In 1923, Anton Debatin and Rudolf Berger founded the “Debatin & Berger Paper Company” in Bruchsal. Over the hundred years that have passed since this momentous occasion, times haven’t always been easy. Nonetheless, DEBATIN has repeatedly developed innovative new products, boldly accepted every new challenge and consistently delivered the best possible solutions.
It all began with a paper shop and a printing press for paper bags, packing paper, wrapping paper, wax paper and short-run print products. In the early years, as the economy recovered from the first world war, the company catered to retail and industry’s rising demand for paper packaging materials.
Paper company Debatin & Berger, Bruchsal 1925 - production and trade
From paper to film: new materials lead to new product developments
As the decades rolled by, demand shifted. Consumer preferences and shopping habits changed, requiring completely new products. DEBATIN responded by developing and processing new materials, opening up whole new worlds and allowing the company to strike out in new directions. In 1953, DEBATIN began to produce plastic film to fabricate cellophane covers, bags and pouches, progressing in 1959 to polyethylene.
When the demand for plastic bags rose in the early sixties, DEBATIN responded by expanding its portfolio – and even went so far as to develop its own machines for mass production of the highly popular UNIPOL® carrier bags.
Self-service shops and department stores were really coming into their own. Purchases were packaged neatly into plastic carrier bags at the tills, and shoppers – men included! – flaunted them like trophies in the busy high streets.
DEBATIN achieves market leader status in Europe with its UNIPACK® document pouches
In 1973, DEBATIN entered into a business partnership with Deutsche Bahn and quickly gained a strong reputation for reliability. Deutsche Bahn had been looking for a solution for the shipping papers that accompanied its freight, which DEBATIN answered with its specially developed self-adhesive UNIPACK® document pouches. DEBATIN also developed and constructed the machines needed to manufacture the new pouches. In the same year, DEBATIN launched its UNIPOST® mailing bags, now a familiar household name.
In the early eighties, DEBATIN reviewed its portfolio and decided to sell its paper processing machines in order to focus exclusively on the production and processing of plastic films. By the end of the decade, DEBATIN had become a market leader in Europe thanks to its UNIPACK® document pouches. The French subsidiary DEBATIN SARL was also founded in the eighties.
DEBASAFE® security bags: tamper-evident mailing bags for a wide range of industries and applications
The nineties and noughties heralded the rise of DEBASAFE® security bags. These tamper-evident mailing bags include special features such as security closures, seals, transmitter chips and codes, allowing customers to monitor and track sensitive deliveries (cash, valuables, confidential documents, forensic evidence, material samples and diagnostic samples) from dispatch through to delivery. When the euro was introduced in 2002, DEBATIN supplied Deutsche Bundesbank with 35 million security bags. Later, when new aviation security regulations came into force in 2006 (liquids in hand luggage), DEBATIN developed the perfect solution: DEBA S.T.E.B.® security bags.
Over the years, the DEBASAFE® product family has continued to grow, with DEBAMED® Speci-Bags, DEBASAFE® agriculture and DEBASAFE® automotive and cash-handling products complementing the range, followed by products such as DEBASAFE® recycling bags, UNIPACK® Premium, UNIPACK® RFID, and DEBABREATHE® forensic bags.
DEBATIN security bags provided the highest (manipulation) security back in 2007.
Today our datasheets are a lot more colorful!
Climate protection, experience and DEBAYOURS®
The first DEBATIN product to be awarded the Blue Angel ecolabel was our DEBA S.T.E.B.® duty-free bag made of post-consumer recycled plastic. Additional products made of recycled or recyclable materials soon followed suit, and in 2017, the company and all its products achieved carbon neutrality.
In 2021, DEBATIN chalked up its next success when the DERIBA Group – of which DEBATIN was a founding member – won the German Packaging Award for its DERIBA Greenline® film.
In addition to optimising its DEBAMED® range for the safe transport of medical and biological samples, DEBATIN also has a strong focus on developing planet-friendly packaging solutions. Over the decades, the company has gained a solid reputation with customers, partners and suppliers alike for its specialist experience as well as for its solution-oriented approach to the entire field of transport and logistics processes. In 2022, DEBATIN finally gave a name to the expertise and tailored customer service it offers: DEBAYOURS®.
