EMS was founded over 50 years ago. When did you start the production of chemicals and why?
In 1986, we started manufacturing one
raw material only - glutaraldehyde. It was set up in a little garage with a still and a one-liter Erlenmeyer flask. That’s how we began. There are only two houses in the U.S. that make their own glutaraldehyde, and globally, only two that produce it using all-glass vacuum distillation with a guaranteed polymer-to-monomer ratio under 0.15. No one else comes close to the quality we offer. We now produce in bulk and supply 95% of the glutaraldehyde being resold by companies like Ted Pella, Sigma Aldrich, Fisher, and Life Technologies.
Glutaraldehyde was our first and most important chemical. After that came our osmium solutions and paraformaldehyde - some call it formaldehyde depending on region or research area. We started producing formaldehydes like 16% and 40% around 1990, followed by concentrations of 4%, 8%, 10%, 20%, and 32%. These were selected because they’re easily divisible - making it simple for researchers to dilute without confusion. Otherwise, I was getting inundated with calls asking how to make specific dilutions.

Our paraformaldehyde became widely recognized, especially in flow cytometry and microscopy, because it’s RNase-free and more importantly, methanol-free. Researchers began asking for combinations - like 2% paraformaldehyde with 1% glutaraldehyde in 1 molar phosphate buffer. We made it once, then again, and eventually it became a regular product. Today, we make over 125 different types of fixatives - combinations with or without glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde, in buffers, saline, and water, with various molarities and pH levels.
So, why did we go into chemical production? There was a need. Customers asked, and they still do. We get 5–10 requests weekly for custom formulations. If a custom is requested more than three times, it becomes a standard.

How many different chemicals do you produce?
If we break it down: we have embedding resins, dehydrants, stains, fixatives, buffers, adhesives, and histological or research stains. In total, including all variations (molarity, pH, etc.), we make about 350 to 400 products in-house.

What’s the most challenging chemical to manufacture?
Osmium tetroxide, hands down. Not because it’s rare, but because of its nature. Osmium can be used as a stain in microscopy or as a vapor-controlled stain, which is extremely difficult to contain - even with full venting and vacuum systems, vapor can escape. It looks white in a sealed ampule but turns black upon air exposure. It’s physically the most challenging to handle and produce.

How long did it take to achieve your glutaraldehyde purity?
Our setup is extremely unique. It came from our VP who brought it from Vietnam. Then, in the early '90s, a brilliant Romanian chemist joined us. He refined our system and helped us reach the under 0.15 PTM ratio. It took years to perfect, but we’ve maintained that quality ever since.

What’s your annual output?
From each vat, we collect 60 bis 75 liters of glutaraldehyde. We run three vats five days a week. That’s roughly 225 liters per cycle, with three cycles a week, totaling 900 liters weekly. Multiply that by 50 weeks, and we produce about 45.000 liters of purest glutaraldehyde annually. That’s at 50% concentration before dilution. Formaldehyde production is about three to four times greater.
 
How many people are involved in chemical production?
We have about 10 people working daily in production - not counting the fillers, labelers, and packers who handle the downstream processes.

What’s your bestselling chemical?
Paraformaldehyde by far. Glutaraldehyde is a close second.

Is it difficult to stay compliant with global safety regulations?
Hell yes! It's a real challenge. About nine months ago, we created a dedicated compliance department. All they do is monitor regulations and ensure we stay compliant. Policies change constantly, and it’s easy to get into trouble if you're not on top of it.

Is osmium hard to source, considering its rarity?
Surprisingly, no. We’ve had a consistent supply thanks to regular contracts. Our only recent issues were staffing-related due to vacations, not material shortages.

After 50+ years, do any moments stand out to you?
One from the late ’80s really stands out. We were still in our old building. Our chemist that time came in at 4 a.m. to start a glutaraldehyde batch. I arrived later to see fire coming out of a window. I ran in - yeah, not my brightest move - and Jay was frozen in place. The fire department arrived, put it out, and then came the questioning: "What kind of person stands in a burning building with an old man?" That day taught me the importance of fire safety. We brought in the fire department for extinguisher training and improved our facility. I never rebuilt that back building; we replaced it with a safer, state-of-the-art extension. That fire cost hundreds of thousands of dollars - but it made me obsessive about safety, and rightly so.

Thank you Stacie for your time and giving us these interesting insights.