CEBO Celebrates 50 Years

Today, 24 February 2026, CEBO marks a remarkable milestone: exactly fifty years ago, the company was officially registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under the name Cebo Holland B.V.

Roots in IJmuiden

CEBO was founded in 1976 in IJmuiden as a 50/50 joint venture between Cementbouw and Halliburton, building on activities Cementbouw had already initiated there in the early 1970s. The name CEBO is derived from its co-founder, and even today the company’s logo reflects this origin. IJmuiden formed the foundation of the business. Cementbouw had previously established a sand and limestone facility at this location, which became the base for processing and storing limestone products, cement, and later bentonite and other bulk minerals. Its strategic position in the port provided a strong logistical advantage from the outset and proved to be a springboard for further expansion—particularly into the rapidly developing offshore market in the North Sea.

Growth and International Expansion

What began as a collaboration built on shared expertise and logistics evolved into a specialist in industrial minerals. Today, CEBO’s products and services support a wide range of industries, from Civil Engineering and Agriculture to Offshore Oil & Gas and advanced Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) projects. The company’s international outlook was evident from the very beginning. In February 1976, CEBO Marine was established to support maritime and logistics operations. Soon after, CEBO UK was registered to serve growing activities in the United Kingdom and the wider North Sea region. This early expansion laid the groundwork for CEBO’s international development.

Over the decades, the company continued to grow and its shareholder structure evolved. In 2007, Cementbouw’s stake was acquired by S&B Industrial Minerals S.A., which became part of Imerys in 2014, one of the world’s leading suppliers of industrial minerals.

Click on the photos for a larger view

Fifty Years On

Today, CEBO is jointly owned by Imerys and Halliburton—two global leaders in industrial minerals and energy services respectively. This partnership strengthens CEBO’s position in both the minerals sector and the energy market.

Half a century after its registration as Cebo Holland, CEBO continues to stand for collaboration, craftsmanship and entrepreneurship. Perhaps the most compelling symbol of that continuity is that several employees from the early years are still with the company, individuals who have witnessed its development firsthand and helped shape CEBO into the organization it is today. CEBO will of course not let this anniversary pass unnoticed, more to follow soon.

Sources:
Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK), UK Companies House, and internal information provided by Edwin Bernard. Pictures: own collection, Robin Ammerlaan RCE and Noord-Hollands Archief,  Fotopersbureau De Boer