30 years of Rico: from Thalheim across the world

In 1994, the three toolmakers Johannes Grabner, Alfred Griesbaum and Gerhard Kornfelder came together and founded the Rubber Injection Company – Rico for short. Thirty years later, the small company has become a global technology leader, supplying customers with first-class molds and silicone compounds. As the company expanded, space became scarce time and again. This was also the case around two years ago, when Rico decided to further expand its site in Thalheim near Wels. The official opening of more than 10,000 square meters of new capacity and the 30-year success story were celebrated on 12 April 2024 with more than 700 guests.

In addition to the employees – “the key to our success” as Rico Managing Director Markus Nuspl emphasized – and their families, numerous guests of honor participated. The Governor of Upper Austria, Thomas Stelzer, congratulated Rico on their success, as did the Mayor of Thalheim, Andreas Stockinger, Semperit CEO Karl Haider and CFO Helmut Sorger, as well as the Rico Group management with Thomas Aichberger and Wolfgang Neubauer. “We signed the Rico purchase agreement almost exactly one year ago to the day. Since then, it has become clearer every day: we pursue the same growth targets and have very similar mindsets. This is particularly evident in our success factors such as innovation and customer proximity. Together we want to benefit from the strong growth in the market for liquid silicone products,” says Semperit CEO Karl Haider.

During guided tours on site, visitors were able to see for themselves that the three new production halls were built according to the latest sustainability and technology standards. Among other things, the micrometer and temperature precision with which Rico manufactures its products (see picture) caused amazement. Another topic during the tours was Rico’s important role for Upper Austria. After all, the company is one of the largest training companies in the region and currently employs 50 apprentices, who work on specially designed products in the company’s own training workshop and also impressed our CFO Helmut Sorger with the little “silicone ghost” (see picture). The “ghost” also refers to the so-called ghost shifts at Rico – in other words, production takes place around the clock. At night, however, the machines work alone.

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