History
Origins
Our roots date back to the nineteenth century when in 1889 Hippolyte Dumont opened a factory in Belgium.
In just over a century, the firm has spread internationally: first to France in 1926 on the impetus of the founder's son-in-law, Léon Lhoist. He developed the company further by acquiring lime, limestone and dolimite plants in Belgium and France. During the last 35 years, the fourth generation of shareholders has pushed the business consistently further under the leadership of Baron Berghmans, the company current Chairman.
In the eighties, the Group crossed the Atlantic to the United States. The nineties offered significant expansion opportunities across Western and Eastern Europe, in Germany and Scandinavia. The new millennium again broadened our horizons across Southern Europe to Brazil and progressively to Asia.
Today, we are a world leading producer of lime, dolime and minerals. We continue to grow through acquisition and entry into new territories. With a focus on existing and emerging customer needs, we also invest in new facilities and the development of our portfolio of innovative products and solutions.
Over the past decades, the Group’s production has multiplied by ten and our turnover by 40. Lhoist operates 100 facilities in more than 25 countries and has 6,400 employees of more than 40 nationalities.
For Lhoist in UK, Limestone continues to be of considerable economic importance in Derbyshire, and in the Peak District in particular. Limeburning has been undertaken for many centuries in the county and the remains of old lime kilns are widespread. The addition of Lhoist UK to the Lhoist Group in December 2000 demonstrated our development plans bringing Lhoist UK experience and product quality into the group as a whole.
