Pilot Chemical is the largest manufacturer of Diphenyl Oxide Disulfonates in the world, a position which was cemented by the acquisition of Olin's disulfonate business in 1998. The company has recently invested significantly in debottlenecking and production upgrades for the Calfax line. Pilot has leading market positions direct and via resellers in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. In addition to SBR Latex, Calfax is used in PVC, acrylic resins and many adhesive formulations. As demands on latex performance grow and as production speeds for paper coating operations increase, the need for high performance surfactants like Calfax is expected to grow at the expense of lower technology soaps traditionally used in emulsion polymerization.
Pilot is an independent company focusing on specialty anionic surfactants.
The Calfax range plays an important role alongside the company's detergent ingredients and lubricant additives - all building on Pilot's core competence in alkylation and sulfonation. In addition to the polymer market, Calfaxes are finding increasing application in cleaning applications. Calfax is now used in laundry and dishwash formulations as well as specialized hard surface cleaners. In the cleaning and detergent market, the Calfaxes play a specialty role alongside Pilot's bulk anionics business in LAS, alcohol sulfates and ether sulfates. The current improved color of the Calfax products is expected to accelerate use especially in consumer cleaning where appearance carries a high premium.