To mark the company's 150th anniversary, Brenntag has commissioned renowned historians, in cooperation with the Society for Corporate History, to conduct a thorough review of its own history.

The book “150 Years of Brenntag – From Berlin out into the World“ provides a comprehensive insight into the multifaceted history of today’s global market leader and sheds light on the so far rarely researched history of chemical distribution

The book release is a highlight of a series of celebrations this year with which Brenntag is paying tribute to its history and the people who have shaped the company.

Brenntag, the global market leader in chemicals and ingredients distribution, announces the publication of “150 Years of Brenntag – From Berlin out into the World” to mark the company's special anniversary.

The book offers a thoroughly researched overview of the history of the company, which was founded in 1874 by Jewish entrepreneur Philipp Mühsam as an egg wholesaler in Berlin, as well as the history of chemical distribution, which has rarely been illuminated in economic history literature to date.

The historians D. Stephanie Tilly and Prof. Dr Christopher Kopper have compiled a detailed history of the company. Based on a wide range of sources, which were identified and evaluated in a research project lasting around two years, the authors trace the impressive 150-year history of Brenntag to today's DAX40 company, which was characterized by constant development in changing political and economic circumstances.

”Looking back on our own company history offers the opportunity to reflect on the people and challenges that have shaped our company over the years. It was a matter close to my heart to have this history comprehensively reappraised for our anniversary, even the aspects where shadows weigh on it. A better understanding of the successes, setbacks and experiences of the past will help us to be successful in the future and to act responsibly. Brenntag has constantly changed and developed, and we continue to do so today in order to actively shape our markets as a global market leader,” says Dr Christian Kohlpaintner, CEO of Brenntag SE.

The period before and after the Second World War, the affiliation with the Stinnes Group, the rise of global chemical production and trade, and the internationalization of the business were particularly formative for Brenntag’s development.

“Brenntag’s unusual history goes back to the 19th century. A company that traded in grain, eggs and butter developed into the chemicals trading company Philipp Mühsam AG,” explains Prof. Dr Christopher Kopper, author and expert in economic and corporate history. “It was not until the ‘Aryanization’ by the industrialist Stinnes family in 1937 that the name was changed to ‘Brennstoff-, Chemikalien- und Transport AG’, or Brenntag for short.”

Dr Stephanie Tilly, economic and corporate historian, comments: “Brenntag's business scope grew in line with the chemicalization of the world. After the Second World War, the company became increasingly international, but was also active in trade between Western and Eastern Germany. Drawing on a wide range of sources, we show how the domestic market-oriented family business advanced to become a listed global player over the course of its 150-year existence.”

Headquartered in Essen, Germany, today Brenntag operates about 600 sites in more than 70 countries, and, with more than 17,700 employees, serves thousands of customers with a unique range of industrial and specialty chemicals, products and value-added services. The company has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2010 and in the DAX since 2021.