Pioneering spirit from the laundry room: The beginnings of ALPLA 1955–1963
In our new series, we look back on 70 years of ALPLA. We start with the years 1955–1963: In 1955, brothers Helmuth and Alwin Lehner founded a company for the 'processing of plastics of all kinds' in the laundry room of their parents’ home in Hard, on Lake Constance in Austria. From these modest beginnings, within less than ten years, a business emerged with its own machine technology, renowned customers, and a philosophy that still defines ALPLA today: innovation and closeness to the customer.
The first ALPLA site at the Lehner family home in Hard, Austria.
The first plastic cups for 'Lustenauer Senf' marked the beginning. On an injection moulding machine set up in the laundry room, the Lehners experimented with the new materials. When one ordered mould turned out to be unsuitable, Alwin Lehner quickly constructed a fitting one himself. Soon, the polystyrene cups were running in shift operation, with the entire family helping.
Already in the late 1950s, ALPLA expanded its product range. Cheese boxes for the company Alma were created, as well as easter bunnies, children’s tableware and Hula Hoop rings, which became bestsellers thanks to the fashion trend at the time. Not all products proved successful in the long run, but they demonstrated the entrepreneurial spirit of the founders.
Breakthrough with the CLU bottle
A decisive step came with the first bottle for the window cleaner CLU. For the first time, ALPLA produced a functional plastic bottle for a branded product. Collaboration with the customer was intensive: the client specified the design, while the implementation demanded precision and perseverance. After the first mould failed, the second one was completed just in time – and the finished parts were picked up in the middle of the night. With the CLU bottle, ALPLA established itself as a reliable partner for high-quality packaging and laid the foundation for its core business in the decades to come.
The first ALPLA bottle for the window cleaner CLU.
The ALPLAmat brought independence
A technical turning point occurred when a purchased blow moulding machine failed to meet expectations. Instead of settling for its shortcomings, Alwin Lehner and his brother-in-law Leonhard Rohner began developing their own machines. The result was the ALPLAmat, notable for its stability and high capacity. 'It was only later that we realized the ALPLAmat was ahead of other machines of its time,' recalled Alwin Lehner. This laid the foundation for ALPLA’s independence in machine engineering.
At the same time, the company grew spatially and organizationally. In 1959, a new production hall was added, followed in 1961 by an administration building. In the early 1960s, the original company name 'Alpenplastik' became ALPLA—derived from an internal abbreviation that quickly took hold.
The ALPLAmat – ALPLA’s first self-developed blow moulding machine, renowned for its stability and high capacity.
First plant outside Vorarlberg
The ambition to work close to the customer led in 1962 to the first plant outside the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. In Steinabrückl near Vienna, ALPLA produced transparent bottles for the Austrian food manufacturer Mautner Markhof. The decision to supply the customer directly on site became a strategic principle shaping the company’s future development.
Also in the early 1960s, the financial breakthrough was achieved. In 1963, Heinz Baumgartl joined as a commercial employee and secured the young company a loan of ten million Austrian schillings – a remarkably high sum at the time. 'That was the beginning of a new era in ALPLA’s finances,' he later explained. This created the basis for the step from a regional manufacturer to an internationally successful packaging specialist.
Stay tuned – we’ll continue with the years 1964 to 1972 soon.
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