Hoben International

What Hoben International does

Hoben International Limited is a UK-based industrial minerals processing company operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goodwin PLC (London Stock Exchange: GDWN). Founded in the late 1960s as Hoben Quarries Limited, the company occupies a 40-acre site in Brassington, Matlock, Derbyshire, and manufactures specialised mineral products including Cristobalite sands and milled flours, silica sands and milled flours, specialist concretes and grouts, non-ferrous foundry plaster, perlite, and Sandersfire™ passive fire protection products. The company describes itself as the world's leading manufacturer of Foundry Plaster for non-ferrous metal casting, used in the Rubber Plaster Mould (RPM) process for precision casting of aluminium and zinc components including turbocharger compressor wheels.

Hoben's core technology stack centres on a custom-built calcining facility commissioned in 2006 (approximately 15,000 tonnes per annum capacity), automated continuous-process alumina-lined ball mills that eliminate metal contamination, X-ray diffraction quality control, and in-line particle size analysers that drive real-time classifier adjustment. Rotary drum blenders support batches up to 5 tonnes and production runs up to 1,250 tonnes per week, with trace additive incorporation precision of 0.0005%. The site also offers contract packaging services from 100g sachets through 25kg sacks to 1,500kg bulk bags, with silo storage up to 70 tonnes.

The business model is sales-led B2B contract manufacturing and mineral product supply to UK and European industrial customers across cement, mining, civil engineering, refractory, ceramic, glass, foundry, and construction sectors. Revenue is generated through one-time mineral product sales, contract blending and packaging services, and specialist concrete and grout formulation. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 certifications issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI). No funding rounds, M&A activity, or leadership changes are disclosed in the source data.

Name

Hoben International

Legal name

Hoben International Limited

Website

https://hobeninternational.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hoben International is a UK-based industrial minerals processor and contract manufacturer, wholly-owned by Goodwin PLC, producing Cristobalite, silica products, specialist concretes, foundry plaster, and passive fire protection materials for UK and European industrial customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Matlock

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Mineral Products Manufacturing & Supply: Manufacture and supply of various mineral products including Cristobalite sands and milled flours, silica sands and milled flours, specialist concretes, grouts, mortars, and perlite. Products sold to industrial customers in various packaging formats.
2. Contract Blending and Packaging Services: Contract blending service for dry powders and aggregates with over 25 years experience. Processing of specialised raw materials with dedicated plant for materials with difficult and unusual characteristics.
3. Specialist Concrete & Grout Formulation: Contract manufacturing of specialist high performance cementitious and non-cementitious dry blends with custom formulations tailored to specific customer requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hoben International manufactures and supplies specialized industrial mineral products, including high-grade Cristobalite sands and milled flours, silica sands and milled flours, specialist concretes, grouts, mortars, non-ferrous foundry plaster, and lightweight perlite aggregates. The company also offers contract processing services, including dry powder mixing and blending, trace-additive incorporation, and packaging/bagging in formats ranging from 100g sachets to bulk tankers, serving industrial customers in the UK and Europe.

Product overview

Hoben International is a minerals processing company operating as a subsidiary of Goodwin PLC, offering a portfolio of specialized industrial mineral products and processing services. The core product lines include Cristobalite Sands and Milled Flours (calcined at their custom 2006 facility with 15,000 tonnes annual capacity), Silica Sands and Milled Flours (processed through alumina-lined ball mills), Specialist Concrete and Grout formulations, Non Ferrous Foundry Plaster (world's leading manufacturer for RPM casting), and Sandersfire™ passive fire protection products. These materials are supported by contract mixing/blending services (rotary drum blenders up to 5 tonne batches) and packaging/bagging operations. The company also processes perlite as an ultra-lightweight aggregate. All products serve industrial sectors including ceramics, glass, refractories, construction, foundries, and civil engineering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sandersfire™: Sandersfire™ Passive Fire Protection Products including Firecrete fire stopping mortars and Fireslab for timber floor fire resistance.
• Soluform

Products and services

• Cristobalite Sands & Milled Flours High grade, unmineralised Cristobalite available as sands or milled flours produced through in-house ball milling facilities. Product grades include C4 Sand, C100, C200, and C325 with varying particle size distributions, primarily serving ceramic, glass, refractory, and foundry industries.
• Silica Sands & Milled Flours Fine silica powders processed through continuous alumina-lined ball mills with in-line particle size analysers. Available grades include Sand, HIQ5, A50, HIQ20, Z300, HIM2, and HIQ400, serving ceramic, glass, refractory, and industrial applications.
• Specialist Concrete & Grout High performance cementitious and non-cementitious dry blends for specialized construction applications including self-compacting concretes, radiation shielding, rapid setting, lightweight concretes, underwater grouts, and fire proof penetration mortars.
• Non Ferrous Foundry Plaster Gypsum bonded investment formulation for casting non-ferrous metals, used in the Rubber Plaster Mould (RPM) process for precision casting of aluminium and zinc components including turbocharger compressor wheels. Used by foundries for prototype, low volume, and high volume complex shape castings.
• Sandersfire Passive Fire Protection Products Passive fire protection product line including Firecrete (fire stopping mortars with load-bearing capacity) and Fireslab (timber floor fire resistance upgrade), certified to Part B of Building Regulations, for construction and fire safety applications.
• Perlite White, ultra-lightweight expanded aggregate (up to 6mm particle size) with thermal insulation properties ranging from cryogenics (-273°C) to refractory applications (>1000°C). Used as carrier, filler, and insulation material in industrial applications.
• Soluform Hand placed bag work solution product line for various construction and industrial applications.
• Mixing and Blending Services Contract blending service for dry powders and aggregates using rotary drum blenders capable of processing batches up to 5 tonnes and production runs up to 1,250 tonnes per week. Incorporates trace additives (0.0005%) and specialized glass and ceramic fibres.
• Packaging and Bagging Services Re-packaging services handling materials from bulk tankers into 70 tonne capacity silos for packing into 25kg sacks, bulk bags (up to 1,500kg), or small sachets (from 100g). Includes labelling and custom packaging options.

Quantifiable outcome

• Batch-to-batch consistency guaranteed through in-line monitoring
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 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.

• Sandersfire International LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSandersfire International is a related company offering passive fire protection products including Firecrete fire stopping mortars and Fireslab for timber floor fire resistance. Hoben produces these products under the Sandersfire brand.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• British Gypsum (Saint-Gobain): UK manufacturer of gypsum-based products including plaster for construction and industrial applications. Closely comparable to Hoben's non-ferrous foundry plaster business, though British Gypsum is focused on construction-grade plasters rather than RPM foundry plaster.
• LKAB Minerals: European industrial minerals processor supplying engineered mineral products (including silica and olivine) to foundry, refractories, construction, and civil engineering — closely matching Hoben's customer verticals and contract-manufacturing business model.
• Quarzwerke Group: European specialty producer of industrial minerals including silica sands, cristobalite, and ground mineral flours. Operates calcining and milling assets comparable to Hoben's 2006 calcining facility, supplying foundry, glass, ceramics, and construction markets.
• Fosroc (part of Saint-Gobain): Global specialty construction chemicals manufacturer producing specialist concretes, grouts, mortars, and fire protection products. Directly comparable to Hoben's specialist concrete, grout, and Sandersfire fire-stopping mortar ranges.

Broad incumbents

• Covia (now part of Polar Sand): North American industrial minerals producer of silica, nepheline syenite, and calcium carbonate for foundry, glass, ceramics, and construction — overlapping with Hoben's mineral flour and silica business but serving different geographies.
• SCR-Sibelco: Global leader in silica and industrial minerals, supplying high-purity silica sands for glass, foundry, ceramics, and construction — directly overlapping with Hoben's core silica/cristobalite product lines, but at far greater scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Mapei: Italian-headquartered specialty construction chemicals group producing specialist mortars, grouts, and cementitious admixtures. Comparable to Hoben's specialist concrete and dry-blend formulation capability, with global distribution reach.
• U.S. Silica Holdings: Large North American producer of industrial silica sand for foundry, glass, ceramics, building products, and oil & gas markets. Comparable in core silica processing capability, but at substantially larger scale and primarily serving US end markets.
• Knauf: Global gypsum and building materials manufacturer producing plasters, mortars, and dry-blend construction products. Overlaps with Hoben's plaster and specialist mortar lines, though Knauf operates at much larger scale with broad construction focus.
• Imerys: Major French-listed specialty minerals group producing high-purity silica, refractory minerals, and performance minerals for foundry, ceramics, and construction. Overlaps with Hoben's silica flour and refractory mineral supply, with much broader portfolio and global footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hoben-international-ltd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Hoben International