The Ozark Chemical Company was founded in 1924 to supply sulfuric acid to the petroleum refineries in the Tulsa area. Later, manufacturing was expanded to include both hydrochloric and phosphoric acids.

During the Second World War, Ozark Chemical began production of hydrofluoric acid using fluorspar obtained from the Mahoning Mining Company. In 1946 the two companies merged to form the Ozark-Mahoning Company. Subsequently, the sulfuric and phosphoric acid production was sold or shut down.

An R&D group was formed in 1943 to develop new compounds containing fluorine and find value-added applications for such compounds. In 1949 this lead to the development of sodium monofluorophosphate (SMFP) for dentifrice applications. Production of hydrofluoric acid was halted and the business concentrated on fluorine specialties.

Pennwalt Corporation acquired Ozark-Mahoning in 1974, operating it as a subsidiary. In 1990 Pennwalt was acquired by Elf Atochem, which in turn was merged with TotalFina in 1999. 

In over 75 years of continuous operation, the business has grown to be one of the world's leaders in fine fluorine chemistry.