Rooted in History, Focused on the Future
Carus LLC is a company with deep roots and a clear mission: to provide environmental solutions that protect and improve the quality of water, air, and soil. Since 1915, when founder Edward Hegeler Carus began producing potassium permanganate in a small lab behind his family home in LaSalle, Illinois. Carus has grown through innovation, resilience, and a commitment to responsible chemistry.
Over the decades, Carus has expanded from permanganate production into a global enterprise, building a portfolio of chemical solutions, but at its core remains the same mission: delivering high-quality, reliable chemistry to help customers meet complex environmental challenges.
Central to how we operate are our CARE values — Collaboration, Accountability, Results, and Engagement — which shape how we work with customers, communities, and each other. These values guide our research, production, service, and global operations, ensuring we stay true to our heritage while advancing toward a sustainable future.
Carus Europe Origins
A significant milestone in Carus’s history came in 2000, when we expanded beyond the U.S. by acquiring the potassium permanganate business of Industrial Química del Nalón (IQN) in Asturias, Spain. This acquisition laid the foundation for our European presence and opened the door to broader international reach.
Today, Carus Europe, based in Oviedo, Spain, serves as our Sales Headquarters for a wide region that includes Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. From here, our team provides regional sales expertise, logistical support, and technical service — backed by the global resources, manufacturing, and quality systems of Carus LLC.
Carus Europe works with water utilities, environmental professionals, industries, and distributors to apply our chemistries — especially our globally trusted permanganate products — in applications such as:
- Drinking water treatment (taste, odor, color control; iron & manganese removal)
- Wastewater treatment
- Soil and groundwater remediation
- Industrial oxidation and specialty chemical processes
- Air purification and gas treatment
By combining local market knowledge with global expertise, Carus Europe delivers the dependable service, technical support, and chemistry solutions that customers expect from Carus. Through Collaboration, Accountability, Results, and Engagement, we continue building on more than a century of legacy — working together to create cleaner, safer, and more sustainable environments worldwide.
Giving Back
At Carus, supporting the communities where we live and work is an important part of who we are. While Carus Europe operates primarily in global sales and technical services, our company-wide commitment to education, environmental stewardship, and community outreach continues across our U.S. operations. To learn more about Carus’s community initiatives, please visit our U.S.A. website.