CP Kelco has a long-standing commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, predating long before DE&I initiatives became a concern for many companies. As a Huber company, we are bound by the Huber Principles of Respect for People. It’s at the heart of our brand as a family-owned company, is core to how we engage our employees, and is critical to how we serve our customers. We believe it’s intrinsically tied to our triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit. After all, our talented people are the drivers—they innovate, problem-solve and unlock nature-powered success for our customers.
What DE&I means to us
As a global company, we understand that DE&I means different things to different people around the world. This has inspired us to take a uniquely centrally guided strategy with local initiatives in each region in which we operate. We call our approach “I Belong at Huber.”
Our DE&I strategy focuses on three pillars: Talent (how and who we hire and develop), Culture (the experience our employees have at work every day) and Community (how we interact with our customers and communities).
In keeping with our focus on Talent, how and who we hire and develop, we at CP Kelco believe all employees, candidates and customers benefit from transparency on who makes up our workforce. In 2023, our workforce was made up of:
Employees who self-identified as diverse in our global workforce
Employees who self-identified as diverse in our global leadership ranks
Employees who self-identified as women in our global workforce
Employees who self-identified as women in our global leadership ranks
Creating a culture of inclusivity
At CP Kelco, our goal is to ensure our workforce and leadership ranks reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in.
We focus on continuously strengthening our inclusive culture through multi-step, long-term DE&I training for all employees and leaders in our organization. We also sponsor Employee Resource Groups globally as well as local Inclusion Networks, offering our employees with various opportunities to get involved in DE&I and build community with colleagues. Our employees also have the opportunity to support the diverse communities we operate in through our Huber Helps program.
At CP Kelco, we believe that different cultures, ethnicities, faiths, ages, sexual orientations and gender identities make us stronger. And we will continually strive to make our inclusive culture better, a place where our people feel empowered to share their ideas and know that they will be heard and valued. Our commitment to DE&I starts with leadership. Our President Didier Viala’s visible and ongoing commitment has been critical to our ability to embed DE&I into our processes.
CP Kelco considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, national origin, age, disability or other status protected by local, state or federal law. CP Kelco also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and applicable state and local laws.
In 2018, CP Kelco’s parent company, J.M. Huber Corporation, embarked on a multi-year journey to further strengthen an already positive, strong enterprise-wide culture. CP Kelco has enthusiastically embraced this journey, called “I Belong at Huber,” inviting our employees in the 22 countries where we operate to participate. We are actively examining cultural sustainability in our workforce, workplace and marketplace, and our employees are playing an active role in this journey.
The “I Belong at Huber” initiative launched with our president, Didier Viala, participating along with his coworkers in unconscious bias training. Didier’s visible and ongoing commitment has been critical to our ability to embed diversity, equity & inclusion into our processes.
One of the oldest manufacturing companies in San Diego, dating to the 1920s as The Kelco Company, the plant produces Gellan Gum, Fermentation-Derived Cellulose and Xanthan Gum.
Built in 1977 and expanded multiple times since, the Okmulgee plant makes Gellan and Xanthan Gum for use in food and pharmaceutical products.
Established in 2001 and acquired by CP Kelco in 2006, the Wulian plant produces Diutan Gum, Xanthan Gum and Gellan Gum, key ingredients for use in the global food, beverage and energy industries.
CP Kelco’s newest facility, completed in 2016, produces Citrus Fiber, which provides structure and stability in food and non-food applications while meeting clean label requirements.
Opened in 1954 and acquired in 1997, the Limeira plant produces Pectin, which is used as a gelling agent, viscosity builder and stabilizer in food and beverage products.
CP Kelco ApS is located in Lille Skensved, 40 km south of Copenhagen, Denmark. The plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world and produces pectin and carrageenan based respectively on citrus peel and seaweed. 