Sonneborn is Marking 120 Years in Business With Continued Innovation and Sustainable Solutions
Celebrating 120 years in business, Sonneborn is a leading global manufacturer of high-purity specialty products for several markets, including industrial, polymers and adhesives, personal care, and pharmaceutical. With world-class expertise, flexible manufacturing capabilities, and state-of-the-art production facilities, customers can rest assured that they will receive exceptional service from a competent partner.
We’re joined by Matthew Joyce, Senior Vice President, Lubricants & Specialties, to learn more about the brand’s evolution. Throughout our discussion, Mr. Joyce emphasized that innovation has been a key element of Sonneborn’s longevity and continues to be at the core of the brand’s strategy.
“It’s an incredible milestone to reach 120 years in business,” Matthew opens. “Sonneborn is part of HF Sinclair’s Lubricants & Specialties segment, and we operate facilities across the United States and Europe. Specifically, our site in Petrolia, Pennsylvania, was the first white oil producer in the U.S. and continues to be a market leader in the production of petrolatum.”
“Our facility in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is also a tremendous asset, as it enables us to supply markets across Europe, Asia, Africa, India, and the Middle East. We’ve recently formed a strategic partnership with the Dutch company, IMCD, to bring our specialties portfolio to new markets and strengthen our position in the European, Asian, and African markets.
“Over the last 120 years, we’ve gained a deep understanding of the markets in which we operate, truly understanding our customers and turning their challenges into opportunities for both parties,” he reflects. “While we’ve consistently provided reliable products to the markets we serve, we’ve also innovated in response to market requirements and needs. One of Sonneborn’s greatest value propositions is our ability to engage with clients to create custom formulations and generate solutions that provide optimum results, increasing success for both our and our customers’ businesses.”
With innovation at its core, several of Sonneborn’s investments focus on boosting its internal research and development capabilities to enable the business to succeed in the next century. “I’m a strong believer in the intersection of innovation, technology, and chemistry,” Matthew states. “Formulations are constructed when molecules are bent and new technology is invented in laboratories, so it’s crucial that we provide our talented team with the tools, resources, and work environment to stimulate ideas for the invention of new technologies.
“We decided to upgrade our Breth Laboratory in our Petrolia facility, by adding new state-of-the-art equipment and implementing technological capabilities to enhance research and development. Aside from enabling us to handle more complex and diverse research projects, it also acts as a showpiece site to demonstrate our commitment to innovation to both our customers and our employees.
“For example, the ability to develop sustainable solutions with not only our hydrocarbon-based technologies but also with other natural ingredients. Our recent focus has been on broadening our SonneNatural product line, strengthening our presence in the personal care market.”
On the topic of sustainability, Matthew continues: “We must find opportunities to innovate to further develop the value associated with sustainable solutions. As our customers also embrace sustainability, there are opportunities for collaboration to turn challenges into opportunities, and as we do so, we also attract new clients.”
“We have an incredible pilot plant within our Petrolia site that allows us to generate certain scalability on research projects from both our European and North American technology teams. We’ve also been a major player in thermal management for several years, which is set to become a bigger issue as our environment continues to demand higher power densities. Whether it’s to power electric vehicles, power AI, or strengthen energy grids, we must explore what the increased needs and challenges around thermal management might be.
“Take data centers, for instance; these developments are calling for more power density and computing power for silicon chips, as well as being cooled by HVAC units, which consume vast quantities of energy and water. At Sonneborn, we’ve developed and patented a technology that will allow for thermal management via dielectric fluid. Both the chips and the entire server board can be immersed in the fluid and still work effectively while dissipating thermal heat that can be regenerated through a chilling process to serve another third party.
“It not only allows the chips to run more efficiently but also results in significant reductions in the consumption of energy and water. We are ecstatic about the potential of this technology, and we’re excited to unveil it in more detail at the OCP Conference at Silicon Valley in October.”
As our conversation ends, Matthew shares Sonneborn’s priorities for the coming years. “We’ve been focused on internal efficiency, and going into 2025, our priority is continued operational excellence and winning value propositions where we get genuine recognition from our customers,” he concludes. “We’re coupling that with the development of transformational technology and sustainable solutions to take us through our next 120 years.”