Kalkfabrik Netstal
Kalkfabrik Netstal AG is Switzerland's largest and only white lime producer, manufacturing ultra-pure hydrated lime, quicklime, and aggregates from its geologically unique Elggis quarry for chemical, food/pharma, construction, agriculture, and life-science customers across Switzerland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1900
- HeadquartersNetstal, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Kalkfabrik Netstal does
Kalkfabrik Netstal AG (KFN), founded in 1900 and headquartered in Netstal, Canton Glarus, Switzerland, is the largest and only white lime producer in Switzerland, manufacturing approximately 90,000 tonnes of lime products and 250,000 tonnes of aggregates annually. The company's core technology is the calcination of exceptionally pure limestone (>98% CaCO3) from the Elggis quarry in fully automated shaft kilns firing at ~1,100°C, yielding quicklime (CaO) and hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2) with Ca(OH)2 purity above 98%, residual CO2 below 0.7%, whiteness of 96.8% (Spectro Color, Ry), and t60 reactivity under 40 seconds. Downstream operations include automated crushing, fine grinding, hydration, and bagging into bulk silo deliveries, 20-25 kg PE bags, 400-1,000 kg big-bags, and 200 kg steel drums.
The business model is direct B2B industrial sales, with no public pricing on lime (quote-based) and a downloadable price list for aggregates; no minimum order quantities are imposed, and delivery is handled via KFN's own truck fleet or rail, with self-pickup from the Netstal plant available. The customer base spans five verticals: Chemical & Plastics, Food & Pharmaceutical, Industry & Construction, Agriculture & Environment, and Life Science, with KFN holding ISO/FSSC 22000 (the only such certified lime works in Europe), Halal/Kosher, and pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur., USP, DAB) certifications that enable access to food, pharma, and drinking-water markets inaccessible to lower-purity producers. A sub-brand portfolio (nekablanc, nekapur, nekafin, nekafer, nekasol, nekafill, nekafor, KFN Netstaler) addresses chemical, construction, steel, road stabilization, agricultural, and restoration applications.
Ownership is concentrated in the Marti family: Heinz Marti serves as Chairman of the Board and Konrad H. Marti as CEO, with no external venture or private-equity ownership disclosed. The company has invested in Litherm Technologies' seed round (€6.5M, March 2026) to access all-electric, CO2-emission-free calcination technology with a worldwide rollout targeted from 2030, signaling a long-term decarbonization roadmap rather than near-term scale-up.
Kalkfabrik Netstal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kalkfabrik Netstal
- Legal name
- Kalkfabrik Netstal AG
- Website
- https://kfn.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1900
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kalkfabrik Netstal AG is Switzerland's largest and only white lime producer, manufacturing ultra-pure hydrated lime, quicklime, and aggregates from its geologically unique Elggis quarry for chemical, food/pharma, construction, agriculture, and life-science customers across Switzerland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kalkfabrik Netstal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Lime & Aggregates Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Lime Manufacturing (32741), Lime and Gypsum Product Manufacturing (3274), Other Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying (21239)
- SIC
- Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400), Industrial Inorganic Chemicals (2810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Kaolin & Industrial Clay Mining (Bentonite, Ball Clay, Fuller’s Earth) (IMAKAGAJ)
Keywords
Where Kalkfabrik Netstal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Netstal
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kalkfabrik Netstal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Lime product sales: KFN manufactures and sells a range of lime products including white hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2), quicklime in powder and lump form (CaO), ground limestone (CaCO3), and slaked lime. Products are sold in bulk (silo delivery), in 20–25 kg PE bags, or in 400–1,000 kg big-bags. No minimum order quantities are imposed, enabling both small and large buyers.
- Gravel and aggregate product sales: KFN produces and sells gravel, crushed stone, sand, and related aggregate products sourced from its Elggis quarry in the Canton of Glarus. Products are used in civil engineering, road construction, landscaping, and building applications. Quantities and delivery are managed through a dedicated logistics operation.
- Technical services, laboratory analysis, and consulting: KFN offers customer-facing services including technical consulting, custom laboratory analysis and certificates, and logistics solutions. These services support customer retention and product upsell but appear to be bundled with product sales rather than charged as standalone fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard lime product tiers by purity and granulometry |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Aggregate and gravel products |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Kalkfabrik Netstal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kalkfabrik Netstal AG (KFN) manufactures and sells ultra-pure white lime products — including calcium hydroxide (Weisskalkhydrat), calcium oxide quicklime in powder and lump form (Weissfeinkalk/Stückkalk), ground limestone (Kalksteinmehl), and slaked lime putty (Sumpfkalk) — as well as crushed stone, sand, gravel, and aggregate products from its Elggis quarry. The company serves industrial customers across chemical, plastics, food, pharmaceutical, construction, agriculture, and life science sectors, with products delivered in bulk silos, PE bags, big-bags, or drums via the company's own logistics fleet.
Product overview
Kalkfabrik Netstal AG operates as Switzerland's largest and only white lime producer, offering a diversified portfolio of lime and aggregate products. The lime product line includes: (1) White hydrated lime (Weisskalkhydrat Ca(OH)2) - nekablanc® 0 (ultra-pure for chemical/food applications), nekapur® 2 (standard grade for construction/wastewater), and nekapur® 5; (2) White quicklime powder (Weissfeinkalk CaO) - nekafin® 0, nekafin® 2, and nekasol® 2 for various industrial applications; (3) Lump quicklime (Stückkalk CaO) - nekafer® 15 for steel industry; (4) Ground limestone (Kalksteinmehl CaCO3) - nekafill® 15 for construction fillers and nekafor® 15 for agriculture. The aggregate product line includes: KFN Netstaler® breccia for natural road surfaces, sand/grit/concrete gravel products, limestone sand, drainage aggregates, certified unbound mixtures (0/45mm), and large quarry stones/riprap. All products derive from the unique high-purity limestone deposit at Elggis in Canton Glarus with CaCO3 content exceeding 98%.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- nekapur®: Hydrated lime products (calcium hydroxide) for construction and industrial applications
- nekablanc®
- nekafin®
- nekafer®
- nekasol®
- nekafill®
- nekafor®
- KFN Netstaler®
- nekapur® 2
Quantifiable outcome
- Ca(OH)2 purity >98%, residual CO2 <0.7%, whiteness 96.8% (Spectro Color Ry)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Kalkfabrik Netstal
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Kalkfabrik Netstal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Kalkfabrik Netstal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Kalkfabrik Netstal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Carmeuse Group: Belgian-American lime and dolomitic lime major with a global footprint serving steel, chemicals, environmental, and construction markets. Broad incumbent with significant overlap to KFN's customer verticals but at materially larger scale.
- Lhoist Group: World's largest privately-held lime producer with global operations and a product portfolio (quicklime, hydrated lime, aggregates, specialty grades) that directly overlaps KFN's. Functions as a broad incumbent whose European footprint sets the competitive ceiling for niche players like KFN.
- Holcim Group: Swiss-headquartered global cement and aggregates major with significant lime production operations. Direct competitor in aggregates and a broad incumbent in construction materials adjacent to KFN's quicklime and limestone-derivative products.
- Imerys S.A. French-listed global specialty minerals major with significant calcium carbonate and broader industrial mineral product lines overlapping KFN's filler and CaCO3 grades. Functions as a broad incumbent with adjacent rather than identical focus.
- Graymont Limited: Canadian-headquartered international lime producer with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Comparable high-purity lime product focus and environmental applications portfolio, but at far larger scale than KFN.
Direct peers
- Omya AG: Swiss-headquartered global leader in ground calcium carbonate (CaCO3) with directly overlapping products to KFN's nekafill and nekafor grades. Same Swiss base, similar industrial minerals focus, and significant overlap in paper, plastics, paints, and food-grade filler customers.
- Heidelberger Kalkwerke GmbH: German specialty lime producer focused on high-purity and tailored grades for industrial and chemical customers. Directly relevant as a comparable mid-market European white lime specialist with overlapping pharmaceutical and chemicals end-markets.
- SCHAEFER KALK GmbH & Co. KG: German family-owned lime producer with comparable mid-size European scale and high-purity specialty positioning across industrial, agricultural, and chemical customer segments. Operates multi-site German quarries and lime works analogous to KFN's Netstal/Elggis setup.
- Fels-Werke GmbH: German family-owned lime producer explicitly cited in connection with Litherm Technologies' CO2-free calcination pilot at KFN's investment partner. Most directly comparable European mid-size white lime producer with similar multi-grade product portfolio (quicklime, hydrated lime, aggregates) and a comparable vertical-integration footprint.
Regional players
- Vigier Cement AG: Swiss cement producer (partly owned by Holcim) operating adjacent construction-materials markets with shared Swiss geographic focus. Comparable regional customer base but materially different product mix (cement vs. lime/aggregates).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Kalkfabrik Netstal social profiles
Digital presenceKalkfabrik Netstal compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Kalkfabrik Netstal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kalkfabrik Netstal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Kalkfabrik Netstal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kalkfabrik Netstal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kalkfabrik Netstal
What does Kalkfabrik Netstal do?
Kalkfabrik Netstal AG (KFN) manufactures and sells ultra-pure white lime products — including calcium hydroxide (Weisskalkhydrat), calcium oxide quicklime in powder and lump form (Weissfeinkalk/Stückkalk), ground limestone (Kalksteinmehl), and slaked lime putty (Sumpfkalk) — as well as crushed stone, sand, gravel, and aggregate products from its Elggis quarry. The company serves industrial customers across chemical, plastics, food, pharmaceutical, construction, agriculture, and life science sectors, with products delivered in bulk silos, PE bags, big-bags, or drums via the company's own logistics fleet.
Is Kalkfabrik Netstal a public or private company?
Kalkfabrik Netstal is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Kalkfabrik Netstal founded?
Kalkfabrik Netstal was founded in 1900. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kalkfabrik Netstal based?
Kalkfabrik Netstal is headquartered in Netstal, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Kalkfabrik Netstal make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Lime product sales are the primary driver. The others are gravel and aggregate product sales and technical services, laboratory analysis, and consulting.
Who are Kalkfabrik Netstal's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Carmeuse Group, Lhoist Group, Holcim Group, Imerys S.A. and Graymont Limited. Direct peers are Omya AG, Heidelberger Kalkwerke GmbH, SCHAEFER KALK GmbH & Co. KG and Fels-Werke GmbH. Vigier Cement AG is listed as a regional player.
Does Kalkfabrik Netstal have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kalkfabrik Netstal.
What industry is Kalkfabrik Netstal in?
Kalkfabrik Netstal's product category is Industrial Lime & Aggregates Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAGAJ, Kaolin & Industrial Clay Mining (Bentonite, Ball Clay, Fuller’s Earth). Its NAICS code is 32741 and its SIC code is 1400.