About Stepan

Stepan Company and its subsidiaries produce specialty and intermediate chemicals, which are sold to other manufacturers and used in a variety of end products. The company’s products are used in a broad range of customer product applications. The company operates through three reportable segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. Revenue-Generating Products Surfactants are chemical agents that affect the interaction between two surfaces; they can provide actions such as detergency (i.e., the ability of water to remove soil from another surface), wetting and foaming, dispersing, emulsification (aiding two dissimilar liquids to mix), demulsification, viscosity modifications and biocidal disinfectants. Surfactants are the basic cleaning agent in detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, fine fabrics, floors and walls. Surfactants are also used for the same purpose in shampoos, body wash and conditioners, fabric softeners, toothpastes, cosmetics and other personal care products. Commercial and industrial applications include emulsifiers for agricultural products, emulsion polymers, such as floor polishes and latex foams and coatings, wetting and foaming agents for wallboard manufacturing and surfactants for oilfield applications. Polymers, which include polyurethane polyols, polyester resins and phthalic anhydride, are used in a variety of applications. Polyurethane polyols are used in the manufacture of rigid foam for thermal insulation in the construction industry. They are also a raw material base for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE) applications. Polyester resins, which include liquid and powdered products, are used in CASE applications. Phthalic anhydride is used in polyester resins, alkyd resins, and plasticizers for applications in construction materials and components of automotive, boating, and other consumer products and internally in the production of polyols. Specialty Products are chemicals used in food, flavoring, nutritional supplement and pharmaceutical applications. Compliance with Government Regulations The company is subject to extensive environmental, health and safety laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions because the company blends, manages, handles, stores, sells, transports and arranges for the disposal of chemicals, hazardous materials and hazardous waste. These include, without limitation, laws regulating discharges of hazardous substances into the soil, air and water, blending, managing, handling, storing, selling, transporting and disposing of hazardous substances, investigation and remediation of contaminated properties and protecting the safety of the company’s employees and others. Some of these laws and regulations include the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), among others. Some of the company’s operations are required to hold environmental permits and licenses to be compliant and certain of its services businesses are also impacted by these laws. Research and Development The company’s total research and development costs were $40,902,000 in 2022. History Stepan Company was founded in 1932. The company was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware in 1959.