alpla trucks

Company

History

Over 60 years ago, the brothers Helmuth and Alwin Lehner founded the company ‘Alpenplastik Lehner Alwin GmbH’. Their initial assets consisted of courage, hard work and an injection moulding machine acquired at low cost. They converted the laundry room in their parents’ home into a production hall, and they were grateful for every helping hand they got. Their passion for technical challenges remains unparalleled to this day and is one of the cornerstones of our company’s history.

1955

Alpenplastik Lehner Alwin GmbH’ in Hard (Austria).

Company is founded as ‘Alpenplastik Lehner Alwin GmbH’ in Hard (Austria).

1958

alwin lehner alplamat

Alwin Lehner designs and builds the company’s first in-house machine – the legendary Alplamat. The continuous development of this series of machines forms the basis for the technology leadership of ALPLA.

1958

The first bottle for glass cleaners produced by the Siegel company.

1964

First branch outside of Austria opens in Markdorf (Germany).

1968

Latin America  San Joaquin Venezuela

First plant in Latin America opens in San Joaquin (Venezuela).

1975

1975 hard austira

The company now has six branches in three countries, with around 1,200 employees.

1985

in-house plant Lomazzo Italy

First in-house plant in Lomazzo (Italy): bottles are produced here directly at the customer’s bottling facility, with numerous environmental and economic benefits.

1985

PET flakes

PET takes over from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) as a packaging material; ALPLA develops the first two-step PET bottle.

1988

ALPLA Global Technical Center Hard Austria

The ALPLA Global Technical Center opens in Hard.

1990

1990 central and eastern europe

Expansion into Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia).

1990

post consumer recycling material

The first PCR bottle (PCR = post-consumer recycling) from ALPLA represents the prototype of a completely new type of product: this 1,000-millilitre bottle for Lenor is made from recycled plastic.

1995

bangkok thailand employees

The company now has 29 branches in 15 countries, with around 3,000 employees.

2001

technical center atlanta georgia

First plant in the USA opens in Atlanta, Georgia; first plant in Asia opens in Bangkok (Thailand).

2005

PET recycling plant Toluca Mexico

ALPLA becomes a joint-venture partner in a PET recycling plant in Toluca (Mexico).

2007

technical center shanghai china

ALPLA opens its 100th plant in China.

2010

ALPLA acquires a majority shareholding in the Austrian company PET Recycling Team GmbH in Wöllersdorf. ALPLA expands its expertise in relation to recycling.

2012

Construction of an ALPLA PET recycling plant in Radomsko (southern Poland).

2014

Opening of Regional Technical Center with modern training workshop in Mexico; first plant opens in Africa, Kempton Park (South Africa).

2015

blue preforms

Acquisition of Plasco S.P.A. (Italy) and Argo S.A. (Egypt).

2016

acquisition of egyptian taba group

Acquisition of Egyptian Taba Group; opening of Competence Center Shanghai with apprenticeship workshop.

2017

boxmore packaging south africa

Opening of site in 10th of Ramadan City (Egypt); acquisition of West Bend (USA), Propack (Italy) and Boxmore Packaging (Africa).

2018

pharmaceutical packaging

ALPLA purchases all shares in the Greek company Argo S.A. thus expanding its activities in south-eastern Europe and expertise in pharmaceutical packaging. 

2020

Major extensions in the field of mechanical PET and HDPE recycling as well as chemical PET recycling.

2021

Philipp Lehner new CEO from 1st January & acquisitions in different countries, with focus on Circular Economy & Recycling footprint.

2022

ALPLA Lanseria Production site

ALPLA opens a state-of-the-art production site in Lanseria near Johannesburg, which also serves as the new headquarters for the emerging region of Sub-Saharan Africa.

2023

Recyclat

With its own brands ALPLArecycling, ALPLApharma and ALPLAindustrial, the company underlines the increasing importance of key business areas.