Vetropack Holding AG

	About us
	Organisation
	Vetroconsult
	Corporate Governance
	Tailor made glass
	History

Vetropack History

1911 - 1930 \| 1948 - 1960 \| 1969 - 1981 \| 1986 - till today

	1911 Verrerie S.A. St-Prex founded Situated in the heart of the wine-growing region on the shores of the Lake of Geneva, the town of St-Prex is especially well-suited as the site of a glass works. The Verrerie S.A. St-Prex, established here in 1911 by Henri Cornaz, is the birthplace of the Vetropack Group. Today, the plant specialises in the production of glass packaging in the colours green, feuille-morte and cuvée, making mostly bottles for domestic wine, spirits and beer producers.

	1913 Acquisition of the Semsales glass works by the Verrerie S.A. St-Prex The glass works at Semsales, established at its site above Vevey in the year 1776, is acquired by the Verrerie S.A. St-Prex in 1913, and closed one year later. The company's personnel and production are transferred from Semsales to St-Prex.

	1917 Acquisition of Glashütte Bülach Ltd In 1917 the Verrerie S.A. St-Prex takes over a majority shareholding in Glashütte Bülach Ltd, which had been established in 1891.

	1930 The first glass blowing facilities come on line in Bülach and St-Prex In 1930, the first large-scale American glass blowing facility goes on line. Because of the critical shortage of coal ten years later, the first electrically fired annealing oven becomes operational.

	1948 Acquisition of the company Glashütte Ltd Wauwil by the firm Müller+Krempel Ltd Müller+Krempel Ltd, Zurich, a company specialising in trading in glass products for the pharmaceutical industry, bottles and laboratory equipment, acquires company Glashütte Ltd, Wauwil (est. 1933), after the sourcing of glass items from Thuringia and the former Czechoslovakia becomes difficult after 1945.

	1959 Verrerie S.A., St-Prex acquires the trading firm Müller+Krempel Ltd Upon acquiring the trading form of Müller+Krempel Ltd, which in turn owns the Glashütte Wauwil, the Verrerie S.A. St-Prex becomes the market leader for glass packaging in Switzerland. Of the other two glass foundries specialised in the production of packaging glass, the first, Siegwart in Küsnacht, is closed in 1972, while the second, Hergiswil, is restructured after its acquisition in 1975 by Roberto Niederer, becoming a traditional operation specialising in artisanal glass collections.

	1966 Vetropack Ltd is established Vetropack Ltd, domiciled in Bülach, is founded to take over the central sales and administrative functions, as well as technical management, for the three production facilities, in St-Prex, Bülach and Wauwil, which up to that point had been independent in the marketplace. The Vetropack logo is introduced as a trademark at the same time.

	1969 Vetropack Holding Ltd is established as a financial holding company With the establishment of Vetropack Holding Ltd, the three legally independent glass foundries, plus Müller+Krempel, are united under a single roof.

	1974 Vetro-Recycling Ltd is founded No-return packaging is becoming more and more of a commonplace in the market. In order to recycle the used glass in a rational way in its own glass foundries, Vetropack organises in Switzerland a wide-ranging collection system for used glass, establishing the company Vetro-Recycling Ltd for this purpose.

	1981 Diversification into plastic packaging As a result of the saturation of the domestic market for glass packaging, Vetropack diversifies into plastic packaging, acquiring the firm Wirth-Plast Ltd in 1981 and Afex Folien Ltd in 1985. In 1986, production of PET bottles gets under way, and with the acquisition of the firm Femit in 1987, the production of plastic packaging for pharmaceutical and cosmetics applications. In 1993 the division was sold. In 1996, Vetropack leaves the plastic container business, re-focus on its geographic expansion.

	1986 Acquisition of Pöchlarn glass works in Austria The start of Vetropack's geographic expansion is marked by the acquisition of Glaswerk Pöchlarn in Lower Austria and the founding of Vetropack Austria GmbH. The Pöchlarn plant, located in the Wachau region, has two melting furnaces, giving the facility a production capacity of 470 tonnes per day of packaging glass.

	1991 Acquisition of the glass works Moravia Glass in the Czech Republic The glass works located in the Southern Moravian town of Kyjov is acquired in 1991 and, as Vetropack Moravia Glass, a.s., is re-outfitted as a modern glass plant for the Central European economic area. Today the plant has two melting furnaces and a production capacity of over 670 tonnes of packaging glass per day.

	1993 Acquisition of the firm Lutzky Glas In 1993, Vetropack acquires the firm Lutzky Glas in the Upper Austrian town of Kremsmünster and subsequently integrates it as a branch operation of Vetropack Austria GmbH. The plant has three melting furnaces and a total production capacity of 670 tonnes per day.

	1993 Glass production halted in Wauwil Owing to the expansion of the Bülach melting furnace in 1991, added capacity in Austria and the increased use of substitutes for glass on the domestic mineral water and soft drink market, the production in Wauwil of packaging glass and glass for the pharmaceutical industry is halted. At the same time, however, the site of the former glass works becomes a facility for the production of PET bottles. Supplying the pharmaceutical industry with ist special glass packaging becomes the responsibility of the trading firm Müller+Krempel Ltd.

	1995 Vetroconsult Ltd is established In the framework of adapting its legal structure to meet the needs of the expanded range of the Group's activities, Vetropack Holding Ltd changes ist function into a management holding company. Vetropack Ltd, which was previously responsible for Group Management activities, becomes a Swiss operating company, with the Verrerie S.A., St-Prex and Glashütte Bülach Ltd merged into it. Internal services as well as external consulting activities are brought together in the newly established firm Vetroconsult Ltd.

	1996 Acquisition of the glass works Straža In the context of the Group's expansion into Eastern Europe, begun in 1991, Vetropack acquires a majority shareholding in 1996 of the Croatian glass works Straža in Hum na Sutli. The plant undergoes a comprehensive modernisation programme from the technical point of view, and receives is ISO 9001 certification, like all the other Vetropack production facilities. This glass works meets the increasing demand from Southeastern Europe. The plant has three melting furnaces and a total production capacity of 790 tonnes per day.

	2002 Closure of the glass works Bülach At the end of February 2002, we closed the glass production at Bülach plant after 111 years of operation. The reason for the closure of the Bülach production facilities was the collapse in prices brought about by the internationalization of the markets, as well as the generally high cost levels in Switzerland. Servicing the Swiss market with white and brown glass now falls to the Vetropack production facilities in Austria.

	2002 Vetropack expands to Slovakia Vetropack continues its successfully implemented strategy for geographic expansion into Eastern Europe, acquiring the Slovakian glassworks Skloobal, a.s. Nemsová in 2002. With this acquisition, Vetropack gains the position of market leader on the domestic market in Slovakia. At the same time, thanks to the expansion of its activities in an economic area with development potential, it is possible to continue to extend its position in the European glass packaging industry.

	2006 Acquisition of the glass works Gostomel In the context of the Group's expansion into Central Europe, Vetropack acquires a majority shareholding of the Ukraine Gostomel Glass Factory in the region of Kiev on February 22, 2006. The acquisition gives Vetropack access to an additional attractive market in Eastern Europe and represents a further milestone in its expansion strategy.