The “Original” celebrates a milestone anniversary in 2025!
Join us on a journey through more than 80 years of Rigips history
80 YEARS OF RIGIPS – these are eventful decades marked by a pioneering spirit, numerous innovations and a strong customer focus. 80 years ago, the drywall pioneer introduced the “Rigips board” in Germany, establishing a new construction method. RIGIPS has since become one of the most well-known brands in the German and European construction industry.
Rigips boards can now be found almost everywhere, including in apartments, hospitals, schools, offices and administrative and production buildings. The brand is renowned for its efficient and safe system solutions, which include well-known gypsum and gypsum fibre boards, high-performance accessories and a diverse range of components. Rigips also offers exceptional expertise in all matters related to modern dry interior construction and lightweight construction. Rigips is the "original" and has become synonymous with modern drywall construction. The success story of this German construction company began 80 years ago in the USA.
How it all began
In 1894, Augustine Sackett patented gypsum board in America. It took over 40 years for it to reach Europe. Once it did, however, its success was unstoppable. The first gypsum board factory on European soil was established in Riga in 1938.
Approximately seven years later, around 80 years ago, the first chapter of Rigips's unparalleled success story began in Germany and beyond. On 1 November 1945, "Vereinigte Baustoffwerke Bodenwerder GmbH" was founded in Bodenwerder, Lower Saxony. This company would later be renamed Rigips.
The promotion and distribution of gypsum boards gained momentum, and production began on production line 1 in Bodenwerder in the same year. The new "Rigips boards" quickly became popular, and production line 2 was added in 1958.
In 1961, the owners decided to adopt the widely used name "Rigips boards" for the company itself: since then, "Rigips" has not only been the product name, but also the official company name, establishing a strong brand identity.
RIGIPS – everyone knows the name. But what does it mean?
The name "Rigips" is derived from "Riga" and "gypsum." "Riga" represents the first European production site, which was established in 1938 and became the cradle of European gypsum board manufacturing. This historically significant site became part of the new company and brand name: RIGIPS.
Plants and production – central pillars of the Rigips success story
The high-performance production sites of RIGIPS are inextricably linked to this success story: the first factory opened in Bodenwerder in 1945, and this was followed by the commissioning of a gypsum board plant in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven in 1990. This was the first production site to use FGD gypsum exclusively. Six years later, in 1996, the gypsum board plant in Brieselang near Berlin was opened – the most modern in Europe at the time. The circle was completed in 1998 with the opening of the new Rigidur gypsum fibreboard plant in Bodenwerder, RIGIPS's return to its roots.
These highlight products continue to impress
From its early pioneering days to the present, RIGIPS has accumulated an unparalleled wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry. The company's journey has also been marked by numerous innovations and developments — milestones that continue to inspire drywall construction. Below, we present a selection of Rigips highlights from past decades.
Rigips Glasroc F
1989 - the special fire protection board Ridurit was launched and was later renamed Rigips Glasroc F. This fleece-reinforced gypsum board is ideal for creating highly efficient fire protection constructions, which is why it can be found in numerous special buildings with the strictest fire protection requirements. Even after prolonged fire exposure, Rigips Glasroc F (Ridurit) remains stable and crack-free. And the success story of Glasroc F (Ridurit) continues: since 2025, the latest generation of fire protection boards has been produced at the German production site in Scholven in the standard width of 1,250 mm – quality "Made in Germany" with short delivery routes.
Rigitone
1992 - Rigips introduced the perforated gypsum board Rigitone. With continuous perforation and visually seamless ceiling designs, Rigitone boards offer excellent room acoustic properties and are ideal for creating high-quality wall and ceiling surfaces with special acoustic properties and the highest design standards.
ProMix Plus
2007 saw RIGIPS introduce the universal, ready-to-use filler ProMix Plus, which boasts a variety of advantages: ProMix Plus is extremely smooth and easy to apply, provides excellent adhesion and smoothing properties, and has very high joint strength when used with Rigips paper reinforcement strips. This fine filler also exhibits no rolling or burning at the edges, dries quickly and is easy to sand. It's no wonder that ProMix Plus is now considered a "classic" by many professionals!
Rigidur
2010 was the year of Rigidur and Activ’Air. For the first time, Rigidur gypsum fibreboards, renowned for their smooth, hard and robust surface, were equipped with the natural premium air purification effect. Activ’Air actively cleans indoor air by reducing formaldehyde and other pollutants. Once again, Rigips solutions are improving living comfort and indoor air quality sustainably.
Rigips Habito
2016 - Rigips Habito was launched, a robust drywall board designed for mounting heavy loads without the need for anchors. Thanks to its robust surface, the board provides excellent fire protection and high sound insulation, enabling sturdy constructions and maximum flexibility in interior design. In short: anchors are a thing of the past!
Rigips Glasroc X
2018 - RIGIPS presented Glasroc X, a fleece-reinforced gypsum board designed for use in wet and damp rooms, as well as outdoor ceilings and walls in timber construction. It is equipped with innovative, UV-resistant fleece and is mould-resistant. It is also suitable for constructions with increased fire protection requirements (building material class A1). Glasroc X is also particularly easy and quick to install.
Driven by innovation to become a “Brand of the Century”
"Brand of the Century" sounds impressive. And it is. RIGIPS has held this title for many years and has long been included in the compendium German Standards – Brands of the Century, published by Dr Florian Langenscheidt in the ZEIT Verlag.
The compendium showcases around 200 of the most influential German brands. Like RIGIPS, many of these brands have become synonymous with their respective industries or product categories. Well-known examples include Tempo, Mercedes-Benz and many more, as well as RIGIPS, of course.
The "Brand of the Century" award recognises companies that are distinguished by their exceptional brand management and outstanding products or services. Companies such as RIGIPS have made a significant contribution to German brand and economic history through their innovative approach.
Rigips Trophy – a strong partner for the specialist trade
In 1997, RIGIPS launched the "Rigips Trophy" to honour those in the drywall trade who create spatial experiences from Rigips products and systems, often achieving technical masterpieces. To this day, this renowned competition remains highly attractive to the industry. It was developed for tradespeople with outstanding projects characterised by technical skill, ingenuity and innovation. A glamorous awards gala at a selected location is the regular highlight of the competition. This event marks the culmination of the "Trophy" and provides the perfect setting for the "award ceremony", where the most impressive drywall companies are recognised for their outstanding projects.
The "World Championship of Drywall"
Since 1998, winners of the German "Rigips Trophy" have had the opportunity to present their winning project on an international stage. The "International Trophy" brings together winners from national competitions held in over 30 countries. The "World Championship of Drywall" showcases exceptional international drywall construction projects from around the world.
RIGIPS becomes part of Saint-Gobain
In 2005, RIGIPS became part of the Saint-Gobain Group, which is active worldwide in the construction industry. Alongside RIGIPS, the Saint-Gobain Group comprises companies such as ISOVER, a leading insulation specialist, and Weber, a leading manufacturer of easy-to-use building materials and systems for flooring, tiling and building protection. All of these companies benefit from having strong partners at their side.
A look into the future
No retrospective without a look ahead: in the future, we will continue to build on what we have already achieved with great commitment in recent years. In other words: Rigips will increasingly focus on developing and marketing sustainable solutions to minimise its ecological footprint, while improving the comfort and safety of its products.
The gypsum material cycle – endlessly recyclable
Tomorrow, we will continue to take responsibility for climate protection and resource conservation by developing new sustainable products and advancing EASY ECO, our recycling programme for true circular construction, which was launched in 2023. With EASY ECO, we guarantee the take-back of materials after deconstruction, their subsequent reintegration into the recycling cycle and the recycling and collection of construction site waste. Simple, sustainable concepts like this must be further developed in future to make them as easy to apply as possible for everyone involved.
Above all, RIGIPS and the entire Saint-Gobain Group have set themselves the goal of achieving "Net-Zero Carbon" by 2050. We at RIGIPS are committed to doing our part and will continue to work with you to provide forward-thinking solutions that make living, working and building safe, economical and environmentally friendly!