FLSmidth & Co. A/S is a global engineering company based in Copenhagen, Denmark employing about 9,000 people worldwide. It provides the global cement and mineral industries with plants, machinery, services and know-how. FLSmidth is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange and has offices in 40 countries worldwide.

History

FLSmidth and Co. A/S was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1882 by Frederik Læssøe Smidth. It was initially a consultancy business whose main focus was to purchase machinery and build small machines for local craftsmen. Within a few years the firm called “Technical Bureau” specialised in machinery for the brick and tile industry. In 1887 two engineers, Poul Larsen and Alexander Foss, were made partners and the company name was changed to F.L.Smidth & Co. In 1887, the first FLSmidth cement plant near Limhamn in Sweden was built. The company grew and in 1890 the first international office opened in London. Offices in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Peking and other major cities followed. In 1957, F.L.Smidth machinery accounted for 40 percent of all cement production in the world.

Over the years, the company has expanded with non-core activities and in 1989 the entire FLSmidth Group consisted of some 125 companies within areas such as cement engineering, plastic, aerospace and cement building materials. Throughout the 1990s, product companies such as Pfister, Ventomatic and MAAG Gear were acquired.

In 1990, the Group acquired Fuller Company and established the F.L.Smidth-Fuller Engineering Group. Two minerals processing divisions, Fuller Mineral Processing and FLSmidth Mineral Processing, were set up in FLSmidth and Fuller. In 1997, the company was named FFE Minerals after merging the two separate minerals divisions into one single company.

In the beginning of the 21st century the Group began to continuously sell off non-core activities.

In May 2007, FFE Minerals was named FLSmidth Minerals and on August 10th, 2007 FLSmidth acquired GL&V Process.

The core businesses: cement and minerals

FLSmidth’s cement business has always been the core activity. The major cement projects are handled by four FLSmidth Project Divisions which each cover their particular geographical region. Two project divisions are placed at FLSmidth’s main office in Valby, Denmark, one project division is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA and one project division in Chennai, India. Specialised equipment and related services for cement projects are provided by product companies that market their product under their respective names.

FLSmidth Minerals is FLSmidth’s other core business area and handles all the Group’s activities in the Minerals area. FLSmidth Minerals is a global company with over 3,000 employees, headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA and regional offices worldwide. FLSmidth Minerals’ four international full service engineering centres are located in Denmark, India, South Africa and USA.

References

External links

• Official website