Working Solutions

What Working Solutions does

Working Solutions, Inc. (WSI) is a veteran-owned, family-held specialty chemical manufacturer headquartered in Houston, Texas, founded in July 1991 by Jay Davis, a Texas A&M-trained Chemical Engineer and Registered Environmental Manager. The company develops and produces hundreds of proprietary chemical formulations for industrial cleaning, metal finishing, and heavy industrial maintenance applications, organized across registered trademark families including SOLOIL (rust preventatives), SOLUCOAT (phosphate conversion coatings), SOLUCOOL (coolants), SOLUBRITE, SOLUGOLD, SOLUHIB, SOL-AL, SOLUKLEEN, SOLUTION, and SUPERMULSE. Its product portfolio spans industrial cleaners and degreasers, rust preventatives and removers, iron/zinc/manganese phosphate coatings, fully synthetic and semi-synthetic machining coolants, precision cleaning solvents, non-methylene chloride paint and carbon removers, aluminum processing chemicals, and environmentally friendly green formulations utilizing biodegradable surfactants and plant-based ingredients.

The company serves over 300 domestic and international customers across heavy industrial, defense, oilfield and oilfield service tools, light manufacturing, food services, and automotive sectors. It holds compliance with multiple U.S. military specifications (MIL-C-16173D, MIL-C-16173E, MIL-C-62218, MIL-STD-171E, DOD-P-16232) and is ISO certified, qualifying its products for OEM and defense supply chains. Customer relationships are supported by direct technical sales and metal cleaning, finishing, and environmental consulting.

Working Solutions operates as a direct B2B manufacturer, selling proprietary chemical products to industrial customers via quote-based pricing. Products are manufactured to specification at its Houston facility and distributed direct-to-customer, with no disclosed digital commerce channels or third-party distributors. The company has 11–50 employees, no outside institutional investors, and no publicly disclosed revenue. The business model is fundamentally a high-touch, specification-driven specialty chemicals operation whose value proposition is formulated product quality, regulatory compliance (MIL-spec, USDA), and consultative technical support rather than scale or platform economics.

Name

Working Solutions

Legal name

Working Solutions, Inc.

Website

https://workingsolutions.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Working Solutions, Inc. is a Houston-based, veteran-owned specialty chemical manufacturer founded in 1991, producing hundreds of proprietary formulations for industrial cleaning, metal finishing, and rust prevention, serving 300+ customers across heavy industrial, defense, oilfield, automotive, and food services sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Industrial Chemicals

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325), All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (32599), Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561), Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510)

SIC

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

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAEABAL

Specialty Surfactants & Performance Additives

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

SECONDARYIMAEAAAI

Commodity Surfactants & Detergent Base Chemicals

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Basic & Commodity Chemicals

SECONDARYCRAJACAF

Stainless Steel & Metal Surface Cleaners & Polishes

Consumer Products & Retail/Household Products & Cleaning Supplies/Hard Surface Cleaners

Keywords

• Industrial chemical manufacturing
• Metal finishing chemicals
• Rust preventatives
• Phosphate conversion coatings
• Specialty industrial cleaners

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Chemical Products Sales: Working Solutions manufactures and sells specialty chemical products including cleaners, rust preventatives, rust removers, coolants, phosphates, solvents, and paint removers. Products are sold directly to industrial customers for use in manufacturing and maintenance operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Working Solutions, Inc. is a Houston, Texas-based manufacturer of specialty industrial chemicals, producing cleaners, rust preventatives and inhibitors, rust removers and converters, coolants, phosphate and non-phosphate conversion coatings, solvents, paint and carbon removers, and environmentally friendly green formulations. The company sells its proprietary chemical blends under multiple trademarked brands (SOLOIL, SOLUCOAT, SOLUCOOL, SOLUGOLD, SOLUHIB, SOL-AL, SOLUBRITE, SOLUKLEEN, SOLUTION, SUPERMULSE) directly to industrial customers in heavy industrial, defense, manufacturing, oilfield, food services, and automotive sectors.

Product overview

Working Solutions, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of specialty industrial chemicals headquartered in Houston, Texas, founded in July 1991. The company operates as a veteran-owned family business serving the industrial cleaning, metal finishing, and heavy industrial maintenance markets. The product portfolio is organized around multiple trademarked brands including SOLOIL (rust preventative oils), SOLUCOAT (phosphate conversion coatings), SOLUCOOL (coolants), SOLUGOLD, SOLUHIB, SOL-AL, SOLUBRITE, SOLUKLEEN, SOLUTION, and SUPERMULSE. Specific named products include SOLOIL 173-3 Special (water-displacing rust preventative), Solucoat 5027 J (zinc phosphate), Solucoat 5037 J (manganese phosphate), and Solucoat 5039 Special (amorphous phosphate prepaint preparation). The company offers comprehensive product categories spanning industrial cleaners, rust preventatives and inhibitors, rust removers and converters, phosphate and non-phosphate conversion coatings, coolants, solvents, paint and carbon removers, aluminum processing products, and environmentally friendly green formulations. With nearly 35 years in operation and hundreds of proprietary product blends, WSI serves over 300 domestic and international customers across industries including heavy industrial, oilfield, defense, light manufacturing, food services, and automotive sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SOL-AL®: Registered trademark of Working Solutions, Inc.
• SOLOIL®
• SOLUBRITE®
• SOLUCOOL®
• SOLUGOLD®
• SOLUHIB®
• SOLUKLEEN®
• SOLUTION®
• SUPERMULSE®
• WORKING SOLUTIONS ®

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 domestic and international customers served
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Quaker Houghton: Global leader in industrial process fluids, metalworking fluids, and specialty chemistries for metal cleaning and surface treatment. Directly comparable to WSI across metalworking coolants, cleaners, rust preventatives, and phosphate coatings, though operating at much greater scale.
• DuBois Chemicals: Specialty chemical supplier focused on industrial cleaning, metal finishing, and water treatment chemistries. Directly comparable product portfolio to WSI's cleaners, degreasers, and metal finishing formulations across heavy industrial customers.
• Walter Surface Technologies: Provider of metalworking solutions including surface treatment chemicals, cleaners, coolants, and rust preventatives. Comparable to WSI's metal finishing cleaners, coolants, and rust preventative product lines serving industrial and automotive customers.
• Cortec Corporation: Manufacturer of corrosion protection solutions including VCI films, rust preventatives, and eco-friendly industrial cleaners. Highly comparable to WSI in rust preventative chemistry, environmental positioning, and serving defense/industrial customers.
• Kyzen Corporation: Manufacturer of precision cleaning chemistries for electronics, metal finishing, and industrial applications. Comparable to WSI's precision cleaners, degreasers, and environmentally friendly solvent replacements for industrial customers.
• ZERUST (Northern Technologies International): Specialty chemical company providing corrosion prevention products, rust preventatives, and industrial preservation solutions. Highly comparable to WSI's rust preventative and corrosion protection offerings, with overlap in oilfield and defense end markets.
• Chemetall (BASF): Specialty chemical manufacturer focused on metal surface treatment, including cleaners, phosphates, rust preventatives, and conversion coatings. Operates as BASF's surface treatment division and competes head-to-head with WSI's SOLUCOAT and SOLOIL product lines.

Broad incumbents

• Henkel: Global chemical and consumer products company with significant industrial surface treatment, metal cleaning, and adhesive businesses. Overlaps with WSI in industrial cleaners and surface treatment chemistries but operates as a much larger, diversified portfolio.
• PPG Industries: Global coatings and specialty materials manufacturer with industrial pretreatment, metal finishing, and protective coatings divisions. Comparable to WSI's phosphate conversion coatings and prepaint preparation products, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader portfolio.
• BASF: World's largest chemical company with extensive specialty chemicals, surface treatment, and industrial cleaning operations (including Chemetall). Competes broadly with WSI across multiple product categories but as part of a much larger, diversified chemicals portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/workingsolutionschemicals
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/working-solutions-chemicals

Compliance5 records

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 Working Solutions