Coatings Industry Mourns Frederick Kafka

Frederick Kafka passed away Saturday, Jan. 29 at the age of 97 due to complications from COVID.

Known as Fred, he was born in Vienna, Austria. In 1938, his family emigrated to the United States. He was drafted into the US Army in 1943 and was in battle in various campaigns in Italy, including the PO Valley Campaign. Among many decorations he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

Upon his return to New York, he completed his degree in chemical engineering from Columbia University and joined Superior Materials, Inc. in 1948 as an engineer, working alongside his father-in-law Benjamin Joachim and brother-in-law Meyer Budman.

The three of them at the helm of Superior were pioneers in developing the industrial use of kaolin and attapulgite clay among other raw materials. The Superior team invented the name ASP®, which is known globally as the hydrous nomenclature for what is now the Kaolin group of BASF.

Fred along with Meyer built Superior’s sales and the company grew. Later on, both of Fred’s sons and Meyer’s son joined the business, and today it has evolved into a fourth generation privately held chemical distributor covering 26 states for a variety of specialty chemicals.

Fred was actively involved in multiple trade associations and for years provided photographs for various publications of meetings and outings as a volunteer. He worked for well over 50 years at Superior and remained interested in the business for the remainder of his life.

He leaves Mindy, his wife of more than 75 years, three children, six grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He received a Paint Pioneer award from the MNYCA years ago and was very active in the organization. He had a reputation for being honest, intelligent, and a true pioneer in the field of raw materials.