Kristalunie Maastricht

Kristalunie Maastricht is a Dutch glass factory in the city of Maastricht, formed in 1925 by the merger of two local glassworks that were both loss-making at the time: the De Sphinx glass factory, which had been part of Petrus (I) Regout's industrial conglomerate since 1834 (later known as Koninklijke Sphinx), and the Stella glass factory, established in 1902 by Louis (I) Regout as part of Mosa (later Koninklijke Mosa). After the merger, Sphinx and Mosa each held half of the shares. The first director was Louis Marie de Neree tot Babberich, a son-in-law of Louis (II) Regout. The former Stella factory site on the Nieuweweg and along the railway in the Wyckerpoort district became the location of the merged enterprise, covering almost three hectares. By 1937 the company employed 521 workers, of whom 85 were women (all unmarried). Kristalunie became known both for crystal glassware and, later, for packaging glass. Following the example of the Leerdam glass factory, from the 1920s it engaged artists as designers of new models and decorations. In 1927 Eduard Cuypers designed three glass services, executed after his death by H. Kannegieter. The best-known designers were Jan Eisenloeffel, Piet Zwart, Willem Jacob Rozendaal and Max Verboeket; the latter two were permanently employed by the company, Rozendaal from 1928 to 1937 and Verboeket from 1954 to 1972, with Rozendaal continuing to supply designs into the 1950s. In 1959 Kristalunie was taken over by the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken of Schiedam, which had earlier acquired the Leerdam glass factory. In 1966 crystal glass production was partly moved from Leerdam to Maastricht, but in 1977 crystal glass production in Maastricht ceased. Production of packaging glass had already begun in 1969, involving former miners from closed coal mines. Since 1976 only packaging glass has been made in Maastricht. The Wyckerpoort site has nine production lines, each capable of producing up to 450 jars or bottles per minute. In 1995 the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken were in turn acquired by the French group BSN (Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel) and the name was changed to BSN Glasspack. Since 2003 the business has been owned by the originally American O-I Manufacturing (Owens-Illinois), which in 2017 had more than 25,000 employees in 78 factories in 23 countries. In 2025 four of the nine production lines at the Maastricht site were shut down, with the loss of about one hundred jobs. In the same year it was announced that the factory would close as of 1 March 2026, eliminating the remaining 215 jobs. The most complete collection of Kristalunie products is held by the Nationaal Glasmuseum in Leerdam, with another important collection of Maastricht glassware, including Kristalunie pieces, at the Centre Céramique in Maastricht.

Kristalunie Maastricht was created in 1925 through the merger of two Maastricht glass factories that were both operating at a loss at the time. The first was the De Sphinx glass factory, which had been part of Petrus (I) Regout's industrial conglomerate since 1834 and was later known as Koninklijke Sphinx. The second was the Stella glass factory, established in 1902 by Louis (I) Regout as part of Mosa, later Koninklijke Mosa. After the merger, Sphinx and Mosa each held half of the shares. The first director was Louis Marie de Neree tot Babberich, a son-in-law of Louis (II) Regout. The former Stella factory site on the Nieuweweg and along the railway in the Wyckerpoort district became the location of the merged enterprise, covering almost three hectares. By 1937 the company employed 521 workers, of whom 85 were women, all unmarried. Following the example of the Leerdam glass factory, from the 1920s Kristalunie engaged artists as designers of new models and decorations. In 1927 Eduard Cuypers designed three glass services, which were executed after his death by H. Kannegieter. The best-known designers associated with the company were Jan Eisenloeffel, Piet Zwart, Willem Jacob Rozendaal and Max Verboeket. Rozendaal and Verboeket were permanently employed by the company, Rozendaal from 1928 to 1937 and Verboeket from 1954 to 1972; Rozendaal continued to supply designs into the 1950s. In 1959 Kristalunie was taken over by the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken of Schiedam, which had earlier acquired the Leerdam glass factory. In 1966 crystal glass production was partly moved from Leerdam to Maastricht, but in 1977 crystal glass production in Maastricht was discontinued. Production of packaging glass had already begun in 1969, with former miners from closed coal mines being employed. Since 1976 only packaging glass has been manufactured in Maastricht. The Wyckerpoort location has nine production lines, each capable of producing up to 450 jars or bottles per minute. In 1995 the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken were in turn acquired by the French group BSN (Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel), and the name was changed to BSN Glasspack. Since 2003 the business has been owned by the originally American O-I Manufacturing (Owens-Illinois), which in 2017 had more than 25,000 employees in 78 factories in 23 countries. In 2025 four of the nine production lines at the Maastricht site were shut down, with the loss of about one hundred jobs. In the same year it was announced that the factory would close as of 1 March 2026, eliminating the remaining 215 jobs. In terms of heritage, the most complete collection of Kristalunie products is held by the Nationaal Glasmuseum in Leerdam. Another important collection of Maastricht glassware, including Kristalunie pieces, is held by the Centre Céramique in Maastricht, though it is not permanently exhibited. Part of it can be seen at the Discovery Museum in Kerkrade, which holds among other things 28 "kristalunieKen" by Max Verboeket.

• 2025

  Four of nine production lines at the Maastricht site shut down, about one hundred jobs lost; closure announced for 1 March 2026, eliminating the remaining 215 jobs.

• 2003

  The business becomes owned by the originally American O-I Manufacturing (Owens-Illinois).

• 1995

  Vereenigde Glasfabrieken acquired by the French group BSN; name changed to BSN Glasspack.

• 1977

  Crystal glass production in Maastricht is discontinued.

• 1976

  From this year only packaging glass is manufactured in Maastricht.

• 1969

  Production of packaging glass begins, employing former miners from closed coal mines.

• 1966

  Crystal glass production partly moved from Leerdam to Maastricht.

• 1959

  Kristalunie taken over by the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken of Schiedam.

• 1954

  Max Verboeket begins his permanent employment as a designer (until 1972).

• 1937

  The company employs 521 workers, of whom 85 are women (all unmarried).

• 1928

  Willem Jacob Rozendaal begins his permanent employment as a designer (until 1937).

• 1927

  Eduard Cuypers designs three glass services, executed after his death by H. Kannegieter.

• 1925

  Kristalunie Maastricht formed by the merger of the De Sphinx and Stella glass factories; Sphinx and Mosa each take half the shares.

A Maastricht glassworks with a design-led crystal heritage that evolved into a high-volume packaging glass plant under international ownership.

• Crystal glassware and glass services

  Design-led crystal glass produced in Maastricht, with models and decorations by artists including Eduard Cuypers, Jan Eisenloeffel, Piet Zwart, Willem Jacob Rozendaal and Max Verboeket.

• Packaging glass (jars and bottles)

  Produced in Maastricht since 1969 and exclusively since 1976, on nine production lines each capable of up to 450 jars or bottles per minute.

1. 1The Leading Glass Bottle Manufacturer O-Io-i.com
2. 2About O-I | O-Io-i.com
3. 3About O-I Glass, a Leading Glass Packaging Manufacturero-i.com
4. 4Careers at O-I: Make What Matters | O-Io-i.com
5. 5Kristalunie Maastrichtwikidata.org
6. 6Kristalunie Maastrichtnl.wikipedia.org