Omya is a leading global producer of industrial minerals, mainly fillers and pigments derived from calcium carbonate and dolomite, and a worldwide distributor of chemical products. Its main segments of activity are: Paper, Paints, Coatings, Adhesives, Plastics, Animal Feed, Food, Construction, Environment and Agriculture. Omya’s roots date back to 1884 when the company was founded by Gottfried Plüss-Staufer in Oftringen, Switzerland. In the beginning the company engaged in the production of glazier’s putty by combining fine chalk with linseed oil.
The use of minerals in papermaking is a practice that has long been known. Owing to the acidic conditions of paper making in former times, kaolin clay and talc were the main materials used as filler. But highly cost efficient and abundant calcium carbonate in combination with a lot of pioneer work of Omya changed the process conditions from acidic to neutral and alkaline some 30 years ago. Its use spread and today it is the most important filler and coating pigment for the paper making process. Today it is natural that almost all paper and cardboard contain calcium carbonate: coated and uncoated, wood-free and wood-containing papers as well as to an increasing extent, board and packaging grades.
Facts and Figures
Founded in 1884
Headquarter in Switzerland
More than 100 locations in over 50 countries
8 000 employees
Cepi partner since 2010