Minerals Technologies makes specialty minerals for a wide range of consumer and industrial applications ranging from building, steel, glass, paints, ceramics and paper to the food, pharmaceutical and automotive industries. For example, the firm is the leader in clay-based cat litter. Its biggest business is bentonite, a clay derived from volcanic ash that it mines at sites in Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Alabama, Australia, China and Turkey. The firm also is a leading maker of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), the paper additive that enables manufacturers to make paper recyclable and use significantly less pulp, the raw material from trees. PCC also is used by builders to waterproof concrete.

Credit: Minerals Technologies

Headquartered in New York and Pennsylvania, the company was founded in 1992, in an initial public offering from Pfizer. It has 12 R&D centers worldwide at which it applies its expertise in inorganic chemistry, crystallography, structural analysis, fine particle technology and material science. The company has 338 patents and 1,706 trademarks and considers its extensive minerals technology expertise to be a differentiator. In the past five years Minerals Technologies reduced its product time from development to market in half, leading to the launch of 44 new products last year while also introducing new eco-friendly packaging, biodiesel fuel purification, recycling, contaminated water and waste site cleanup, and emission and energy reductions.

In recent news, the firm has inked deals to set up PCC plants on site at paper mills in China and North America. The firm sees future growth in two areas: first, its consumer products business where it makes additives for pet care, personal care, food and pharmaceutical applications, and second, its metalcasting business for mining and manufacturing.

Credit: Minerals Technologies

As of 6/30/21, Minerals Technologies was held in the Knowledge Leaders Strategy.