The St. Louis bi-state region is a major Midwestern hub for chemical and specialty materials manufacturing. We are anchored by global brands in consumer products, life sciences, and refining that leverage the region’s river, rail, and highway networks to reach customers worldwide. More than 21,000 St. Louis professionals work in chemistry, plastics, soaps and cleaning compounds, and related fields. Our chemical industry strength is catalyzed by world‑class research assets and a dense base of advanced manufacturers and logistics providers.
Sector Highlights
St. Louis offers a concentration of consumer, specialty, and life‑science chemical production with a robust logistical network including the following major operations:
- Phillips 66 employs 800 at their Wood River Refinery, which produces transportation fuels as well as petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt, and fuel-grade petroleum coke.
- St. Louis is home to the largest employment base of MilliporeSigma, part of Merck KGaA, with about 2,400 employees in the region. In 2024, the company invested $76 million and added 170 jobs to its St. Louis facility in order to increase production.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, with around 800 employees, is a multi-product and multiclient biopharmaceutical site with manufacturing facilities for pharmaceutical products for both pre-clinical trials and commercial applications.
- Procter & Gamble employs over 600 and has recently invested $180 million to expand its local facilities that make Cascade, Mr. Clean, Swiffer and Febreze.
- Growing investment pipeline, including more than $250 million in recent bi-state expansions that add new capacity in key sub-industries.
- Deep, experienced workforce in chemistry and process manufacturing, supported by regional community colleges and universities with chemistry, chemical engineering, and process-technology programs
Chain Reaction
Rick Shang’s company, St. Louis-based Vulpes Corp, has the potential to upend the U.S. chemical manufacturing industry.