Our History
Charlie Kline + 1959
Our founder, Dr. Charles Kline, would be impressed but likely not surprised by today’s size, scope, and success of his namesake company. Charlie was a bright, confident, and engaging business entrepreneur when he started Kline in 1959 – a two-man shop comprised of himself and employee number two, a research librarian from Hungary. A Princeton educated chemist (both undergraduate and Ph.D.), he left a research position at the then leading chemical company – American Cyanamid (Shulton) – to fill a void he encountered in his day-to-day work – market and competitive data on the specialty chemical industry built via a rigorous underlying research process. Charlie and his growing team of consultants went on to create a substantial portfolio of industry leading market research reports in areas such as personal care ingredients, synthetic latex polymers, surfactants, and more, eventually expanding to other adjacent and allied industries, and into advisory services.
Kline + Company Today
Delivering actionable insights
In 1959, Dr. Charles Kline, a Princeton-trained chemist, was frustrated with the lack of market research and competitive data on the growing specialty chemical industry. He founded his namesake market research and advisory based on the principles of delivering deep industry expertise backed by rigorous research and analytic excellence. Dr. Kline’s passion for uncovering knowledge and trend analysis led to the creation of innovative techniques to provide clients with actionable and predictive insights to make data-informed decisions.
Today, Kline + Company continues to uncover unique insights by leveraging advanced technology and human expertise to formulate perspectives, recommendations, and ongoing guidance. Our market researchers are global subject matter experts in specialty chemicals, energy-lubricants and EVs, beauty and wellbeing. This decades-long focus has positioned Kline as the industry’s trusted experts.
From Dr. Kline’s pioneering vision of filling an information gap in the specialty chemicals industry, Kline + Company has grown to ten offices in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Kline’s client partners include global industry leaders such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Bayer, BASF, Wella and L’Oréal. Their offerings include market research, competitor and market intelligence, company trackers, trend analysis, predictive analytics, and advisory services. After 65 years, the world’s leading companies look to Kline + Company insights to capitalize on emerging opportunities and drive sustainable growth.
