Our company

Dedicated to customers

We provide solutions to the flexible packaging, cosmetics and industrial coating segments

Nitro Quimica is a Brazilian-based, privately held, globally leading provider of nitrocellulose-based chemical specialties. We have recently experienced strong expansion in both local and global markets, growing our presence and enhancing our service to the markets where we operate.

Operating out of Brazil, the US and Austria, we export to more than 70 countries on all continents, offering chemical solutions that improve people's lives and our customers’ business performance. We primarily supply to the flexible packaging, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, wood coatings, automotive refinishing and leather segments.

In recent years we have delivered strong financial results and consistent annual revenue growth of over 10%. This growth has benefited our employees directly through new professional opportunities, investment in training and development, and workforce expansion of more than 25% in the last 5 years.

Our headquarters are located in the Sao Paulo district of Sao Miguel Paulista, home to 70% of our employees. Nitro Quimica is committed to social and environmental sustainability as a requirement given the nature of our operations. We engage with regulatory agencies and communities to discuss issues such as health, safety and the environment. Our social and environmental policies conform, and were certified in 2016, to the Responsible Care Management Framework developed by the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association (ABIQUIM) (read more about the program in Risks ans Safery).

Brazil

São Paulo (SP) – Head Office, Manufacturing Sites and Research and Development Center

US

Atlanta, GA – Alchemix – Manufacturing Plant and Research & Development Center

Two Distribution Centers: Atlanta – GA New Jersey – NJ

Europe

Vienna (Austria) – Regional Offices

Distribution Centers:
Le Havre (France)
Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Tavazzano (Italy)

Nitro Quimica’s flagship product is nitrocellulose, a resin used in the manufacture of paints and varnishes. Nitrocellulose has high sustainability value as a product deriving from cellulose, a substance derived from either wood or cotton linter, both of which are renewable raw materials. Originally a supplier of nitrocellulose in cotton form, since 2013 the Company has intensified investments in research and development to continue to meet customer’s evolving needs and diversify our portfolio to include higher engineered products. Learn about our product ranges below:

The NQ COTTON range spans our entire portfolio of industrial-grade nitrocellulose in cotton form, with a variety of viscosity and nitrogen content options. NQ COTTON can be damped in isopropanol or ethanol. Our ethanol-damped nitrocellulose product has set the standard for sustainability in the coatings market with its biorenewable materials content of up to 80%.

The NQ SOLVE range of nitrocellulose-based solutions can be fully customized to customer needs and the application. By choosing NQ SOLVE, customers eliminate the cotton nitrocellulose dissolution step and can focus their efforts on what they do best: formulating and manufacturing coatings.

Developed for coatings manufacturers, the NQ SYSTEM range offers plasticized nitrocellulose solutions tailored to the needs of each customer. The NQ SYSTEM range allows one-step formulation of concentrated bases and varnishes.

NQ SYSTEM+ offers complete chemical systems of nitrocellulose, solvents, plasticizers and supplementary resins developed for each application. It improves productivity by eliminating multiple process steps in the manufacture of coatings.

Nitro Quimica's premium product range, with best-in-class performance in terms of optical properties, viscosity and water content. This range spans all product categories: NQ PRISMA COTTON, NQ PRISMA SOLVE, NQ PRISMA SYSTEM and NQ PRISMA SYSTEM +.

An industrial-grade product supplied to the local pulp and paper, sugar and ethanol, sulfates, fertilizers and chemicals industries.

New Product Launches in 2016

Five new products were launched and by year-end had reached a revenue share of slightly more than 10%.

NQ PRISMA SYSTEM + 2000 Series

Intermediate varnishes for nail polish formulations, containing nitrocellulose, supplementary resin, plasticizer and solvents. This product range delivers significant productivity improvements.

NQ PRISMA SYSTEM + 2100 Series

Intermediate varnishes for nail polish formulations, containing nitrocellulose, solvents and supplementary resin. This product range is produced with hypoallergenic components such as ATBC and acrylic resin.

NQ PRISMA SYSTEM 2000 Series

Also developed for the cosmetics segment, the NQ PRISMA SYSTEM 2000 range comprises intermediate bases produced by dissolution of plasticized nitrocellulose in the primary solvents used in this segment. The products in this range allow customers to formulate varnishes and pigment bases for nail polishes in a one-step process.

NQ SYSTEM + 4000 Series

Semi-finished chemical systems formulated by dissolution of nitrocellulose and supplementary resins in the primary solvents used in the wood coatings segment.

NQ ACQUASYS 6000 Series

An example of Nitro Quimica’s efforts to develop sustainable products, NQ ACQUASYS comprises a range of water-based chemical systems used in formulating water-based-varnishes for intermediate and topcoats for leather treatment.

A continuing drive for innovation and improvement

In 1935, two visionary entrepreneurs – Wolf Klabin and Jose Ermirio de Moraes – co-founded Companhia Nitro Quimica Brasileira, Brazil’s first chemical company. The project went from idea to startup ceremony – with the then president Getúlio Vargas in attendance – in only five years, during a period of social and political turmoil. With many products in short supply during World War II, Nitro Quimica grew and expanded its portfolio to become the largest wholly Brazilian-owned chemical company in the country.

Beginning in 1955, further diversification was achieved through the construction of dedicated manufacturing sites for carbon disulfide, viscose flakes, caustic soda and derivative products, sulfuric acid, viscose yarn for tires, and cotton linter cellulose.

A company reorganization fifteen years later provided the economic strength and expanded capabilities needed to serve both local and global markets. At a time when computers were just beginning to find their way into industry, Nitro Quimica built its first data center and implemented its Quality Program. Under the Company’s new human resources policy, managers were well aware of the importance of a good academic background and valued employee development, competencies and dedication.

With environmental stewardship and social responsibility already high on the company’s agenda for more than 25 years, Nitro Quimica undertook extensive investment, developing the most modern nitrocellulose plant in the world.

The Company continued to innovate in the 2000s, developing a new plant to build the production capacity needed to meet growing global demand for nitrocellulose.

In 2011, Faro Group acquired 100% ownership of Nitro Quimica and, three years later, the company developed a new nitrocellulose-based solutions plant to provide customized products to customers.

Internationalization was a significant milestone for the Company in 2016. To build a closer presence to customers in the different regions where we operate, Nitro Quimica set up a new regional office in Vienna, Austria during the year. The Company also acquired Alchemix, a producer of nitrocellulose-based solutions based in Atlanta.

In addition to growing our international presence, the year also saw an increased focus on innovation and portfolio expansion, including investment in our Research and Development Center, manufacturing facilities and new product launches that will continue to support our sustainable growth.

We continually invest in the development of our employees

Nitro Quimica ended 2016 with a workforce of 885 people at our headquarters site in Sao Paulo. All employees, except third-party employees and apprentices, work full time. We are supported by 386 third-party employees at our operations, of which less than 5% are freelance workers. Our workforce is subject to seasonal fluctuation during the maintenance turnaround of the sulfuric acid plant, when approximately 150 third-party workers are typically employed over a period of 45 days.