Frequently Asked Questions

1. I am currently a customer of Mason Chemical or Pilot Chemical, what will change with the announced acquisition?
   a. Please order through your normal channels for the time being. We value your business and will not change our process until it has been properly integrated and tested. Please contact us for more information here.
2. Who is Pilot Chemical?
   a. Established in 1952, privately-owned Pilot Chemical has grown into a global environmentally conscious chemical company providing the household and industrial detergent, personal care, lubricant, oilfield, emulsion polymerization, textile, and agriculture industries with high-quality specialty chemicals. Core technologies include: Sulfonation, Sulfation, Alkylation, Distilation and Custom Blending.
3. What does Pilot Chemical do?
   a. Pilot Chemical manufactures and distributes specialty chemicals into the household and industrial detergent, personal care, lubricant, oilfield, emulsion polymerization, textile, and agricultural industries. Core technologies include: Sulfonation, Sulfation, Alkylation, Distilation and Custom Blending.
4. Where is Pilot Chemical located?
   a. Pilot Chemical is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Pilot has operations in: Lockland, Ohio; Middletown, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Avenel, New Jersey; Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
5. How do I go about placing a first time order with Pilot Chemical?
   a. If you've been working with one of Pilot's Regional Sales Managers, you may contact him/her and they will fill out a First Order Information sheet with you. This will allow us to capture the details around your first order. If you do not know your RSM, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-70-PILOT.
6. Is Pilot Chemical's Quality Management System certified?
   a. Yes, Pilot's QMS is certified to ISO-9001:2008. Link to Certificate
7. Are Pilot's products biodegradable?
   a. The simple answer is: it depends. Biodegradability is a complex topic. In general, surfactants with linear side chains are considered biodegradable, while surfactants with branched side chains are not biodegradable. All of Pilot's Calfoam®, Calsoft®, Calamide®, CalBlend® and Calsuds® products are biodegradable. All of Pilot's Aristol®, Aristonic® Acid, and Aristonate® products are not biodegradable. Calfax® products are not considered biodegradable under the most recent and stringent requirements, but the linear Calfax® products are found to be biodegradable by some tests. Some of Pilot's Calimulse® products are biodegradable, but some are not. Consult the product MSDS for specific information.
8. Does Pilot Chemical have an Environmental Management System (EMS)?
   a. Pilot Chemical is a member of SOCMA (Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates). SOCMA has developed an EMS system called ChemStewardsSM. Pilot Chemical is participating at the Tier 2 level.
9. Are Pilot's products listed on CleanGredients®?
   a. Yes, Pilot is currently an approved supplier with CleanGredients®.  Click here to see our products listed on the CleanGredients® website and approved with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Design for Environment (DfE) program.  Visit the CleanGredients® website at www.cleangredients.org 
10. What is Pilot doing about the environment?
    a. Pilot Chemical in its EHS mission statement clearly states that we are committed to continuously reducing the environmental impact from our operations. The first step in doing so was to begin a data collection effort to determine how we were impacting the environment through things like air emissions, natural resource usage, waste disposal, etc. Once completed, we are now assigning to our operating facilities key performance indicators (goals). The KPI's will be reassigned annually at lower and lower levels. This combined with policies regarding waste handling and disposal will continue to drive down our impact to the environment in the coming years. Click here for more information about how we care for our environment.
11. Are Pilot's products kosher?
    a. Pilot does not certify any of its products as kosher. However, Pilot's products are made from feedstocks only of petrochemical or of vegetable origin. No animal-derived feedstocks, adjuvants, processing aids or any other components come into contact with our products. Click for detailed information.
12. Are Pilot Chemical's products Allergen free?  a. please click here for more information.
13. Do Pilot Chemical's products contain BSE/TSE?  a. please click here for more information.
14. What is the shelf life of Pilot Chemical's products?  a. Pilot's products have different shelf life criteria, please click here for more information.
15. What is Pilot doing about REACH?
    a. All of Pilot's products are pre-registered with the ECHA for REACH compliance.
16. Are Pilot's products CFR approved?
    a. Many are approved for direct and indirect food contact, agricultural and animal applications. Pilot features a detailed list of its products and their CFR qualification detail under the technical bulletin section of this website. Link to Document
17. How do I determine the regulatory status of Pilot's products?
    a. Pilot features a detailed list under the technical bulletin section of this website featuring its products and their regulatory status with regards to USA's TSCA, Canadian DSL, European EINECS, Japanese ENCS, Chinese regulations, Korean KECL, Philippines' PICCS and Australian AICS.  Link to Document
18. Are Pilot's manufacturing facilities EPA registered?
    a. Yes, Pilot's Middletown, Ohio manufacturing facility is EPA registered.
19. How do I reach my Customer Service Representative (CSR)?
    a. Dial 800-70-Pilot, and choose the option for Customer Service.
20. Who can I contact with questions about my order or delivery?
    a. You may contact your Customer Service Rep at 800-70-Pilot.
21. What is the Customer Service department's operating hours?
    a. Customer Service Representatives can be reached by phone from 8am-5pm EST. For Houston and West Coast customers, your CSR can be reached from 9am-6pm EST.
22. How can I place a sample order? What is the standard size, and is there a charge?
    a. Samples may be ordered via the Pilot Chemical website. Standard sample size is 8 oz, and there is no associated charge.