Merichem Company was founded in 1945 with a good idea: recovering and manufacturing cresylic acids from refinery co-products. By 1949, the small chemical firm was producing cresylic acids and sodium sulfides at a facility near the ship channel in Houston, Texas, USA. Previously available only from coal tar, these important intermediate chemicals rapidly won wide market acceptance because of their high performance. Over the years, Merichem expanded and diversified into businesses for technology and equipment, as well as other chemical products. In 1997, Merichem’s phenolics business was placed in a joint venture with Sasol, Ltd. of South Africa forming a group of companies under the name Merisol.

Today, Merichem is considered a world leader in providing services for management of caustic streams; the development, engineering, fabrication, and sale of innovative technologies for treating H2S, mercaptans, and other impurities in gas and middle distillate streams; and the production of catalysts for treating processes and naphthenic chemicals for a variety of industries. From research facilities in Houston, Texas, Merichem continues to create, innovate, and support new products, technologies and services for the industries it serves. With offices in Texas, Illinois, Alabama, United Kingdom and Japan, Merichem is actively engaged meeting the needs of our customers throughout the world.