Historia
Quality Awning & Construction founded.
Quality Awning & Construction focuses on insurance work and becomes Inrecon, LLC. Haniel EnviroServices is founded in Germany.
The Haniel Umweltschutz (Environmental Services) Division starts its first activities in the field of fire damage restoration and preventive fire protection through acquisitions in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Italy.
The group of restoration companies is extended with the acquisition of COUTELLAS S.A. in France.
Haniel Umweltschutz is split into two new divisions: Haniel Industrie-Service and Haniel Envirotec. Haniel Envirotec’s activities include machine and plant overhauls, electronics restoration, preventive fire protection and asbestos removal.
The two Divisions, split four years ago, are reunited under the name of Haniel EnviroService. Fire and water restoration services are expanded to the United Kingdom.
All Haniel EnviroService companies offering fire and water damage repair services operate under the new BELFOR umbrella brand.
BELFOR enters the US market and becomes a world-leading disaster recovery and restoration company by the acquisition of shares of Enterprise International and DRS.
BELFOR acquires a leading European competitor (Relectronic-Remech) and enters the Asian market.The Division is renamed BELFOR International whose core business is the restoration of fire and water damage.
Within a period of two years, BELFOR has become the market leader in the United States for the repair of fire, water and storm damage. Since entering the market in 1999, BELFOR USA has already acquired a number of medium-sized damage repair firms. With the takeover of the existing US-market leader INRECON LLC in July 2001, BELFOR has accomplished a major coup. INRECON – the name stands for INsurance RECONstruction – has annual sales of $180 million and employs 1,000 staff. Sheldon Yellen is the CEO of Inrecon.
BELFOR opens new branch offices in Germany, Austria and expands its East European business to Poland and Czech Republic. The Asian market is strengthened by a new operation in Japan while the Canadian operations acquire two competitors (Babayan’s Construction Ltd., Toronto and CR Associates, Ottawa) and expands to the eastern part of Canada.
- BELFOR Belgium acquires Amiral Clean, whose focus is the restoration of fire and water damages in the residential market.
- The Haniel Group sells 75% of the BELFOR-shares to the newly established BELFOR Holdings Inc., whose headquarters are in Brimingham, Michigan USA and which is headed by the current top management of the BELFOR Group. This means the present managing directors of the holding company, the managing directors of the European and, in particular, of the North American country operations as well as other top managers are the new shareholders of BELFOR.
- The BELFOR Group is now jointly headed by Bernd Elsner and Sheldon Yellen. Elsner is responsible for the European and Asian operations and Yellen continues to run the United States and Canadian operations.
- BELFOR Holdings Inc. acquires DUCTZ International, LLC, a professional air duct cleaning and HVAC (heating/ventilating/air conditioning) restoration franchise network. With current locations in 22 states, DUCTZ can now grow in tandem with BELFOR to increase its independent client base, as well as service BELFOR clients with HVAC restoration services.
- Ahead of schedule, BELFOR Holdings Inc. takes over the remaining 25% of the shares from Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH. The company is now owned 100% by the top management.
- BELFOR strengthens its market position in Asia by founding a company in Shanghai, China: BELFOR Recovery Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
- BELFOR enters the Slovakian market by founding BELFOR Slovakia spol. sro in Bratislava, Slovakia and the Eastern European market presence now includes Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- BELFOR USA acquires the Alexander Wall Corporation (AWC) from Long Island, NY, to better serve the Greater New York City metropolitan area.
BELFOR USA acquires Hawaii Restorative Services of Honolulu, enabling it to respond quickly to losses occurring in Hawaii, Samoa and the other Pacific islands.
In the wake of the dreadful earthquake in Chile, BELFOR USA establishes BELFOR Chile SA to serve as an immediate, local point of contact for the ensuing extensive restoration projects in South America.
Over 100 new offices opened or acquired between 2009 - 2013 in North America.
A partnership alliance agreement between BELFOR Asia and Fubon Insurance, Taiwan’s leading insurance company, is signed. With its technical centres and human resource talent pools, the Taiwan market has played – and continues to play – an important part in the expansion and success of BELFOR Asia.
BELFOR acquired the Danish Røsva Skadeservice company. This initial move into Europe’s northernmost area is the first in a region where we are targeting expansion and further investment in the near future.
BELFOR continues to grow into a $2 billion company and extend its global operations into 34 different countries.