History of Demaitere bvba

1905 - 1960

Camiel Demaitere founded the company of Demaitere in 1905 by starting up the production of agricultural equipment for local farmers.  After having known a remarkable growth during the period in between the two World Wars, the company moved its center of activities towards 'tow scutching lines' as Julien Demaitere joined the company.  These were industrial installations for the cleaning of short flax fibres (installations to seperate the fibre from the wooden core).

In 1958, son Walter Demaitere joined the company to run it together with his father.  But the early sixties did not bring great prosperity to the flax business.  Demaitere started the production of machinery for horticulture: starting with heating installations that were soon followed by soil blockers and potting machines.

1960 - 1985

Starting from the sixties onwards, the one-man company turned piece by piece into its actual shape.  The number of employees was increasing over 20, mainly due to the presence in both the flax and horticulture business.  But in 1985 the flax business began to slack as most of the traditional flax processing companies already had their complete production facility.

1985 - 2004

During the last twenty-five years, automation took a big expansion in horticulture, a segment in which Demaitere has grown to one of the leaders of the market.  In this period, both Philip Demaitere son-in-law Ivan Maenhoudt joined the company.  Together with Walter Demaitere, they have been co-responsible for the introduction of numerous machines, each time making a significant step forward in terms of quality and reliability.

Due to the increasing demand for natural fibres, the 'tow scutching lines' have been converted into installations able to process all kinds of bark fibres (such as hemp, kenaf, rami, nettle).  These natural fibres are now being used in automotive industries, as well as for insulation materials and for making composites.

Actually the company Demaitere, that introduced world-wide the brandname 'demtec', is working with about 45 employees and about 30 subcontractors.  Throughout the last ten years, an extensive sales service and a world-wide network of distributors have been established.  In the year 2000, Demaitere finally made the step towards the United States and Australia, resulting into an increasing production every year.