Talc de Luzenac France celebrates its first hundred years

In 2005, Talc de Luzenac France, founder member of the world’s leading talc producing group, Luzenac, celebrates its centenary.
Over the last century, Talc de Luzenac France has grown from a cottage industry in the French Pyrenees, into a world wide group, and leader in its sector, with talc products serving a wide-range of industries. With an annual turnover of 86 million euros, Talc de Luzenac France is the largest entity of the Luzenac Group.

To commemorate its one hundredth anniversary, the company has organised a series of events, culminating the weekend of September 10-11, 2005.
The centenary events include tours of the mine and plant, a photo exhibition, a party and firework display, the publication of a book about the company's history, and an awards ceremony for the 15 Luzenac employees and winners of a group-wide “Continuous Improvement” competition who will travel from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Singapore, the US and the UK to visit the French mine and plant and take part in the festivities.
When Talc de Luzenac was first incorporated in1905, it produced 20,000 tonnes of talc per year, primarily for the paper industry. Today the company delivers over 400,000 tonnes yearly, and has prospered over the last century thanks to constant modernisation and R&D focused on innovative solutions for customers in a wide range of industries, including coatings, cosmetics, agriculture, ceramics, foodstuffs, paper, rubber, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. As the operator of the world’s largest talc deposit, with confirmed reserves for the next hundred years, Talc de Luzenac France looks toward the future with confidence.

The Luzenac Group employs 1500 people at its 11 mines and 20 plants in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. The Group sells 1.4 million tonnes of talc per year, of which Talc de Luzenac France supplies 30%. The Luzenac Group became a member of the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto Group in 1988.