COMPANY HISTORY
Bjørn Thorsen Development Journey
Company Origin
Bjørn Thorsen started in Denmark in 1952 as a small personal business of its founder Bjørn Thorsen.
With a growing business and customer demands, Bjørn Thorsen A/S was founded in 1966 by Bjørn Thorsen and Peter Adser (future owner), as a traditional distributor of chemical products. Through the sixties and seventies, the portfolio was gradually extended to include a very large cross-section of raw materials for a wide variety of industries.
In 1993, the company was bought by the Adser family, benefiting from new capital injection and a brand-new management. The company’s strategy was changed to focus on specialties, by consolidating business with chosen suppliers, which were global leaders in their respective markets. It was decided to grow the company around four distinct business units, where we had high competence, market fit and synergies with key principals’ portfolio: Advanced Polymers, Coatings, Adhesives, Bitumen & Road marking.
Our Company Today
Nowadays, Bjørn Thorsen has expanded far beyond Denmark is one of the few privately owned European distributors. It is still owned by the Adser family, who is actively involved in daily business and future development of the company.
The products we distribute are organized under 3 business divisions: Thermoplastic Elastomers, Advanced Polymer Solutions and Performance Materials & Coatings, while focused on providing solutions and added value to customers and principals.
With most of our suppliers, we have been collaborating for more than 30 years, some have even reached milestones of 50 years. Over the last 20 years, many technical experts have joined the company, mastering their product knowledge in collaboration with our principals. This joint effort brings certainty, consistency and reliability to customers.
Creation of Own Brands
Besides added value and certainty, we also bring innovative solutions to markets where we operate in. To support our distribution business and high shares in key markets, we have developped our own brands with end-goal of delivering innovation, sustainability, and overall extra value to the marke:
- Customized Compound Solutions (CCS) for enhanced TPVs
- Nordic Grafting Company (NGC) for grafted performance polymers as compatibilizers
- Nordic Formulation Technologies A/S (NFT) for tailor-made liquid formulations
To capture the synergies between three of our business units: coatings, adhesives and advanced polymers, while strengthening the collaboration with key suppliers, Digital Serigraphic Technologies (DST) was acquired in 2020. DST provides consumables for heat transfers for textile & apparel decorations created via digital/DST/hydrid screenprinting and traditional screenprinting technologies.
We have now access to in-house lab facilities and solutions that complement our distribution offering, enabling sustainable growth opportunities. Leveraging our product and processing technology know-how, we are increasingly acting as a true solution provider both towards customers and principals!
Geographical expansion
Nordics & Baltics
Since its foundation in 1952, Bjørn Thorsen A/S was mostly focused on distributing products throughout Denmark and immediate surroundings. In 2008, we got the opportunity to take over a part of the ExxonMobil Chemical office in Sweden, by establishing the first office outside Denmark, in Göteborg, Sweden. This was the base for expanding our Nordic and Baltic activities. Expansion to Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania followed in upcoming years.
Asia-Pacific
Since 2018, we have been actively present in China, by launching the joint venture (JV) BT Solutions Zhuhai Co., Ltd. (BT Solutions). This JV focuses on Chinese demands for enhanced post-consumer and post-industrial recyclates and serves as a platform for commercialization of the entire BTG portfolio of specialty polymers and chemicals, as well as proprietary thermoplastic and functionalized compounds in China.
In 2019, our affiliates CCS and NGC together with our Chinese partner TechXanadu, have created a production and commercialization JV in China, Nordic Grafting & Compound Solutions Co., Ltd. (NGCS). NGCS produces advanced specialty compounds and compatibilizers targeted at replacing non-recyclable thermoset solutions with recycled thermoplastic solutions.
France, UK & Ireland
During 2019-2020, we have expanded our geographical distribution territory and solution provider services to France, by bringing our solution provider concept shaped around tailored products, provided by CCS, NGC and NFT. Our activities on the French market are supported by Bjorn Thorsen SAS, the R&D and technical laboratory, created in 2019 and based in Lyon.
As of 2020, Bjørn Thorsen broadened its innovative distribution approach to United Kingdom and Ireland by providing selected products in these markets.
Pan-European Distributor
As of 2025, Bjørn Thorsen develops as a pan-European distributor across its entire organization. Bjørn Thorsen is now the chosen European distributor for Celanese’s Thermoplastic Elastomers, Ineos Styrolution’s styrenic modifiers, Biocomposites by WoodComposites Sweden and many others in all European countries, including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
