We are Stockhausen

Stockhausen GmbH traces its beginnings back to a small soap factory that was established in 1873 on the southern outskirts of Krefeld. The co-owner and operations manager was a soap-maker named Philipp Traiser from Württemberg. The textile merchant Julius Stockhausen (1851–1920), from Lindlar near Cologne, joined the company as a senior manager in 1879. On November 1st 1880, the two men founded Crefelder Seifenfabrik Stockhausen & Traiser, a limited partnership that took over the operation of its liquidated predecessor. As before, the company produced a variety of soaps for the textile industry in Krefeld.

Stockhausen took over the business and technical management of the factory after Traiser’s death in 1882. “Marseille soap,” which was used as a detergent and crosslinker in silk and wool fabrication, became the most important product in 1884. Stockhausen improved this product significantly and increased its number of applications. Thanks to close cooperation with customers and the introduction of unusual quality standards, the company enjoyed growing success.

In 1896, Stockhausen had his production process for a gelatinous soap patented. This would later turn into the highly successful “monopole soap,” which was also used in the leather industry. 

The amicable cooperation with the paint factory Friedrich Bayer & Co. of Elberfeld (later Leverkusen) began in January 1907 and lasted 84 years. Bayer signed an export agreement for foreign sales and made a capital investment in Stockhausen & Traiser as a silent partner. Stockhausen also built a second factory on Bäkerpfad 25 in 1907— our headquarters to this day. It manufactured monopole soap and other chemical products, including the leather degreasing agent, Coripol, from 1912. The second plant was incorporated on December 1, 1912 as “Chemische Fabrik Stockhausen & Cie.” The product portfolio included production aids for the textile, leather, and cleaning industry and for pelt refineries. Stockhausen & Cie. also became part of the export agreement with Bayer. This contractual relationship was transferred to I.G. Farbenindustrie AG in 1925. When this company was discontinued in 1945, the export agreement ended and Stockhausen & Cie. had to establish its own international sales organization from 1947. The silent partnership in Stockhausen & Cie. that had existed since 1912 transferred back to Bayer AG in 1951 and was converted to a limited partnership contribution in 1952. The former Hüls AG of Marl acquired this partnership share and some shares of the founding family on July 1, 1991. In 1996, with the merge of Hüls and Degussa, Stockhausen became part of the Degussa-Hüls and later Degussa company, before it became part of the Evonik Industries group in 2007. Chemische Fabrik Stockhausen & Cie. rapidly grew during WWI and was converted to a limited partnership in 1921. At the suggestion of a dermatologist, Stockhausen developed the low-acidity, soap-free skin cleansing product from 1932, which has enjoyed success as “Praecutan” since 1934. The skincare products area based on the former Praecutan department formed the origins of the successful STOKO Skin Care, which grown to the  leading European manufacturer of skin protection, skin cleansing, and skincare products for occupational applications. In 2014 the Skin Care business was sold to Deb and finally went to SC Johnson.

Chemische Fabrik Stockhausen & Cie. rapidly grew during WWI and was converted to a limited partnership in 1921. It patented Praestabitöl V in 1927, which stood out for its special resistance to electrolytes, acids, and bases and was therefore especially useful in the thread, textile, and leather industry as well as in pelt refineries. In 1930, the company introduced a leather grease that, for the time, made it possible to perform greasing processes during mineral tanning. At the suggestion of a dermatologist, Stockhausen developed the low-acidity, soap-free skin cleansing product from 1932, which has enjoyed success as “Praecutan” since 1934. Praecutan underwent dermatological testing even then, and provided a new alternative to eczema patients, who had been told not to wash with soap. At the suggestion of German workers associations, the product was widely used as a skin cleanser in many factories prior to WWII and helped eliminate oil acne, which had been a severe problem until then. During the war, the company sold a heavily diluted version, Praecutan 1941 and the-ever skin protection products. In 1941 Precutan was the most important sales item after the war, but contained replacement substances due to material shortages and fell out of use after the currency reform in 1948. The skincare products area based on the former Praecutan department forms the origins of today's STOKO Skin Care, which is all about skin protection, skin cleansing, and skincare products for occupational applications.

Although the plant on Bäkerpfad in Krefeld had survived the war virtually without damage, business operations and the sales structure had to be reorganized. At the same time, the Krefeld plant began to produce the antifoaming agent Antispumin. In 1952, the company acquired a patent for the quick clarification of cloudy solutions, which it used to develop Praestol, a highly successful flocculation aid. Stockhausen’s sales tripled between 1952 and 1962, and the plant turned into a permanent construction site. After multiple expansions, the premises reached their current size in 1980. In 1979, Stockhausen Inc., which had been established a year prior as a U.S. sales organization, bought a chemical plant in Greensboro, North Carolina. This factory has been producing Stockhausen products for the North American market ever since.

Stockhausen was converted to a limited partnership (GmbH) in 1980, and thorough reorganization took effect on January 1, 1981. With this new structure, customer-related activities, such as marketing, sales and technical service, were integrated into operative areas for textile, leather, water and other industrial aids as well as a skincare unit. The Superabsorber area was added in 1986. The leather unit was merged with TFL GmbH of Weil am Rhein in 1996 and has since been divested. Stockhausen sold the textile unit to Bozzetto GmbH in 2002. The water treatment unit went to Ashland Corp. in 2006, and was renamed 2014 to Solenis in coincidence with the acquisition of the Ashland Water Technology division by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), which has since continued the operation in Krefeld and Greensboro.

The Krefeld plant began its research of Superabsorber in 1976. Superabsorber is a powder that turns into gel once fluid is added. It's mainly made of Acrylic Acid. In 1985, the company developed a process for the manufacture of especially high-value Superabsorber named FAVOR^®. Main applicans are baby diapers, menstrual hygiene and also the non-hygiene sector such as agriculture and food industry. The large-scale production plant for the highly successful FAVOR^® became operational in Krefeld in 1986. Within a few years, three further production facilities followed in Greensboro and Krefeld. Stockhausen acquired a Superabsorber plant in Garyville, Louisiana, in 1998. In 2006, the company also acquired the Superabsorber business of Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, which also brought further Superabsorber production facilities in Rheinmünster, located in southern Germany, into the company portfolio. In 2011 a JV with Tasnee and Sahara has been established for the production of FAVOR^® Superabsorber in Saudi-Arabia. The JV plant started successful production in 2013. In 2023 Evonik sold it’s shares in the JV to the local partner Tasnee and stepped out of the JV. Stockhausen took over the Acrylic Acid facility of Hüls AG in Marl in 1998 and has since produced the most important source material for Superabsorbee on its own. The company contributed the plant between 2001 and 2017 to a joint venture with Rohm & Haas Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which led to a significant expansion of the production. FAVOR^® Superabsorber still has a top position in the global market.