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John Giles came to the North Carolina mountains in 1950 to mine the region's olivine deposits for magnesium. But it didn't take the Michigan transplant long to learn that drawing magnesium from olivine was too expensive to be commercially viable in the post-World War II economy.
In a move that would come to define the company's character, John Giles developed a new plan. He bought magnesium oxide from seawater extraction plants in Florida, converted it to magnesium sulfate and sold it to the tanneries that ringed his new home town. Soon the company was thriving. As the region grew, and more industry moved to the South, so too did Giles business.
 Although the ownership of Giles has changed, finding innovative solutions to customers' challenges remains our hallmark. Our sales volumes may make us the largest magnesium sulfate manufacturer and sodium sulfate byproduct marketer in North America, but our can-do attitude keeps us resourceful and forward thinking. When a customer runs into a road block, we find a way around it, just as John Giles did so many years ago.
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