| |||
 | In 1884, Pierre-Eugène Vanden Hoff, a young Brussels pharmacist, had the idea of producing vinegar from the juice of dates that were then imported in abundance to feed horses, the main means of transport at the time. His goal was to make quality vinegar that was affordable for everyone. Joining forces with Doctor Martha, a professor at the ULB, he founded the limited partnership, S.C.S. Van den Hoff et Cie with a capital of 25,000 gold francs and a trademark l’Etoile that was registered. In 1886, the SCS was transformed into S.A. Grande Vinaigrerie Nationale, with a capital of 60,000 francs that would be increased to 300,000 in 1890, the year it moved into larger premises. A success from the start, the structure gradually grew. It was nicknamed the Vinaigrerie l'Etoile. It merged in the early 1900s. The company experienced several twists and turns but held firm against the competition. A certain Robert Dothey took over the business shortly before the start of the Great War, following the financial problems of the main shareholder. He would later hand over to his descendants, allowing the company to prosper for several decades, resisting the wars. The company experienced a boom in the 1950s, before suffering a setback in 1968, when the Belgian Government expropriated the workshops of the factory located on Rue de la Loi to build its European buildings there. The company was then forced to move in record time to new districts in Bierges near Wavre. Against all expectations, the company still had several good years ahead of it, until January 2007. Faced with poor financial results and a considerable increase (the previous two years) in the price of alcohol used to make vinegar, its future passed into the hands of the Dutch group de Burg, which bought the company. The Wavre site was then abandoned and the vinegars are now produced in the Netherlands. See the other Stange caps. Commercial Register Production Elle produisait sur le site de Bierges, 15 sortes de vinaigres, plus des oignons et des cornichons au vinaigre et de la moutarde parmi lesquels les marques L’Étoile, l’André et Europa. | ||
 | |||
