Soudal is a Belgian company whose headquarters is located in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

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

silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...

and caulks (silicone,

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is 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, polyurethane term ...

, marine sealants, acrylics),

-foams, and

adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

s in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Soudal has a consolidated turnover of 911 million EUR (2021), and the company distributes its products to more than 140 countries. 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 semi- ...

(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 cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

. 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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

History

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

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

putties for the repair of damaged car bodies, located near the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

''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) is 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, polyurethane term ...

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

Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...

, 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. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...

doubled its production. In September 2004 he acquired his competitor Rectavit in Drongen. Rectavit continued to operate as an independent entity. In 1999, Soudal opened a sales office and storage space in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. In 2005 the company opened offices in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

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

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Soudal entered into E-commerce in India via McCoy Soudal by selling on Amazon India,

ShopClues ShopClues is an Indian online marketplace, owned by Clues Network Pvt. Ltd. The company was established in July 2011 by Sanjay Sethi, Sandeep Aggarwal and Radhika Aggarwal. In 2015, ShopClues was valued at US$1.1 billion, with Tiger Global, Hel ...

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 is one of the top 5 online marketplaces in India. Snapdeal targets the value e-commerce segment, w ...

, 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