CVH

What CVH does

Carrières de la Vallée Heureuse (CVH) is a French family-owned limestone quarrying and processing company founded in 1842 and currently led by the seventh generation of the Hénaux family. It operates a 200+ hectare extraction site in the Marquise Basin (Rinxent/Marquise, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France) with a daily capacity of 20,000 tonnes — equivalent to roughly 3 million tonnes annually and over 50,000 tonnes per week — producing approximately 80 distinct products across four lines: crushed limestone aggregates (Granulats Calcaires), dimensional natural stone under the Pierre de Marquise and Lunel marble brands (marble workshop operational since 1927), micronized calcium carbonate fillers via its Carbocia subsidiary, and StoneBox® modular gabions.

The business runs on a B2B, transaction-based pricing model serving construction (BTP) professionals, industrial manufacturers, energy/process industry players, and public authorities across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Operations are vertically integrated through an in-house quality laboratory and a multimodal logistics stack that combines road, an owned private rail line running three 1,500-tonne trains per day, sea access via the Port of Calais, and river transport. Following an October 2022 governance overhaul, the company is led by President Thaddée Hénaux with Lafarge Group represented on the Management Committee, alongside DG Sylvain Vergobbi and DGD/DT Franz Quéhen, signaling strategic alignment with a global cement major.

Name

CVH

Legal name

Carrières de la Vallée Heureuse

Website

https://cvh.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1842

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Carrières de la Vallée Heureuse (CVH) is a French family-owned limestone quarrying and processing company founded in 1842, producing aggregates, dimensional natural stone, micronized calcium carbonate (Carbocia), and StoneBox® gabions for BTP, industrial, and public-sector customers across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Great Britain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Aggregates and Industrial Limestone Materials

NAICS

Crushed and Broken Limestone Mining and Quarrying (212312), Stone Mining and Quarrying (21231), Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying (212311)

SIC

Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400), Cut Stone & Stone Products (3281)

akta.pro primary industry

Limestone Quarrying (Industrial & Construction Grade) (IMAKAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Other Dimension Stone (Slate, Sandstone, Quartzite, Travertine) Quarrying & Fabrication (IMAKAHAF), Aggregate Processing & Value-Added Products (Washing, Screening, Asphalt/Concrete Aggregates) (IMAKAHAH)

Keywords

• Limestone aggregates supply
• Quarrying and extraction services
• Natural stone and marble
• Micronized calcium carbonate fillers
• Industrial minerals production

Headquarters

HQ city

Rinxent

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Aggregates sales: Sale of limestone aggregates including sands, gravels, crushed stones, riprap, scalping materials, and limestone fillers to BTP professionals. Products are certified NF Granulats, CE2+, and BENOR. Weekly shipments exceed 50,000 tonnes.
2. Natural stone products: Sale of Marquise stone and Lunel marble for construction, monuments, and ornamental applications. Products include raw blocks, cut slabs, and finished pieces from the integrated marble workshop.
3. Micronized limestone (Carbocia): Sale of micronized calcium carbonate through subsidiary Carbocia. Products used in animal feed, carpets, roofing, plasters, brickworks, concrete, and prefabricated concrete. Distributed in France, Belgium, Netherlands, and England.
4. StoneBox® gabion sales: Sale of pre-assembled, pre-filled gabion systems for construction and outdoor landscaping applications. Products conform to NF P 94-325-1 standards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CVH extracts hard compact limestone from its 200+ hectare Marquise Basin quarry and produces approximately 80 distinct products for the construction and industrial sectors, including sands, gravels, crushed stones, riprap, micronized calcium carbonate fillers, ornamental Marquise stone, Lunel marble, and proprietary StoneBox® pre-assembled gabions. The company markets over 3 million tonnes annually across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain via its integrated multimodal logistics platform (road, rail, sea, river), with micronized fillers sold through its Carbocia subsidiary and natural stone through the Pierre Naturelle entity.

Product overview

CVH operates as a limestone quarry and materials producer with three main product lines: (1) Granulats Calcaires - aggregates and construction materials including sands, gravel, crushed stone, and riprap; (2) Pierre Naturelle - natural stone including Marquise limestone and Lunel marble for architectural and construction use; and (3) Fillers/Calcaires Micronisés - marketed through the CARBOCIA subsidiary for industrial applications. The company also produces gabions (StoneBox® brand) for landscaping and civil engineering. All products are extracted from a 200+ hectare limestone deposit in the Marquise Basin and shipped via integrated multimodal logistics (road, rail, maritime, and river).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CARBOCIA: Subsidiary specializing in micronized limestone and calcium carbonate fillers for industrial applications including animal feed, carpets, roofing, plasters, brickworks, and concrete.
• Pierre Naturelle
• StoneBox

Products and services

• Granulats Calcaires (Limestone Aggregates) Certified limestone aggregates (NF Granulats, CE2+, BENOR) — sands, gravel, crushed stones, gabion stones, scalping materials and riprap — produced from the Marquise Basin quarry for BTP professionals, concrete producers and public works contractors.
• Gabions StoneBox® Pre-assembled, pre-filled, vibrated and compacted gabion cages in standard 200x100x100 cm and 100x100x100 cm formats, built on-site with 5.5mm electro-welded Galfan Crapal Premium anti-corrosion wire mesh (50x200, double horizontal wire, longitudinal and transverse reinforcements); used for retaining walls, landscaping, urban development, noise barriers and outdoor construction.
• Pierre Naturelle (Natural Stone: Marquise stone and Lunel marble) Raw blocks, cut slabs and finished pieces of Marquise limestone and Lunel marble produced in CVH's integrated marble workshop; serves architects, municipalities, monument restorers and design firms for construction, building facades, stairs, fireplaces, flooring, sculptures and public spaces.
• CARBOCIA Micronized Limestone and Calcium Carbonate Fillers Micronized calcium carbonate fillers with specific chemical and granulometric properties for industrial manufacturers — used in animal feed, carpets, roofing, plasters, brickworks, concrete, prefabricated concrete, sealants, fertilizers and agriculture; distributed across France, Belgium, Netherlands and England via Carbocia, with Feed Chain Alliance and KOMO certifications.
• Pierre à Chaux et Castines (Lime stones and flux stones) Lime stones (castines) and flux stones derived from CVH's limestone processing, supplied for industrial applications such as steel and sugar refining and other chemical processes.
• Enrochements (Riprap and large limestone blocks) Large graded limestone blocks (enrochements/riprap), including 300/1000 kg, 1000/3000 kg and 3000/6000 kg grades, supplied for maritime protection, coastal defence, dike construction and heavy civil engineering (e.g. Penly EPR2, Port of Calais, Digue de Sangatte).

Quantifiable outcome

• Production capacity of 20,000 tonnes per day, with 50,000+ tonnes shipped weekly
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, strategic and minor.

• Thaddée HénauxcoreOthers · 1 October 20227th generation family member appointed as President of CVH, representing continued family ownership and governance leadership.
• Franz QuéhencoreOthers · 1 October 2022Appointed as Deputy General Director and Technical Director, bringing operational and technical expertise to the leadership team.
• Associated Shipping AgenciescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorASA handles overall transport organization for maritime shipments of CVH limestone products from Calais port to northern Europe and England.
• Groupe Transports Carpentier CalaiscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTransports Carpentier handles loading of rocks at the quarry and delivery to Calais port quays for maritime shipment.
• M&L Manutention et LogistiquecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorM&L handles stevedoring and transshipment operations of CVH materials onto bulk carriers at Calais port.
• EPVmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPV is the client for the VERKOR gigafactory project at Dunkerque where CVH provides stabilization and soil elevation materials. This partnership positions CVH as a key supplier for major industrial infrastructure projects.
• EIFFAGEmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEIFFAGE is the main contractor for the EPR2 nuclear extension at Penly, where CVH supplies riprap materials for maritime protection and platform expansion in one of Europe's largest industrial projects.
• Parc naturel régional des Caps et Marais d'OpalestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPNR collaborates with CVH on the landscape plan of the Marquise quarry basin since 1994, coordinating environmental preservation, biodiversity, and landscape integration of quarrying activities.
• Agence de l'EauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater agency partnering with CVH on hydraulic and ecological continuity project for the Crembreux river, in compliance with exploitation authorization requirements.
• Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Biodiversity Office collaborating with CVH on environmental preservation and biodiversity maintenance projects.
• DREALminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Directorate for Environment, Planning and Housing collaborating on environmental compliance and biodiversity preservation projects.
• ADEMEstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerADEME (Agency for Ecological Transition) runs the EVE (Engagements Volontaires pour l'Environnement) program under which FRET21 operates. CVH is the first independent quarry to officially commit to this sustainable transport initiative.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Carrières du Boulonnais: French limestone quarry operator based in the Pas-de-Calais/Boulonnais region, directly adjacent to CVH's Hauts-de-France operations. Closest geographic direct peer in crushed limestone aggregates, riprap, and construction materials for the same BTP and public works customer base in northern France.
• Imerys: French-listed global leader in mineral-based specialty solutions including calcium carbonate, with significant French production footprint. Directly comparable to CVH/Carbocia in industrial minerals and to a lesser extent in natural stone and aggregates for construction applications.
• Omya: Swiss-headquartered global producer of calcium carbonate fillers and micronized limestone. Directly comparable to CVH's Carbocia subsidiary across industrial mineral applications including animal feed, plastics, coatings, construction chemicals, and paper — serving the same industrial customer segments.
• Sibelco: Belgian-headquartered global industrial minerals company producing calcium carbonate, silica, and other mineral specialties across Europe. Comparable to Carbocia's micronized limestone business and to CVH's broader aggregates/construction minerals portfolio, especially for Benelux industrial customers.

Broad incumbents

• Colas: French-listed subsidiary of Bouygues and one of the world's largest road construction and materials groups, operating quarries and aggregates plants across France. Comparable to CVH as both a customer and a competitor in aggregates, riprap, and road construction materials across similar geographies.
• Cemex France: French operations of global building materials major Cemex, producing aggregates, cement, and ready-mix concrete. Comparable to CVH in certified limestone aggregates for construction and infrastructure, with similar product portfolio but vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Lafarge France: French subsidiary of LafargeHolcim/Holcim and CVH's strategic partner since 2022, operating the largest aggregates and cement footprint in France. Directly comparable as a French aggregates producer serving identical BTP and infrastructure customers, though Lafarge operates nationally across many sites rather than a single quarry.
• Holcim: Global building materials major with significant French aggregates operations following LafargeHolcim merger. Comparable to CVH as a major supplier of certified aggregates to construction and infrastructure projects, though at vastly larger scale and across a broader product portfolio including cement.
• Heidelberg Materials France: Major French aggregates and cement producer with extensive quarrying operations across France. Comparable to CVH as a producer of crushed limestone aggregates and certified construction materials serving the same B2B customer base, though with broader geographic reach and a cement-led product mix.
• Eqiom (Vicat Group): French aggregates, concrete, and cement producer within the Vicat Group, with operations across northern and eastern France. Comparable to CVH in limestone aggregates and concrete-related materials for BTP and infrastructure customers, though with a more cement-anchored portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carrieresvh
• Facebookfacebook.com/carrieresVH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carrieres-de-la-vallee-heureuse

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CVH