On 9th November 1989, one of the darkest eras of European - indeed World - history came to an end, when the Berlin Wall started to be dismantled, leading to the re-unification of Germany as a free, democratic and progressive nation. Amidst the confusion and sometimes chaos that followed, a materials company owned by the former GDR state, doggedly pursued its independence and position in the newfound free world. Orafol was thus re-born.
Freedom - 35 years ago the Berlin Wall fell and a new era for ORAFOL began
The Orafol story is one of remarkable survival, determination, discipline and pursuit of excellence. Today's Orafol is unrecognisable from the state-owned, iron-fist managed company that emerged from the shadows of the Cold War. Unlike the old Soviet paranoid system, democracy and freedon knows no boundaries for human creativity and potential. That Orafol survived and prospered is no accident - under the management of the Loclair family, notably Dr Holger Loclair, the company today is a leading supplier of materials for the sign, display and solar films sector. Their story is worth reading.
Production at Orafol Oreinberg uses latest coating, colouring and graphic film technologies
From GDR (German 'Democratic' Republic) company to global player
Orafol is the largest industrial family business in Eastern Germany. The path from a GDR company to a global player was rarely smooth, but was always characterised by courage, technology and a clear vision for the future.
Orafol's roots go back to 1808, when Richard Wibelitz laid the foundations for the manufacture of chemical products in Oranienburg over 200 years ago as the exclusive manufacturer of postmark inks for the Kingdom of Prussia.
Over the course of a century, the Wibelitz-Farbenwerkstatt in Berlin developed into a renowned manufacturer of paints and varnishes. A groundbreaking step followed in 1919: the Berlin site was abandoned and the company moved to Oranienburg in Brandenburg.
Today, colour pigments are once again produced in-house: reflecting the history of Orafol that began in 1808 with a colour workshop.
Nationalisation of companies in the GDR
In the GDR, family businesses such as Richard Wibelitz KG came under pressure. Since the beginning of the 1950s, the private sector had been covered with a barely comprehensible tangle of regulations. As a result of this discrimination, the number of private companies in the GDR fell from this time onwards - they migrated or ceased operations. Many were forced to be nationalised. Farbenwerkstatt Wibelitz was partially nationalised in 1957 and changed its name to Hannalin KG.
In 1972, almost all companies in the GDR that were still fully or partially privately run were nationalised. The directive was: ‘All family names in the company names were also to disappear.' Hannalin KG therefore became a 100% state-owned company with the name VEB Spezialfarben Oranienburg.
Excellent natural science: the cradle of Orafol solutions
Despite these adverse circumstances, Orafol has always focussed on excellent natural science, which can be seen in the historical milestones of product development, such as: In the 1960s, Hannalin KG developed the first self-adhesive reflective films for traffic signs under the brand name MIKROLUX. In 1976, VEB Spezialfarben produced the first self-adhesive coloured films. In 1986, a team led by the then technical director, Dr Holger Loclair, developed a new type of shrinkable, heat-activated film for aircraft modelling.
Orafol has been investing in the industrial production of self-adhesive speciality films for more than 30 years, guided by Dr. Holger Loclair who has been leading Orafol since 1987.
The highest technologies available are deployed at Orafol's Oranienburg site
After studying chemistry at the Bergakademie in Freiberg, Dr. Loclair started working in research and development at VEB Spezialfarben in Oranienburg in 1977. Over the next ten years, he ambitiously helped to design and develop the products, their manufacture and their distribution.
A large proportion of these products were exported to the West. In 1987, he was given responsibility for the management of the plant.
Becoming a family business
Dr Holger Loclair
Dr. Loclair reached the decisive milestone for Orafol with German reunification - in the turbulent times of upheaval, he fought resolutely for the continued existence of the company. Even before the dissolution of the combine to which VEB Spezialfarben belonged, Dr. Loclair did everything in his power to preserve the knowledge and the site in Oranienburg's Krebststraße.
His assertiveness paid off when he finally secured a bridging loan of two million D-marks from the GDR Foreign Trade Bank, despite frozen financial reserves, which saved the company from going out of business, for the time being.
New beginnings: Orafol goes marketing in the West
The time to take the company into private hands was pressing. As citizens of the GDR could neither have the private means for such company takeovers nor could banks grant them loans, an investor had to be found: Dr. Loclair therefore convinced the Bavarian entrepreneur Claus Schmidbaur of his products and brought him on board as an investor. This paved the way for Orafol to enter the market economy and the small team, led by Managing Director Dr. Loclair, optimistically and boldly launched Orafol Klebetechnik GmbH in 1991.
Even then, Orafol's focus was on what still characterises the company today - technological excellence and trusting partnerships on an equal footing with long-standing business partners who played a decisive role in shaping the future of the up-and-coming company:
In 1988, Dr. Loclair had already purchased a coating machine from a mechanical engineering company in Hamburg, to expand production. This played a decisive role in ensuring that production continued smoothly in those days and was able to develop so successfully after German reunification. Thanks in part to the partnership with the machine manufacturer, Orafol was always able to respond quickly to the constantly changing market conditions and grow successfully in terms of technology. This successful co-operation continues to this day and is the basis for Orafol's ‘German Engineering’, which has been established at Orafol subsidiaries worldwide.
The secret to success: ‘Engineered for Excellence’
Today, Orafol is a global company with a turnover of €868 million euros (approx. AUD$1.4 billion), in the 2023 financial year. With 16 subsidiaries, the owner-managed group is present in Europe, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa. Production sites are located in Germany, Ireland, the USA, China and Mexico. Almost 3,000 employees work for the Orafol brand worldwide, 1,300 of them at the headquarters in Oranienburg.
Dr. Holger Loclair still pursues a clear philosophy today and he emphasises: "Independence is one of the most important things for me because it opens up opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise have."
This and technology-driven innovation will continue to be the driving forces behind Orafol's development in the future.
