Austria-based Starlinger & Co. GmbH — a manufacturer of machinery and complete lines for
producing woven plastic bags — is celebrating its 175th anniversary.
Starlinger began operating in 1835 under the name Franz Laubek and originally specialized in
stationary steam engines and drive elements. Franz Starlinger managed the company from the 1920s to
the 1940s, during which time it supplied winders and auxiliary machines such as lace and trimming
machines. In 1959, Erna and Franz Xaver Starlinger-Huemer assumed management responsibility.
Starlinger’s first export-oriented products were circular looms for weaving fabric from
plastic tapes. Subsequently, the company introduced tape extrusion lines in 1990, recycling lines
in 2000 and polyethylene terephthalate reprocessing lines in 2005.
The Starlinger Group was established after the company acquired companies from similar
sectors, including Austria-based MAPLAN in 1991; Austria-based SML in 1995; and Germany-based Georg
Sahm GmbH in 2002. Today Starlinger employs more than 920 people and has additional operations in
the United States, India, Russia, China and Brazil. Its annual turnover totals approximately 250
million euros.
“The year after the global financial and economic crisis is not only our anniversary year but
also the year with the highest turnover in the company’s 175 year long history,” said Angelika
Huemer, managing partner, Starlinger. “Our order books are full until well into the next year.
Already at the beginning of the fiscal year 2010/2011 we therefore introduced a second shift in the
factory in Austria and increased the product diversity for the Asian market in our factory in
Taicang, China.”
According to Huemer, the company will be debuting a range of new products this fall. “The
product life cycle of our machines and plants is often substantially longer than in comparable
branches,” she said. “Nevertheless, we will be able to introduce completely new or advanced
products in almost every field in autumn 2010. Also in this regard the year 2010 should become a
milestone in the company’s history.”
September 14, 2010
