Company history
The Klingele family and our employees. It is all thanks to our people
that the Klingele success story keeps on rolling.
1920 - Foundation
Alfred Klingele and his brother-in-law Emil Holfelder began production of corrugated board at their plant, Badische Wellpapierfabrik Klingele & Holfelder, in Wiesloch near Heidelberg on 21 April 1920.
1936 - Expansion
A second production plant, later to become the Klingele Group’s headquarters, was built in Grunbach near Stuttgart in 1936.
1947 - Second generation
Following the death of the founder, Alfred Klingele, his son, Dr. Werner Klingele, took over the management of the company.
1952 - Separate ways
In 1952, the two founding families, Klingele und Holfelder, decided to end their partnership. Grunbach became the headquarters of the Klingele Group and the Holfelder family retained ownership of the Wiesloch plant.
1961 - New markets
In 1961, Klingele acquired a paper mill in Weener marking the beginning of the family-owned company’s interest in paper manufacturing. In the same year, Klingele triggered its expansion in Spain with the acquisition of a major share in a local company.
1968 - Ongoing progress
Dr. Brigitte Klingele became a director and the company’s presence spanned the whole of Germany.
1980 - Quantum leap
The Weener paper mill started production on a new paper machine, giving Klingele’s technology a decisive competitive edge in the corrugated board base paper market.
1992 - Third generation
Following the death of Dr. Werner Klingele, overall responsibility passes to his son, Dr. Jan Klingele.
2000 - Programme of expansion
Klingele embarked upon the biggest programme of expansion the company had ever seen. In subsequent years, around 230 million euros were invested in new machinery, technology and processes.
2008 - Energy for the future
Klingele opened a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) power plant known as "Weener Energie" at the Weener paper mill.
Klingele’s company history is a success story with three main features: our people, their ideas and their commitment.
The story began when the company was founded in 1920 and is still unfolding with every apprentice or new employee who joins us. For more than 90 years now, our name has stood for comprehensive expertise in the fields of corrugated board, paper and corrugated packaging.
