About Us

From the Rieke Metals headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska, we manufacture the broadest line of organozinc halides and poly-3-alkylthiophenes of any company in the world. We offer over 5,000 organometallic building blocks and over 40,000 fine chemicals with the ability to custom manufacture many more. The Rieke team has over 40 years of shared experience conducting inert atmosphere reactions. Our expertise in creating reliable organozinc and Grignard reagents, fine chemicals, and conducting polymers is unmatched. It’s no surprise that Rieke Metals has been honored to serve many of the largest and most innovative pharmaceutical and electronics companies in the world.

Company History

Dr. Reuben D. Rieke and his wife, Loretta, founded Rieke Metals in 1991 with the goal of developing highly reactive metals and novel reagents for the advancement of scientific research. Dr. Rieke had spent more than 40 years researching and manufacturing organozinc and Grignard reagents. The company has carried Dr. Rieke’s legacy and core values forward, paying strict attention to quality and agile responsiveness that have helped Rieke Metals become a respected industry leader.

We are proud of our contribution to the scientific community and the many “firsts” we have achieved.

Rieke Metals is the first company to:


  • Develop proprietary highly reactive Rieke® Zinc and Rieke® Magnesium
  • Manufacture and sell hundreds of unique organozinc and specialty Grignard reagents
  • Offer thousands of highly functionalized fine chemicals
  • Offer P3HT, Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl), as well as many functionalized thiophene polymers and monomers

Our Founders

Rieke Metals founders Dr. Reuben D. Rieke and his wife Loretta both dedicated their professional lives to helping advance scientific research. Dr. Reuben Rieke grew up in Fairfax, Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, conducting his undergraduate research with Professor Wayland E. Noland. He received a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the direction of Professor Howard E. Zimmerman, and Dr. Rieke’s postgraduate work was completed with Professor Saul Winstein at UCLA. A strong proponent of education, Dr. Rieke taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1966-76), at North Dakota State University in Fargo (1976-77) and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1977-2004).

Dr. Reuben Rieke has been awarded 23 patents, has published more than 200 articles and is an esteemed lecturer on the subject of organometallic chemistry, presenting at more than 150 seminars across the US and around the world. He has received accolades from both the chemical science industry and the business community at large, being elected to the rank of Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1996); named Chemist of the Year (1997) by the American Chemical Society and receiving the 2003 Walter Scott Entrepreneurial Business Award, among many other honors.

In 2014 Blue Diamond Capital, an investment firm formed by the founders and CEO of Doe & Ingalls, acquired Rieke Metals. Their goal is to grow the pipeline of new products and expand the company’s commercial manufacturing capability.

Our Passion for Science

Founded by chemists for chemists, the Rieke Metals passion for science is evident in all that we do. From developing novel reagents and compounds to working closely with our customers to serve them most effectively, our goal is to simplify the research process and help support our customers through the commercialization process.

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