SIC 2861 Gum and Wood Chemicals

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• WORKFORCE.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2861

The gum and wood chemicals industry is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing hardwood and softwood distillation products, natural dyes, tanning materials, and related products. Companies that make synthetic organic tanning materials and synthetic organic dyes are classified in SIC 2869: Industrial Organic Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified and SIC 2865: Cyclic Organic Crudes and Intermediates, and Organic Dyes and Pigments, respectively. Gum and wood chemical producers are part of the larger industrial organic chemical industry.

NAICS CODE(S)

325191

Gum and Wood Chemical Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 55 establishments manufactured gum and wood chemicals in 2004. About a third of businesses had at least 20 employees. These larger operations accounted for more than 90 percent of the industry's shipments. Missouri had the largest concentration of businesses in this classification.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

This industry grew substantially after World War II when construction companies, for example, needed wood treatment chemicals, adhesives, and sealants. The increasing popularity of outdoor barbecue grills during the 1950s and 1960s boosted sales of charcoal briquettes. Revenues and profits declined during the 1980s, however. Synthetic chemicals displaced many natural wood and gum chemicals in everything from dyes to sealants. In addition, environmental laws restricted the burning of charcoal.

Like organic chemicals derived from petroleum and natural gas, thousands of natural chemical products can be distilled from wood. Turpentine, for example, is extracted from pine gum and pine wood. Numerous oils and finishes can also be obtained from pine or other woods, as can many dyes, fuels, and resins.

By the mid-1990s the outlook seemed brighter as environmental concerns about synthetics brought renewed interest in natural chemicals, such as dyes and fuel additives. At that time about 40 percent of the industry's revenues came from sales of hardwood charcoal briquettes, 30 percent came from hardwood distillates such as oak extract, and 17 percent came from softwood distillates such as resin and turpentine.

Most merchandise in this category is sold to individual consumers who primarily purchase charcoal...