Brand refreshing: We deliver smart material technologies.

Bang & Bonsomer acquires Purfin Oy’s polyurethane business in Finland and the Baltic States.
Investing in shares of the nanocellulose company Betulium Oy helps to complete Bang & Bonsomers goals in material technology. Bang & Bonsomer and Betulium sign a long-term, global development and marketing agreement.

Cosmetics and detergents technical support centre opens in Moscow.
A production unit for manufacturing Polycor® gelcoat is opened at Bang & Bonsomer warehouse in Kokkola, Finland.

Bang & Bonsomer acquires BOCO (Nordic Board Agents and Consultants Ltd) and merges its paper and board business into BU Packaging & Plastics. Bang & Bonsomer acquires master batch producers Unicolor Ab in Sweden and Normatch As in Norway and merges them into the Packaging & Plastics Business Unit. BU Building, Adhesives and Sealants opens a laboratory in Rostov-On-Don, Russia. Bang & Bonsomer acquires the jointly run processing, packaging and warehousing business in Valkeakoski from our partner Movere Oy and continues to run the unit under BU Industrial Chemicals.

2014

BU Food Ingredients opens an application kitchen in Moscow to support our technical sales.

2012

BU Paint & Coatings opens a technical support centre in Rostov-On-Don. Bang & Bonsomer acquires the food ingredients business from Labnet Oy and merges it with our existing Food Ingredients business unit. The business unit undergoes a period of rapid growth.

2011

Bang & Bonsomer has a positive cash flow and is back in growth mode. The company acquires a surface treatment business from Oy Suomen Gutex Ab and merges it into BU Paint & Coatings.

Following the global financial crisis, the company goes through a difficult period with some restructuring and painful cuts. At the age of 70 Mr K.J. Hertell decides to retire as Chairman of the Board. He continues as a member of the board and an active advisor. The new Chairman of the Board, Mr Ralf Klärich, is appointed in December 2009. Mr Mikko Teittinen is appointed as CEO in early 2010. Mr Hertell sells his minority shares in the company to Mr Klärich and Mr Teittinen. The Hertell family retains three seats on the board and the majority of the shares. The market situation slowly improves and business takes off again. In 2010 Bang & Bonsomer invests in equipment and starts a plant in cooperation with Movere Oy in UPM’s pulp factory in Valkeakoski, Finland. The plant starts processing, packing and warehousing chemicals and food and feed additives.

The parent company assumes the name Bang & Bonsomer Group Ab.

The Helsinki warehouse facilities are moved to Kotka, where Bang & Bonsomer to this day has one of Finland’s most modern chemical warehouses.

Bang & Bonsomer now operates in eight countries with a total of 13 offices in addition to its Helsinki headquarters. In July 2000 an office opens in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Bang & Bonsomer has become one of the leading non-Russian distributors of chemicals in the former Soviet Union. Mr Hertell steps down as CEO of the company and continues as Chairman of the Board.

After lengthy negotiations Bang & Co. and Bonsomer Ky are merged into Bang & Bonsomer Ab with Mr Hertell as majority shareholder. Mr Hertell sees the possibilities that exist on the vast market of the former Soviet Union and rapid expansion into the Baltic States and CIS begins.

Bonsomer Ky opens its first foreign office in Tallinn just a few weeks after Estonia regains its independence.

Bonsomer Ky grows strongly on the Finnish market, adding agencies and personnel. In 1979 the founder of Bang & Co, Mr Hans Bang, receives an honorary O.B.E. (the Order of the British Empire) for his contribution to cooperation between the United Kingdom and Finland. Even in his eighties Mr Bang still comes to the office every day, being very much the pillar of the company – now with over a hundred employees.

Mr K.J. Hertell founds Bonsomer Ky, originally a one-man company. The most important principals during the early years are US producers like Morton Chemical (now part of Dow Chemical), Allied Chemical (now part of Honeywell) and Eastman Chemical. These companies are still our partners.

Bang & Co becomes a leading importer of industrial chemicals to Finland.

Very shortly after World War II, Bang & Co is the first Finnish company to import plastics from ICI, which becomes one of the most important principals for decades to come.

In the early days the main products are sulphur, sodium sulphate and china clay for the needs of the growing Finnish paper and pulp industry.

Mr Hans Bang founds Bang & Co. in Helsinki. One of the first principals, the carbon black producer Cabot, is still a partner of ours.