BASF Kaolin and Superior Materials celebrate partnership

BASF Kaolin and Superior Materials recently celebrated its 70th anniversary at Superior Materials’ Garden City, NY headquarters. It is a unique relationship, as Superior Materials’ founder, Ben Joachim, essentially discovered industrial uses for kaolin for Edgar Brothers Clay, BASF Kaolin’s predecessor. In turn, Edgar Brothers asked Joachim to market the kaolin, thus leading to the formation of Superior Materials.

Kaolin is a staple of paper production and Edgar Brothers sought more lucrative markets. Joachim found that kaolin was ideal for camouflage paint, a successful market during World War II: a pound of kaolin was mixed into each gallon of camouflage paint. After the war, Edgar Brothers went back to Joachim, who found that kaolin could be useful for inks, paints and coatings as well. Kaolin limits strike-through and also serves as a pigment extender for TiO2 and improves hiding for architectural paints. Seventy years later, the relationship remains as strong as ever.

After a series of acquisitions, including Engelhard, BASF now owns the kaolin operations. Meanwhile Superior Materials is now in its third generation of family leadership.