Milestones

At the age of 29, Romano Sghedoni founded Kerakoll in Sassuolo, a small town in the province of Modena, Italy. Kerakoll is today the world leader in the field of GreenBuilding solutions and its technological leadership is now recognised all over the world.

The first single-component adhesives for ceramics, designed and produced in his garage, were the result of his passion for construction and chemistry, combined with a huge love of engineering.

The first production plant opens in Sassuolo, in via Monginevro; the company soon succeeds in establishing itself on the market thanks to a range of specific adhesives for laying ceramic tiles.

In a short time, the company becomes an important reference point for the entire sector.

H40 Flex is born. It is the first single-component adhesive in the world capable of solving the problem of safely bonding single-fired tiles as well as porcelain tiles in all domestic and commercial environments, overcoming existing technical limits.

The eighties see a continuous and constant growth characterised by a flourishing demand for adhesives for laying.

The second Sassuolo plant opens in via dell’Artigianato.

Kerakoll enters the world of construction and transforms itself from a leading company in the products for the preparation, laying and finishing of all types of flooring to a global partner for builders.

The via dell’Artigianato plant is also up and running and it becomes necessary to increase production capacity: construction of the third production centre begins in Sassuolo again, in via Pedemontana.

International growth starts and the first commercial branches are opened in Spain and Poland.

The new plant is opened, it will be expanded twice in the following years. In just 15 years, daily productivity goes from 700 to over 3,000 tons.

The first plant in Spain opens in Castellón de La Plana.

The investments made in Green Technology account now for 50% (up from 15%) of the entire budget devoted to Research and Development. Kerakoll acquires the reference shares of SLC and launches an industrial conversion plan, transforming itself from a chemical company to an eco-friendly company.

Its main objectives are: reduction in the first 5 years of 60% of the solvents used; development of new ecological and water-based products; development of new certified products with low VOC emissions.

A new plant opens in Poland.

Kerakoll opens its Greek plant, and welcomes MIGRA, an eco-friendly company specialising in the recovery of the mineral residues resulting from marble processing in the Carrara quarries.

Biocalce is born; it is the world’s first green brand offering a comprehensive range of natural construction materials (mortars, NHL-based plasters/renders and paint coats).

Kerakoll acquires the reference shares of Rankover, the European leader in the formulation, manufacture, and development of eco-friendly and natural decorative coatings based on lime putty and pure potassium silicate. Opening of the Indian plant.

A new plant is opened in Rubiera (Reggio Emilia), Italy.

Work begins on the construction of the Kerakoll GreenLab, the most advanced technological centre in the world for the study and development of new materials for the green building sector.

The second Spanish plant opens in Almazora (Castellón).

Kerakoll becomes The GreenBuilding Company, the leading world manufacturer of GreenBuilding solutions, its technological leadership recognised all over the world.

Kerakoll is awarded by Italy’s Legambiente the “Green Life 2010” award, in the “Sustainable Living” category. The award, an initiative developed within the SEE (Sustainable Energy Europe) Campaign, is the most important national recognition in the environmental field; it rewards sustainable innovation that stands out for its originality and potential for development.

In January 2011, the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), the world’s most prominent body for system and certification control, awards Kerakoll the certification attesting that its GreenBuilding Rating is a “reliable, complete and essential measurement method to guarantee the environmental sustainability of its products”.

Kerakoll launches its new systems for structural and anti-seismic strengthening featuring the use of matrices made of mineral and natural geo-mortars based on geo-binder and natural NHL lime.

Official opening of the Kerakoll GreenLab, the futuristic Research Centre that encompasses 9 advanced Green Technology development labs, employs over 140 GreenBuilding researchers and houses more than 1,500 pieces of lab equipment. The Kerakoll GreenLab, a perfect combination of cutting-edge technology and sustainable materials, is the first building in Italy to have been designed and built exclusively using eco-friendly options: an ecosystem in constant balance with the surrounding environment that produces its own energy, collects and naturally filters rainwater, and guarantees the highest levels of indoor air quality and well-being.

Kerakoll launches a recruitment plan reserved for talented young graduates with high growth potential, through its innovative recruiting campaign, Kerakoll4talent. The goal is to hire and train young talented people for five years and launch their career as international managers.

Kerakoll Design House is launched: a new interior design project for the contemporary home: cements, resins, handcrafted wood, micro-coatings, paints and glazes, coordinated in the colours of the Warm Collection palette. Piero Lissoni is the project’s art director.

The Kerakoll GreenLab research laboratories create H40 NO LIMITS; it is the first flexible and multi-purpose structural adhesive-gel based on the exclusive Kerakoll geo-binder, for perfect laying of all types of material, on all surfaces, even in extreme conditions.

The polyurethane products division of Olin, a French company based in Corbas, Lyon, joins the Group.

Kerakoll acquires Tilemaster Adhesives Ltd, a leading UK company in the manufacturing and marketing of ceramic and natural stone laying systems.

Kerakoll finalizes the acquisition of Cimentolit Industria e Comercio de Argamassas Ltda, a company active in the production and sale of materials for laying ceramic and natural stone, headquartered in Santa Barbara d’Oeste, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The Group also acquires a production plant in Charqueada, and completes the construction of a new production plant in Jundiaí, both located in the state of São Paulo as well.

Kerakoll purchases the majority shares of the Modena F.C. currently playing in Serie C, the third-highest division in the Italian professional football league system.