History of the Durisol Absorptive Material

Durisol was first developed in Switzerland prior to World War II. The material as manufactured was the result of considerable research required to overcome the problem of making a stable product by combining organic wood fibres with inorganic portland cement.

From the start Durisol developed rapidly in the small competitive Swiss market. The many desirable properties of Durisol were quickly recognized resulting in its use in a variety of light weight, precast building components – large and small.

Durisol proved so successful that affiliated companies were soon operating in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Austria, Japan, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Morocco, Spain and the United States. Durisol proved to be a stable and sound building material, even under such varied climate conditions as found in Switzerland, Morocco, Greenland and Sri Lanka.

The Canadian company, completely Canadian owned, was formed in 1953 to manufacture Durisol under license from the parent Swiss company. Head office and plant facilities were located in Mitchell, Ontario – and still are today. Ability to draw on the experience of all other Durisol operations resulted in the introduction to the Canadian market of tried and tested products.