Agfa-Gevaert

Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company began as a dye manufacturer in 1867. In 1925, the company merged with several other German chemical companies to become a chemicals giant IG Farben. IG Farben would go on to play major role in the economy of Nazi Germany. It extensively employed forced and slave labor during the Nazi period, and produced the notorious Zyklon B chemical used in The Holocaust. IG Farben was disestablished by the Allies in 1945. AGFA was reconstituted (as a subsidiary of Bayer) from the remnants of IG Farben in 1952. Agfa film and film cameras were once prominent consumer products. However, in 2004, the consumer imaging division was sold to a company founded via management buyout. AgfaPhoto GmbH, as the new company was called, filed for bankruptcy after just one year, and its brands are now licensed to other companies by AgfaPhoto Holding GmbH, a holding firm. Today Agfa-Gevaert's commerce is 100% business-to-business. 1867 The company Aktiengesellschaft für Anilinfabrikation (Corporation for Aniline Production) was founded in Rummelsburg (now in the Lichtenberg borough of Berlin) as a manufacturer of dyes and stains. It became a public limited company in 1873. The founders were Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (son of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) and Carl Alexander von Martius. 1894 The company L. Gevaert & Cie was founded in Antwerp, Belgium, arising from the workshop for the manufacture of photographic paper belonging to Lieven Gevaert. 1897 Appearance of the Agfa trade mark. 1898 Introduction of X-ray plates and film products. 1903 Production of first cinematographic film. 1925 As part of the consolidation of the German chemical industry, Agfa became part of IG Farben. The photographic activities are combined with those of Bayer, including a camera factory in Munich. 1928 Acquired Ansco, an American photographic manufacturer, whose products were sold under the Agfa-Ansco brand name.