Brown Chemical Co., Inc. was founded in 1936 by William Brown. The original site, which
the company still uses today, was located in northeastern New Jersey on Warren Street in
Paterson, the center of what was then a strong textile mill market segment. There were
only 4 employees at the start and the company owned only two trucks. Nevertheless, Brown
managed to establish itself as a reliable source of chemical products for the rapidly
expanding textile and silk finishing industries. Geographically, the company primarily
serviced the northern New Jersey area and had a somewhat limited product line and customer
base.
The company grew in both reputation and size during the chemical industry's explosive
growth immediately after World War II. Employee count increased to five during the period
of 1944 - 1947 to handle the increased business activity. An additional truck was added as
well, bringing the total to three. By this time the company had become well established in
the growing textile trade in all of North Jersey and was looking to expand distribution of
its products into additional markets, such as the chemical manufacturing and metal
treating industries springing up in New Jersey. Arthur Brown, son of the founder, was
working with the company at this time as both sales representative and plant laborer.
William Brown passed away in the year of 1955 and was succeeded by Art Brown.
Under Art Brown's leadership the company continued to grow and invest in new
marketplaces. He realized that the textile industry of northern Jersey, once the dominant
industry of the area, was beginning to succumb to more competitive labor rates of other
states. Therefore, Brown Chemical began to actively pursue additional marketplaces for its
products - specialty chemical manufacturing, industrial and institutional cleaners,
pigments and dyestuffs. Brown also increased its size and marketing areas to coincide with
these additional industries. New products were added to the original product base. By the
end of 1955 Brown Chemical's gross dollars reached the $800,000 mark.
Today Brown Chemical is a major Regional Distributor, with 32 employees and third
generation management. It has outgrown its beginnings in Paterson and expanded to an
additional facility in Oakland, N.J., which now consists of the corporate Headquarters and
general warehouse space of 45,000 square feet. This is also the location of Brown's Kosher
White Room packaging facility, perhaps one of the finest in the region. The company still
maintains its Paterson location, which houses bulk storage tanks and packaging lines.
Paterson has approximately 35,000 square feet and 100,000 gallons of bulk storage. The
customer base has risen from approximately 10 when the company was started to over 1000.
Nine Sales Representatives service this customer base, which is scattered over a 200 mile
radius of northern New Jersey. Today Brown direct - sells, distributes or packages over
1500 products representing 35 major chemical manufacturers.
Brown continues to look toward future markets and future business trends for the direction of the company. A major renovation project is complete at the Paterson bulk storage facility. In addition to renovating or replacing many older storage tanks, several other key features have been added to the location:
Additionally, there are several current projects, which include facilities upgrades,
Remote Tank Monitoring & Vendor Managed Inventory systems and geographic expansion
through acquisition(s).
Brown has several well - defined goals, a few of which can be summed up as follows:
With these goals in mind, Brown Chemical looks forward to moving forward with its third generation and its second 60 years of success for the company, its customers and suppliers.
Call 201-337-0900 or Email to see how Brown can help you!
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Last Updated: 05/01/08