DSM

The DSM was established in 1902 by the Dutch government to extract coal reserves in the southern province of Limburg. The English translation (Dutch State Mines) of the original company name, De Nederlandse Staatsmijnen, is still used today.

It is a company that has always been ambitious, its evolution has continued unabated after the closure of the last coal mine in the early 1970s. Over the past 20 years, the company has transformed once again as it has begun to focus more on creating science-based solutions for health, nutrition and sustainable living.

During its transformation journey DSM has been fortunate to work with a wide range of organizations and partners. In the field of nutrition, DSM entered into a global partnership with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in 2007 (the largest provider of food aid to the hungry in the world), which is even stronger than ever; and now DSM is working with Cargill to help reduce sugar consumption around the world.

At the end of the 20th century, DSM entered biotechnology with the acquisition of Gist-brocades. This marked the beginning of an important period of transformation and was followed by the sale of our petrochemical operations to Sabic in 2002 and the acquisition of Roche Vitamins & Fine Chemicals in 2003. In the following years, DSM has further concentrated and optimized the own portfolio with the acquisition of the NeoResins water-based resins business, followed by further acquisitions in the human nutrition sector (Martek, Fortitech); animal feed (Tortuga); and biomedical (Kensey Nash) - to name but a few.

Today, acquisitions are an integral part of the DSM, providing scientific solutions that solve real problems for the world. DSM works with organizations such as the World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition to support a carbon pricing and increased use of renewable energy, such as solar energy, biofuels and biogas, all of which use DSM solutions. Meanwhile, when it comes to reducing waste, we're partnering with organizations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to find new circular solutions.