P-D Glasfaser Brattendorf

P-D Glasfaser Brattendorf, later known as Vitrulan Glasfaser Brattendorf GmbH, was a German manufacturer of glass-fibre products based in Brattendorf, Thuringia. Its origins trace back to 1973, when a production site for glass-fibre wallpaper and glass fabrics was established on the grounds of a former brickyard as part of the Haselbach glassworks. The site became a standalone entity under the Trisola Steinach combine in 1981 and was privatised in 1993 as P-D Glasfaser GmbH Brattendorf / Thür. The company specialised in glass-fibre wallpapers, textile glass fabrics, glass grid fabrics, glass fleece, and related products, and it held the traditional 'haglasta' brand. After merging with P-D Industriegesellschaft mbH in 2012, the glass-fibre activities were acquired by the Vitrulan Group in June 2021 and reorganised as Vitrulan Glasfaser Brattendorf GmbH. Production at the Brattendorf site was discontinued in 2024.

The Brattendorf site's history began in the early 1970s. Originally planned as a brickyard on the grounds of an existing clay pit, the project was redirected by East German party leadership due to a wallpaper shortage and converted into a production facility for glass-fibre wallpaper and glass fabrics with its own glass-fibre band production. In 1973, the foundation stone was laid for the production site as a branch of the Haselbach glassworks, and glass-fibre production commenced. The plant employed a two-stage manufacturing process acquired from the Schuller company of Wertheim, making it unique in the GDR. This process traced back to Hermann Schuller, who in 1896 founded a glass factory in Haselbach, Thuringia, and developed the nozzle-drawing method for producing spinnable glass filaments. The typical GDR glass-fibre wallpapers with bold floral patterns in the 1970s and early 1980s were woven and printed exclusively in Brattendorf. In the mid-1970s, the Haselbach glassworks was reassigned from the Oschatz technical glass fibre combine to the Ilmenau technical glass works. Exports to West Germany were achieved mainly through glass-fibre mixed fabric for bitumen roofing membranes. From 1981 until reunification, the Brattendorf branch operated as an independent unit under the Trisola Steinach umbrella, alongside the Steinach, Lauscha, Taubenbach, and Haselbach glassworks. After reunification, the five Trisola Steinach companies were converted into independent GmbHs; the Brattendorf entity was then called 'Brattendorfer Glasfaser GmbH'. In 1992, its shares were transferred to the Treuhandanstalt, and in 1993 the company was privatised and re-founded as 'P-D Glasfaser GmbH Brattendorf / Thür.'. It refocused on glass-fibre wallpaper, textile glass fabrics, and glass grid fabrics. Building a sales network from scratch was a major challenge, as under the planned economy all market access had been through the combine's sales department. The company established customer contacts and sales representatives in Germany and in Western, Northern, and Eastern Europe. The 'haglasta' brand was retained, and in 2007 the company reached a peak annual output of 20 million square metres of glass fabric. In September 2012, P-D Glasfaser GmbH merged with P-D Industriegesellschaft mbH to secure and enhance competitiveness; the business unit then operated as P-D Industriegesellschaft mbH GLASFASER BRATTENDORF until June 2021. On 19 June 2021, the Vitrulan Group acquired the textile glass activities of P-D Industriegesellschaft mbH Glasfaser Brattendorf. The newly founded Vitrulan Glasfaser Brattendorf GmbH expanded the Vitrulan Group's production capacities for glass-fibre fabric and glass fleece wallpapers. In 2024, production at the Brattendorf site was discontinued.

• 2024

  Production at the Brattendorf site discontinued.

• 2021

  Vitrulan Group acquires the textile glass activities; newly founded Vitrulan Glasfaser Brattendorf GmbH.

• 2012

  Merger of P-D Glasfaser GmbH with P-D Industriegesellschaft mbH; business unit renamed P-D Industriegesellschaft mbH GLASFASER BRATTENDORF.

• 2007

  Peak annual output of 20 million square metres of glass fabric.

• 2004

  Start of production of shielding fleece with high attenuation for electromagnetic waves.

• 1993

  Privatisation and re-founding as P-D Glasfaser GmbH Brattendorf / Thür.

• 1992

  Shares transferred to the Treuhandanstalt.

• 1981

  Brattendorf becomes an independent business unit under the Trisola Steinach combine.

• 1973

  Foundation stone laid for the Brattendorf production site as a branch of the Haselbach glassworks; glass-fibre production begins.

Specialist manufacturer of glass-fibre wallpapers and technical glass fabrics, with a heritage in East German glass-fibre production and the traditional 'haglasta' brand.

• Glass-fibre wallpaper

• Glass decorative fabric

• Glass fabric wallpaper

• Glass fleece (coated and uncoated)

• Glass grid fabric

• Glass staple-fibre yarn

• Textile glass fabric

• Wallpaper paste

• Shielding fleece for electromagnetic waves

1. 1Vitrulan Glasfaser Brattendorfde.wikipedia.org
2. 2P-D Glasfaser Brattendorfwikidata.org