Group De Ceuster

GroupDC is a family business that was founded by Herman De Ceuster in 1966. Today, the company is run by the second generation, with Tom De Ceuster as CEO.

Driven by love of nature

Young and very enterprising, Herman De Ceuster, started his first company ‘De Ceuster Grondveredeling’ (De Ceuster soil improvement) at the age of 20. With a focus on the horticulture sector, De Ceuster concentrated mainly on reviving impoverished soils. Through hard work and efficient organization, the desired results were quickly achieved and the company began to prosper. Driven by its love of nature and convinced that environmentally friendly soil solutions are the key to the future, the company expanded in a short time. The foundation of ‘De Ceuster Meststoffen’ – or DCM for short – marked the beginning of the in-house production of organic fertilisers and soil improvers.

Professional products for the hobby gardener

In close cooperation with DCM customers, the product line was also quickly expanded, making it possible to offer a more complete range to the professional gardener. The hobby gardener looking for professional quality was also considered. DCM was thus the first company in Belgium to offer professional quality for the hobby sector. This way, the company was able to establish itself as leading supplier in the 1980s. During the same period, ‘De Ceuster Grondveredeling’ also expanded its global offering by providing specialized services for the world of sports, industry and public green spaces. Today, the companies active in soil fertility and plant health are part of GroupDC’s “Plant Care” division.

Diversification with "Animal Care"

In the 1990s, the company continued to expand by taking over Intraco – a company active in the distribution of premixes and concentrates for animal feed. At the end of the 1990s, Group De Ceuster decided to set up its own production unit called ‘Belcofeed’ to further optimize its service. This decision offered added value to the customer in terms of quality control and product traceability. In addition, flexibility increased as premixes could be adapted to local climatological conditions, infrastructure and availability of raw materials. 2010, ‘Poultec’ was founded with the aim of offering a complete range of services and equipment to poultry farms. Today, all the ‘feed’ and ‘equipment’ companies together form the basis of GroupDC’s “Animal Care” division.

Further internationalization with innovation as a driving force

Parallel to these developments, the company also continued its internationalization by starting DCM Netherlands in 1991, DCM Germany in 1995, DCM Austria in 2016 and DCM USA in 2019. Acquisitions and joint ventures strengthened the internationalization in France, Germany, Italy as well as in the USA. In addition, several sales offices were opened in various locations worldwide.

In 2001, the group's research activities were consolidated into an independent not-for-profit research institute: ‘Scientia Terrae’. Thanks to its collaboration with various universities worldwide, the institute has left its mark on the development of several innovative biotechnological products.

In addition to its own development, GroupDC also offers growth financing to (green) biotech start-ups with which it enters into strategic partnerships. Today, these ‘knowledge generators’ form GroupDC’s ‘Biosciences’ division.

Sustainability as a guiding principle of our corporate policy

Sustainability has always been an essential part of our corporate philosophy and is more important today than ever before. We consciously put great effort into it. For example, our raw materials are derived from residual flows of the food industry, we work in an AEN (Almost Energy Neutral) office building, our production runs on 100% green energy, we do not discharge waste water and we use as much as recycled plastic as possible for our packaging.

In 2020, the efforts of the DCM group were rewarded with the CO2-neutral certification. We reduce the CO2 emissions of our production facilities as much as possible and compensate the remaining CO2 emissions through climate protection projects. For more information: https://dcm-info.com/int/en/sustainability

GroupDC: a company in full motion where people and nature take centre stage!