Carrieres Unies de Porphyre

What Carrieres Unies de Porphyre does

Carrières Unies de Porphyre (CUP) is a Belgian quarrying and aggregate producer founded on October 28, 1862 as 'Société pour l'exploitation des carriers Tacquenier et la construction des routes pavées,' renamed to its current name in 1919, and headquartered in Lessines, Hainaut province. The company operates three active quarries — Lessines (porphyry), Bierghes (micro-diorite), and Baileux (Givetian limestone) — with combined annual production capacity of approximately 2.15 million tons and reserves exceeding 150 years at the two largest sites. Output includes crushed stone, sand, gravel, railway ballast (including TGV-compatible grades), and stabilized concrete products, marketed primarily to road construction contractors, railway operators, and concrete manufacturers in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, and Germany.

The underlying technology is conventional aggregate processing: extraction, crushing, screening, and grading to technical specifications defined by Los Angeles (LA), Micro-Deval (MDe), and Polished Stone Value (PSV) metrics. Lessines porphyry (LA 8-12, MDe 3-7, PSV 54-58) and Bierghes micro-diorite (PSV 62-68) qualify for premium applications including TGV ballast and highway wearing courses; Baileux limestone (LA 17-22, MDe 15-18) serves broader construction and public works applications. Bierghes also operates a gravel reconstitution plant producing cement-stabilized materials up to 250kg/m³. Distribution is multimodal: rail (1,300 tonnes/load from Lessines), waterway (1,200-2,000 tonnes from Clabecq and Vaulx), and truck (up to 44 tonnes). The company holds BENOR quality certification across all three sites and ISO 14001 at Bierghes since December 2011, with solar installations covering 36-40% of energy consumption at Lessines and Bierghes.

CUP generates revenue through transactional sale of aggregates, with quotation-based pricing (firm for 30 days), index-linked price revision formulas (Mercuriale, K1, K2) on contracts longer than three months, and either ex-works collection or 50%-advance/balance-on-invoice payment terms. Distribution is direct to enterprise buyers via regional commercial teams for Belgium (Rik Ophalffens, Vic Ophalffens) and France (Aurélien Thallot, including the Ets. Bernard trading office), supplemented by logistics coordinators for each market. The company has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eurovia (VINCI Group) since September 22, 2006, giving it access to VINCI's broader road materials and infrastructure network across Europe.

Name

Carrieres Unies de Porphyre

Legal name

Carrières Unies de Porphyre SA

Website

https://cup.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1862

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Carrières Unies de Porphyre is a Belgian aggregate producer operating three quarries producing porphyry, micro-diorite, and limestone for road, railway, and concrete markets in five European countries. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Eurovia (VINCI Group) since 2006.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Aggregates

NAICS

Stone Mining and Quarrying (21231)

SIC

Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Aggregates (Rail Ballast, Riprap/Armor Stone, Gabion Stone) (IMAKAHAJ)

Keywords

• Quarry aggregates production
• Crushed stone supply
• Railway ballast materials
• Road construction aggregates
• Concrete aggregates manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Lessines

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Aggregates and Crushed Stone Sales: Primary revenue from producing and selling various grades of crushed stone, sand, gravel, and aggregates to road construction companies, concrete manufacturers, and infrastructure contractors.
2. Railway Ballast Supply: Specialized railway ballast products including TGV-compatible ballast for high-speed rail applications, supplied to railway construction and maintenance companies.
3. Asphalt and Road Materials: Aggregates supplied to asphalt plants and road construction projects, including hot mix and surface treatments.
4. Stabilized Concrete and Construction Materials: Cement-stabilized materials and specialized concrete products from the Bierghes plant, including Big-Bag packaging options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Carrières Unies de Porphyre operates three quarries in Belgium (Lessines, Bierghes, Baileux) that extract and process porphyry, micro-diorite, and limestone into various grades of crushed stone, sand, gravel, rockfill, and railway ballast with combined annual production capacity of 2,150,000 tons. The aggregates are supplied to road construction, asphalt, railway (including TGV high-speed ballast), and concrete manufacturers across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, and Germany, with multimode logistics across rail, waterway, and truck transport.

Product overview

Carrieres Unies de Porphyre (CUP) operates as a quarrying and aggregate production company with three active production sites: Lessines, Bierghes, and Baileux. The company produces and markets high-quality aggregates (crushed stone, sand, gravel, ballast) supplied to the roadworks market (asphalt), railway market (railway ballast), and concrete market. The three quarries produce different rock types: Lessines produces porphyry, Bierghes produces micro-diorite, and Baileux produces limestone. Products are sold primarily in France, Belgium, Netherlands, England, and Germany. CUP is a subsidiary of EUROVIA, which belongs to the VINCI group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CUP Lessines: Production site specializing in porphyry aggregates in Lessines, Hainaut province, with annual production of 1,500,000 tons.
• CUP Bierghes
• CUP Baileux

Products and services

• CUP Lessines Aggregates (Porphyry) High-quality porphyry aggregates from the Lessines quarry (Hainaut province) with intrinsic characteristics LA 8-12, micro-Deval 3-7, and PSV 54-58. Annual production of 1,500,000 tonnes with reserves for 150 years. Product range includes sand (0/2 to 0/5), gravel (0/20 continuous/discontinuous), crushed stones (2/4 to 10/14), railway ballast (20/32, 32/50), and rockfill (50/100, 100/250). Suitable for TGV ballast, highway road construction, and technical concrete applications. Target customers are road construction, railway, and concrete companies.
• CUP Bierghes Aggregates (Micro-Diorite) Micro-diorite aggregates from the Bierghes quarry (Brabant Wallon province) with intrinsic characteristics LA 9-15, micro-Deval 10-15, and PSV 62-68. Annual production of 400,000 tonnes with reserves for over 150 years. Complete range including sand (0/2, 0/4), graves (0/6 to 0/32), crushed stones (2/4 to 14/20), ballast (20/32), and stabilized cement products (up to 250kg per cubic meter). Also offers decorative materials (red sandstone, pebbles, white lysit). Suitable for technical road concrete and asphalt applications. Includes its own gravel reconstitution plant for stabilized and lean concrete.
• CUP Baileux Aggregates (Limestone) Limestone aggregates (Givetian sedimentary rock) from the Baileux quarry (Hainaut province) with intrinsic characteristics LA 17-22 and micro-Deval 15-18. Annual production of 250,000 tonnes. Full product range including crushed sand (0/2, 0/4), crushed stones (2/6 to 40/100), and continuous stone mixes (0/8 to 0/300). Suitable for a wide range of construction applications with a focus on cost-efficient use cases.
• Lessines Railway Ballast Specialized porphyry railway ballast from Lessines supplied in grades 20/32 and 32/50, including TGV-compatible high-speed rail ballast meeting strict PSV and LA specifications. Targeted at railway construction companies, infrastructure managers, and rail maintenance contractors.
• Bierghes Stabilized and Lean Concrete Cement-stabilized and lean concrete mixtures produced at Bierghes up to 250kg of cement per cubic meter. Available in Big-Bag packaging for flexible delivery. Targeted at concrete manufacturers, public works contractors, and stabilized materials buyers.

Segments4 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

One partnership is on record.

• Eurovia (VINCI Group)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 September 2006On September 22, 2006, Carrières Unies de Porphyre integrated Eurovia, a company owned by the VINCI group. Eurovia is one of the world leaders in road infrastructure and urban planning, and one of the main European suppliers of road materials. This integration provides CUP with access to VINCI's global resources, technical expertise, and extensive network across European infrastructure markets.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Holcim: One of the world's largest building materials companies with a significant European aggregates footprint including crushed stone and sand & gravel. Comparable as a multi-country aggregate producer serving road and concrete markets, with broader cement and ready-mix integration.
• Eurovia: Eurovia is CUP's parent company and the largest European road-building and materials group, producing and procuring aggregates across many quarries. Directly comparable as a road-aggregate supplier, but operates at vastly broader geographic and product scale as part of VINCI.
• Sibelco: Belgian-headquartered global industrial minerals company extracting and processing a wide range of nonmetallic minerals. Comparable as a Belgian-rooted quarry/minerals business operating across Europe, though focused on industrial minerals (glass, ceramics, fillers) rather than construction aggregates.
• CRH plc: Global building materials group with major European aggregates operations (including Tarmac in the UK and various Benelux holdings). Comparable in producing crushed stone for road, rail, and concrete applications across multiple European countries.
• Heidelberg Materials: Global building materials group with extensive aggregates operations across Europe, including crushed stone, sand, and gravel. Highly comparable in product mix (crushed stone for road/rail/concrete) and customer base, though operating at much larger scale with cement integration.
• Lhoist: Belgian family-owned lime and limestone producer operating quarries across Europe. Comparable as a Belgian-based industrial minerals operator with limestone extraction and adjacent infrastructure, though focused on lime rather than construction aggregates.

Direct peers

• Breedon Group: UK-listed independent aggregates and construction materials group producing crushed stone, sand, gravel, and asphalt across the UK and Ireland. Comparable as a focused aggregates producer with similar product range and infrastructure-customer base, though UK/Ireland rather than Benelux.
• Smals: Belgian family-owned aggregates producer operating quarries in Belgium with similar product range of crushed stone, sand, and gravel for construction and infrastructure markets. Directly comparable regional peer operating in the same Benelux geography.
• Tarmac (CRH UK): UK's largest aggregates and construction materials producer (CRH subsidiary), operating quarries producing crushed stone, sand, gravel, and railway ballast. Highly comparable to CUP as a multi-quarry aggregates operator with ballast capability serving road and rail markets.
• Sagrex (Heidelberg Materials Belgium): Belgian aggregates subsidiary of Heidelberg Materials producing crushed stone and sand for road, concrete, and rail markets. Directly comparable to CUP as a Belgian quarry operator with overlapping customer base and product applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carrieres-unies-de-porphyre-s-a-

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Carrieres Unies de Porphyre