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Since 1952, at the head of the Superabrasives industry, Van Moppes has enjoyed a worldwide reputation for quality, consistency and reliability.
Backed by a team entirely dedicated to your total satisfaction, you can rely on:
> The guarantee of optimum quality thanks to our cutting-edge technology and technical resources.
> Diamond powders that meet the highest standards
In the beginning, there was one man, Levie Jacob Van Moppes, born in 1749 in Amsterdam, the founder of a long dynasty of diamond merchants and cutters.
One of Levis Jacob's descendants, Louis Meyer Van Moppes (1858-1943), moved to England with the aim of selling a product that was new at the time - industrial diamonds - to the fast-growing mechanical engineering industry.
1893
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1917
Louis Meyer Van Moppes gave his name to the first company, L.M. Van Moppes & Sons Ltd, which was registered in 1917, the same year he retired.
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1920
Several other agencies were set up around the world at the same time.
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1952
The Swiss agency, renamed L.M. Van Moppes & Sons SA, initially sold boart to the Swiss watch making manufacturers. The first sales of micron diamond powders took place in 1945.
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1963
When Michel Picot retired, the management was taken over by Jean Freinhofer. He devoted his entire life to the quest for perfection in the production and quality control of micron diamond powders.
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1978
The first automatic micron powder calibration machines were developed.
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1991
The first ISO 9002 certification was obtained.
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2001
ISO 9001:2000 certification, followed by ISO9001:2002 and finally ISO9001:2015.
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2005
Christophe Bangerter, who joined the company in 1994, became Managing Director in January 2005, succeeding Jean Freinhofer (who remained Chairman and Head of Quality until his retirement at the end of 2008).
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During the Second World War, Van Moppes played a role of national interest by supporting the Allied war effort, in particular through its pre-emptive purchases of Brazilian diamonds.
Michel Picot, a former lieutenant and pilot in the British army’s Flying Corps during the First World War, had maintained excellent relationships with the British embassy in Berne. He helped to smuggle diamonds from France to England, a high-risk operation.
He narrowly escaped arrest on the road between Geneva and Trévoux, as he was about to take delivery of the threads in exchange for gold coins.
The first trials to calibrate micron diamond powders were undertaken in 1938 and the first sales of calibrated micron powders took place in 1942, to enable British wire-drawing mills to repolish their diamond dies, having lost contact with their traditional French suppliers as a result of the war.
Once the entire micron diamond powder business had been transferred to L.M.Van Moppes & Sons SA in Geneva, it really took off. Modern, largely automated grading techniques were developed, along with a particularly efficient and accurate quality control system. Van Moppes became a benchmark for the quality, precision and consistency of its diamond powders.
Thanks to its experience and recognised market presence, the company then extended its activities to Mesh diamond and CBN , a sector in which it quickly became a renowned player, thanks to its qualities of innovation and customer service.
At Van Moppes, you will find the right, reliable and reproducible answer to all your needs thanks to our unique quality laboratory.
- 55, av. de la Praille - Case postale 1550 -CH-1211 Genèva 26 | Phone : +41 (0)22 342 34 50
