The BioSolve Company
The BioSolve Company, manufacturers and worldwide distributors of the leading hydrocarbon mitigation agent, BioSolve Pinkwater and related products. Once the formulation was finalized (early 1980’s), customers and distributors gradually discovered BioSolve to be remarkably effective not only in suppressing hazardous vapors from hydrocarbon spills, but also in a diverse range of applications that called for encapsulation and mobilization of hydrocarbon molecules. Whereas Ron initially sold exclusively to fire departments across the US, his distributors soon found customers in oil production, petroleum refining, environmental remediation, and food industries. In 1989, Ron closed Metra Chem and founded the Westford Chemical Corporation to focus exclusively on commercializing BioSolve. For the next twenty years, Ron - joined for twelve years by his son Steve - developed BioSolve customers in a wide range of industries, across the US and in over a dozen foreign countries.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations and our distributors
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Site Remediation
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
About us
The BioSolve® story starts in 1975 when an entrepreneur named Ron LaRoche and a talented chemist named Ed Hosmer began working together to develop an innovative surfactant formulation. The product concept was a replacement for sprayed foam used to suppress volatile vapors and reduce fire hazard associated with fuel spills. Customers needed an effective alternative to foam that was at least as effective and much easier to use.
During the 1970’s and 80’s, formulations were tested and retested in cooperation with local fire departments and firefighting training academies in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Canada. Field testing was carried using numerous formulations in an effort to develop a single product that could be used to mitigate a wide range of fuels, including those with additives. Ron’s chemical distribution company, Metra Chem began selling BioSolve to fire departments and emergency responders from the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s.
In the fall of 2009, Ron & Steve were approached by James Edgerly and Karl Loos regarding the sale of the BioSolve business. The two had worked together during the 1980’s in the Chemical Industries practice at the management consulting firm, Arthur D. Little, Inc (Cambridge, MA).
After strenuous and protracted negotiations, the sale of the BioSolve business was consummated in June of 2010. Sale of the BioSolve business allowed Ron to enjoy a brief retirement with his wife Sueyo and their beloved dog, Mark. The new owners established “The BioSolve Company” and set up offices in Lexington, Massachusetts. Manufacturing operations remain unchanged.
BioSolve products has been used by professionals for over 30 years to address hydrocarbon contamination, applications include:
- hydrocarbon vapor suppression and odor control at excavations and fuel spills,
- in-situ soil remediation & bioremediation
- equipment decontamination & spill cleanup
- pipeline & tank degassing and sludge removal
BioSolve is the effective, environmentally responsible and worker friendly alternative both to foam sprays and solvent-based cleaners.
Our customer loyalty tells the story:
- metropolitan fire departments,
- airports and public utilities,
- environmental remediation engineers & contractors,
- industrial maintenance contractors,
- automotive and food/beverage manufacturers and
- major oil companies
