History
In 1896, Auguste Poulain, at that time a marble dealer, became owner-manager of a marble quarry in the Boulonnais area.
In 1917, he invested in a marble and limestone sawing unit, creating the company Marbres du Boulonnais.
In 1945, his sons, Michel and Georges, succeeded him and decided to build a rock crushing plant.
In 1959, the company came through a pivotal stage in the development of commercial activities turned toward extraction, manufacturing and the sale of crushed material by building a new large capacity plant.
In 1974, an aggregate washing unit (the most modern in Europe at that time) was erected, creating a range of new products. At that time, the quarry is connected to the French railway network by a 7 km railway.
In 1977, Daniel Poulain, who had in the business since 1961, succeeded his father and, with his wife, Béatrice, continued developing the company.
In 1988, the acquisition of Terres Réfractaires du Boulonnais (TRB) marked the beginning of diversification and the birth of the Groupe.
In 1993, Groupe Carrières du Boulonnais entered the ready-mix concrete and concrete blocks markets by acquiring the company BMCO.
In 1995, the business in aggregates expanded again with the acquisition of a quarry in Avesnois, the company Carrières du Bassin de la Sambre (CBS).
In 1998, Franck and Gilles Poulain, sons of Daniel and Béatrice, took over the management of Groupe CB, with the same entrepreneurial fervor possessed by their parents.
In 1999, the business in concrete increased through the acquisition of the company Baudouin in Haute Normandie.
In 2003, the acquisition of the company Marbres and Dalles de Bourgogne allowed the Roches Ornementales branch to increase its presence in Bourgogne.
In 2004, a new area of activity was born, the prefabrication of concrete components, through the creation of the company SBP.
In 2006 the precast concrete activity starts its expansion into foreign countries with the acquisition of two companies in Poland: Budrex and Torbet. In 2007 the acquisition of Fabet complete the group organizational structure in Poland.
In 2007 the acquisition of Prosertec and Fumilor specialized in refractory repair and maintenance reinforce the group refractory business position leading by TRB.
In 2007, the group acquires from MEAC a grinding plant near the Marquise quarry. The company formed after the acquisition is named CB2M and is integrated into the aggregate business division.
Today, Group CB numbers for 1300 people and accounts for 250 million euros turnover in 4 specialties:
- Aggregates
- Ready-mix concrete and concrete blocks
- Precast concrete
- Refractory products