Imerys (Euronext: NK) is a French multinational company. It is a constituent of the CAC Next 20 index.

[edit] History

The Company was founded in 1880 and for many years was known as Imetal.^[1]

In 1999 Imetal took over English China Clays plc, the Cornwall-based producer of kaolin, and then changed its name to Imerys.^[1]

In 2005, Imerys acquired from Alleghany Corp. the U.S. company World Minerals Inc., a leading producer of diatomaceous earth and perlite.^[2]

[edit] Operations

The company specialises in the mining and distribution of industrial minerals and is one of the world's leading producers of:

• Kaolin for paper making and ceramics;
• Diatomaceous earth for abrasives and beer filtration;
• Graphite for batteries;
• Calcium carbonate for applications in construction, polymers, composites and cultured marble.

[edit] Eco-town

Amongst its other activities, Imerys is bidding to develop one of the ten eco-towns proposed for construction in England. Planned for the site of former china clay mines in Cornwall, the project has the provisional title Imerys China Clay Community.

[edit] Locations

Headquartered in Paris, it employs 16,000 people of whom 4,000 are based in France.

The company's North American Operations are headquartered in Roswell, GA USA.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Imerys website
• World Minerals Inc. website
• Euronext: NK Imerys
• Google Finance: Imerys