About
Industrial Oil Products and affiliates have over a century of experience supplying and servicing manufacturers. Building on this successful past, the employees and management of the companies are committed to providing informed, personalized, forward thinking service to each customer and to understanding and meeting each customer's current and future need for the reliable supply of quality raw materials at competitive prices.
Industrial Oil Products (IOP) was founded in 1932 and George Degen & Company, Inc. (Degen) in 1947 to import and distribute tung oil and castor oil. The companies were acquired in 1974 by John Hanson, founder and president of J. W. Hanson Company, Inc. In 1991, IOP merged with Degen and today the surviving company does business as Industrial Oil Products. Since 1990, IOP has been owned and operated by a second generation of Hansons. By innovating the supply chain and forming long term relationships with key Paraguayan, Argentinian and Chinese tung oil producers, Blake Hanson took IOP from a 20% U.S. market share in 1990 to a majority U.S. market share by 2000, a market share the company defends to this day. In 1991, Blake formed American Tung Oil Corporation, and revived the production of tung oil in the United States. Blake is regarded around the world as a leading expert on tung oil. Now, in the 2020's, a third generation of Hansons is contributing to the latest Youthful Iteration of the companies.
Latina Inc. dates to 1960 when Fred Kolb formed Latina Trading to import Brazilian castor beans and castor oil. In the 1980’s, Bob Kolb, Fred's son, assumed control and changed the name to Latina, Inc. Under Bob's visionary leadership, Latina anticipated India's emergence as the world's dominant castor producer guiding U.S. manufacturers to import castor oil and castor derivatives from India in the 1980's and 90's. Bob formed key relationships with the Indian castor industry and American customers. As President of the International Castor Oil Association, Bob Kolb transformed the ICOA into a truly international organization. Since 2015, Latina, Inc. has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial Oil Products. The Hanson family continues to pursue Latina's future building on the legacy of the Kolb's.
JW Hanson Co. Inc. In 1946 John Hanson returned to the commodities department of W.R Grace after serving four years on the destroyer USS Aulick (DD-569) in the Pacific during World War II. In 1947 he formed J.W. Hanson Company importing crude carnauba wax from Brazil. In the 1960's he formed relationships with the developing Brazilian wax refining industry. J.W. Hanson Company was the first company to import Brazilian refined carnauba wax to the United States. Building on this legacy of calculated risk and innovation, John Hanson acquired the tung oil and castor oil business of George Degen and Company and Industrial Oil Products in 1973. Today, J.W. Hanson Company continues to specialize in carnauba wax and other natural waxes.