BASF Kaolin &
Superior Materials
Celebrate 70 Years
FEATURE
David Savastano, Editor, Ink World
It is unusual enough for companies to have a relationship for a decade, not to mention 70 years. However, the relation- ship between BASF Kaolin and Superior Materials is unique,
as neither company would be in the successful position it is in
without the other.
Their relationship actually dates back to 1937, when Edgar
Brothers Clay of Metuchen, NJ, asked Ben Joachim of The
Joachim Research Laboratories to ;nd additional applications
for the kaolin they were mining in Georgia. Kaolin, or clay, is an
important ingredient in paper, but Edgar Brothers sought more
pro;table markets.
Joachim found that kaolin could be ideal for camou;age
paint prior to and during World War II, and convinced Edgar
Brothers to make a major investment in equipment.
Once World War II ended, camou;age paint was not needed,
and Edgar Brothers wanted new markets. Once again, Joachim
was asked to ;nd new uses for kaolin, and he found that inks,
paints and coatings would be ideal. Once he did, Edgar Brothers
asked him to sell the kaolin. Thus, in 1946, Joachim founded
Superior Materials with his two sons-in-law, Meyer Budman
and Fred Kafka, and the company continues to thrive.
“Due to the successful partnership between Superior and
BASF, with their successful approach to the marketplace as a
team, there has been continuous and uninterrupted sales to a
number of the same major inks and coatings houses from 1948
to today,” Kafka said.
Today, the distributorship remains family owned, with Steven
Kafka serving as president, Ted Budman as EVP, David Kafka as
VP of operations and Matthew Kafka, representing the fourth
Companies form unique partnership, developing new markets and a company along
the way.
From left, Bill King of Engelhard, Fred Kafka and Meyer Budman of Superior Materials and ; Engelhard’s Mike Lavelle celebrate the two companies’ longstanding relationship in 1977.
