From a Small Business to a Global Market Leader: Multivac Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
Wolfertschwenden, March 9, 2011 - MULTIVAC celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The company was founded in 1961 by Sepp Haggenmüller in Böhen in the Allgäu and has since developed into a leading global fullrange supplier of packaging solutions for food, sterile medical products and various industrial goods. Today the MULTIVAC Group has more than 3,000 employees worldwide, including over 1,300 at its headquarters in Wolfertschwenden (Allgäu).
It all began with the first MULTIVAC chamber machine which Sepp Haggenmüller built in 1961. The first MULTIVAC thermoforming machines followed in 1966/67, which brought a breakthrough internationally for Sepp Haggenmüller and his partners.
From the seventies onwards, the machine manufacturer from Allgäu began to develop his machine designs with groundbreaking innovations in the direction of resources conservation, hygienic design and consumer protection, which was pioneering at the time. Today, the name "MULTIVAC" is synonomous with thermoforming packaging machines: more than half of the thermoforming packaging machines worldwide come from the machine manufacturer from Allgäu.
Full-range supplier of packaging solutions
During the course of its company history, MULTIVAC has continuously expanded its range of products. In the early nineties, the traysealer was added to the chamber machine and thermoforming packaging machine ranges as the third product group. These made it possible to seal pre-fabricated trays and tubs. In 1993, MULTIVAC took over MR Selbstklebe-Technik Etikettier-System-Beratung GmbH & Co. KG in Enger (now MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection) which expanded its portfolio to include labelling and coding.
Over the years, MULTIVAC developed into a full-range supplier of automated packaging solutions. In addition to packaging machines, handling solutions for loading and unloading as well as the separation of packets, quality inspection systems for detecting quality faults and foreign objects in the packs are now part of the machine manufacturer's portfolio. MULTIVAC also developed groundbreaking solutions for complete line control and for fully documenting the packaging procedure.
MULTIVAC is pioneering in terms of user-friendliness and ergonomics with the innovative HMI 2.0 user interface fitted in the automated packaging machines.
International expansion and new markets
At the end of the sixties, MULTIVAC started developing packaging solutions for sterile medical goods and led the market as a result. Today, MULTIVAC Clean Design approach ensures optimal process transparency and complete process traceability. The packaging specialist still remains at the forefront of this branch to this day.
A few years after it was founded, MULTIVAC began exporting within Europe and soon after to countries beyond. Since the beginning of 2000, international expansion has intensified. At present, the MULTIVAC group of companies has a worldwide sales and service network of more than 60 wholly-owned subsidiaries. More than 80 percent of the packaging machines are produced for export. In terms of the various geographic regions, MULTIVAC is almost equally prevalent on the American, European and Asian markets.
The divisions for research and development, manufacturing machines and parts, marketing, sales, and service, as well as sales and service for the German market, are located at MULTIVAC's headquarters in Wolfertschwenden. The production plant is subject to continuous expansion; MULTIVAC is one of the largest employers in the region. The training of its own technicians takes place here. Their expertise, commitment and loyalty are an integral part of the commercial success that MULTIVAC has continued to enjoy for 50 years.
Multivac, Inc.
Jerry Hirsh
11021 N. Pomona Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64153
Tel. 816-801-3974
jerry.hirsh@multivac-nospam.com
