Befesa

The story begins not with a single founder, but with a corporate entity. In 1987, the German industrial conglomerate Metallgesellschaft created a subsidiary focused on environmental services called Berzelius Umwelt Service, or B.U.S.. This laid the groundwork for what would become a leader in a highly specialized, and essential, niche: recycling hazardous waste from the steel and aluminum industries. The company we know as Befesa started to take shape in 1993, when its Spanish assets were grouped into a new entity, Berzelius Felguera, which was shortened to Befesa.. Its business is straightforward: it takes the hazardous dust and salt slags produced by steel and aluminum manufacturing and recycles them, reintroducing valuable materials back into the production process.. This process is crucial for a circular economy, reducing landfill and the need for mining new resources. A major turning point came in 2013 when the private equity firm Triton Partners acquired Befesa from the Spanish conglomerate Abengoa.. Under new ownership, Befesa accelerated its global expansion, moving into markets like Turkey and South Korea.. This period of growth culminated in a significant event: in November 2017, Befesa held its Initial Public Offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.. Today, with operations in Europe, Asia, and the United States, Befesa stands as a global player in making heavy industry more sustainable.