We trace our roots back to 1978 in Bakersfield, California. We began as Chemex, Inc., a start-up focusing on used equipment refurbishment and sales. In the early years of the business, the U.S. refining market was contracting and consolidating, so Chemex began offering the dismantling of smaller American refineries for re-assembly in international markets.
We saw the international need for upgraded equipment, and our services expanded to building small, new crude distillation units for customers around the world. From that vantage point, Chemex recognized the many benefits of modular refinery construction, and in the mid-1990s, bought the intellectual property assets of Texas-based Val Verde Corporation. Val Verde was recognized as one of the early leaders of the modular refinery construction movement.
In 2006, Chemex, Inc. was acquired by a Texas-based group of industry professionals who had partnered with Chemex for many years and saw the value in our value proposition. By 2012, the growing opportunities for Chemex led to a new entity, Chemex Modular, formally established in the Greater Houston area of Texas. The company operated from a built-to-suit, world-class facility north of Houston. An important differentiator for Chemex has been the ability to control the fabrication process directly.
In 2020, we amended our name from Chemex Modular to Chemex Global to better reflect the global nature of our business and our full EPC/EPCM capabilities and offerings for modular and conventional construction. We moved our offices to The Woodlands, Texas. In the summer of 2021, having outgrown our shop facilities, Chemex entered a strategic alliance with The Shaw Group – a world-class pipe and modular fabrication company with over 2 million square feet of shop space and seven state-of-the-art fabrication facilities throughout the United States and the Middle East. We designated Shaw’s remarkable Lake Charles, LA facility as our domestic location for fabrication so that Chemex can maintain the ability to manage the fabrication process fully.
On December 22, 2021, this alliance became a permanent collaboration, as The Shaw Group acquired Chemex Global, Inc. Chemex operates as a standalone subsidiary, focused on our core strengths of modularization, client project development, and an unparalleled capability to conceptualize, design, and construct world-class facilities.
Chemex has emerged as a premier engineering, procurement, fabrication, and project management company specializing in modular and conventional refinery and energy projects in renewables and conventional resources. Our strategic combination with The Shaw Group establishes Chemex Global and The Shaw Group as a premiere, comprehensive modular solutions provider.