United States. BASF Kaolin and Superior Materials recently celebrated its 70th anniversary at its New York headquarters Superior Materials' Garden City.
As founder of Superior Materials, Ben Joachim discovered the industrial uses of kaolin by Edgar Brothers Clay, predecessor of BASF Kaolin. For his part, Edgar Brothers asked Joachim to market kaolin, which leads to the formation of Superior Materials.
Kaolin is a staple of paper production, and Edgar Brothers was looking for more lucrative markets. Joachim found kaolin to be ideal for camouflage paint, a successful market during World War II: one pound of kaolin was mixed into every gallon of camouflage paint.
After the war, the camouflage paint market dried up, and Edgar Brothers returned to Joachim, who found that kaolin could be useful for inks, paints, and coatings. The kaolin limped the Strike-thru, keeping the ink on the surface of the paper without escaping to the other side. It also serves as an extension pigment for titanium dioxide, and improves clandestinity for architectural paintings.
When asked to distribute kaolin, Joachim formed Superior Materials with his sons-in-law, Fred Kafka and Meyer Budman. Seventy years later, the relationship is still as strong as ever. After a series of acquisitions, including Engelhard, BASF now owns the kaolin operations.
Meanwhile, Superior Materials is in its third generation of family leadership, behind President Steven Kafka, Executive Vice President Ted Budman, and David Kafka's Vice President of Operations. Mateo Kafka, the fourth generation of the family, has recently joined the company as an account specialist.
