History

Royal Smit & Zoon: 7 Generations

200 years of entrepreneurship and innovation

Albert Smit – Captain of the vessel “De Koornzaaijer” – founded the company in 1821. Originally, he needed a way to trade his dried codfish, salted herring and medicinal cod liver oil. But the former captain showed himself a great entrepreneur as well: it didn’t take him long to expand his activities to trading animal oils, vegetable oils and proteins.

Through a series of innovations and adaptations, Smit & Zoon developed into a company producing chemicals for the leather industry. In addition, functional oils and animal fats for the food, feed and pharmaceutical industry were produced and traded.

In the 1970s, Smit & Zoon decided it was time to focus: from then on, specialty chemicals for leather received more emphasis within the company’s strategy. This was highlighted by new expansions: with branches in countries like Germany, Brazil, India and China, we gradually became a global player. Moreover, with the acquisition of Codyeco in Tuscany, in 2017, the company has shown it is well prepared for the promising next steps, focusing on further product innovations and making the leather value chain more sustainable.