100 years of Rondo

After a fire in the Rankweil paper mill in 1910, the Augsburg manufacturer Theodor Fries was on the lookout for a new paper supplier for his yarn, which was produced in Sulz.

Thinking of starting his own paper mill, he fell on sympathetic ears with the Ganahl family, known for their textile manufacturing. In 1911, the paper mill of Vorarlberg was founded, together with 30 partners. In 1912, the textile dye-works was transformed into a paper mill and was put into service during August of the same year. Earning 3 krones a day, one could buy around seven loaves of bread.

For the sale of paper and cardboard, a defining brand was needed during the 1930ies. It is not bequeathed however, how one came up with "Rondo". The first Rondo sales office in Vorarlberg was opened in 1935 in Bregenz.

In 1942, the paper mill took a stake in the Tyrolean recycler Zimmermann, who provided the valuable raw material for the paper production. Later on, the collection and recycling of other waste materials such as metals and waste paper also became operating areas of Zimmermann. Being a stakeholder of Zimmermann proved to be very useful, having an excellent supplier of ressources. Today, the recycling plant is 100 % part of the Rondo Group.

While the paper mill was developing moderately in the first decades, an even faster expansion programme was launched after 1945. The first major step was the introduction of the corrugated board production in 1954, a milestone for the succesful develpment of the company. Corrugated board did not only become the most important source of revenue, but at the same time stimulated the paper production. Ever since, the paper mill of Vorarlberg has devoted itself to waste collection, the raw material for paper production.

Another major expansion step followed in 1971 with the operning of a second corrugated board plant in St. Ruprecht in Styria, Austria. To keep up with the rapid economic growith of the former Soviet Union states, further manufacturing facilities were necessary. In 1995, Rondo expaned to Budapest, Hungary. The first corrugated board plant in Romania was opened in 1999 in Apahida/Cluj, the second followed in 2008 in Targoviste.

Today, Rondo Ganahl AG is a very healthy company with state-of-the-art technology. The Rondo Group, now including 7 companies, with all of them playing an imporant and successful role in their markets.

1911 Foundation of Vorarlberg paper mill
1954 Start of corrugated board production in Frastanz, Vorarlberg
1961 Initial operation of new paper maschine
1962 Start-up of new corrugated board plant in Frastanz, Vorarlberg
1971 Start-up of new corrugated board plant in St. Ruprecht, Styria
1977 Company take-over of Zimmermann Rohstoffverwertung Hall, Tyrol
1994 Upgrade of paper mill, increase of annual production to 60.000 metric tons
1995 Start-up of new corrugated board plant in Budapest, Hungary
1999 Start-up of new corrugated board plant in Apahida/Cluj, Romania
2001 Upgrade of Frastanz corrugated board plant in Vorarlberg, increase of annual capacity to 85.000 metric tons per year
2003 Upgrade of Frastanz paper mill, increase of production to 100.000 metric tons per year
2005 Upgrade of St. Ruprecht corrugated board plant in Styria, increase of capacity to 80.000 metric tons per year
2005 Upgrade of waste paper collection business in Hall/Tyrol
2005 Initial operation of RoK Verpackungsdruck GmbH (offset printing directly onto corrugated board)
2008 Start-up of new corrugated board plant in Târgoviste (Romania)
2010 Extension of surface area of corrugated board plant in Budapest, Hungary