SEASTAR CHEMICALS was established by the AXYS Group of high technology companies in 1987. The AXYS Group was founded in 1974 and is privately held. The three founding members each have graduate degrees in marine analytical chemistry and their background in marine science is responsible for the direction the AXYS Group has taken.
SEASTAR started out of a need for high purity acids to be used in oceanography. In 1979, Seakem Oceanography, a division of the Axys Group hired Vidas Stukas to purify acids. Using the purified acid, Vidas was able to consistently measure sub-part per trillion levels of lead in seawater, setting a new standard in analysis. Project work in this area was completed in 1983 and the results were prepared for the Ocean Chemistry Division of the Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS, Canada). In 1999, more than 15 years after the project had been completed, the results of this research were published in a special commemorative issue of MARINE CHEMISTRY, to honour the great Oceanographer, J. Dennis Burton.
Vidas in 1992, 50km from the North Magnetic Pole, sampling seawater for trace metals
In the fall of 1983, the company quickly realized that other chemists faced similar problems and began to produce acid products under the SEASTAR™ name. SEASTAR CHEMICALS was established as a separate company in 1987 in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. Decades of experience and research in this area have resulted in many improvements including the development of unique distillation techniques and manufacturing equipment. This proprietary equipment and knowledge provides SEASTAR™ with significant quality and technology advantages over competitors in the market. As state of the art analytical instrumentation improves, SEASTAR™ continues to develop enhancements in process technology and analytical testing. This allows us to provide the highest quality products available to the market.