Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen

What Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen does

Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held, family-owned (5th generation, Iseke family) German limestone quarrying and lime production company operating the Steinbruch Osterholz in Wuppertal-Hahnenfurth since 1900. The single-site operation exploits one of Europe's most significant limestone deposits in the Dornaper Revier, where near-surface limestone is extracted with heavy mining equipment (including Germany's largest excavator, the Komatsu PC 4000) and calcined in kilns to produce Branntkalk (burnt lime), Weißkalkhydrat, Weißfeinkalk, and Kalkmilch. The product portfolio was extended around 2020 with a Multi-Mix-Anlage enabling customer-specific lime formulations, and a Multi-Mix Anlage and a CO2 separation demonstration plant (membrane technology, operational since February 2025 in partnership with Black Capture, Calcis, and Bergmann Kalk) address decarbonization of the calcination process.

The company sells directly to German industrial customers through multi-year B2B contracts, supplying system-critical inputs for steel production, flue gas cleaning, drinking water and wastewater treatment, waste incineration, agriculture, and construction. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; products are distributed in bulk direct from the quarry. Certifications include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, and EcoVadis Silver (2024), alongside NABU NRW 'Amphibienfreundlicher Betrieb' recognition. The firm is governed as a Kommanditgesellschaft with OeKa Umwelttechnik GmbH as the personally liable general partner, employs approximately 95-97 people, and is actively engaged in industry bodies (Bundesverband der Deutschen Kalkindustrie, VBU) and the Circular Valley® ecosystem. No institutional investors, subsidiaries, or M&A activity are referenced.

Name

Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen

Legal name

Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://oetelshofen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1900

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen is a 5th-generation, family-owned German limestone quarry and lime producer in Wuppertal-Hahnenfurth, supplying Branntkalk, Weißkalkhydrat, and specialty Multi-Mix lime products directly to domestic industrial customers in steel, environmental protection, water treatment, and construction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Lime and Limestone Products

NAICS

Lime Manufacturing (32741), Crushed and Broken Limestone Mining and Quarrying (212312), Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing (325180)

SIC

Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400), Industrial Inorganic Chemicals (2810)

akta.pro primary industry

Limestone Quarrying (Industrial & Construction Grade) (IMAKAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Agricultural Lime (Calcitic & Dolomitic) (AFABADAA)

Keywords

• Limestone quarrying
• Quicklime production
• Burnt lime manufacturing
• Industrial lime products
• Lime processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Wuppertal

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Quicklime (Branntkalk) Product Sales: Sale of high-quality quicklime products (Weißfeinkalk, Weißkalkhydrat, Kalkmilch) produced from limestone mined at the Osterholz quarry. Products serve critical industrial applications including steel production, environmental protection, drinking water treatment, construction, and agriculture. Revenue generated through direct B2B sales to industrial customers in Germany and the surrounding region.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen quarries limestone from the Osterholz deposit in Wuppertal-Hahnenfurth (Dornaper Revier) and converts it into high-quality quicklime (Branntkalk) products, including burnt lime (Branntkalk), white lime hydrate (Weißkalkhydrat), white fine lime (Weißfeinkalk), and lime milk (Kalkmilch). These lime products serve as critical process inputs for German industry, with applications in steel production, flue gas cleaning, drinking water and wastewater treatment, construction, and agriculture.

Product overview

Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen operates as a single-site limestone quarry and lime production facility in Wuppertal-Hahnenfurth, Germany, producing a portfolio of burnt lime products for domestic industry. The core product line includes Branntkalk (burnt lime), Weißkalkhydrat (white lime hydrate), Weißfeinkalk (white fine lime), and Kalkmilch (lime milk), all derived from high-quality limestone quarried from the Dornaper Revier deposit. The recent Multi-Mix plant investment enables customer-specific lime compositions. The company operates as an integrated quarry-to-finished-product operation with no modular software or platform offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stiftung Kalkwerke Oetelshofen: Corporate foundation established by the company supporting local community, youth, environmental, and cultural projects.
• KWO

Products and services

• Branntkalk (Burnt Lime)

Quantifiable outcome

• CO2 capture demonstration plant binds ~10 tonnes CO2 per year, with findings transferable to larger commercial-scale installations

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 11 Partner Companies of the German Lime Industry (CO2 Separation Pilot)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026The CO2 separation pilot plant project at Calcis in Warstein involves 11 partner companies from the German lime industry, along with research and plant engineering actors. Oetelshofen is one of the 11 partners. The project is entirely self-funded (Eigenmittel) by the consortium, testing an innovative membrane process that requires significantly less energy than conventional CO2 capture approaches.
• VBU (Vereinigung Bergischer Unternehmerverbände e.V.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026VBU (Association of Bergisches Land Employers' Associations) engages in dialogue with Oetelshofen on topics including energy, CO2, and location policy. VBU visited the company for a dialog event discussing industry challenges that no single company can solve alone.
• AWG Abfallgesellschaft mbH WuppertalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2026AWG Abfallgesellschaft mbH Wuppertal was a stand cooperation partner with Oetelshofen at the Circular Valley Convention 2026, supporting the company's presence at the circular economy event.
• NABU NRWminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 July 2025NABU NRW partnered with Oetelshofen through the project 'Supporting Abgrabungsamphibien in NRW Raw Materials Extraction' since 2017. NABU NRW awarded Oetelshofen the 'Amphibienfreundlicher Betrieb' recognition in July 2025 for the company's voluntary species protection measures, including creating and maintaining water bodies for endangered amphibians.
• Verband der Bau- und Rohstoffindustrie (vero)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 July 2025Vero (Association of Construction and Raw Materials Industry) co-awarded Oetelshofen the 'Amphibienfreundlicher Betrieb' recognition alongside NABU NRW in July 2025. Vero developed a joint brochure with NABU NRW on practical measures for protecting endangered amphibian species in extraction sites.
• Black Capture GmbHcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 June 2025Black Capture is a technology startup that developed the membrane-based CO2 separation technology used in the demonstration plant at Oetelshofen. The plant separates process CO2 from the GGR kiln for potential utilization or storage. The partnership with Oetelshofen, Calcis, and Bergmann Kalk forms a consortium to test and advance this carbon capture technology in real-world conditions. The plant has been operating since February 2025, binding approximately 10 tonnes CO2 per year.
• Calcis GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2025Calcis GmbH is a fellow German lime producer and partner in the CO2 capture demonstration project consortium. A pilot plant for CO2 separation was inaugurated on Calcis's site in Warstein on April 16, 2026, testing the membrane technology jointly developed with Oetelshofen, Bergmann Kalk, and Black Capture. Calcis and Oetelshofen co-develop and test the technology in real operational conditions as part of the industry-wide effort toward climate neutrality.
• Bergmann Kalk GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2025Bergmann Kalk GmbH is a German lime producer and partner in the CO2 capture demonstration project consortium alongside Oetelshofen, Calcis, and Black Capture. The four-company consortium is developing and testing an innovative membrane-based CO2 separation technology for application in lime production, with each company contributing to pilot testing and technology validation.
• Zoo WuppertalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Zoo Wuppertal partnered with Oetelshofen in the Archeprojekt Feuersalamander (fire salamander preservation pilot project). The project aims to protect native fire salamanders from a fungal disease (Bsal) threatening their population. Oetelshofen contributes to the project as a local stakeholder.
• Bergische Universität WuppertalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 October 2022Bergische Universität Wuppertal (University of Wuppertal) conducts research on species protection in the Osterholz quarry in partnership with Oetelshofen. A joint TV report and article by WDR covered active species conservation in the quarry, where researchers study rare frogs, snakes, and newts inhabiting unused quarry areas.
• Circular Valley®coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2022Oetelshofen is a partner of Circular Valley®, the circular economy accelerator and platform for NRW. The company participates in the accelerator's startup cohort programs, engaging with innovative startups from around the world from June to September each year. The partnership provides access to the Circular Valley network of 70+ partners from business and science, and supports the company's circular economy positioning. Oetelshofen hosted the Circular Valley Forum 2024 in Wuppertal's historic city hall.
• Bundesverband der Deutschen Kalkindustrie (German Lime Industry Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOetelshofen is a member of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Kalkindustrie, the German lime industry association. The association provides information about the significance of lime burning for the German industrial location and represents member interests at national level.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Omya International AG: Swiss-headquartered producer of industrial minerals including calcium carbonate and lime-based specialty products; adjacent rather than directly competing, supplying overlapping customers with mineral inputs.

Direct peers

• Schaefer Kalk GmbH & Co. KG: Independent German family-owned lime producer with quarry and kiln operations across Germany; similar profile to Oetelshofen in scale, ownership structure, and customer mix.
• Rheinkalk GmbH: German subsidiary of Lhoist, operating limestone quarries and lime plants in the Rhineland; one of Germany's largest lime producers and a direct competitor serving identical steel, environmental, and construction customers.
• Bergmann Kalk GmbH & Co. KG: Direct German lime producer and Oetelshofen's third consortium partner in the CO2 separation pilot. Operates limestone quarries and quicklime/hydrate plants serving the same industrial end-markets in Germany.
• Calcis GmbH & Co. KG: Direct German lime producer operating its own quarries and lime kilns; Oetelshofen's consortium partner in the CO2 separation pilot at Warstein. Closely comparable product portfolio, scale, and end-market exposure.

Broad incumbents

• Carmeuse Group: Global lime and limestone producer with European operations; competes with Oetelshofen for industrial customers across steel, environmental, and construction end-markets at significantly larger scale.
• Graymont Limited: One of the largest privately held lime producers globally, with European operations; comparable in product portfolio and B2B industrial GTM to Oetelshofen, though at substantially larger scale.
• Heidelberg Materials AG: Major German-headquartered building materials group producing cement, aggregates, and lime-adjacent products; overlaps with Oetelshofen in lime-consuming construction and infrastructure end-markets.
• Lhoist Group: Belgian-headquartered global lime and dolime leader and parent of Rheinkalk; competes broadly with Oetelshofen in German and European quicklime markets and sets industry benchmarks on sustainability and carbon capture.

Regional players

• Mississippi Lime Company: Large privately held US quicklime and hydrated lime producer serving steel, water treatment, flue gas, and construction end-markets; comparable product portfolio but operates primarily in North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KWO1900
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kalkwerke-oetelshofen-gmbh-&-co-kg

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Kalkwerke H. Oetelshofen