The history of Röchling begins in 1822: That was the year in which Friedrich Ludwig Röchling founded a coal trading company in Völklingen. His four nephews, the "Röchling brothers," begin producing coke and processing industrial iron in 1849. The acquisition of Völklinger Iron Works in 1881, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, marks the beginning of the steel era. But that's not the only material Röchling bets on - in 1920, it acquires its first plastics company, making it a trailblazer in plastics processing.
The Company does not lose sight of plastics, though, and expands its product range here through acquisitions - such as in automotive plastics for example. At the end of the millennium, it then adopts a fundamental change in strategy: Röchling focuses on its core expertise in plastics and sells all other holdings.
Along with the restructuring, the Company intensifies the internationalization of the plastics group in Eastern Europe, America, and Asia, and taps into new markets, particularly in medical technology.
A company rich in tradition that has always been committed to continuity even during times of change - a fitting description of the family-owned Röchling Group. Founded almost 200 years ago in Saarland, it has developed from a coal trading company into a global plastics group. Its particular strength lay in its focus on one particular material:
For a long time it was steel, today it is engineering plastics.