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
Company is founded as ‘Alpenplastik Lehner Alwin GmbH’ in Hard (Austria).
1958
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
First plant in Latin America opens in San Joaquin (Venezuela).
1975
The company now has six branches in three countries, with around 1,200 employees.
1985
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 takes over from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) as a packaging material; ALPLA develops the first two-step PET bottle.
1988
The ALPLA Global Technical Center opens in Hard.
1990
Expansion into Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia).
1990
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
The company now has 29 branches in 15 countries, with around 3,000 employees.
2001
First plant in the USA opens in Atlanta, Georgia; first plant in Asia opens in Bangkok (Thailand).
2005
ALPLA becomes a joint-venture partner in a PET recycling plant in Toluca (Mexico).
2007
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
Acquisition of Plasco S.P.A. (Italy) and Argo S.A. (Egypt).
2016
Acquisition of Egyptian Taba Group; opening of Competence Center Shanghai with apprenticeship workshop.
2017
Opening of site in 10th of Ramadan City (Egypt); acquisition of West Bend (USA), Propack (Italy) and Boxmore Packaging (Africa).
2018
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 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
With its own brands ALPLArecycling, ALPLApharma and ALPLAindustrial, the company underlines the increasing importance of key business areas.