100 Years of Plastics Expertise

Anniversary celebration and Open Day at Röchling Industrial Xanten delights more than 1,000 guests.

submitted by Röchling

The success story of Röchling Industrial Xanten began in 1924. Over the past 100 years, the company has evolved into a globally active plastics processor that offers large-dimensional and highly resilient moulded parts made of high-performance plastics. Products include plastics for lifts and escalators, such as deflection, tensioning and door rollers. Applications for Röchling plastics include belt-driven, industrial, cable-operated, winch, disabled, inclined and high-rise lifts.

To mark 100 years of success, Röchling Industrial Xanten held an anniversary celebration for invited guests on June 7 and hosted an Open Day on June 9. More than 800 guests accepted the invitation to Open Day, taking the opportunity to gain exclusive insights into the company. In keeping with the anniversary theme, signs continue to point to growth: The site will be extensively expanded in several stages by 2030.

Thomas Schlag and Ralf van Holt, managing directors of Röchling Industrial Xanten, said:

“We are very pleased that we can look back on this successful company history. Over the past 100 years, we have built up extensive expertise and developed pioneering technologies that benefit our customers.”

On June 7, the company held an anniversary celebration to thank its approximately 150 employees and its business partners. With approximately 240 invited guests, the 100-year success story was celebrated with an impressive fire and laser show and the presentation of a “living Oscar” to Röchling Industrial Xanten.

On Course for Further Growth

The course for the future has already been set: The Röchling Group is continuing to invest in modern machinery and equipment, as well as in an extensive expansion of the site scheduled for completion by 2030. “With this investment, we are further expanding capacities at the Xanten site and consolidating the foundation for achieving our planned growth target,” observed Franz Lübbers, member of the Executive Board of the Röchling Group and CEO responsible for the Industrial division.

Open Day Arouses Great Interest

Röchling Industrial Xanten’s Open Day provided the opportunity to learn more about the company and its products. Guided tours of the plant with informational points, a stand on training and career opportunities and interesting facts about the company’s history provided guests with detailed insights. A varied family program included face-painting and a trampoline park. Röchling Industrial Xanten Human Resources Manager Sara Heynen said:

“The day could not have been more successful for us! There was a great deal of interest in the plant tours, in particular, and the groups were full throughout. The participants were very impressed by our activities and modern machines.”

Successful Company History

In 1924, Gustav Schwartz founded the first European company to produce plastic plain bearings for the rolling mill industry in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company has been growing ever since. Production moved to Xanten, a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in 1942 and expanded around the world. In 2019, the Röchling Group took over the company — then Schwartz GmbH Technische Kunststoffe. Since then, the plastics processor from Xanten has strengthened the Röchling Industrial division’s range with its innovative products and technologies.

Competence Center Mould Casting

Röchling Industrial Xanten is the competence center for mould casting. Large and complex moulded parts made of thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics are developed and manufactured at the site. The company has many years of experience in the areas of special mould casting, machining and system part assembly. The plant focuses on customer-specific development of customized plastic products. These are used in crane and lifting technology, in elevators and escalators and at drinking and wastewater technology and biogas plants.