1929
McGean Chemical Company founded in Cleveland, Ohio to produce inorganic and cast nickel anodes.
1931
Cee-Bee Laboratories Ltd. founded in Los Angeles to manufacture industrial cleaners.
1937-1945
McGean acquires New Jersey Antimony Company to become a major supplier of antimony oxide. Over the next 20 years, the company expands its product offerings to include electroplating additives, metallic naphthenates, chrome oxide, and catalyst grade nickel. During this period, McGean was a key supplier of nickel technology for the Manhattan Project.
1945-1950
Cee-Bee laboratories develops a line of formulated products for the aviation market.
1955
Cee-Bee established first international Cee-Bee license with C. Itoh & Company of Japan.
1960
McGean Chemical Company sold to Chemetron Corporation.
1961
Cee-Bee is established in England to supply European aviation market.
1974
McGean re-emerges as independent private company with three business divisions: McGean - Inorganic Chemicals, Cee-Bee - Aviation Products, and Northwest - Industrial Surface Treatments.
1976
McGean acquires Specialty Chrome Chemicals business from Diamond Shamrock, Inc. to become a leader in trivalent chrome technology and products.
1980-1985
McGean acquires the R. O. Hull Company (Est. 1944) from Lubrizol Corporation and changes its name to McGean-Rohco, Inc. With this acquisition, the company became a leader in electroplating and metal finishing technology. McGean obtained operations in England, Mexico, Australia, and Canada. During this period, McGean made several acquisitions to grow its metal finishing business.
1988
McGean sells Antimony Products business to Cookson Group (England) in order to focus on metal finishing, aviation, and specialty chemicals.
1990
McGean establishes McGean-Rohco Singapore (100%) wholly owned subsidiary as a platform for growth in the Asian aviation and specialty chemicals markets.
McGean enters the Custom Manufacuturing business.
McGean acquires Specialty Polymers business from MacDermid to increase its portfolio of metal finishing intermediates and adds additional custom manufacturing capacity.
1991
McGean acquires the Electronic Circuit Board Chemistry business from E.I. DuPont.
1996
McGean establishes first joint venture company in Wuxi, China for promotion of electroplating and metal finishing chemistry.
1997
McGean establishes joint venture in India for promotion of electroplating and metal finishing chemistry.
2001
McGean sells worldwide electroplating, metal finishing, and electronic chemicals business to Atotech (USA/Germany). Through this sale a strategic focus is established on Cee-Bee Aviation Products, McGean Specialty Chemicals, and McGean Custom Chemical Manufacturing.
2005-2008
McGean makes significant investment into existing Cleveland organic reactions facility installing multiple new glass, stainless pressure reactors and process control systems to support strategic growth in Custom Manufacturing and Specialty Chemicals.
2014-2015
The Cleveland organic reaction facility continues expansion with installation of its largest stainless pressure reactor to further support Custom Manufacturing and Specialty Chemicals. Additional expansion at the Livonia, Michigan facility includes a 10,000 square foot warehouse addition, increased blending capacity, and laboratory equipment and office upgrades.
2016
McGean-Rohco Singapore expands warehouse, laboratory, and office facilities to support rapid expansion of Asian aviation market.
2017
Cee-Bee Aviation Materials in Xiamen, China is founded to support Chinese Aviation market growth.