A JOURNEY THROUGH 200 YEARS OF HISTORY

In 1824, tailor Johann Nepomuk Reithoffer lays the foundations for today’s company with his patent for waterproof fabrics. The first European factory for rubber products is established in Wimpassing, Lower Austria.

In 1872, 800 workers are already employed in the factory in Wimpassing. Every month, they produce 15,000 pairs of shoes, 10,000 dozen combs, 2,500 bales, 3,000 pounds of rubber products for technical purposes, 500 coats and skirts and 1,500 rubber threads. A large proportion of the products are already exported worldwide.

   
The merger of several rubber companies makes Semperit the largest rubber goods producer in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Semperit goes public on the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1890.

  
One of the most important products is the “Harburg-Wien” rubber tyre, internationally recognised as a quality product. Around 1900, a wide variety of products are manufactured, including balloon envelopes.

    
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Semperit is able to regain a foothold through expansion and the establishment of new sites. In 1926, Semperit is Austria’s second-largest industrial group with 9,000 employees and nine factories. The age of tyres is dawning.

  
The economic crisis of the 1930s leads to a dramatic revenue decline. The wide variety of the production programme proves to be uneconomical. 40,000 items are produced in Wimpassing, which is the most extensive range on the entire continent. Following a reorganisation of the company, business recovers from 1936 onwards.

  
Semperit is integrated into the wartime economic system of the Nazi era. Forced labourers are employed. Despite the adverse circumstances, General Manager Franz Josef Messner is committed to above-average social benefits at Semperit. He is also active as a resistance fighter and is executed in the last days of the war in 1945.

  
After disassembling the plants as reparations to the victorious powers and thanks to substantial investments, partially from the Marshall Plan, Semperit gets started with modern production facilities. Strategic stakes in European companies provide a boost to internationalisation. In 1965, the Semperit Group exports goods to 100 countries around the world. 15,000 employees in 24 production and sales companies and an annual production of 158,000 tonnes underpin the Semperit Group’s position as an international flagship in 1973.

  
Semperit’s tyre business collapses due to the oil crisis of the 1970s. In 1985, the tyre division is sold to Continental. After a difficult restart, product streamlining leads to initial restructuring successes and the development potential of technical products is accelerated. The takeover of a conveyor belt plant near Paris in 1988 makes Semperit the largest supplier of textile conveyor belts in Europe.

Semperit repositions itself. Investments are made in a product range that is concentrated on gloves, hoses, moulded goods and conveyor belts.

  
From 1989, General Manager Rainer Zellner shapes the development of Semperit for almost three decades. Under his leadership, the Group becomes the cost leader in many areas and pursues a course of international growth. Semperit is one of the first Austrian companies to have production facilities in Asia. Under reorganization manager Rainer Zellner, all business areas achieve sustainable profitability.

  
The focus is on internationalisation, innovation and cost leadership. Europe’s largest hose factory in Odry, Czech Republic, becomes part of the Semperit Group in 1998. The conveyor belt segment Sempertrans expands into Poland and takes over the Bełchatów conveyor belt plant in several stages. At the turn of the millennium, Semperit is present on three continents with 20 production sites and 6,000 employees.

  
At the turn of the millennium, Semperit exceeds the revenue threshold of 5 billion Austrian schillings. The product portfolio is consistently competitive.

  
Semperit implements the largest investment programme in the company’s history and expands its production capacities worldwide in response to strong demand. After a phase of global growth, the strategic decision is made to focus on the Industrial Sector. Semperit divests its glove segment Sempermed. In 2023, Semperit acquires the RICO Group, a global technology leader in liquid silicone and mould making, thereby strengthening its industrial core business.