Operating in 5 countries via a large distribution network, the company is located at the heart of Belgium, in the Namur region. The production plant manufactures more than one million hempcrete blocks per year and has 4,000 pallets of stock ready at all times.
Our challenge?
To give you comfort and well-being within your home while reducing your energy consumption.
Why choose IsoHemp hempcrete blocks ?
For a long time hempcrete manufacturing techniques for construction were traditional: either mixing components on-site and then using the mix in formwork, or using an application device that requires highly qualified workforce.
IsoHemp's answer to these difficulties was to launch a product that could be used by all professionals. IsoHemp offers a broad and efficient solution for sustainable insulation. With the hempcrete block, you are guaranteed an insulating and efficient block adapted for your home.
The IsoHemp values
- Expertise: We use all our experience to provide you with the most suitable solution for your construction or renovation project
- Reliability: This is certified and quality material that guarantees comfort and well-being in your home
- Ecology: The products and their manufacturing process respect the environment
- Proximity: Our team is available to support you as best we can to finish your construction or renovation project
- Healthy living space: The natural building materials are good for your health
Our factory has a unique set of values and unique technical performance.
When it came to developing the industrial supply chain, IsoHemp wanted to stand true to its values with three fundamental development factors: short distances, natural raw materials and an environmentally friendly factory.
The raw materials (hemp, lime and water) are 100% natural products with a low environmental impact. What's more, in order to minimize the transport footprint, the company mainly turns to local suppliers:
- The lime is carefully selected from suppliers who are attentive to their use of energy in production.
- The hemp requires no pesticides and very little fertilizer, which goes perfectly with our culture of low environmental impact. On top of that each hectare of this plant stores up to 3 tons of CO2.
The plant was developed according to the same philosophy: technology and sustainable development.
The manufacturing process of IsoHemp hempcrete blocks was developed from A to Z by our own teams and allows to produce almost two million blocks per year.
The factory is fully automated to guarantee quality products at competitive prices. It is the result of several years of development and is constantly evolving as part of our continuous improvement policy.
No chemical substances used: The blocks are entirely composed of natural, local and ecological products.
We really try to reduce the factory's energy consumption. The entire site consumes the energy equivalent of only 10 washing machines !
All waste / scrap produced is recyclable and is fed back into the manufacturing process: we create virtually no waste. We have set up a recovery and recycling system for waste water. Not a drop goes down the drain.
The 4 steps of hempcrete block production
Hempcrete block production requires critical know-how that we at IsoHemp have mastered for a number of years.
The process consists of 4 subtle steps
The mixture
The raw materials (hemp, lime and water) are precisely dosed and mixed together.
Moulding
The hemp concrete is then moulded in a block in a special press that creates blocks between 7,5 and 30 centimetres wide.
Curing
Once the blocks are out of their mould, they go on an automatic conveyor belt to a temporary storage area where the blocks harden, so they can be handled. This natural open air drying process requires no additional heat. So there is no energy input necessary.
Palletisation
Once the blocks are able to be handled, they are again conveyed towards a robotic arm which loads them on pallets. The pallets are then ready for an open air drying period that takes between 6 and 10 weeks depending on the width of the blocks produced.
Once this period is over, the pallet is ready to be shipped on site and to be part of your personal achievements.
IsoHemp, sustainable construction with hemp
2011: IsoHemp is born. The company founders, Olivier Beghin and Jean-Baptiste de Mahieu, both passionate about the sustainable construction sector, imagine the business project during a meeting with a Belgian researcher specializing in hemp applications in the field of sustainable building construction. Thanks to their technical knowledge and collaborations with professionals in the sector, the two engineers work on the design for range of products composed of lime and hemp.
2012: After a one-year R & D phase, they develop a range of hemp blocks specially designed for the building partitions and insulation layers for buildings. The IsoHemp hempcrete block, a healthy, local and 100% recyclable product, is born! The block was to allow for an insulating wall layer that would also let the building breathe, while also regulating humidity, temperature and noise.
2013: After an initial one-year, low-key production phase, production is increased to an industrial level adding significant production output equivalent to the construction of several houses per day.
2014: An investment of more than one million euros is made to open a brand new industrial production plant in Namur at the heart of Belgium.
2017: IsoHemp intensifies its development by doubling the size of its production site to almost 1ha.
Today: IsoHemp has thousands of new constructions and renovations in its portfolio. The company has 40 employees and is active anywhere in Belgium and abroad.
Discover our large selection of efficient and sustainable solutions and let's set an appointment !