Orbitaplast
The VEB Orbitaplast was a nationally-owned company in the state-owned Kombinat Chemische Werke Buna , plastics semi-finished products produced for further processing.
In 1989, the largest plastics producer in the GDR employed around 3,800 workers in the main plant in Weißandt-Gölzau and in the operations in Osternienburg , Westeregeln and Karl-Marx-Stadt . For example, all the quark, butter and yoghurt pots used in Germany were made from plastic films produced in Weißandt-Gölzau.
history
On August 8, 1963, the GDR Council of Ministers took the decision to shut down the "VEB Kombinat Gölzau" in Weißandt-Gölzau . Under the conditions at the time, mining lignite underground was too expensive. The development of the Mösslitzer field with coal reserves for another 25-30 years to supply the smoldering works was not continued.
At the same time, the GDR propagated the establishment of a plastics industry, with Weißandt-Gölzau also being chosen as the location. As a sign of the efficiency of a global chemical industry in the GDR, a model company was to be established there. On July 24, 1964 the foundation stone was laid for the new "VEB Gölzaplast" plant in the immediate vicinity of the old lignite works. The trial operation of the plants for the production of plastic semi-finished products from polyethylene (PE) began on December 14, 1965. The annual capacity of the plant was planned for a production of 10,000 tons of PE film and 5,000 tons of PE pipes. The company's products have been trademarked for the purpose of worldwide marketing. From then on, polyethylene products were exported under the brand name "Gölzathen" and PVC products under the "Gölzalit" brand to over 60 countries around the world.
With his trademark , a stylized little "g" for Gölzau made from a sheet of film and a tube, and the slogan "You have it in your hand", VEB Orbitaplast, which was formed after the merger with the Eilenburg plant in 1969, achieved worldwide recognition and recognition in the following years . The total investment for the new semi-finished plastic plant was 76 million marks. As a second expansion stage, the production of PVC films using the calendering process began in 1966 . On April 1, 1969, through the merger of the Gölzau and Eilenburg plants, the VEB Orbitaplast was formed, to which operations in Westeregeln , Osternienburg and Karl-Marx-Stadt were assigned in the following years . Since the spring of 1966, the company has also participated in the Leipzig trade fair , but since 1969 only on the joint stand of the "VE Kombinat Chemische Werke BUNA".
In addition to the annual production of PE and PVC semi-finished products for further processing in the food and building materials industry, consumer goods were also produced. These products came on the market as "Bückware" (products were stored under the counter and only given to good customers) at comparatively high prices. The Frisbee throwing discs from the Westeregeln division were available in larger quantities and therefore more popular in the GDR.
On August 29, 1986, a major fire caused damage to the main plant worth millions and brought Weißandt-Gölzau to the brink of catastrophe. Carelessness caused a fire in the PVC department of the company, which quickly spread due to violated fire protection regulations and as a result one person was killed. The smoke was so strong that the neighboring trunk road 183 had to be closed. The huge cloud of smoke moved away from the place because of the strong west wind. The general overhaul took five years. The event could have been avoided, as there was a similar incident in 1984 in the Karl-Marx-Stadt part of the business .
With the economic and monetary union on July 1, 1990, the company changed its corporate form and was renamed ORBITAPLAST GmbH. With the monetary union, all of the company's assets were withdrawn by the Treuhandanstalt . Although the entire operation was in the black again in August 1990 due to existing delivery obligations with western countries, ORBITAPLAST GmbH was broken up and the departments and sub-areas privatized. The entire workforce in the company was laid off in the years up to 1993. Some found work again in various subsequent companies.
The newly founded ORBITA-FILM GmbH, which changed its name to Polifilm Extrusion in 2013, has been producing plastic films made of polyethylene at the Weißandt-Gölzau location since 1991. However, the operation of the POLI-FILM Group is not the legal successor of ORBITAPLAST GmbH. With a production volume of 190,000 tons and an annual turnover of more than 155 million euros, the company is the largest manufacturer of plastic films in Europe and in 2005 ranked 32nd among the companies with the highest turnover in Saxony-Anhalt.
Production program
The product range in the main plant in Weißandt-Gölzau included:
- Products made of polyethylene (brand name: Gölzathen)
- Gölzathen foils of low and high density
- Gölzathen sacks self-supporting
- Gölzathen pipes
- PVC products (brand name: Gölzalit)
The operating parts (BT) produced polystyrene foam (BT Osternienburg), plastic moldings and fittings (BT Westeregeln) or PVC films (BT Karl-Marx-Stadt).
swell
- ^ BStU branch office in Halle: AKG fact file 357, documentation on the major fire
- ^ Kultur- und Heimatverein Weißandt-Gölzau 1990 eV (publisher): Weißandt-Gölzau, business location with tradition
- ^ BStU branch office in Halle: AKG fact file 357, documentation on the major fire
- ^ Kultur- und Heimatverein Weißandt-Gölzau 1990 eV (publisher): Weißandt-Gölzau, business location with tradition
- ^ NordLB (publisher): Wirtschaft Sachsen-Anhalt, The 100 largest companies in Saxony-Anhalt January 2007
- ↑ VEB Orbitaplast Weißandt-Gölzau: Contact / Service d. VEB Orbitaplast fd processing v. Semi-finished plastic products
Web links
- Info pages of the Kultur- und Heimatverein Weißandt-Gölzau 1990 eV on industrial history (under construction)
- A part of the company history of the "VEB Orbitaplast Weißandt-Gölzau" is in the Dessau department of the Saxony-Anhalt State Archives under [1]