- CEO
- Luis E. Rojo
- Full Time Employees
- 2,328
- Sector
- Basic Materials
- Industry
- Chemicals - Specialty
- Address
- 1101 Skokie Boulevard Northbrook IL United States of America 60062
- IPO Date
- Feb 21, 1973
- Business
- Stepan Company Stepan Company manufactures specialty and intermediate chemicals for consumer and industrial applications worldwide. Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, the company operates through three main segments: surfactants, polymers, and specialty products; it serves industries including household and personal care, agriculture, oilfield, construction, food and nutrition, and pharmaceuticals with manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. Its surfactant portfolio, for which it claims status as the world's largest merchant producer of anionic surfactants, encompasses sulfonates, sulfates, phosphate esters, amphoterics, quaternaries, and nonionics used in detergents, shampoos, cleaners, crop protection formulations, fabric softeners, emulsifiers, dispersants, and tank mix adjuvants under brands such as STEPAN®, TOXIMUL®, STEPFAC™, STEPSPERSE®, STEPWET®, STEPOSOL®, STEP-FLOW®, and HALLCOMID®; the polymers segment offers polyester polyols for rigid foam insulation in construction, refrigeration, and CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers) applications; while specialty products include ingredients for antimicrobials, flavors, nutritional supplements, emulsion polymerization, phthalic anhydride, and pharmaceutical excipients, notably processing coca leaf extracts for beverages like Coca-Cola and supplying cocaine derivatives for medicinal use.
Stepan Company maintains a broad global footprint with approximately 2,000 employees and sites supporting diverse markets from personal care foaming agents to agricultural dispersants and wetting agents, including advanced formulation services for organic farming and green solvents like methyl esters derived from soybean oil. In recent developments, the company completed the sale of its Philippine subsidiary Stepan Philippines Quaternaries Inc. (SPQI) manufacturing facility to Musim Mas's Masurf Inc. on November 14, 2025, establishing a tolling arrangement to ensure continued Southeast Asian customer service while streamlining focus on core growth assets. Earlier, Stepan boosted its alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) production capacity by 25% through capital investments and process enhancements, and it expanded alkoxylation capabilities with a $245 million investment in Pasadena, Texas, set for early operations.