Zofingen’s History

Officially founded in 1201 by the counts of Frohburg, Zofingen’s origins are believed to date back to Neolithic times. Later occupied by the Romans and the site of an ancient monastic settlement, the picturesque walled town developed progressively over the centuries. Centrally located on a major trade route, its commerce and industry flourished. With the advent of the industrial revolution, Zofingen became home to many prestigious and successful companies that have enjoyed remarkable growth:

1833

Ringier was founded when Johann Rudolf Ringier set up a book printing shop. Today, Ringier AG is Switzerland's largest media company, publishing many newspapers and magazines in a variety of languages. Based in Zurich since 1978 and employing more than 8,000 people, the company generates some CHF 60 million in profits on approximately CHF 1.5 billion in annual revenue.

1873

Siegfried was founded by pharmacist Samuel Benoni Siegfried as a supplier to pharmacies. Today, Siegfried Holding AG is a successful Swiss life sciences company with two divisions, Siegfried Actives and Siegfried Generics, generating annual revenue of around CHF 290 million and employing 825 people.

1946

Muller Martini was founded by Hans Müller who started manufacturing bookbinding equipment under the name of Grapha Maschinenfabrik. In 1969, the Muller organisation was joined by Martini, established by Friedrich von Martini in 1850, which made precision rifles, folding and stitching machines, book sewing machines, Martini cars and adhesive binding machines. Today, employing about 4,000 people around the world, Muller Martini AG manufactures a wide variety of web offset printing presses, bookbinding equipment, newspaper inserting systems and mail room delivery systems.