Brenntag SE

Overview

Brenntag SE is a global distributor of chemicals and ingredients, connecting producers with industrial and specialty-chemical customers. Its business combines sourcing, storage, repackaging and delivery with related services. The company operates through Brenntag Essentials, which supplies process chemicals across industries, and Brenntag Specialties, which focuses on ingredients and value-added services for areas including life science and material science.[1]+2

Brenntag reports operations in more than 70 countries, around 600 distribution locations and more than 17,300 employees. Its FY2025 sales were €15.2 billion.[4][5] The company describes its purpose as connecting products, knowledge and innovation to foster a sustainable future and care for human needs. Founded in Berlin in 1874, it began trading chemicals in 1912.[6][7] [3]+6

Products & services

Brenntag’s portfolio comprises around 20,000 chemicals and ingredients. Its Essentials range includes broad process-chemical portfolios, while Specialties supplies ingredients and application-focused products for Nutrition, Pharma, Beauty & Care, coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers, construction, polymers and rubber.[8]+2 Examples include sodium hydroxide (caustic soda; CAS 1310-73-2), supplied in liquid and solid forms such as flakes, prills and briquettes; 50% liquid citric acid (CAS 77-92-9); hydrogen peroxide (CAS 7722-84-1); and DOWANOL™ PNP propylene-glycol-ether solvent.[11]+3 Reported applications include food and beverages, cleaning, disinfection, water and wastewater treatment, pharmaceuticals, bleaching, and resins and coatings.[12]+2

Services include just-in-time delivery, product mixing and repackaging, inventory management, drum-return handling, recycling, technical and formulation support, regulatory expertise, and application, marketing and supply-chain solutions.[8] Its water-treatment offering covers the water cycle from raw-water pretreatment to sludge dewatering, supported by application expertise and centers of excellence.[15][16] Innovation and application services include formulation development, prototyping, testing and technical advice; blending and formulation capabilities were further expanded in the UK in 2026.[17]+2 The 2026 first-half report recorded €35 million in service sales and €7,890 million in goods sales—approximately 0.4% of their combined sales, calculated; no product-category sales percentages were identified.[20] [8]+12

Geographic presence

Brenntag operates through a network of around 600 locations in more than 70 countries. Its geographic presence spans EMEA, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific; its location directory includes headquarters, sales offices, and warehouses. The company’s country listings include, among others, Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Uganda.[21]+2

Brenntag Essentials discloses sales by region, while Specialties is reported by global business lines rather than the same regional breakdown. In FY2025, Essentials sales were €10,370.3 million: North America €4,694.1 million (45.3%), EMEA €3,607.6 million (34.8%), Latin America €968.4 million (9.3%), APAC €823.8 million (7.9%), and trans-regional sales €276.4 million (2.7%). These figures describe Essentials, not the Group’s full sales by geography; country-level revenue was not identified in the reviewed disclosures.[23][24]

In H1 2026, Essentials external sales totaled €5,399 million: North America €2,386 million (44.2%), EMEA €1,955 million (36.2%), Latin America €525 million (9.7%), APAC €381 million (7.1%), and trans-regional sales €152 million (2.8%).[25]

At FY2025 year-end, Brenntag had 17,236 employees: 7,800 in EMEA (45.3%), 5,269 in North America (30.6%), 1,834 in Latin America (10.6%), and 2,333 in Asia Pacific (13.5%). The FY2025 country listings also identify local entities in cities including Buenos Aires, Mulgrave, Jakarta, Be’er Ya’akov, and Riyadh.[26][27] [21]+6

Business segments

Brenntag reports two divisions: Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties. Essentials markets process chemicals across industries and applications through the reportable segments EMEA, North America, Latin America, APAC, and Transregional; Transregional covers international bulk-chemical buying and selling by BRENNTAG International Chemicals GmbH. Specialties is organized into Life Science, Material Science, and Specialties Other. Life Science serves Nutrition, Pharma, and Beauty & Care; Material Science focuses mainly on CASE (Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Elastomers), Construction, Polymers, and Rubber; Specialties Other comprises activities outside the first two areas.[10][9]

Based on H1 2026 external sales, Brenntag Essentials contributed €5.399bn, approximately 68.1% of group sales of €7.925bn, while Brenntag Specialties contributed €2.526bn, approximately 31.9%. Within Specialties, Life Science contributed €1.594bn (about 20.1% of group sales), Material Science €892m (about 11.3%), and Specialties Other €40m (about 0.5%). Essentials’ regional and transregional contributions were EMEA €1.955bn (about 24.7%), North America €2.386bn (about 30.1%), Latin America €525m (about 6.6%), APAC €381m (about 4.8%), and Transregional €152m (about 1.9%). Percentages are approximate, based on reported H1 external sales, and may not sum exactly due to rounding.[28]+2 [10]+4

Company history

Founded in Berlin in 1874 by Philipp Mühsam as an egg wholesaler, Brenntag expanded to London in 1877 and entered chemical trading in 1912. In 1937, the company adopted the Brenntag name; Brenntag’s account notes that this followed the Stinnes family’s “Aryanization” of the business. Its headquarters moved to Mülheim an der Ruhr in the 1940s.[7]+2

A major international expansion came in 2000 with the acquisition of Holland Chemical International, which strengthened Brenntag’s presence in several regions, including Latin America. Brenntag’s shares began trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2010. Later expansion included the 2017 acquisition of a majority stake in Wellstar, the 2018 acquisition of Quimitécnica, and the 2021 acquisition of JM Swank.[32]+4

In 2020, Brenntag announced a global operating model organized around two divisions, Essentials and Specialties, which took effect in January 2021. The company said the transformation was completed in 2022.[36][37] [7]+9

Sources

• corporate.brenntag.com[1]
• corporate.brenntag.com[2]
• Brenntag SE — Full financial report (2025 Y)
  7 citations

  [3][8][15][16][21][26][27]
• corporate.brenntag.com[4]
• annualreport.brenntag.com[5]
• corporate.brenntag.com[6]
• corporate.brenntag.com[7]
• Brenntag SE — Full financial report (2026 Q 2)
  7 citations

  [9][10][19][20][25][28][29]
• www.brenntag.com[11]
• www.brenntag.com[12]
• www.brenntag.com[13]
• www.brenntag.com[14]
• www.brenntag.com[17]
• www.brenntag.com[18]
• corporate.brenntag.com[22]
• Brenntag SE — Additional data (2025 Y)[23][24]
• corporate.brenntag.com[30]
• corporate.brenntag.com[31]
• corporate.brenntag.com[32]
• corporate.brenntag.com[33]
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• corporate.brenntag.com[36]
• corporate.brenntag.com[37]