Our history in frames
#50YearsMibauStema
Throughout our 50th anniversary year, we’ll be sharing key moments from our history that shaped the company we are today – a journey that reminds us of the strong foundations on which our company is built:
𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞!
1975
𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚 – 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬?
Back in 1975, with just two employees, Stenmaterialer & Shipping Aabenraa ApS started trading raw materials for the concrete and asphalt industry.
Stema provided services such as sales, supply, chartering, stevedoring, and shipping. The company sold and traded limestone and aggregates from Denmark, Sweden, UK and Norway, while selling in Danmark and exporting primarily to Germany. Even our picture highlights the strong ties with Stemas southern neighbour: the German car belonged to an employee who crossed the border daily!
1978
𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭!
Founded in 1978 by Hans-Jürgen Hartmann the German Elbe-Weser-Handelskontor – one of our two founding companies – operated out of the owner family's private home for five years. But in 1983, it was time for a change: the company built its first headquarters in Cadenberge. Later, EWH rebranded as Mibau – and to this day, the headquarters of Mibau Stema Group remain at the same location.
𝐅𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭: In its early years, the initials EWH playfully stood for "𝒆𝘪𝘯 𝒘𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝑯𝘢𝘶𝘧𝘦𝘯" – German for "𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩". And with good reason! Back then, the company traded in… well, almost everything: Danish wooden houses, garden furniture, windows, doors – and even the wheel loaders you see in the picture.
Another key pillar of the business was the import of Faxe lime, a porous limestone from quarries near the Danish town of Faxe. This lime was amongst spread over forests by helicopter to combat forest dieback – 𝐌𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚’𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!
1987
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚 “𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭” 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞? 𝐓𝐨 𝐮𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥!
This image from 1987 captures the early groundwork on the Norwegian coast near Jelsa – a site that would soon become Europe’s largest quarry of its kind and a cornerstone of our rock-solid business.
The company was originally founded as Norsk Stein A/S Jelsa by Odd Hotvedt and Per Nerheim. The two had previously worked on the construction of the Førrevass dam, part of Ulla-Førre, Northern Europe’s largest hydropower plant in Suldal. When the dam was completed, the equipment and the Berakvam industrial site (seen in the image) were put up for sale – and the two seized the opportunity.
In no time, a crushed stone plant was established. The founders partnered with Norsk Sand, which handled sales and, in 1989, secured Stema Shipping as a key customer.
Today, the plant is part of the Mibau Stema Group and produces around 13 million tonnes of material annually. From sand and aggregates to road construction materials, water stones, offshore supplies, railway ballast, and specialized products for various industries – our colleagues in Norway deliver.
A warehouse – and a strong committment to Aabenraa Port
Some call it a warehouse – we see a milestone that speaks volumes about growth.
Back in the winter of 1986/87, Stema laid the foundation for something big. To safely and eco-friendly store fertiliser lime for large-scale delivery, we built a warehouse unlike any other: at the time, it was the largest building in Scandinavia with a self-supporting roof.
Inside, 8,000 square metres of space held up to 100,000 tonnes of lime, which helps farmers to secure good harvests. Outside, in the port of Aabenraa, ships were ready to carry our product to customers near and far.
While Mibau Stema has moved on from fertilizer lime as a product – the warehouse is now run by a different company –, one thing hasn’t changed: our commitment to growing. Together with our customers, partners, and team, we continue to build on the strong foundations of our company. Just this year, for example, we expanded our operations in the port of Aabenraa and secured a contract for a new site. With a depth of up to 18 metres, the port is ideally suited to our fleet and plays a vital role in the flow of goods across southern Jutland and northern Germany.
