* Year established: 1987
* Employees: Over 160 employees in manufacturing and administration in Tennessee and additional warehousing in Los Angeles, Birmingham (UK), and Rotterdam (Netherlands). Construction currently underway for manufacturing plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
* Milestones: Colonial Chemical Inc. is a privately held manufacturer of specialty surfactants with a focus on developing safe and innovative ingredients for modern formulary. The company supplies high-quality products to the personal care, household, oil and gas, and industrial lubrication marketplaces. Colonial Chemical serves North America and more than 50 countries internationally.
Colonial opened its doors for operations in Dalton, Georgia, then expanded in Chattanooga in 1990. Seeking room for expansion, the company moved to Marion County, Tennessee, in 1996 and started with a 25,000-square-foot facility on 34 acres of land. Today, operations in Marion County exceed 100,000 square feet and over 100 acres of land are available for future growth.
Colonial maintained its relative size throughout the recession beginning in late 2008. In 2012, the Colonial team forged a stronger company based on specific goals that ultimately became its long-term strategic plan for growth. As a result, in one decade the company has grown its annual revenue by over 630% and increased staff from 36 to 164.