Bekaert history

In 1881 he patents this invention and, in a very short time, recruits most of the village to work.

The company also moved toward a more vertically integrated structure, adding its own machinery to produce wire rod in 1894.

In 1935, he renamed the company Tréfileries Léon Bekaert.

In 1951, the company made the strategic decision to launch production of steel cord (a mesh of steel wires) used as the inner core for radial tires.

The company built a dedicated production facility for this in 1952.

The Bekaert family, which until 1972 has all the share capital, decides to open up the company to investment by new shareholders by listing the company on the Belgian stock exchange.

In order to rekindle its expansion, Bekaert turned to Karel Vinck, who became the company's first chief executive from outside of the Bekaert family in 1983.

In 1992, for example, after closing a number of older plants in Belgium and Germany, the company acquired a 50 percent stake in the wire division of Mexico's Hylsa.

By 1998, the company had added a second joint venture in Shenyang with the Shenyang Wire Rod Co.

"Bekaert to Build Production Base in Shenyang, China," AsiaPulse News, February 25, 2005.

Bekaert had also raised itself to the number two position in the overall steel wire market, posting revenues of EUR 3.3 billion in 2006.