Chemical Manufacturing

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P9 Innovation

P9 Innovation: Designing with Discipline in an Era of Complexity

Mathieu Zastawny, Director of Industrial Design

Product development today rarely fails because of a lack of ideas. It fails when early decisions do not align with engineering constraints, cost pressures and user expectations. For companies navigating this complexity, the challenge is not creativity alone but translating intent into products that can succeed in the market.

P9 Innovation addresses this by grounding design in real-world conditions from the outset. Its process begins with a clear understanding of end users, supported by in-house consumer testing.

“At the end of the day, we focus on delivering real solutions, on time and on budget,” says Mathieu Zastawny, director of industrial design.

Balancing Creativity with Feasibility

Expectations for product design have evolved significantly, making design excellence a baseline. This often leads to feature expansion, increasing engineering complexity and cost. P9 addresses this by anticipating how early decisions affect later stages of development.

Clients are presented with structured options, from conservative paths to more ambitious concepts. In some cases, parallel strategies are pursued, combining higher-risk directions with stable alternatives. This allows innovation without compromising delivery timelines or cost targets.

Channel differentiation has also become a growing challenge. P9 increasingly develops platforms rather than standalone products. In one project, this approach enables more than seven times the number of SKUs while reducing parts by more than half, improving scalability and efficiency.

Khorium

Khorium: Atomizing Simulation between Design and Manufacturing

Aaron Wu, Founder and CEO

In manufacturing, simulation is meant to accelerate innovation. Too often, it does the opposite. Engineers juggle disconnected tools for design, meshing, simulation, and evaluation, turning what should be a competitive advantage into a time-consuming bottleneck. Khorium aims to change that by unifying and automating the entire simulation workflow, helping engineering teams move faster from design to production.

Trained as an aerospace engineer, Aaron Wu combines expertise in physics, AI, and advanced manufacturing, spanning hyperscale simulation, CFD, and rocket propulsion. Building on this foundation, he founded Khorium, an AI-driven simulation acceleration platform for engineers designing physical products. Rather than replacing existing CAD or simulation software, the platform connects these tools into a single, coordinated system, reducing manual effort and shortening development cycles.

“We do not replace workflows; we automate them end to end with AI, freeing engineers to focus on real physics, creative design, and engineering decisions,” says Wu, Founder and CEO of Khorium.

Automating the Simulation Loop

How does Khorium automate the simulation loop end to end?

Khorium builds infrastructure to run simulations efficiently. With its platform, companies design and test parts from any device, anywhere, using a centralized cloud-based platform. This approach removes infrastructure complexity and offers a flexible, economical business model.

FluoroFusion

FluoroFusion: Rewriting the Rules of Refrigerant Supply

Brad Kivlan, COO

Why are refrigerants considered critical infrastructure in modern industrial and daily life systems?

Refrigerants are not just industrial chemicals. They are the invisible infrastructure behind modern life—cooling homes and offices, preserving food and medicine in supermarkets and hospitals, enabling food transport and supporting critical industrial processes. The companies that manage them responsibly determine whether that infrastructure is sustainable.

FluoroFusion, an EPA-certified refrigerant reclaimer, was founded in 2018 on the thesis that used, contaminated refrigerants are not waste, they are feedstock. That premise has since become the foundation of one of the most significant business models in the HVACR industry.

How does FluoroFusion’s circular refrigerant model differ from traditional linear supply approaches?

The company has built a closed-loop refrigerant management system protected by seven Life-Cycle Refrigerant Management patents, with more pending, operates an on-site AHRI 700 certified lab and recently introduced a proprietary refrigerant blend designated R-4106A. It is a trajectory that carries particular weight because the industry it is revamping has long opposed any structural change.

We are not just a refrigerant supplier. We are a technology company that has developed a truly circular model for refrigerant management.

The refrigerant industry has been dominated by a few large chemical companies whose revenue depends on the continuous production and sale of virgin refrigerants. That linear model of produce, sell, move on, has left an enormous gap in the circular economy. In the U.S, only 1.6 percent of hydrofluorocarbons are currently reclaimed, a fraction of what is achieved in Europe and Japan. FluoroFusion precisely address this gap.

Where the linear model treats each refrigerant sale as a terminal transaction, FluoroFusion’s circular model is predicated on recovering, purifying and recirculating material that the linear supply chain discards. That inversion—treating end-of-life refrigerant as a supply input rather than a disposal problem—is the core disruption.

“We are not just a refrigerant supplier. We are a technology company that has developed a truly circular model for refrigerant management,” says Brad Kivlan, COO.

Technology as the Foundation of Disruption

What technological capabilities enable FluoroFusion to purify and reuse refrigerants effectively?

The circular model rests on an unmatched technical capability. FluoroFusion’s patented fractionation technology purifies used and contaminated refrigerants back to AHRI 700 standards, the industry’s most stringent purity benchmark, producing material indistinguishable from virgin product. Every batch is tested to that standard in the company’s on-site certified lab. The result is a drop-in replacement for virgin refrigerants with no compromise to equipment performance or EPA compliance.

That technology investment also created operational flexibility that proved decisive during a real supply crisis. When FluoroFusion was founded, it made the strategic decision to engineer its facility to handle not just traditional refrigerants but next-generation flammable HFOs and highly flammable hydrocarbons, a capability very few companies were willing to build that early.

As R-454B equipment entered the market in 2025 and demand surged beyond available supply, FluoroFusion was among the few companies capable of blending and downpacking it at volume and speed. Every automation system and software platform deployed in that process was designed entirely within the U.S giving the company complete control over its innovation pipeline.

State of Industry

Advancing Sustainable Cooling through Refrigerant Lifecycle Management Solutions

Refrigerants are essential components in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) systems used across commercial, industrial, and residential environments. Many traditional refrigerants have contributed to ozone depletion and climate change due to their high global warming potential (GWP) and inadequate disposal practices. In response to growing environmental concerns, governments, industries, and international organizations are implementing stricter regulations to ensure responsible refrigerant management.

Key Market Drivers and Industry Forces Reshaping Refrigerant Lifecycle Management

Several powerful forces are driving the evolution of the refrigerant lifecycle management market. One of the most significant factors is the implementation of stricter environmental regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the ozone layer. Global agreements to phase down high-GWP refrigerants are compelling industries to adopt more responsible refrigerant management practices.

Many governments now require organizations operating HVACR systems to maintain accurate records of refrigerant usage, conduct regular leak inspections, and ensure proper recovery and recycling during maintenance or equipment decommissioning. These regulations are encouraging companies to adopt specialized lifecycle management solutions that simplify compliance and reduce environmental risk.

Corporate sustainability initiatives also play a major role in accelerating demand for refrigerant management systems. Large enterprises across sectors such as food retail, cold chain logistics, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing operate extensive refrigeration networks. These organizations must monitor refrigerant emissions as part of their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments and carbon reduction targets. As a result, many companies are implementing advanced refrigerant tracking platforms to maintain transparency and improve environmental performance.

Rising global temperatures, population growth, and increased demand for temperature-controlled supply chains are fueling the installation of new refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. As the number of cooling systems grows, the need for efficient refrigerant management throughout their lifecycle becomes increasingly important. The growing emphasis on circular economy principles is also reshaping the industry. Instead of disposing of used refrigerants, organizations are prioritizing recovery and reclamation processes that purify them and enable reuse. This method minimizes the environmental impact of producing new refrigerants and aids in stabilizing supply in markets facing regulatory phase-downs.

Technological Innovations Enhancing Refrigerant Lifecycle Efficiency

Technological advancements are significantly enhancing the management of refrigerant lifecycles. Innovations in digital monitoring, automation, and advanced recovery technologies are enabling organizations to manage refrigerants more efficiently and accurately than ever before. IoT-enabled sensors can continuously measure refrigerant levels, pressure, and temperature within HVAC systems. These sensors transmit data to centralized platforms where facility managers can monitor system performance in real time. Early detection of refrigerant leaks not only prevents environmental damage but also reduces maintenance costs and improves equipment reliability.

Automation is also transforming refrigerant recovery and recycling processes. Modern recovery machines are designed with intelligent control systems that automate refrigerant extraction, separation, and purification. These automated systems significantly reduce human error while improving recovery efficiency and processing speed. In addition, advanced filtration and distillation technologies enable recovered refrigerants to be reclaimed to industry-standard purity, making them suitable for reuse in new or existing systems.

Digital platforms are also improving transparency and regulatory compliance. Many refrigerant lifecycle management solutions now provide centralized dashboards that track refrigerant inventory, service history, leak events, and recovery operations. These platforms generate automated compliance reports that help organizations meet regulatory documentation requirements while simplifying operational oversight. Also, integration with building management systems (BMS) allows refrigerant monitoring to become part of broader energy management strategies. By connecting refrigerant tracking with energy optimization tools, organizations can improve both environmental performance and operational efficiency across large facilities such as data centers, hospitals, and industrial complexes.

Strategic Growth Opportunities in the Global Refrigerant Lifecycle Management Market

The refrigerant lifecycle management market presents numerous opportunities for innovation, investment, and expansion. As industries continue to prioritize environmental responsibility and operational efficiency, demand for comprehensive refrigerant management solutions is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. One major opportunity lies in developing integrated digital platforms that combine refrigerant tracking, compliance management, leak detection, and maintenance planning into a single system. These platforms allow organizations to gain complete visibility into refrigerant usage across multiple facilities, enabling better decision-making and improved operational control.

Companies that develop lifecycle management solutions tailored to these refrigerants will be well positioned to capitalize on the growing demand. The development of efficient refrigerant recovery networks also presents an opportunity for industry expansion. Establishing centralized reclamation facilities and reverse logistics systems can help capture and recycle large quantities of refrigerants that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere.

These systems support circular-economy initiatives while generating new revenue streams within the refrigerant supply chain. Partnerships between equipment manufacturers, refrigerant producers, technology providers, and recycling companies are further strengthening the industry ecosystem.

Collaborative business models focused on refrigerant circularity allow companies to maintain stable refrigerant supplies while reducing environmental impact. Organizations that invest in digital platforms, sustainable recovery technologies, and global service networks are likely to emerge as leaders in this growing market.

Leadership Perspective

Milliken & Company

Doubling Down on Operations: Sustainability to Meet Organization Goals

Kevin Brown, Senior Vice President Global Operations

Technology has always played a critical role in manufacturing—from hand production methods, then machines and identifying how new advancements like cloud computing, the internet of things, and mobility can affect and improve the industry. But it’s hard to argue the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has made on the industry. Global supply chains have been disrupted in new ways, known challenges like labor shortages have been propelled to new heights and manufacturing leaders have been forced to embrace a world of “pivots.”

We’re fortunate to have history and experience on our side at Milliken & Company. As a 155-year-old global organization, our Textile Division is well-versed in approaching global challenges head-on—whether it’s navigating wartime, the Great Depression, or other pandemics—and one conclusion is certain: when a crisis hits, you always have a choice.

“With the recent labor shortages seen across industries, identifying opportunities to be more efficient and effective will continue to be a priority.”

At Milliken, our choice is to double down and invest for the future. Below are four key areas where I see the great opportunities for impact:

Applying Automation and Modernization to Solve Short- and Long-Term Challenges

With the recent labor shortages seen across industries, identifying opportunities to be more efficient and effective will continue to be a priority. One recent internal study conducted found that 70 percent of the tasks done in our plants around the world have the potential to be automated. While we’ve had our eye on opportunities for automation for years, we’ve recently begun targeted efforts to identify the right investments to make, including the establishment of a cross-functional Textile Division team that is aggressively tackling these workstreams. Automation can not only help improve performance and delivery to our customers but also improve safety in our facilities, which is a Milliken core value.

In addition to automation, it’s important to keep an eye on modernization projects. These current decisions might see challenges when assessing their financial payback, but being strategic about upgrading technology can help us improve business growth by producing more products with less labor, less scrap, and having better conversions with utilities and efficiencies.

Using Manufacturing Analytics to Improve Decision Making

Having mass data at your fingertips is a powerful but often underutilized tool. If your data isn’t answering questions like, “how do we get real-time feedback on our equipment?” or, “how can we get our process engineers’ data on uptime and run time more quickly?” then your data isn’t working hard enough for you. At Milliken, we’re making significant investments in hardware and software that will empower our facilities to answer these questions (and more) quicker as one key pillar to our strategic business approach of digitalization.

Implementing Systems for Greater Collaboration

Balancing short-term tactile business with long-term strategic business goals is one of the thinnest lines you can walk as a leader in manufacturing. When you put the right systems in place, you’re giving your team the space and ability to think critically, independently, and creatively to better solve problems. With multiple business units under the Textile Division, we recognized the need for greater collaboration and connectedness and began our supply inventory and operations planning (SIOP) journey a few years ago. Our process is leading to improvements in balancing supply against demand, scenario planning with supporting data, and identifying gaps to our goals. The implementation of the right tools allows our teams access to better information and enable them to work more efficiently.

While the SIOP journey is one critical piece of the puzzle, we haven’t backed down from making even more investments to aid in increasing inter-division connectedness. We’re upgrading to a unilateral customer relationship management (CRM) system to provide better functionality across job functions, give us a clearer lens to our pipeline, assist us in managing and adjusting risk, and support our SIOP process.

Making Strides in Sustainability

At Milliken, we’ve outlined an aggressive corporate-level sustainability initiative that was developed to improve our global environmental footprint. Now, these initiatives are easy to push to the back burner when the world flips upside down, but that doesn’t make it the right decision. Instead of using the pandemic as a reason for diverting attention from these goals, we’re using it as a time to closely analyze the opportunities we have to make progress. For example, globally we’re investing in small-scale projects that make our facilities and equipment more renewable, such as LED lighting installations and improved wastewater treatment systems to more large-scale investments, like the 2021 installation of one of the company’s most energy-efficient machines.

For Milliken, our compass is clear and unwavering—invest in textiles, address challenges creatively, and never stop innovating. In our experience, moments of crisis and chaos are not the time to start questioning strategy or experience. Rather, with leadership that is willing to support big ideas and enabling a team that thrives in the unknown, we know that’s when manufacturing magic can happen.

Chemical Manufacturing Info

1. What Do Top Chemical Manufacturing Companies Do?

Top Chemical Manufacturing Companies specialize in producing chemicals for industrial, agricultural, consumer, and specialty applications. They develop a range of products including chemical intermediates, specialty formulations, additives, and custom blends, often tailored to client requirements. These companies manage complex processes involving research, formulation, production, quality control, and compliance with environmental and safety standards. By integrating technical expertise and operational efficiency, they deliver consistent, scalable chemical solutions that support supply chain reliability and innovation in manufacturing.

2. Why Does Chemical Manufacturing Matter Now?

The chemical manufacturing sector is increasingly critical as industries demand high-performance materials, sustainable production methods, and reliable supply chains. Global trends such as stricter environmental regulations, demand for specialty chemicals, and technological advancements in production are shaping the market. Organizations rely on chemical manufacturers to deliver innovative solutions that improve operational efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and maintain product quality. The sector’s strategic role in industries like automotive, agriculture, energy, and consumer goods underscores its relevance to enterprise performance and long-term industrial growth.

3. How Should Enterprises Evaluate Chemical Manufacturing Companies?

Enterprises should assess chemical manufacturing companies based on technical capabilities, product quality, compliance standards, and supply chain reliability. Key factors include scalability, production flexibility, innovation in formulations, and expertise in regulatory adherence. Evaluators also consider operational efficiency, safety protocols, and sustainability practices. Engaging vendors with strong R&D capabilities and proven customer responsiveness ensures that companies can meet evolving requirements, mitigate risk, and maintain consistent output across complex manufacturing environments.

4. What Business Value Do Chemical Manufacturing Companies Deliver?

Chemical manufacturing companies provide substantial business value by enabling enterprises to access high-quality, customized chemical products that optimize industrial processes. Their solutions can reduce production costs, improve product performance, and support compliance with environmental and safety regulations. By offering specialized expertise and reliable supply chains, these companies help businesses enhance operational efficiency, innovate product lines, and respond to market demands quickly, ultimately contributing to competitive advantage and long-term operational sustainability.

5. What Role Does Innovation and Technology Play in Chemical Manufacturing?

Innovation and technology are central to modern chemical manufacturing. Advances in automation, process optimization, and analytical technologies improve efficiency, reduce waste, and ensure consistent product quality. Companies increasingly adopt sustainable methods such as bio-based chemicals, low-VOC formulations, and closed-loop recycling processes. Robust R&D enables the development of next-generation chemicals for industrial, agricultural, and consumer applications. Technology-driven approaches not only enhance production but also support regulatory compliance, sustainability goals, and the ability to scale solutions in response to market needs.

6. What Should Enterprises Prioritize When Comparing Chemical Manufacturing Companies?

When comparing options, enterprises should prioritize technical expertise, quality assurance, innovation, sustainability, and responsiveness. Assessing operational reliability, compliance history, and the company’s ability to customize solutions to specific industrial needs is critical. Enterprises should also consider scalability, cost efficiency, and the vendor’s approach to environmental and safety standards. These factors help ensure that partnerships with chemical manufacturing companies drive measurable performance, reduce risk, and support both immediate production requirements and long-term strategic goals.

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Advancing Sustainable Cooling through Refrigerant Lifecycle Management Solutions

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