George Gluck, CEO of Fleurchem

   It is hard to picture someone getting excited over a vat of chemicals. Hard, that is, until you meet George Gluck, CEO of Fleurchem, Inc. A discussion of these essential building blocks of the foods you buy in the store and how they relate to kashrus is just the vehicle to get Gluck going.

   Gluck's is the classic American success story – of how an average boy, born in Hungary and raised in Chicago and Brooklyn, founded and runs an international chemicals and flavors company, which is now certified by the OK.

Chemicals and flavors underlie so many of the products that consumers take into their homes. In the course of the last two decades, kosher supervision of these has become more and more complex.

   George Gluck is an unassuming father of four who lives in Monsey, NY. Gluck studied at Yeshiva Torah Vo'daath in Brooklyn, and later received a B.S. in Chemistry at Brooklyn College and an M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Manhattan College of Engineering. He cut his teeth in the chemicals and flavors industry, working at Norda (now known as Quest), Givaudan (now called Givaudan Roure), and other chemical companies as a chemist.

   Although working for these well-known firms was rewarding, Gluck could not brush away the entrepreneurial bug. "I was in my mid-thirties, and I knew that if I didn't start my own company now, I would never do it," he says. And so, in 1984 he founded Fleurchem as a trading company for the import and export of essential oils and chemicals.

   At the same time Fleurchem was getting on its feet, a sea change was occurring in consumer consumption. People were including more natural foods in their diet and insisting that chemicals stem from a natural source.

The Fleurchem facility in Middletown, NY.

   Gluck took notice and, soon after the corporation opened for business, he chose to capitalize on this growing market. "I decided to specialize in locating sources for natural ingredients," he says. (Fleurchem's name combines "fleur," French for flower, and "chem" for chemicals, representing Gluck's wish to focus on natural chemicals.) Fleurchem's steady growth led to the opening of a facility in Garnerville, NY, in 1989, for the production and distribution of natural as well as synthetic chemicals.

   The traditional route for chemicals manufacturers is to expand into flavor production, a related field. After establishing a solid base in chemicals manufacturing, Fleurchem made the leap into flavor production. It started when the company was asked to produce Kosher for Passover flavors. Gluck notes that these are very hard to manufacture because of the difficulty in obtaining approved chemicals. Nonetheless, Fleurchem was able to fill the request for these flavors, and subsequently began to produce flavors year round. For Passover, Fleurchem must sometimes manufacture its own chemicals due to the scarcity of Kosher for Passover ones, but the company has risen to the task.

   Despite Fleurchem's success in flavor production, says Gluck, "our primary business remains the chemical business."

   As the years passed, Fleurchem continued to grow, and the company eventually moved to its current location, a 200,000-square-foot facility in Middletown, NY, about 60 miles northwest of New York City.

   Fleurchem sells to flavor, fragrance, and aromatherapy companies, among others. "We deal with most of the major players in the U.S. and overseas," says Gluck.

   Chemicals and flavors underlie so many of the products that consumers take into their homes. In the course of the last two decades, supervision of these has become more and more complex. Years ago, when chemicals primarily were synthetic, not much attention was paid to kosher certification. Gluck says that the consumer demand for natural chemicals changed the industry. He says: "Kashrus became more complex, especially in the field of natural ingredients, since there are quite a few enzymes used to create chemicals via a natural route. They can come from non-kosher sources such as pig or not-ritually slaughtered chicken."

   Fleurchem was attuned to the needs of the kosher community; however, rather than undergoing the laborious process of certifying every chemical, it sought certification on an as-needed basis. Food companies would ask for a chemical or flavor with kosher supervision, at which point Fleurchem would obtain a kosher letter for that item.

   Recently, after experiencing difficulties with two other supervision agencies, George Gluck contacted the OK.

In seeking a kosher supervision agency, Gluck wanted a company that would provide a combination of knowledge of his industry, an ability to produce accurate information quickly, and an international reputation. "In the OK I found each of these elements."

   Fleurchem could have continued to obtain kashrus certification item by item; however, Gluck now considered acquiring general certification for the entire Fleurchem line, including items for which a kosher letter was never requested (and which may never be requested). Although this was more time-consuming and complex, Gluck elected to take that course, and he feels it will pay off in the long run.

   Why did Fleurchem make the jump to the OK? Gluck minces no words. "Companies were requesting new kosher letters or updates of expired kosher letters," he says, "but I was unable to receive the updated letters from the certifying agency. We were hamstrung by the slow response time and we wanted more national exposure." Gluck stresses that there is no question about the integrity of the other agencies. The deficiency was technical; his needs were not being fully addressed.

   Gluck found that this all changed when Fleurchem sought out the OK. The OK staff put itself at Gluck's service, for a project that was no small task. Fleurchem presented an enormous challenge to the OK. Almost 1,500 chemicals had to be scanned into the computer system and matched against existing kosher letters. While that would seem simple enough, the spelling of these often obscure chemicals frequently did not match the spelling in the OK database.

   Fortunately the OK's Information Systems manager, Yishai Hornbacher, was up to the job, and the OK's new computer system demonstrated its efficiency. "I sat for days with Yishai," Gluck says. "He went beyond the call of duty to get the job done quickly and accurately."

Looking toward the future, Gluck sees Fleurchem's chemical and flavor businesses continuing to expand, with the kosher consumer foremost in mind.

   Gluck was impressed by the new computer system: "We were amazed at the sophistication and the ability of your computer to spew out results in such a short time."

   In seeking a kosher supervision agency, Gluck wanted a company that would provide a combination of knowledge of his industry, an ability to produce accurate information quickly, and an international reputation. "In the OK I found each of these elements," he says. "I needed to find someone I could trust who knows their chemicals," says Gluck. He was pleased that the OK has on staff an expert in chemicals, Abraham Jacobowitz. "Many mashgichim who certify chemical companies do not have a chemistry background," he points out. "Abraham Jacobowitz has it."

   In addition, Gluck knew Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Avrohom Juravel, a fellow Monsey resident, and was aware of his reputation as one of the outstanding men in kashrus supervision today. All in all, Gluck "found the staff very helpful; I'd like to thank them for being there when we needed them."

Inside one of Fleurchem’s labs.

   There was one more factor Gluck considered – an agency that was not so big that it had become aloof. "The OK is well known, but it still has the personal touch, which is very important to me."

   George Gluck makes an interesting observation about the perception of kashrus in the eyes of the non-Jewish world. There are people who believe that companies look upon kosher certification as a nuisance. That is not true, he says. He stresses that non-Jewish companies are not averse to properly administered kashrus. "Companies don't mind if the mashgiach checks their facility thoroughly," he says. "They mind a rabbi who just comes in and picks up the check."

   Asked why Fleurchem has been so successful in its 14 years of existence, Gluck says: "Customers stick with us because they know our reputation for being forthright – they have full confidence in us." And new customers come on board by the best advertising, word of mouth. Gluck is also aware of the marketing power of the Internet, and expects to have a website operating in the near future.

   Gluck's enthusiasm for Fleurchem is palpable. Looking toward the future, he sees its chemical and flavor businesses continuing to expand, with the kosher consumer foremost in mind.

   Gluck smiles when he is asked if he eats and sleeps Fleurchem. "To me it's not a business. I love what I do."

Eli Mandel is a free-lance writer.