Company history

The name Færch has been linked to Holstebro for nearly 130 years, and is today the location of company headquarters.

In 1869, a tobacco company called ”R. Færch’s Cigar- og Tobaksfabrikker A/S” was founded in the town.

The firm expanded rapidly over next 100 years and in 1961 merged with C.W. Obel A/S and Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker A/S, two large well-known Danish tobacco companies, leading to the formation of today´s ”Skandinvisk Tobakskompagni A/S”.

In 1969, the Færch family and the two other tobacco companies resigned from day-to-day management of Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni A/S, and Jørgen Færch, then chairman of R. Færch Plast A/S, founded the plastics plant in Holstebro.

Production expanded rapidly after a new plant was built in 1973. Færch Plast quickly became one of the major producers in Denmark, and began exporting to England, where, in the same year, the company hooked up with George Harrison Ltd., an English agency business. This led to the setting up of a subsidiary, Harrison Europac Ltd., in 1991.

The company then had at it´s disposal a production area of about 7.000 m² .

In 1987 Heinrich Küsch became Managing Director and has retired in April 2001. On 1. April 2001 Jens Bornstein became our new Managing Director.

The company soon needed to expand, and a new 750 m2, administrative wing, designed by the well-known Danish architect Henning Larsen, was added two years later. This quickly proved insufficient, and after two years a 7.500 m2 advanced warehouse for finished products was build.

Færch Plast´s goal of being one of the leading producers in Europe was realised in 1991. The purchase of a new film extruder, which could produce film with up to 9 layers, considerably improved the barrier capabilities of Færch plastics. This pushed Færch Plast to the fore of the European plastics industry.

The company has received various awards over the years. In 1991, for example, Harrison Europac Ltd., its English subsidiary, received ”HRH Prince Henrik’s medal of honour” and the Danish Workmanship Diploma.

The company´s strong focus on hygiene over the past decade or so is reflected in its view, that food containers should be produced to the same high hygienic standards as food. In 1998, Færch Plast became the first Danish company to obtain hygiene certification from ADAS, a British development and advisory institute. This certification has been replaced by a BRC/IoP certification (please see below).

Participation in a project on energy efficiency and a substantial reduction in energy consumption resulted in the company receiving the 1999 ”Energy and the Environment Award” for its efforts in this area.

During the past 5 years Færch Plast has received several awards for innovation within packaging with unique applications and made from materials with unique properties. Færch Plast has been awarded the Scanstar prize in 1999 and 2002, the Worldstar prize in 2001 and 2002 and finally the French prize Trophées de l´Innovation in 2001

In March 2002 Færch Plast was accredited with the BRC/IoP standard as the first Danish manufacturer of packaging for direct food contact. The new standard demands higher standards for the control of hygiene, product safety ans quality for producers of food packaging products.

In 2003 was accredited for its working environment. The company was among the first 10 Danish companies to be awarded the OHSAS 18001 and the Statutory Order No. 923 from the Ministry of Labour. 

Færch Plast is growing rapidly, and new factory space has been built. This brings the total developed area to about 46.000 m² .

In 2005 Færch Plast was awarded the Scanstar and the Worldstar awards for the TWIN/it double lid. The double lid is a unique solution for combi-packs made up of several different food types.

On 3 March 2008 Faerch Plast inaugurated a totally new production factory in Liberec, Czech Republic. The investment in a factory of 13,500 square metres amounts to DKK 200m.