SOUDAL

Soudal was founded by Vic Swerts in 1966 in Ossenmarkt near Antwerp, Belgium, when he took over a small company specialising in welding materials and repair pastes. In 1968, following the success of Soudal, he moved into his parents' former gardening business in Turnhout to expand his premises, before building his own factory. By the turn of the millennium, exports accounted for almost 90% of the group's sales. This growth was accelerated by the company's ISO 9002 certification, a rare achievement for an SME. One acquisition followed another: in 1992 Soudal bought the French company Ayrton, then in 1997 the Bayer subsidiary BAVG. In 2008 it bought Aerotrim, a specialist in technical aerosols. Over time, Soudal has become a multi-specialist in the sealants, silicones, PU foams (polyurethane foams), adhesives and sealants segments. Soudal has also innovated in sealing solutions for joinery with the Soudal Windows System, to avoid thermal bridges; Soudal has also invented T-Rex fibre adhesives, and the one-handed Genius Gun PU foam gun. In 2010, the founder was awarded the Vlerick prize for the successful development of Soudal.