Bell Flavors & Fragrances
Bell Flavors & Fragrances was founded in 1912 as the William M. Bell Company in Chicago, Illinois. The founder had been a flavor chemist with Kraft Foods in their confectionery and caramel division. In the early years, Bell sold his flavors to local shops and candy companies.
The company expanded into a national supplier of confectionery and dairy customers, and Bell's flavors are still widely used for these types of products.
Acquisitions
Edward N. Heinz, formerly Flavors Extract Manufacturing Association, purchased the William M. Bell Company in 1967. The business expanded to include fragrances and aromatic chemicals with the acquisition of Maumee Flavors and Fragrances, a division of Sherwin Williams Company in 1976,[1] and in 1979, the niche fragrance house Roubechez which specialized in fragrances for cleaning and household care products.
In 1993, the company acquired the operations of Schimmel & Company, a well known Leipzig fragrance manufacturer originally founded in 1829.[1]
In 1985 Bell acquired American Bio-Synthetics, at the time the only US producer of Heliotropin and many other specialty aroma chemicals. This facility was based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and became home to Bell's vastly expanding ingredients business, now headquartered in Middletown, New York. The company also acquired Naturome in Brossard/Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a specialist in natural flavors and botanical extracts for the beverage, dairy, & yogurt industries.
In 2005, Bell opened a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China.
References
- History of Bell Flavors and Fragrances, retrieved 20 August 2010.