Koch Industries, headquartered in Kansas, USA, is the largest unlisted company in the world. With annual sales of over US$50 billion, its operations span a wide range of sectors: typically, crude oil extraction, refining, trading, pipeline transportation, agriculture and livestock, financial services, and road asphalt. Koch also owns the largest LPG processing group in North America, accounting for 25% of the total North American market. In the original trading sector, Koch trades over 700 million tons per year. Koch is also the sixth largest supplier of electricity in the United States, with operations in all fifty states. Its subsidiary, Koch Materials Corporation, is one of the world's largest specialist road asphalt producers and suppliers, with a successful 55-year track record as a world leader in the development and production of road asphalt products for application. At the same time, Koch Materials is the foremost participant in the US Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) and the Koch Asphalt Specification is certified by the US Federal Highway Administration as a national specification alongside the SHRP specification.
Historical Development.
Founded in 1918, Koch Industries is a typical family-owned company, currently headed by the second generation of Kochs, Charles Koch and David Koch, as Chairman and CEO. The company has a credit rating of Aa1 with Moody's Investors Service and an AA+ rating with Standard & Poor's.
At the heart of the Koch group of companies are oil and chemicals, and in 1940 the founder of the Koch family built an oil refinery and thus began the great journey of Koch. Today, Koch Industries is run by his two sons. Koch's growth was made possible by a series of acquisitions that drew mainly on the family's own capital rather than on capital market financing. To ensure the Koch family's control, they established the Koch Family Foundation and also set up their own think tank. They are also very politically active.
KoSa, a manufacturer of commodities, specialty polyester fibres, polymers and chemical intermediates, became an associated company of the Koch Industries Group in 1998.
In 2005, Koch Industries overtook Cargill to become the world's largest privately held company. 2006 saw Koch Industries' total sales of $106 billion, more than most of the Fortune 500 majority of the Fortune 500 companies. Koch does not publish its profits. The group employs around 30,000 people, which is not a large workforce for a company that is mainly involved in the heavy industries of oil, chemicals, energy, materials and mining. In addition, Koch operates in the financial sector and futures trading.
Koch Industries' businesses
The main operations are in a number of areas including oil and energy.
1, Crude oil extraction is one of the leading extractors in North America, with extraction technology that represents the state of the art in the world
2, Crude oil trading is one of the world's leading crude oil traders, trading over 700 million tons of crude oil annually
3, Natural gas is one of the largest natural gas extractors, transporters and traders in North America
4, Pipeline transportation is the largest pipeline transporter in North America, with the longest petrochemical pipeline in North America
5, LPG is the largest LPG processing group in North America, accounting for 25% of the total market
6, Refining capacity exceeds 30 million tons per annum and refinery utilization exceeds 95%.
7, Petrochemical products are used in a wide range of industries including chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, electronics and agriculture
8, Petrochemical Technology is one of the world's leading refinery equipment manufacturers, producing a wide range of chemical production equipment
9, Electricity supply is the sixth largest supplier of electricity in the United States, with operations in all 50 states
10, Agriculture and livestock includes the world's largest feed production group, as well as fertilizer and livestock operations
11, Mineral trading is one of the major mineral traders in the US and the world's largest trader of petroleum coke
12, Financial Services is engaged in lending, risk management, financial securities trading and financial advisory services
13, Road Asphalt owns Koch Materials, one of the world's largest specialist road asphalt companies
The Koch Industries Group has a long history of high growth and profitability through the more effective use of its technology, capital and experience to create greater value for its customers. In the 21st century, Koch Industries will continue to develop this successful business strategy for the global market.
