The De Cloedt Family: 135 Years of Innovation in Dredging and Construction
Cloedt family
The company Group De Cloedtwhose main activities revolve around dredging and construction work, is firmly rooted in Oostende and Brussels, Belgium. The company was founded in over 135 years agoestablishing an important footprint in the sector. The company's management is currently in the hands of Gery De Cloedt which perpetuates family heritage as the fifth generation.
The family's entrepreneurial roots go back to the founder, Prosper De Cloedtfollowed by Raymond and Jean-Jacques. He orchestrated a key evolution in the company, initially collaborating with Dredging International and then building DEME. DEME was born of a merger with Dredging International in 1991, in which the De Cloedt family retained a 18% stake. However, the it was bought out years later for 80 million euros.
Under Gery's impetus, the company launched a vigorous development program to become a leading integrated construction group. This includes not only historical dredging activities but also the concrete production and transport.
Family roots are also to be found in the Hedwige polder in the Netherlands, a property acquired in 1932. Despite a lengthy legal battle for the preservation of the polder led by the De Cloedt family, compensation measures were put in place following the irrevocable decision of its scheduled submersion in 2014.
Here are a few highlights:
- PositioningTOP 200 in Belgium.
- Estimated asset value124,886,000.
Visit property assets now also extends to Eastern Europe and Argentinawith specializations in real estate developmentled by Jean De Cloedt, in parallel with the operations led by his brother Gery.
