About Us
Our History
During the 1940’s, Zein was processed into yarn and used in the manufacture of stockings. This very high volume application ended with the discovery of nylon and rayon. Eastman Kodak, which had used Zein as a coating in the manufacture of photographic film and paper, began to use synthetic, petroleum-based coatings instead. Zein producers, primarily corn milling companies, began to leave the market.
Brothers Joel Freeman and Paul Freedman, both chemists and owners of Freeman Industries, understood the unique coating properties of Zein and started to purchase it from one of the remaining smaller producers. Working closely with customers, they identified multiple applications for Zein in the food, confectionery, and pharmaceutical industries. They developed different formulations using Zein, which met specific specific customer requirements better than just using Zein alone.
When the last of the corn millers stopped producing Zein, Freeman hired a Zein and extraction expert, purchased land and a building in Ashburnham, MA, acquired the needed equipment and set up Flo Chemical Corporation as a manufacturing operation. Flo has been producing Zein since 1976 and is the only North American manufacturer of Zein.
In 2012, Paul’s daughter, Rachel Freedman, joined the company to assist with marketing and sales. In 2014, Rachel became the principal owner and President of Flo Chemical Corporation, which now conducts business under the FloZein Products name, better reflecting the all-natural characteristics of our product line. In 2018, Flo was recognized as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE).
Management Team
Rachel Freedman
President & CEO
Rachel is a 2nd generation manufacturer of Zein, following in her father's footsteps. She purchased FloZein Products in 2014 after over 17 years with HBO.
Rachel aced the NYPD entrance exam and is a certified EMT (ret.)
She has a B.A. in Mathematics from Smith College.
Rachel hopes that one of her five children will join the adventure soon!
Beth Freedman
VP, Compliance
Beth just couldn't resist joining her sister, Rachel, when she saw what fun it was! She divides her time between being a professional volunteer and making sure that FloZein Products is meeting all of the requirements of the FDA, EPA, OSHA, MA-DEP, WBE, and the rest of the alphabet.
Beth holds a degree in Economics from The George Washington University (before it was cool to attend there.)
Dan Rosen
Chief Operating Officer
Dan joined FloZein Products in 2018 after careers in finance, graphic design, and, most recently, high school teaching. He is responsible for marketing and product development.
Dan has a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University, an MBA from Columbia University, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Mercy College.
Dan has five children (the same ones as Rachel) and he's not holding his breath that one will join FloZein.
Advisory Board
Formulation Expert
Bob Dickman
Vice President of Sales and R&D, Deseret Labs
Bob has over 50 years’ experience in the nutritional & pharmaceutical industries. His areas of focus are contract manufacturing of cutting edge, value added nutritional products (not Vitamin C tabs!) and over-the-counter drugs.
Bob has a BS in Chemistry from USC.
Strategic Planning
Harvey Hershkowitz
Principal, Harvey Herschkowitz & Associates
Harvey Hershkowitz has a notable track record serving on numerous boards, spring-boarding start-ups, raising capital and positioning corporations into the global market. He has successfully spearheaded companies in information technology, business, residential and commercial development, healthcare, and pharmaceutical and healthcare construction.
He has more than 30 years in the healthcare industry including, consulting, information technology, software, sales, professional services, management, building and development. He has also served on numerous boards and advisory groups within the healthcare industry.
Confectionery Specialist
David Jordan
Director, Technical Sales & Service Ingredients, Centerchem, Inc.
David Jordan is the Director, Technical Sales and Services for Centerchem, Inc., a distributor of ingredients to the food and confectionery industries. In this position, Dave is responsible for overseeing the sales of the various ingredients, as well as providing technical support to both the R&D and manufacturing personnel on the use of the ingredients. He has been with Centerchem for the past 16 years.
Dave has been in the food industry for more than 35 years. Prior to Centerchem, he has held positions with several companies including Hershey Foods, Colorcon, and Enzyme Development Corporation. He has held positions in R&D, quality assurance, sales and technical services.
Dave is an active member of the PMCA, AACT, IFT and NCA where he has held various positions on the national and local chapter levels. He has a BS in Food Science from Penn State and an MBA in Operations Management from Temple University. He currently resides in Chalfont, PA.
Process Engineering
John Lawton
Dr. John Lawton was a Lead Scientist and a Research Chemist in the Plant Polymer Research Unit for the USDA at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. He worked on new non-food uses of cereals mostly dealing with corn.
John received his B.S. in Feed Sciences from Kansas State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Grain Science from Kansas State University.
He worked at NCAUR in 1989 and worked in the area of wheat gluten quality. During his time at NCAUR he authored and coauthored more than 50 scientific publications dealing with new uses of cereals. After leaving the USDA, Dr. Lawton worked for POET, a bioethanol producer. At POET, John worked with finding new uses for their co-products. He patented a process to extract Zein from distiller's dried grains and a method to produce a water dispersion of Zein.
Molecular Architect
Peter Mattei
Many otherwise useful ingredients cannot be easily administered to humans and animals. For over a decade, Peter has focused on improving the biological uptake of these molecules while eliminating reliance upon synthetic ingredients for topical, internal and parenteral use.
These novel chemical forms vastly increase bioavailability of active ingredients resulting in lower product usage and greater dosage control. This system also enhances the chemical stability of many compounds previously unsuitable for general consumer products.
As a molecular architect, Peter continues his research across a range of nano-scale media, driving new applications in food, pharma, lifestyle and personal care.
Food Scientist
Sanaa Ragaee
Adjunct Professor and Cereal Program Manager, Department of Food Science
University of Guelph
Dr. Ragaee obtained her PhD from University of Saskatchewan Canada. Since 2008, she has been an Adjunct Professor and Cereal Program Manager at The Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph. Dr. Ragaee has extensive research experiences working with the grain industry in Canada such as millers, bakers and food developers. She is highly skilled in the fields of grain chemistry and biochemistry. Dr. Ragaee has been working on functional food, investigating the effects of processing on bioactive components in cereal products, functionality of different prebiotics on the shelf life and nutritional quality of frozen dough, developing high fiber functional wheat products and ingredient interactions and their functionality in different formulas.
Currently Dr. Ragaee is working on modifying non-gluten protein for the gluten-free industry and investigating the effect of different processing conditions on the nutritional quality of pulses.
Flavor Specialist
Rick Robinson
CFO, Callisons Inc.
Rick has been with Callisons, a leading company in peppermint and spearmint based flavorings, for 33 years. He has been deeply involved in Callison's recent expansion into the broader flavor business, initially focusing on beverage.
He is a member of the Washington State Bar.
Corporate Attorney
Steve Shishco
Founding Partner, Beacon Law Group LLC
Steven Shishko is a business lawyer with 30 years’ experience in private practice and as in-house counsel, with a special emphasis on start-ups, early-stage, emerging-growth, closely held and other private businesses.
Steve’s practice has included representation of businesses in industries including software, high-technology, telecommunications, travel, real estate, institutional financial services, manufacturing and retail.
Steve was previously the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Kensington Investment Company, Inc., a private family office with holdings that included a real estate management and development company, which managed over $100M in real estate assets, and Grand Circle Travel, a 3,000-employee international tour operator. Prior to joining Kensington/Grand Circle, Steve was Vice President and General Counsel of SilverStream Software, Inc., a publicly held software company, until it was acquired by Novell, Inc. Steve was a Partner in the Business Law Group of Gadsby Hannah LLP (now McCarter & English LLP) before joining SilverStream Software and started his career at Breed Abbott & Morgan in New York City.
Corporate Responsibility
Social Compliance Policy
Flo Chemical Corporation, a family-owned business, adheres to a core group of values that define our social responsibility. These policies are adhered to by all employees and management, as well as by all of our suppliers. These policies are used to evaluate current and prospective employees and our suppliers, both domestic and global, and applied to all current and future relationships.
We do not condone or use any form of forced labor, including indentured, prison, bonded or slave labor. We do not use any form of child labor. We comply with all minimum age provisions of local laws. Employees are trained in proper workplace behavior and no physical or verbal harassment is tolerated.
We comply with all applicable wage, working hours, benefits, and overtime laws. If local industry standards are higher than applicable laws and regulations, we meet those higher standards.
We do not discriminate on the basis of age, nationality, race, religion, social or ethnic orientation, gender, sexual orientation or disability. All job postings are open to all candidates, and employees are selected for the best fit of skills and credentials.
We provide a safe, healthy and secure workplace for all employees. Proper sanitation, lighting, safety equipment, ventilation and fire protection are provided. We offer a full comprehensive medical and dental policy and encourage our employees to seek preventive care.
We comply with all applicable laws and regulation relating to product safety, labor, employment, and environment or working conditions.
Environmental Policy
Flo Chemical Corporation seeks to establish and sustain a positive environmental legacy for current and for future generations. In doing so, the company is committed to minimizing its overall impact on the environment while encouraging and activating environmentally responsible behavior on the part of employees and business associates throughout the world.
Specifically, we aim to conserve water, energy and ecosystems; to minimize waste and to inspire public consciousness in support of environmental sustainability. We maintain the smallest possible environmental footprint, by using natural raw materials, recycling most by-products from our production processes, and producing all natural, biodegradable products that minimize impact on the environment. The company seeks to identify, measure and understand the direct and indirect impact of its operations and develop innovative and realistic solutions for mitigating those impacts. It also complies with environmental laws and regulations.
Bribery, Corruption and Unethical Business Practices Policy
Flo Chemical Corporation takes seriously the effective prevention and detection of fraud, bribery and corruption and any other fraudulent or corrupt activity. It will not tolerate them in any form. We are fully committed to promoting a zero tolerance approach across the group. As well as being illegal, fraud, bribery, corruption and any other fraudulent or corrupt activity are damaging to all parties who engage in them.
We expect all staff to act honestly and with integrity to safeguard our and our customers’ assets, including information, goodwill, property and equipment.
Provision of Gifts
All employees must be careful about accepting gifts from companies who do business or seek to do business with Flo Chemical Corporation. Business gifts include meals, drinks, entertainment, sports tickets, transportation, promotional items, and the like. Policy requires an employee to obtain written approval from his or her supervisor before accepting any gift from a vendor or supplier with a value greater than $75. Special care must be taken in regard to giving anything of value to, or entertaining, government officials and employees.