1778 Jan-Frans Cooppal establishes a production unit for gunpowder at Wetteren (Belgium).
1815 after the battle of Waterloo and the defeat of the French, who had closed the plant, the production activities are re-started. It is the beginning of a very successful period.
1880 gunpowder is being replaced by more modern explosives, and a new plant is built at Kaulille (Belgium).
1896 on 19 June, at Casteau (Belgium), the Poudrerie Réunies de Casteau are established, for the production of gunpowder and explosives.
1898 in the meantime, in the Cooppal plant in Wetteren, a new department is started for the production of ether, a solvent used in the new generation of expolsives.
1919 the Poudrerie Réunies de Casteau change their name in Poudrerie Réunies de Belgique (PRB).
Between the two world wars, a new department is started for the production of synthetic and natural resins, used as raw materials for the paint and varnish industries.
1952 the gunpowder company at Wetteren receives a license from Bayer, which permits the company to test a new product, polyurethane foam, which is to replace the slackening activities in black powder and ether.
1966 PRB and Cooppal create the 50/50 joint venture Eurofoam, which will concentrate on Cooppal's former polyurethane activities.
1970'ies PRB acquires other interests in the chemical industry. In the meantime, Eurofoam tries to diversify its activities and introduces other technologies, products and applications. Recticel, a small Dutch company in the PU business and part of the PRB group, gives its name to all the PU activities of PRB.
1985 the Société Générale de Belgique, the majority shareholder of PRB, groups its activities in the chemical sector in a new company, Gechem. Recticel is one of them.
1992 after a number of divestments and concentration of the more lucrative PU business, Recticel remains the only activity of the Gechem group. The name Gechem disappears.
1998 Luc Vansteenkiste, CEO of the Recticel group, creates the Rec-Hold holding and acquires the majority stake held by the Société Générale de Belgique in Recticel.
