Soudal is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

company whose headquarters is located in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, Turnhout had a total population of 45,874. The total area is . The agglomeration, how ...

(Belgium). The company has developed into one of the most important independent producers of silicone and caulks (silicone,

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

, marine sealants, acrylics),

-foams, and adhesives in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. Soudal has a consolidated turnover of 911 million EUR (2021), and the company distributes its products to more than 140 different countries worldwide. The company is active in three markets: professional construction,

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and se ...

(DIY) hardware stores and industrial applications. The company is still fully owned by Vic Swerts who founded the company in 1966. In 2014, Soudal partnered with Lotto to sponsor the team at

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

. In April 2020, Riders for the Lotto-Soudal team voluntarily waived part of their wages as a gesture of solidarity due to the

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

pandemic.

History

In 1966, Vic Swerts bought a small producer of welding materials and of polyester

putties Putty is a material with high Plasticity (physics), plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slow ...

for the repair of damaged car bodies, located near the Antwerp ''Ossenmarkt'' (E: ox market). Two years later, he moved his company to Turnhout, at the location of the former market garden of his parents. He then invested heavily in a sophisticated vacuum mixer for the production of polyester putties and high quality silicone sealants as a competitor to the (much cheaper) knifing filler. In 1976, he moved to the industrial area of Turnhout and renamed the company Soudal (from ''Soudeert Alles'', E: welds everything). In 1993, a heavy fire destroyed the factory in Turnhout, which was rebuilt within a year (Plant 1). A second production plant was built nearby (Plant 2). Plant 2 is the biggest production site of

Polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

-Foams worldwide. In 1997, Vic Swerts acquired BAVG from

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...

, a company specialized in finished construction products. Since its acquisition, the factory in

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...

doubled its production. In September 2004 he acquired his competitor Rectavit in

Drongen Drongen (French: ''Tronchiennes'') is a district within the city of Ghent (Arrondissement of Ghent). Drongen is divided into three parishes: Drongen, Luchteren and Baarle. Monastery Drongen is known for its early medieval monastery, Drongen A ...

. Rectavit continued to operate as an independent entity. In 1999, Soudal opened a sales office and storage space in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. In 2005 the company opened offices in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. In 2011, Soudal opened its 11th production unit through the establishment of a joint venture with the McCoy Group from

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Soudal entered into

E-commerce in India India has an Internet user base of about 636.77 million as of May 2020, about 40% of the population. Despite being the second-largest user base in world, only behind China (650 million, 48% of population), the penetration of e-commerce is low ...

via McCoy Soudal by selling on Amazon India, ShopClues,

Snapdeal Snapdeal is an Indian e-commerce company, based in New Delhi, India. It was founded in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. Snapdeal was one of the largest online marketplaces in India. Snapdeal targets the value e-commerce segment ...

, McCoy Mart and IndustryKart.

References

Sources

*
Soudal bouwt fabriek in Polen
*
Wij doen gewoon ons best
(Dutch) *
SOUDAL: meer dan alleen 500.000 kokers silicone per dag

External links

* Companies based in Antwerp Province Chemical companies established in 1966 Belgian brands Belgian companies established in 1966 {{Belgium-company-stub

History

See also

References

Sources

External links