About Imerys

Imerys S.A. supplies mineral-based specialty solutions worldwide. The company operates as a subsidiary of Belgian Securities BV. Segments Performance Minerals segment This segment brings together three geographic business areas – Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA), Americas, and Asia Pacific (APAC) – serving the plastics, paints and coatings, filtration, ceramics, renewable energy, and paper and board markets. This segment includes the former Performance Additives, Filtration, Carbonates, Ceramics, Kaolin and Graphite & Carbon divisions, as well as the Bentonite & Perlite Intermediate business unit (part of the former Metallurgy division). This segment includes functional additives, which provide unique properties to the products in which they are used and serve five main markets. Plastics, Rubber, Paints and Coatings Plastics and Rubber The company’s wide portfolio of minerals enables the company to offer a range of solutions to make plastics and rubber more resistant, lighter and less expensive. The shape, color, particle size and purity of the company’s plastics and rubber solutions make them effective fillers to bolster the production of lightweight components for vehicles, household appliances, electronics, PVC tubes and cables, as well as food packaging. Carbon-based solutions are used for their exceptional thermal or electrical conductivity, in particular for the future electrical vehicles. Some minerals are also used for permeable plastic films in the hygiene and medical fields. Paints and Coatings The company provides manufacturers of architectural paints and industrial coatings with the fillers that suit the various types of paints and coatings (water- and solvent-based, powder, etc.). Adhesives, Caulks and Sealants The company offers tailor-made solutions developed by drawing on its profound understanding of manufacturing processes and industrial implementation constraints of adhesives, caulks and sealants. Precipitated calcium carbonates are used by the major sealant manufacturers to improve rheological properties, reduce costs, enhance mechanical resistance and hardness, increase the opacity and whiteness of their end product. Kaolin is used for example to increase the viscosity of vehicle window sealants. Paper and Board The company offers a unique range of solutions to optimize the manufacturing process for printing and writing paper and board using high quality, environmentally friendly solutions. The breadth of its product range enables the company to provide paper and board manufacturers with the properties they require, such as shine, opacity, and print quality. Ceramics The company is a global supplier of ceramic minerals and prepared bodies for the sanitaryware, tableware and decorative tile industries. The company is a world leading supplier of performance minerals for ceramics, ceramic bodies and glazes, as well as kiln furniture. Engineered mineral blends are also a key asset for high performance solutions. Technical Ceramics Technical ceramics are used in demanding applications, such as electrical equipment, thermal equipment and in the automotive, aerospace, military and medical industries. The company’s mineral portfolio and treatment processes have enabled it to develop a number of industrial solutions that meet the specific needs of its customers for technical porcelain, steatite, cordierite, silicon carbide, mullite and alumina ceramics. Filtration and Life Sciences The company’s filtration solutions are formed using naturally occurring minerals with exceptional properties, such as low density, chemical inertia, large specific surface area and a high level of porosity. Combined with an unparalleled technical service, these minerals offer a unique blend of features to develop the most suitable filtration substrate, optimize production costs and capacity while also complying with the most rigorous specifications. Renewable Energy The company is the leading provider of highly conductive carbon-based solutions for mobile energy. The company’s graphite and carbon black represent the most effective conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries, alkaline batteries, advanced and standard lead-acid batteries, zinc-carbon batteries, fuel cells and conductive battery case coatings. High Temperature Materials & Solutions segment This segment regroups two business areas – High Temperature Solutions, and Refractory, Abrasives & Construction – serving the refractory, foundry, metal flow, abrasives and building chemistry markets. This segment includes the former Monolithic Refractories, Aluminates, Fused Minerals divisions, as well as the Metalcasting & Absorbents and Steel Casting Fluxes business units (part of the former Metallurgy division). The High Temperature Materials and Solutions segment facilitates high temperature manufacturing processes. It includes the Refractory, Abrasives & Construction and High Temperature Solutions business areas. Refractory Producers The company works in collaboration with the refractory producers to develop minerals, binders and additives that enable continuous improvement in the steelmaking, power plant incinerator, biomass boiler, and glass, as well as the cement and petrochemical industries. Building and Infrastructure The company develops solutions that have a wide range of applications, as well as essential properties like rapid setting and aesthetics for the construction and civil engineering industries. Specialty calcium aluminate binders, metakaolin, smart fillers and functional additives like bentonite, perlite and ball clays offer performance to meet the company’s customers expectations. These highly technical products can be used in a number of applications, such as floor coverings, glues and cement-based tile grouts, technical mortars, waterproofing, coatings, external insulation, sealing sleeves, and wastewater piping, as well as concrete, tunnel building and mining. Abrasives The company is the world’s largest supplier of electrically fused aluminate-based products. The company provides highly effective solutions for all kinds of abrasives, including vitrified- or resin-bonded grinding wheels. Different sizes are available for each specific application, such as grinding, machining, sanding and cutting. The wear resistance and thermal properties of these abrasives mean they are generally used in the form of wheels or stones in the automotive, equipment, metallurgy, electricity, electronic, building and construction industries. Iron and Steel Used in a wide range of industries, including aircraft engines, surgical instruments, construction, car manufacturing, buildings and infrastructure, steel is one of the most versatile materials. The company provides the steelmaking industry with a number of minerals, refractory solutions and services covering all aspects of the molten steel production process. The main applications range from safety and abrasion coatings to fluxes for continuous casting processes. Foundry The company provides customers operating in the foundry market with high performance minerals and innovative solutions for molds and cores used in sand and investment casting. The company is also a leading supplier of refractory solutions for ferrous and non-ferrous metal foundries. Thermal The refractory solutions developed and implemented by the company’s teams of engineers and technicians form part of a wide range of industrial equipment. They are used to build and repair refractory linings subject to high temperatures and intensely demanding operating conditions, like for example in power plants, incinerators, and biomass boilers, as well as the cement and petrochemicals industries. Intellectual Resources The company has a portfolio of 2,150 patents. History Imerys S.A. was founded in 1880.