Maritime

About

Our Mission

Custom Compounders’ mission is to provide the maritime and industrial industries with the safest, most effective, and most cost-efficient cleaning and degreasing products that are safe for our waterways, land, wildlife, and humans. With the addition of each L-44® product, our mission continues to be fulfilled and we promise to keep formulating new products that fit these parameters.

Our Why

Historically, chemical manufacturers and formulators have focused on the competitive pressures of cost and performance. While important, following only those factors bypasses critical consequences of use – human health and our environment!

Marketing tactics by mainstream chemical companies promote “environmental friendliness” and other positive images, but most of these are ambiguous claims and cannot be substantiated! In fact, if completed accurately and in full compliance with GHS standards, many of the SDS/MSDS sheets for these “friendly/biodegradable” products blatantly contradict their promotional claims.

“Change” for people and manufacturers is often met with resistance. When all is well – why change? Our team’s purpose goes deeper; we are motivated by a different understanding of the word “Change.”

Our Belief

Change is a truly worthy opportunity to introduce new and critically important values to the marketplace with chemical alternatives offering better performance, better cost efficiencies, and avoid the dangerous consequences associated with historically old-school degreasers.

The keys to support this change are anchored in formal certifications and independent studies which fully comply with the “Federal Trade Commission.” These standards are not ambiguous, they are easy to understand, and literally interpreted as being truthful. Under the provisions of our EPA Safer Choice Partnership Agreement, we are mandated to meet these FTC guidelines that require substantiation with reliable laboratory evidence. In other words; not just our words!

How L-44 Products Began

L-44 began with a question from an owner of a river operations company – can you make a marine-safe, effective degreaser or cleaner for outdoor use? We answered the call by making it our mission to provide the highest quality degreaser that’s truly safe for workers and every area of the environment.

No matter what it took, we knew we could achieve remarkable performance benefits within the ever-growing trend of “green” chemistries and minimize worker exposure to harsh chemicals while contributing to better air quality results.

We began formulating our flagship product, L-44 ECD, in 2008. After rigorous trial and error to develop the ideal combination of performance and safety, in December 2009, L-44 ECD was certified by the EPA’s Safer Choice program and is now ranked among the top-performing environmentally safe degreasers with unparalleled effectiveness and safety for humans.

Choosing Safer Choice

We chose to follow the EPA’s Safer Choice standards because they are rigorous and apply to all industry safety aspects including considerations for humans, as well as for the environment (water, land, and air).

The value of our now multiple-product certifications represents a cooperative relationship with the EPA, NSF, and other agencies, as well as with our customers. These stringent certifications and relationships confirm performance, safety, and trust, and provide a meaningful link to a greater meaning for us all – a safer, healthier planet.

Our Model & Mariners

Our model is a reflection of support to the river transportation and marine industry’s corporate mission for “Best Environmental and Workplace Practices.” Our respect for this dedicated industry leadership for all concerns of safety is the primary influence in our products’ formulations. We are determined to give back to an industry fully dedicated to the preservation of our nation’s waterways and their educational outreach to institutions and students.  No other industry has accomplished more!

Beyond Marine Applications

We have also learned that industrial manufacturing, aviation, auto, and many other industries face the same problems that the marine industry faces – finding and affording products that work well without harming workers and the environment. It doesn’t matter if you’re working with chemicals inside or out – the environmental and human safety impact is the same.

All of our L-44 products are proven for effectiveness, substantiated for degreasing and cleaning any environment, and keeping costs under control, while caring for workers’ health. We are thrilled to be able to help with products you can feel good about using.

Custom Compounders Team

Our Mid-Missouri company established in 1980, is a growing team of formulation research and development specialists, highly trained in customer care who are here to specifically meet your needs. If you have any questions, concerns, or product challenges you would like us to review, please feel free to contact us today. We are here to partner with you for a safer today and a better tomorrow.

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What People Say

  • “Our company enjoys a very special supplier relationship with the Henry A. Petter Supply Company of Paducah Ky. To have our L-44® products associated with this historic and respected 105 year service provider to the river and marine industry is a an enormous privilege and advantage for our company. We are humbled for our association with Petter’s known reputation in the industry”

    Henry A. Petter Supply

  • “Thanks again for the opportunity to test your L-44® degreaser in our harbor fleeting operations. I now see why you had enough confidence in your product to offer a free sample for testing. Boy, were we pleased with the results! It’s nice to see a degreaser that not only cleans well, but also one that is safe for our employees and our equipment. Thanks again for opportunity to test your degreaser.” You now have a new happy customer!

    Terry F. Ferebee
    VP Vessel Operations, Helena Marine Service, Inc.

  • “I wanted to take a minute to thank you and Custom Compounders for putting out the L44ECD degreaser. Our crews use your degreaser on a daily basis and feel that it preforms very well. As the manager of our facility I appreciate the fact that your degreaser is user friendly, environmentally friendly, and meets or exceeds our government standards. I regularly pass the information on L44 along to others that we work with in the industry including fuel and oil suppliers.”

    Karl Berthelot
    Manager BMI Ste. Gen.

  • “I have worked for Luhr Bros. Inc. for 26 yrs on the boats and in their office. I came in the office in 1996 as a Safety Manager. We have been using the “L-44 ECD” Degreaser for about 4 yrs. From my perspective as a Safety Professional, the L-44 “ECD” Degreaser we are using is better than any other degreasers we have used by far. With “L-44 ECD” Degreaser we have an environmentally safe product, and no crew members having to attend medical facilities due to being burned by direct skin contact. Also it does a great job cleaning our engines and not fading the paint job. I encourage all the river companies to give it a try.”

    Bill Klingel
    Luhr Bros Inc. Marine Division

  • “We enjoy an honored privilege for the opportunity extended our company by Joe Brantley of AEP River Operations to have L-44® ECD Degreaser evaluated as part of their corporate “Go Green” mission aboard the mv. Donna Rushing. We are uniquely indebted to AEP, and for the detailed efforts of Rob Korte and Jim Wilson for their testing reviews of L-44® ECD on multiple tugboats of the AEP fleet."

    Project Go Green

  • “I have been using degreasers for many years and have never had the quality of degreaser that I am now using with the L-44 ECD. It reduces the amount of time I have to spend in the engine room cleaning which allows me more time to concentrate on my other duties. The younger generation of engineers are going to be spoiled by using a higher quality of degreaser than we had to use in the past. They will spend less time cleaning and no burning or skin irritation when it comes in contact with your skin.”

    Rick Myers, Chief Engineer, M/V Twyla Luhr