Seatex Makes the Specialty Chemicals American Industry Depends on

Commodity chemicals are appropriate for many applications, but sometimes a tweak to performance, durability, or appearance can only be achieved by using a specific chemical tailor-made for the job.

Seatex is able to manufacture the specialty chemicals that can take your products to the next level. As you’ll see below, we are answering the growing call for custom, high-quality chemicals from businesses across a wide range of fields.

Demand is Growing for Specialty Chemicals

In the developed world, specialty chemical demand is being driven largely by two factors: sustainability and economics.

C&I businesses are attempting to keep up with both public preference and government mandate to develop new chemicals that are healthier, more renewable, bio-friendly, and efficiently produced. They also represent a way to differentiate from the field and corner a niche in a particular sector and secure higher margins.

In the emerging markets of developing nations, the emphasis is on performance and cost-effectiveness, both of which specialty chemicals can provide.

Long-term, many new compounds and polymers will be needed to meet the needs posed by the onset of next-generation technology. Already, artificial intelligence and big data analytics are being used to create those new chemicals that will power new applications and revolutionize existing ones.

Industries Where Seatex is Answering the Call for Specialty Chemicals

Specialty chemicals are the lifeblood of numerous industrial applications for which Seatex is proud to provide products, such as…

Agrochemicals

From gardeners to commercial planters, growers throughout the world depend on agrochemicals to nourish and protect their crops. The threats posed by pests and fungi remain ever-present, while accelerating urbanization and simultaneous losses in farmland have increased the pressure to increase yields on existing farms.

But the high demand for agrochemicals isn’t static. Modern-day agriculture requires pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers and soil conditioners that can defeat weed and pest resistance, meet stricter regulatory standards, and offer low use rate with cost-effective ingredients.

Construction

Rapid urbanization is having an impact on the demand for construction chemicals, as well, along with builders’ desires to see improved strength and workability and fewer needed repairs in their builds. In the aftermath of COVID-19, a growing amount of development and infrastructure projects are launching or resuming around the world, as evidenced by the U.S.’ $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law in late 2021.

Concrete admixtures and curing compounds make up a large portion of this sector, but by no means the entirety. There are also widely used protective coatings such as epoxies and polyurethanes, bonding agents and mould releasing agents, flooring chemicals, foaming agents, polymer-modified and other repair products, and much more.

Textiles

Although we produce simpler commodity chemicals such as bleach for the textile industry, we’re capable of manufacturing the highly specialized biocides, water repellents, warp sizes, flame retardants and other ingredients textile companies depend on. This includes compounds such as sulfonated oils and certain surfactants, which rank as the most in-demand category of chemical in the sector for use as softeners, scouring agents, and dyebath additives.

Whether you’re pre-treating, dyeing, or finishing textiles, our chemicals help improve the look and feel, the durability, and the performance of everything from fashion to automotive textiles.

Water Treatment

A leading driver of demand for specialty chemicals, water treatment is crucial to a wide variety of end uses. One such use is municipal drinking water, a segment that is being fueled by increasing government and public pressure to conserve water and protect lakes and rivers from contaminants such as oil and grease.

Industrial use is another huge source of demand for chemically treated water that reduces corrosion, deposits, and the growth of bacteria on costly equipment. Cooling water–used in refineries, metal foundries, internal combustion engines, and more–alone comprises more than a dozen different classes of water treatment chemicals, such as:

chlorine stabilizers
biopenetrants
deposit control agents
cleaners
phosphorous-free formulations.

Automotive

As combustion engines become more complex and electric vehicles gain popularity, the role of specialty chemical manufacturers in vehicle performance becomes more important than ever. From hybrid cars to the ubiquitous presence of turbocharged engines, the automotive industry requires increasingly specialized and advanced chemicals to make it all possible.

Safety–of both people and the environment–is a major consideration for this chemical class, as well.

Auto manufacturers continue to pursue reductions in carbon emissions, more sustainable plastics under the hood and inside the car, safer materials such as flame-retardant polymers for EVs, high-performing coatings, durability-enhancing additives for tires, and other innovations they rely on chemical producers to provide.

Paper and Pulp

Even in a digital world, paper has enormous utility for producers and consumers alike, from printing and packaging to cleaning, preparing food, art, and even construction. Further upstream from paper there is pulp, which can be found in coffee filters, clothing, stickers, and many other places.

Specialty chemicals in this sector deliver a variety of benefits, depending on the end product, such as brighter whites, improved print quality, enhanced strength, and better repelling of water, oil, and grease. These chemicals include: