Koch Industries facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | February 8, 1940 |
| Founder | Fred C. Koch |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Charles Koch (Chairman & co-CEO) Dave Robertson (co-CEO & vice chairman) Jim Hannan (president & COO) |
| Products | Asphalt, chemicals, raw materials trading, energy, fibers, fertilizers, finance, minerals, natural gas, plastics, petroleum, pulp and paper, ranching |
| Revenue | US$125 billion (2021) |
| Owner | Charles Koch (42%) Heirs of David Koch (42%) Trusts for the benefit of Elaine Tettemer Marshall, Preston Marshall, and E. Pierce Marshall Jr. (16%) |
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Number of employees
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120,000 (2022) |
| Subsidiaries | Georgia-Pacific, Guardian Industries, Flint Hills Resources, Invista, Molex, Infor, Matador Cattle Company |
Koch Industries, Inc. is a huge American company based in Wichita, Kansas. It's one of the largest private companies in the United States. This means its shares aren't traded on a stock market.
Koch Industries and its many smaller companies (called subsidiaries) make and sell all sorts of products. These include things like petroleum (oil), chemicals, energy, fibers, fertilizers, and pulp and paper products. They also work with minerals, natural gas, and plastics. Some of their well-known companies are Georgia-Pacific, Guardian Industries, Invista, and Molex. Koch Industries has about 122,000 employees in 60 countries around the world.
The company was started by Fred C. Koch in 1940. He created a new way to refine crude oil. After Fred C. Koch passed away in 1967, his sons took over. Today, Charles Koch and the heirs of his brother David Koch are the main owners. Charles Koch has said that the company will stay private so it can focus on long-term growth and new investments.
Contents
The History of Koch Industries
How the Company Started
In 1925, Fred C. Koch joined an engineering company in Wichita, Kansas. It was called Winkler-Koch Engineering Company. In 1927, they invented a better way to turn crude oil into gasoline. This new method was very efficient.
Because of lawsuits from bigger oil companies, Winkler-Koch started working in other countries. They built many oil refining units, including some in the Soviet Union. Fred Koch didn't like the way things were run there. In the 1930s, his company built refineries in nine different countries.
In 1940, Fred Koch started a new company called Wood River Oil and Refining Company. This company bought an oil refinery and a system to collect crude oil in Oklahoma in 1946. Later, Wood River was renamed Rock Island Oil & Refining Company. Fred's son, Charles Koch, joined the company in 1961 and became its leader in 1966.
Growing into Koch Industries
In 1968, the Wood River Oil and Refining Company was renamed Koch Industries to honor Fred Koch. At that time, it was mainly an engineering company. It also owned part of Great Northern Oil Company, which had an oil refinery in Minnesota and some cattle ranches.
Charles Koch helped the company grow by buying more parts of Great Northern Oil Company. The Pine Bend Refinery, which was part of Great Northern, made many products like chemicals, fibers, and asphalt.
In 1970, Charles's brother, David Koch, joined the company. David became the president of Koch Engineering in 1979. In 1979, Koch Industries also bought 780 car dealerships.
In 1983, two of Fred Koch's sons, Frederick R. Koch and William "Bill" Koch, sold their shares in the company. This made Charles Koch and David Koch the main owners.
Koch Industries continued to grow by buying other companies. In 2001, they bought KoSa, which was a very large producer of polyester. In 2005, they acquired Georgia-Pacific, a huge company that makes paper and building materials. In 2013, they bought Molex, a company that makes electronic parts.
In 2014, Koch Industries and another company bought Flint Group, which makes printing ink. That same year, Koch Industries and the Charles Koch Foundation gave $25 million to the United Negro College Fund to help students get scholarships.
In 2015, Koch Industries joined the "Ban the Box" movement. This means they removed questions about past criminal convictions from their job applications. This helps people who have been in trouble in the past find work.
In 2017, Koch Disruptive Technologies was created. This is a part of the company that invests in new and exciting technologies. In 2021, a large ranch owned by a Koch Industries company was sold for $200 million.
In 2023, Koch Industries changed its leadership structure. Charles Koch stayed as chairman and became co-CEO with Dave Robertson. Jim Hannan was named President and COO.
What Koch Industries Owns
Koch Industries owns many different companies that do various things. Here are some of the main ones:
Infor
Infor is a company that focuses on cloud computing. Koch Industries invested a lot of money in Infor and then bought the rest of the company in 2020. Cloud computing helps businesses store and access information online.
Flint Hills Resources
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Flint Hills Resources is a company that refines oil and makes chemicals. It sells gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products like asphalt for roads and roofs. They have oil refineries and chemical plants in several states. The Pine Bend Refinery in Minnesota can process a huge amount of crude oil every day.
Koch Pipeline Company
Koch Pipeline Company is part of Flint Hills Resources. It owns and operates about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of pipelines. These pipelines are used to transport petroleum, natural gas liquids, and chemicals across different states and into Canada.
Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific is one of America's largest companies that makes forest products. They specialize in pulp and paper and building materials. They make many household products you might know, like Brawny paper towels, Angel Soft toilet paper, Dixie cups, and Quilted Northern toilet paper. Koch Industries fully acquired Georgia-Pacific in 2005.
Guardian Industries
Guardian Industries is a company that makes glass and products for cars and buildings. They make flat glass and special glass products for homes, businesses, and vehicles. They have operations all over the world.
Invista
Invista is a company that makes polymers and fibers. They are known for products like "Stainmaster" carpet. Koch Industries bought Invista from another company called DuPont.
Koch Ag & Energy Solutions
Koch Ag & Energy Solutions makes products for farming and energy. This includes fertilizer and other plant nutrients for farms and gardens. They also provide special products and technology for the energy and chemical industries. Koch Fertilizer is one of the world's largest makers of nitrogen fertilizers.
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Koch Chemical Technology Group
This group of companies designs and builds equipment to control pollution and purify water. They also provide engineering services for different industries around the world.
Koch-Glitsch
Koch-Glitsch is part of the Chemical Technology Group. They create equipment used in refineries and chemical plants. They also have joint ventures that supply water purification plants and specialized systems for chemical processes.
Koch Minerals
Koch Minerals manages large amounts of dry goods like coal and other raw materials. They are also involved in finding and producing oil and gas, and investing in other markets like steel.
Koch Supply & Trading
Koch Supply & Trading companies buy and sell many different products around the world. These include crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, and even things like renewable energy and metals.
Molex
Molex makes electronic parts called connectors and sensors. These are used in many devices, including those for data, telecommunications, cars, aerospace, and health technology.
Environmental and Safety Efforts
Koch Industries works to improve its environmental and safety practices. For example, they have invested in better equipment to prevent pollution at their refineries. They have also partnered with organizations like the Wildlife Habitat Council on conservation projects.
In the past, there have been incidents where pipelines broke or oil spilled, leading to environmental damage. For example, in 1994, a pipeline broke and spilled oil into a creek in Texas, affecting wildlife. In 1999, a refinery in Minnesota accidentally discharged aviation fuel and wastewater. Koch Industries has paid fines and worked to improve its systems to prevent such incidents in the future.
The company has also joined the "Ban the Box" movement, which helps people with past criminal convictions find jobs. They also support employees who serve in the National Guard of the United States.
How Koch Industries is Involved in Politics
Fred C. Koch was one of the founders of the John Birch Society, which was against communism. His son, Charles Koch, helped start the Cato Institute, a research organization that supports free markets. Koch Industries also has a group called KochPAC that contributes to political campaigns.
Koch Industries often supports policies related to taxes, energy, and financial rules. They have been criticized by some environmental groups for their views on climate change policy.
The company generally supports free market ideas and has spoken out against certain government regulations, like those that might make it harder for refineries to operate. Charles Koch has written about why Koch Industries speaks out on these issues, saying they want to support politicians who are working to solve problems like government spending.
See also
In Spanish: Koch Industries para niños
- Energy in the United States
- Koch family
- List of largest companies by revenue
- Petrochemical industry
