The history of RIGIPS - the Original.
From the idea to the branded product
Would you like to learn about the history of Rigips? Find out everything there is to know about the company's origins and its history here, from the patent to the latest innovations in drywall construction.
RIGIPS was founded on 1 November 1945, approximately 80 years ago. It introduced and popularised drywall construction with gypsum boards – Rigips boards – in Germany. No other manufacturer of gypsum boards can offer customers and partners in Germany such extensive experience.
Modern, flexible and cost-effective construction methods would be unthinkable today without Rigips boards. They are used in residential buildings, hospitals, schools, offices, administrative buildings, production facilities and many other structures. The name Rigips is now often used as a generic term for gypsum boards. However, please bear in mind that only boards bearing the Rigips name are the genuine drywall material.
For all those interested in the finer details, we have compiled a chronicle of the history of gypsum boards and RIGIPS's contribution to them. In 2019, RIGIPS celebrated the 125th anniversary of drywall construction! On 22 May 1894, Augustine Sackett applied for a patent for gypsum boards in the USA. The Rigips success story began in Germany in 1945.
We would like to thank our customers and partners for their decades of loyalty, and we look forward to continuing to advance drywall construction together with you, both in Germany and beyond.
| 1894 | The American Augustine Sackett patents the gypsum board in the USA |
| 1910 | Start of industrial production of gypsum boards in the USA |
| 1928 | First large-scale industrial plant for gypsum board production in Great Britain |
| 1938 | Construction of a gypsum board factory in Riga |
| 1940 | Russian occupation and shutdown of the factory |
| 1942 | German occupation and re-establishment of the Riga United Portland Cement and Building Materials Works |
| 1945 | Re-establishment of several gypsum companies in the Bodenwerder and Stadtoldendorf area, including the founding of "Baustoffwerke Bodenwerder" (later RIGIPS), with the involvement of former shareholders from Riga |
| 1949 | Founding of Vereinigte Baustoffwerke Bodenwerder GmbH Start of gypsum board production on production line I in Bodenwerder |
| 1958 | Expansion of gypsum board production with the commissioning of production line II in Bodenwerder |
| 1961 | Product name "RIGIPS" becomes the company name. The name "RIGIPS" is derived from "Riga" and "gypsum" |
| 1965 | Construction of a gypsum board factory in Gültstein, Baden-Württemberg |
| 1969 | Construction of a gypsum board factory in Bad Aussee, Austria |
| 1970 | Start of production of gypsum plaster systems at the Bodenwerder plant |
| 1973 | Commissioning of a gypsum plaster plant in Heinebach |
| 1974 | RIGIPS becomes part of the Schmidheiny Group, Switzerland |
| 1981 | Purchase of the plaster plant in Crailsheim |
| 1987 | RIGIPS becomes part of BPB - the world market leader in gypsum-based building materials |
| 1989 | Relocation of the headquarters from Bodenwerder to Düsseldorf |
| 1990 | Commissioning of a gypsum board factory in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven, the first factory to produce 100% based on FGD gypsum |
| 1996 | Commissioning of Europe's most modern gypsum board factory in Brieselang near Berlin |
| 1997 | Commissioning of the gypsum plaster plant in Vetschau |
| 1997 | First Rigips Trophy event |
| 1998 | Winners of the Rigips Trophy participate for the first time in the Saint-Gobain Gypsum International Trophy |
| 1998 | Commissioning of the Rigidur gypsum fiberboard factory in Bodenwerder |
| 2000 | Acquisition of Heidelberger Dämmsysteme |
| 2002 | Acquisition of H. R. Pohl Profiltechnik & Bauelemente GmbH & Co. KG, now SAINT-GOBAIN RIGIPS GMBH |
| 2005 | New logistics center in Nuremberg is opened |
| 2005 | RIGIPS becomes part of the Saint-Gobain Group through the acquisition of BPB |
| 2013 | At the Rigips plant in Brieselang near Berlin, the Saint-Gobain Group opens a joint regional logistics center for its brands ISOVER, RIGIPS, and Weber |
| 2014 | SAINT-GOBAIN RIGIPS invests in Schwerte and expands the central profile warehouse |
| 2014 | Saint-Gobain Group opens a second joint regional logistics center for its brands ISOVER, RIGIPS, and Weber in Munich-Ismaning |
| 2019 | ISOVER and RIGIPS under joint management - As part of the restructuring of the Saint-Gobain Group, management responsibility for the companies Saint-Gobain ISOVER G+H AG and SAINT-GOBAIN RIGIPS GMBH is consolidated |
| 2023 | Introduction of the EASY ECO recycling and recovery service |
| 2025 | Start of production of the 2nd generation Rigips Glasroc F (Ridurit) boards at the Gelsenkirchen-Scholven site |