1933: The history of Maurice Mathieu begins in Antwerp ...
Maurice Mathieu was born in Quaregnon (Hainaut) in 1896. The love for Maria from Antwerp brought Maurice to Antwerp. There, in 1933, he started pickling herring in the 'laundry room', at the back of the garden of his home in Berchem. Soon he moved to the Antwerp fish market in the Riemstraat. After the war, Maurice mainly sold pickled herring to the Belgian Congo. Later, pickled rollmops were also made in mayonnaise, the precursor of the real spreads.
Late 50s: founder of spreads
In 1954, the company was bulging at the seams and moved to larger premises in the Kloosterstraat. At the end of the 1950s, Maurice launched the 'chicken curry' and 'crab spread’ and became one of the founders of the traditional spread market. For these spreads, Maurice did not use ordinary mayonnaise, but developed special dressings, suitable for making spreads.
The 60s: expansion all the way to the Scheldt
Business is going well, and Maurice expands house after house, until he owns the entire block from the Kloosterstraat to the Scheldt. The production takes place over no less than five floors. Maurice died in 1967, but his children and grandchildren continued to expand the business.
The 80s: Maurice Mathieu in the streets
Maurice Mathieu's well-known vans are spotted more and more in the streets. All customers are delivered directly day in, day out. Maurice Mathieu develops a reputation, even outside Antwerp.
2006: new production site in Zwijndrecht
The fish market disappears, and the south of Antwerp becomes a trendy residential area, where there is no longer room for a factory. We make a virtue of necessity and build a completely new production site in Zwijndrecht.
2019: acquisition by Altoni - Kelderman
In 2019, the Van Goethem and Mathieu family sells the company to the Altoni-Kelderman family food company from Schoten. The values of the companies are very alike. The fourth generation, Maurice's great-grandson, remains on board.
