WEPA celebrates 75 years of success
The company commemorates its anniversary with festive events at all its locations and emphasizes its commitment to sustainability
In 2023, the WEPA Group is celebrating a major milestone in its corporate history: its 75th anniversary. The family-owned company has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years, evolving from a trading company to an international group with 13 production sites.
In a gesture of gratitude to its nearly 10,000 employees and their families, WEPA has held festivities at all its locations, including guided tours of its factories, an exhibition highlighting 75 years of its history and a variety of activities designed for all ages.
Martin Krengel, CEO of the WEPA Group, says: “Since the company’s founding in 1948, we have achieved a great deal and have played a significant role in shaping the hygiene paper market. We will continue to do so in the future – in a responsible and forward-thinking manner. We’re very happy to have been able to fittingly mark this anniversary over the last few months with our employees and their families at all our locations. The celebrations were terrific! They clearly showed, once again, what a unique corporate culture and what a great team we have at WEPA – one with which we are extremely well-positioned for the coming decades.”
“We’re looking back on 75 eventful years in which our family business has steadily continued to develop. We are proud of what we have achieved. At the same time, this motivates us to shape our future successfully as well – together with our 4,000 employees, our valued business and cooperation partners and our company’s many friends. Because of their dedication and loyalty, WEPA is among the three largest European hygiene paper manufacturers today,” says Andreas Krengel, who represents the third generation of the entrepreneurial family on the WEPA Management Board.
In 1948, near the current company headquarters in Arnsberg, Germany, Paul Krengel founded WEPA under the name Westfälische Papiergroßvertrieb GmbH. In its first years of business, WEPA focused on the marketing of paper products, such as packaging and gift-wrapping papers. In 1953, however, the company diversified its production to include hygiene papers. A major milestone in its history came in 1958, with the construction of the company’s first paper machine, marking its entry into toilet paper production.
Today, 75 years after its founding, WEPA has established itself as one of Europe’s top three toilet paper manufacturers, standing out for its commitment to sustainability. The company offers a wide variety of hygiene papers products at its 13 European facilities, ranging from toilet paper and paper towels to kitchen rolls and napkins. WEPA’s toilet paper products are essential in the daily lives of millions of people across Europe, whether in their homes, in hotels or in public restrooms.
