Saxony-Anhalt can look back on a long tradition in the chemicals and plastics industries. During the years of the German Democratic Republic, the Leuna and Bitterfeld locations were known around the world for lignite products and fine chemicals, but also for paints and films. ORWO Filmfabrik was considered, along with other familiar suppliers such as AGFA and Kodak, to be among the pioneers in the manufacture of biaxially oriented polyester films as the basis for camera and X-ray films. Until German reunification, over 40,000 people in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen region worked in the coal and chemicals industries, as well as in the processing of these products. After reunification and the economic changes it brought, these sectors of industry largely came to a halt. In spring 1991, Folienwerk Wolfen GmbH became one of the first companies to be re-founded, in this case by former employees of ORWO Filmfabrik Wolfen. Wolfgang Maxdorf, former technical director of foundry 6 at the Filmfabrik, and the company Seufert Transparente Verpackung GmbH were able to combine their interests and their know-how. After the first coextrusion plant was delivered to what had been the production halls of ORWO Filmfabrik, production of high-quality transparent PET films for the folding box and printing industries got underway. This turned the Folienwerk plant into one of the pioneers in the sector when it came to establishing a quality, ecological alternative to PVC film.
From the beginning, the company made use of the potential for increasing efficiency by recycling PET film material and reintegrating cleaned edge trims and punch scrap into the process. In tandem with film manufacture, production of slip lids and deep-drawn parts started in 1991 as a complement to the film produced for folding boxes. This allowed the company to create additional desirable jobs, particularly for the female workforce in the region. From the initial 28 employees in our founding year, our numbers have swollen to more than 150. The new company campus on Guardianstraße is now home to 7 extrusion plants with an annual capacity of over 20,000 metric tons. Folienwerk has become one of the most important employers in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen region. Our campus has additional space for expansion even beyond the production hall that is currently under construction.