Ranking · Flanders · NACE 20
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products: the largest employers in Flanders
As of 14 Nov 2026, 365 companies in Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products (NACE 20) in Flanders report employees in recent accounts (financial years 2024 to 2026). The 10 largest employers account for 11,167.7 FTE, out of 31,294.3 for all of them; median headcount is 19.6 FTE. BASF Antwerpen leads with 3,640.9 FTE (financial year 2025).
Top 50 · Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products · Flanders
Ranked by average headcount (FTE) reported in the latest filed accounts (accounts less than 3 years old).
| # | Company | Total assets | Revenue | Equity | FTE | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BASF Antwerpen 2040 Antwerp | €2.38bn | €5.69bn | €998.9m | 3,640.9 | 2025 |
| 2 | Agfa-Gevaert 2640 Mortsel | €1.27bn | €423.3m | €67.9m | 1,420.4 | 2025 |
| 3 | Soudal 2300 Turnhout | €604.4m | €768.5m | €158.2m | 1,148.1 | 2025 |
| 4 | Covestro 2040 Antwerp | €624.6m | €1.18bn | €361.9m | 950.0 | 2025 |
| 5 | Evonik Antwerpen 2040 Antwerp | €331.9m | €583.2m | €61.5m | 904.5 | 2025 |
| 6 | Envalior 2040 Antwerp | €398.9m | €724.0m | €189.7m | 757.6 | 2025 |
| 7 | Bayer Agriculture 2040 Antwerp | €209.5m | €13.0m | €102.9m | 642.0 | 2025 |
| 8 | Borealis Polymers 3583 Beringen | €246.4m | €207.8m | €172.9m | 580.2 | 2025 |
| 9 | Oleon 9940 Evergem | €602.5m | €713.4m | €233.9m | 571.0 | 2024 |
| 10 | Vynova Belgium 3980 Tessenderlo-Ham | €489.4m | €884.1m | €204.4m | 553.0 | 2024 |
| 11 | Capsugel Belgium 2880 Bornem | €673.9m | €307.8m | €369.9m | 473.8 | 2025 |
| 12 | Ineos 2070 Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht | €390.0m | €627.3m | €268.1m | 467.1 | 2025 |
| 13 | EuroChem Antwerpen 2040 Antwerp | €411.3m | €772.4m | €314.4m | 405.6 | 2025 |
| 14 | Taminco 9000 Ghent | €434.0m | €527.2m | €100.8m | 405.3 | 2025 |
| 15 | Ineos Styrolution Belgium 2040 Antwerp | €126.2m | €209.5m | €53.1m | 341.0 | 2025 |
| 16 | Citribel 3300 Tienen | €110.8m | €91.8m | €78.1m | 338.8 | 2025 |
| 17 | Solutia Europe 9000 Ghent | €1.58bn | €436.0m | €1.30bn | 333.3 | 2025 |
| 18 | Kaneka Belgium 2260 Westerlo | €307.7m | €335.1m | €257.8m | 323.8 | 2026 |
| 19 | Borealis Kallo 3583 Beringen | €2.06bn | €163.8m | €340.5m | 320.2 | 2025 |
| 20 | TotalEnergies Olefins Antwerp 2030 Antwerp | €346.4m | €369.2m | €75.3m | 315.1 | 2025 |
| 21 | L'Air liquide Belge 1932 Zaventem | €86.7m | €126.7m | €43.8m | 304.7 | 2025 |
| 22 | Lubrizol Advanced Materials Europe 2260 Westerlo | €1.12bn | €394.0m | €949.1m | 301.3 | 2025 |
| 23 | Akzo Nobel Paints Belgium 1800 Vilvoorde | €145.2m | €145.1m | €46.9m | 300.3 | 2025 |
| 24 | Allnex Belgium 1620 Drogenbos | €1.89bn | €202.7m | €891.1m | 299.7 | 2025 |
| 25 | Carpenter Engineered Foams Belgium 1831 Machelen (Brab.) | €94.4m | €59.1m | €34.7m | 292.8 | 2025 |
| 26 | Kronos Europe 9000 Ghent | €208.8m | €212.5m | €52.4m | 286.7 | 2025 |
| 27 | Ineos Manufacturing Belgium 2040 Antwerp | €211.0m | €106.2m | €174.5m | 279.4 | 2025 |
| 28 | Nippon Sanso Belgium 2250 Olen | €238.1m | €174.1m | €183.4m | 279.3 | 2026 |
| 29 | INEOS Aromatics Belgium 2440 Geel | €326.0m | €142.2m | €268.4m | 277.9 | 2025 |
| 30 | Air Liquide Industries Belgium 1932 Zaventem | €475.8m | €573.8m | €265.2m | 269.4 | 2025 |
| 31 | Air Products 1831 Machelen (Brab.) | €704.4m | €220.8m | €631.3m | 258.3 | 2025 |
| 32 | AGFA 2640 Mortsel | €362.1m | €374.7m | €66.7m | 246.5 | 2025 |
| 33 | Borealis Antwerpen 3583 Beringen | €178.3m | €77.1m | €28.9m | 243.3 | 2025 |
| 34 | Desotec 8800 Roeselare | €326.4m | €160.5m | €52.3m | 228.0 | 2025 |
| 35 | Fujifilm Electronic Materials (Europe) 2070 Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht | €268.6m | €248.8m | €189.9m | 225.0 | 2026 |
| 36 | Boss Paints 8791 Waregem | €42.3m | €64.5m | €15.2m | 220.2 | 2025 |
| 37 | JSR Micro 3001 Leuven | €144.7m | €174.6m | €109.6m | 213.1 | 2026 |
| 38 | LANXESS Belgium 9130 Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht | €297.5m | €118.1m | €270.3m | 211.3 | 2025 |
| 39 | Rousselot 9000 Ghent | €96.3m | €160.7m | €39.6m | 205.2 | 2026 |
| 40 | Ravago Production 2370 Arendonk | €32.7m | €37.0m | €13.2m | 199.1 | 2025 |
| 41 | Nippon Shokubai Europe 2070 Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht | €244.0m | €339.7m | €191.1m | 197.7 | 2026 |
| 42 | Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions Belgium 2200 Herentals | €97.5m | €97.6m | €64.3m | 196.7 | 2025 |
| 43 | Ineos Olefins Belgium 2040 Antwerp | €4.79bn | €48.9m | €426.2m | 190.1 | 2025 |
| 44 | Envalior Specialty Compounds 3600 Genk | €77.4m | €34.8m | €49.0m | 179.1 | 2025 |
| 45 | Rain Carbon 9060 Zelzate | €182.7m | €325.0m | €119.9m | 177.6 | 2025 |
| 46 | integrated DNA technologies 3001 Leuven | €27.4m | €57.2m | €15.4m | 175.8 | 2025 |
| 47 | Martin Mathys 3545 Halen | €45.5m | €56.8m | €12.9m | 172.7 | 2026 |
| 48 | Sumitomo Bakelite Europe (Ghent) 9000 Ghent | €55.5m | €70.8m | €22.6m | 168.6 | 2026 |
| 49 | CID Lines 8900 Ypres | €97.1m | €126.4m | €65.3m | 161.9 | 2025 |
| 50 | Proviron Functional Chemicals 8400 Ostend | €54.0m | €66.7m | €19.2m | 158.0 | 2025 |
Ranking based on each company's own annual accounts (statutory, not consolidated): a subsidiary and its parent appear separately, and the ranking differs from lists based on consolidated group accounts. Headcount reported by the company for all its sites: the jobs may be located elsewhere.
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products across Belgium → All sectors · Flanders →
Other sectors · Flanders
- 01 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities1,948
- 02 Forestry and logging64
- 03 Fishing and aquaculture60
- 08 Other mining and quarrying41
- 10 Manufacture of food products2,131
- 11 Manufacture of beverages152
- 12 Manufacture of tobacco products15
- 13 Manufacture of textiles422
- 14 Manufacture of wearing apparel128
- 15 Manufacture of leather and related products of other materials22
- 16 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials497
- 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products150
- 18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media466
- 19 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products11
- 21 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations72
- 22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products373
- 23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products564
- 24 Manufacture of basic metals153
- 25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment2,058
- 26 Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products239
- 27 Manufacture of electrical equipment229
- 28 Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.652
- 29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers183
- 30 Manufacture of other transport equipment60
- 31 Manufacture of furniture513
- 32 Other manufacturing416
- 33 Repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment708
- 35 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply108
- 36 Water collection, treatment and supply15
- 37 Sewerage72
- 38 Waste collection, recovery and disposal activities378
- 39 Remediation activities and other waste management service activities40
- 41 Construction of residential and non-residential buildings3,494
- 42 Civil engineering943
- 43 Specialised construction activities10,807
- 46 Wholesale trade10,015
- 47 Retail trade11,712
- 49 Land transport and transport via pipelines3,118
- 50 Water transport118
- 51 Air transport32
- 52 Warehousing, storage and support activities for transportation1,021
- 53 Postal and courier activities175
- 55 Accommodation896
- 56 Food and beverage service activities8,664
- 58 Publishing activities231
- 59 Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities290
- 60 Programming, broadcasting, news agency and other content distribution activities25
- 61 Telecommunication84
- 62 Computer programming, consultancy and related activities3,117
- 63 Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and other information service activities218
- 64 Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding2,369
- 65 Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security31
- 66 Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities1,957
- 68 Real estate activities2,915
- 69 Legal and accounting activities3,058
- 70 Activities of head offices and management consultancy2,567
- 71 Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis1,838
- 72 Scientific research and development176
- 73 Activities of advertising, market research and public relations813
- 74 Other professional, scientific and technical activities314
- 75 Veterinary activities326
- 77 Rental and leasing activities509
- 78 Employment activities422
- 79 Travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities270
- 80 Investigation and security activities78
- 81 Services to buildings and landscape activities1,730
- 82 Office administrative, office support and other business support activities776
- 84 Public administration and defence; compulsory social security39
- 85 Education549
- 86 Human health activities3,160
- 87 Residential care activities516
- 88 Social work activities without accommodation763
- 90 Arts creation and performing arts activities306
- 91 Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities57
- 92 Gambling and betting activities56
- 93 Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities854
- 94 Activities of membership organisations282
- 95 Repair and maintenance of computers, personal and household goods, and motor vehicles and motorcycles984
- 96 Personal service activities1,624
Municipalities with the most companies in the sector · Flanders
- 9000 Ghent22
- 2040 Antwerp (Berendrecht, Lillo, Zandvliet)13
- 8800 Roeselare (Beveren, Oekene, Rumbeke)11
- 3980 Tessenderlo-Ham (Tessenderlo)10
- 9042 Ghent (Desteldonk, Mendonk, Sint-Kruis-Winkel)10
- 2070 Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht (Burcht, Zwijndrecht)9
- 3600 Genk8
- 8400 Ostend (Stene, Zandvoorde)8
- 2220 Heist-op-den-Berg (Hallaar)7
- 3560 Lummen (Linkhout, Meldert)7
- 9130 Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht (Doel, Kallo, Kieldrecht, …)7
- 9810 Nazareth-De Pinte (Eke, Nazareth)7
Frequently asked questions
Which is the largest employer in Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products in Flanders?
Among companies, BASF Antwerpen, with 3,640.9 full-time equivalents reported (financial year 2025).
Are all the jobs located in the area?
Not necessarily: headcount is reported by the company for all its sites, and the company is ranked by the address of its registered office. 365 out of 554 companies in the sector report employees there.
Why does this ranking differ from other lists?
It uses each company's annual accounts as filed with the National Bank, not consolidated group accounts. A holding, a subsidiary or a purchasing entity can therefore appear separately. Only companies whose latest accounts are less than 3 years old are ranked.
Idonis
Analyse companies · Flanders
Filter these companies by size, soundness and trend, follow them and get an alert when their accounts or publications change.
Open the full file →Free account in 30 seconds, by email. No bank card.
Active companies (legal entities) that have filed at least one set of annual accounts, based on the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises and the National Bank of Belgium. The sector is the main activity in the register; the municipality is that of the registered office. Data updated on 14 Nov 2026.