- Sibelco
Infobox_Company
company_name = SCR-Sibelco NV
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = flagicon|BelgiumLommel ,Limburg
location_city =Dessel ,Antwerp
location_country =Belgium
industry = Industrial Metals & Minerals
key_people =Alain Speeckaert , President
homepage = http://www.sibelco.comSibelco has over 245 production units world-wide and is the un-disputed market leader in the extraction, production and distribution of the main industrial minerals: quartz, cristobalite, nepheline syenite, plastic clay and olivine. Furthermore the Sibelco group produces almost all other industrial minerals: barite, ben- tonite, calcite, dolomite, hydromagnesite, kaolin, feldspar, wollastonite, talc and huntite.As a pioneer in the extraction, production and distribution of pure silica sand and derived products Sibelco Belgium can rely on over 130 years of experience and a unique know-how.
The company extracts and refines various types of
sand andminerals . These mainly relate to top qualitysilica sands for industry. Today, Sibelco is the global market leader in this sector with production sites all over the world.SCR-Sibelco was founded in 1919 by
Stanislas Emsens , and is one of the oldest companies inFlanders today. The administrative headquarters of Sibelco Belgium are situated inDessel . In Flanders, silica sand is found in two regions:Maasmechelen and the region ofDessel -Mol-Lommel . Sibelco concentrated its operating offices here. The development of Sibelco remains closely linked to the Flemish quarries and their top quality silica sand. The companiesSigrano andLieben Minerals are active inHeerlen andMaastricht . These Dutch sites areoperationally part of Sibelco Belgium. The group is directed from itscorporate headquarters inAntwerp , where Sibelco also has a largestorage facility . Ships leave theport and transportquartz sand all over the world.History
1872
Formation of Sablières et Carrières Réunies (SCR) in order to extract the silica sand layers in Mol for industrial applications.
1896
At the end of the 19th century, hundreds of
hectares were acquired in the vicinity of Mol-Rauw with large quantities of silica sand. Amongst others the company was dedicated to the exploitation thereof. In 1896 the sand quarry ofStevensvennen opened, the firstautomated sand quarry .1919
Of the many sand extractors, only three remain: SCR, Anciennes Sablières
Stanislas Emsens andDe Nieuwe Zandgroeven in Mol.1921
SCR takes over the shares of Anciennes Sablières Stanislas Emsens. The basis is laid for the common
technological and later alsogeographical expansion .1930
Together with
Belgian experts , an Americancompany builds a uniquehydro-classification installation. It was later marketed worldwide asType SCR . The company constructs its firstcutting-edge laboratory in thethirties .1955
After
World War II priority is given to the development ofnew technologies . In 1955, SCR opens afactory in Dessel fordrying andmilling silica sand: Sibelco. The factory is a model for similar projects of the Sibelco-group in the rest of the world.1960
In
Maasmechelen a new sandextraction zone is exploited. The layer is12 million years old and the sand can be made exceptionally pure through a cutting-edge technological process.1961
Sibelco has its own
transshipment installation in theport of Antwerp . Silica sand is transported worldwide. In the sixties, Sibelco experiences aEurope an expansion and works together with various foreign companies. Sites are established inFrance ,Switzerland ,Italy ,Spain andPortugal .1972
The first silica sand production in the
Netherlands dates from thefifties . Expansions follow in 1972 with the takeover ofSigrano , Heerlen. Thissubsidiary is now part of the operations of Sibelco Belgium.1973
SCR-Sibelco gains a permanent foothold on the
American continent . In 1970 the American companyUnimin is established. Three years later it is the largestNorth America n producer of silica sand. A collaboration cannot be far off for SCR-Sibelco. Henceforth Unimin constitutes a part of SCR-Sibelco.1983
A new processing plant in
Lommel makes it possible to upgradehumus-rich silica sands from the vicinity. They are mainly intended for theglass industry (flat glass).1993
The Nieuwe Zandgroeven in Mol, in the meantime an independent subsidiary for a few years, is integrated. The British
WBB Minerals now also becomes part of the Sibelco-group. The company has a leading position as a supplier ofclay and related products1996
Lieben Minerals becomes a part of Sibelco Belgium. Together with the production office in Maasmechelen, the Dutch sites Sigrano and Lieben Minerals produce top qualityquartz products , amongst other suitable for thecrystal industry .2000
Further
globalisation . Sibelco now has sites in Europe, America, Australia and Asia. As from 2000, Sibelco has a permanent foothold inAustralia and acquisitions follow inChina ,South Korea ,Brazil ,India .In 2005 a new factory is opened inRussia 2006
The beginning of a
new extraction in Maasmechelen and the construction of a new sand upgrading plant in theMechelse Heide Zuid quarry.ource
* [http://webnieuws3.nieuwsblad.be/Article/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=g5ua2nj1 Gouden erepenning voor Stanislas Emsens] (Dutch)
* [http://www.vldlommel.be/burgerkrant/emsens.pdf Koning Albert II kende de titel van baron toe aan drie broers van de Sibelcofamilie] (Dutch)External links
* [http://www.sibelco.be Sibelco]
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