Farm makes office history: Avery Zweckform in Oberlainders celebrates its 75th anniversary

Innovative labels led to success: Avery Zweckform is now celebrating its 75th anniversary in Oberlainden.

How office history was made on a farm.

Oberlainden

- Everything started on a modest scale. In 1946, Hermann Steinbeis from Bruckmühl and Paul Nordmann from Munich founded the company "Zweckform - stationery and office supplies company with limited liability" on a farm in Oberlainder. The founding fathers started with a capital of 50,000 Reichsmarks, the D-Mark had not yet been introduced at the time. In the next three decades, the two men successfully steered the company's fortunes as managing directors.

On this Saturday, the label and form book inventor, Avery Zweckform GmbH, is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its historical Zweckform brand.

"We are proud that, with our pioneering solutions for the world of work, we have belonged to the top league of German brand manufacturers in the paper, office and stationery sector for decades," says today's managing director Peter Sperl.

Avery Zweckform: Start of the company history in Oberlainder with form and carbon copy books

The first year started with 20 form and carbon copy books. The products met with great interest in post-war Germany. In 1954, Zweckform invented the receipt pad, a product that was closely linked to the economic history of the young Federal Republic. The "mother of all receipts" has been further developed and has been sold over 50 million times to date. The articles stood for organization in everyday working life.

In 1958, Zweckform signed a license agreement with Stan Avery from New York, the inventor of the self-adhesive label.

The production and sale of self-adhesive labels and photo chain labels began in Bavaria.

In 1958 a wave of fashion spilled over to Germany that continues to this day: the passion for stickers.

These jewelry labels were also made in Oberlainder.

1974 Rupp Steinbeis, the son of Hermann Steinbeis, joined the company, he was also known as the Valleyer Municipal Council.

A year later he took over the management of Nordmann.

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Site of the former farm in Oberlainder.

© Archive Zweckform

Avery Zweckform has been part of the globally active CCL Group, which also has a location in Holzkirchen, since 2013.

The company has continuously expanded its range over the years.

Today the total portfolio comprises more than 2000 products.

The two most important segments are labels and form books.

“Even after 75 years, our innovative strength is still strong, and we are continuously working to find suitable answers to current and future challenges,” explains Managing Director Sperl.

Purpose form in the Corona crisis: Anti-virus protective film produced - today almost 200 employees

And so the company reacted quickly to the Corona crisis, for example, and launched an anti-virus protective film on the market.

In addition, since 2020 it has increasingly been offering office supplies for the home office, i.e. simply in smaller packaging units.

The former farm is still in principle today.

Over the years an extension was added, and these buildings are now mainly used for administration, accounting and marketing.

A storage and production facility was built next door on the site of the former Steinbeis Villa, which was demolished.

To this day, the company is located in Oberlainder, where research, development, production, logistics and administration are based.

Avery Zweckform has almost 200 employees. People with disabilities from the Oberland workshops have also been working there for over 15 years. The company has received multiple awards and has been certified climate-neutral since 2020. For example, almost 1000 products are made from sustainable paper. "Such a lasting success", says Sperl, "is only possible together."

(Mar)