Series I. Stauffer Chemical Company Files, 1929-2011, undated

Stauffer Chemical Company was a prominent American chemical manufacturer. The firm was a noted producer of sulfur and sulfur products, agricultural chemicals, silicones, and plastic products. John E. Stauffer and his father Hans Stauffer were both longtime executives with the firm.

Stauffer Chemical Company was founded in San Francisco, California in 1885 by German chemist John Stauffer, Sr. (John E. Stauffer’s great-uncle) and French banker Christian de Guigne I. Originally called Stauffer and Company, the firm initially manufactured calcium carbonate (also called whiting), which it processed from stone ballast salvaged from merchant ships (specifically chalk mined from the White Cliffs of Dover in England). The firm expanded and within a few years was producing several other products, including sulfur, sulfuric acid, soda ash, and carbon bisulfide.

In addition to running his own firm, Stauffer, Sr. established close business relationships with two other Bay Area chemical industry entrepreneurs: John Wheeler and John Reynolds. These three men formed the partnership of Wheeler, Reynolds & Stauffer, which manufactured carbon bisulfide. The partners also established San Francisco Sulphur Company, which was a merger of several Bay Area sulfur refining interests. Stauffer and Wheeler soon bought out Reynolds’ share of these ventures. In 1895, Stauffer and Wheeler merged their respective interests to form Stauffer Chemical Company, which was incorporated in the State of California.

The newly incorporated firm continued to expand. It continued to be a major producer of sulfur and sulfur products. Between 1895 and 1953, Stauffer Chemical extensively diversified its product line, becoming a manufacturer of boric acid, cream of tartar, potassium nitrate, and numerous other chemical products. During this period, the firm built and acquired a number of chemical plants and mines throughout the United States. Stauffer Chemical also acquired interests in several other chemical concerns, including Philadelphia Quartz Company and Consolidated Chemical Industries. The firm also invested in overseas operations, including those in Germany, Australia, and Argentina.

Stauffer Chemical Company underwent a great deal of change during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1953, Stauffer Chemical reorganized itself as a publicly traded concern. A year later, the company relocated its corporate headquarters to New York City. From 1954 to 1967, Hans Stauffer, the nephew of John Stauffer, Sr. and father of John E. Stauffer, served as the president of the firm. Under his leadership, Stauffer Chemical undertook an extensive program of expansion. The firm entered several new fields, including petrochemicals, plastics, phosphorus and phosphate chemicals, organo-metallics, and silicones. Stauffer Chemical acquired several other companies during Hans Stauffer’s presidency, including Victor Chemical Works, Anderson Chemical Company, and Cowles Chemical Company. The firm also became a partner in several joint ventures with other chemical companies during Hans Stauffer’s presidency, including Stauffer-Wacker Silicone Corporation, Stauffer-Hoechst Polymer Corporation, and Texas Alkyls, Incorporated.

Stauffer Chemical Company continued to grow and diversify in the years immediately following Hans Stauffer’s retirement from the presidency and relocated its corporate headquarters to Westport, Connecticut in 1972. The firm encountered a more difficult business climate during the late 1970s and early 1980s, which included becoming the target of a hostile takeover attempt by corporate raider Carl Ichan. In 1985, Stauffer Chemical was purchased by Chesebrough-Ponds Company, which itself was a hostile takeover target. In 1986, Chesebrough-Ponds (including Stauffer Chemical) was purchased by Imperial Chemical Industries, which was subsequently bought by Unilever PLC that same year. Starting in 1987, Stauffer Chemical was subsequently broken up by Unilever, with portions of the company being sold off to Rhone-Poulenc, Incorporated, Akzo, and several other firms.

This series contains John E. Stauffer’s Stauffer Chemical Company Files, which he collected and maintained during his tenure with the firm. The contents of the Stauffer Chemical Company Files are arranged into the following eleven sub-series: