP clarifier NA 11, and NA 21. Counter types to Irgaclear DM and ADK Stab series for PP processing.
• UV Absorber (Richvin series) UV absorbers including RIchsorb BP4, Richvin 120, 326, 327, 328, 320, LA31, P, 329, 5411, 1084. Counter types to Chimasorb, Tinuvin, and Cynosorb series for polymer UV protection.
• Light Stabilizer HALS (Richvin series) Hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) including Richvin 770, 944, 622, 765, 292, 1191, 791. Counter types to Tinuvin and Chimasorb series for polymer light stabilization.
• B-Blend Type Antioxidant (Richnox series) Pre-blended antioxidant combinations including Richnox B225, B215, B220, B561, B900, B911, B921, B931, B1171, B1189, B1411, B877, B875, B873, B817, B815, B2714. Counter types to Irganox and Ultranox series for polymer protection.

Segments4 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

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• DIC Corporation: Japan-based specialty chemicals group with strong pigment, imaging, and electronics materials businesses, including pigments and resins for toners and printing—an adjacent overlap to Chemserve's CCA, toner, and photo-resist resins portfolio.
• Songwon Industrial: South Korea-based specialty chemicals manufacturer focused on polymer stabilizers and antioxidants (Songnox, Songsorb, Songlight). Closest direct peer to Chemserve in plastic additives and light stabilizers.
• Sakai Chemical Industry: Japan-based producer of specialty and inorganic chemicals including stabilizers and catalytic/adsorbent products; comparable as a regional specialty chemicals counterpart to Chemserve in Tokyo.
• Daihachi Chemical Industry: Japan-based specialty chemicals producer historically focused on phosphorus-based plasticizers and flame retardants such as TCP and DMP—directly comparable product overlap with Chemserve's plasticizer/FR portfolio.
• SI Group: Global manufacturer of polymer additives and stabilizers, including equivalents and alternatives in the hindered phenolic antioxidant and phosphite space where Chemserve's Richnox and Richfos lines compete.

Broad incumbents

• Solvay: Specialty chemical major with historic strength in phosphorus-based additives and rare earth/polymer chemistries, providing broad overlap with Chemserve's extractant (PC-88A category) and TCP plasticizer / FR lines.
• Cytec (now part of Solvay): Specialty additives and high-performance materials supplier (now within Solvay) overlapping with Chemserve in light stabilizers (HALS) and UV absorbers and in phosphorus-based additives.
• Lanxess: German specialty chemicals group active in polymer additives, plasticizers, and phosphorus chemistry; competes with Chemserve in additive categories and has scale advantages across global distribution.
• BASF: Global chemical major and the brand owner of Irganox, Irgafos, Tinuvin, and Chimasorb—the primary proprietary product lines that Chemserve's Richnox/Richfos/Richvin portfolios counter. Direct competitive overlap in polymer additives.

Emerging players

• Amyris: Biotech/synthetic biology company producing fermentation-derived squalane (sugarcane-derived) and other ingredients. Indirect substitute peer to Chemserve's shark-liver-oil-derived Squalane and Squalene for cosmetics and supplements.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Chemserve