History

Tradition meets innovation

Company founded by Peter William Ludwig Melosch (December 4th, 1881 to December 1st, 1954).
In 1907, the Ludwig Melosch Papier und Pappen company was founded purely as a new paper company.
The company started trading in recyclable paper in 1918. The first location was established in Hamburg-Altona (Roonstraße). The company’s facilities proved too small, forcing a move first to Hamburg’s city center (Cremon) and then to Hamburg-Altona (Eimsbütteler Straße).
In 1924, the founder decided to construct a new building on a commercial property he had purchased in Hamburg-Altona, at Waidmannstraße 16. After finding a thick layer of gravel on the property, the company decided to use a combination construction method involving two different materials. They filled stones with slag or concrete. These stones were produced at the construction site itself. This new structure is still the primary headquarters of the company, even today.
Over the next few years, the company’s trade in recyclable paper became more and more lucrative, leading to a reduction in new paper business. The company’s business purpose shifted, and in 1945 a large firm for recyclable paper was established.

In 1945, after the war, brothers Ludwig and Walter Melosch rebuilt the bombed facility on Waidmannstraße. The task was fraught with many difficulties.
However, they handled the project with energy, a strong will, and hard work, allowing the company to expand once again in 1965. A new large facility was constructed in Ahrensburg on a green field property. The facility was primarily constructed to serve the new large-scale print shop of the Alex Springer publishing house.
In 1968, the 2nd generation constructed two large industrial halls in Hamburg’s Stammhaus to expand paper activities.

Afterwards, many additional company facilities were founded in Berlin, Darmstadt, Kettwig, Cologne, and Frankfurt.
After German reunification in 1989, other new locations were founded in the new federal states for the company’s recyclable paper business.
The group also returned to new paper trade that same year. Back to the roots. The company remembered the years of its founding, becoming successful in this industry as well.

However, the company’s focus remained recyclable paper. Starting in 1993, we began slowly expanding our export business to southeast Asia. The company tapped into a new and growing sales market.
A recycling company was founded in Budapest in 1996.
The construction and founding of new companies and new locations continued into the new millennia as well. Our corporate activities are expanding. Trade and production spur one another on.
2004 new construction of a large-scale paper recycling facility in Pinneberg.
2005 Uelzen facility begins operations in conjunction with our expansion of plastics activities.
2008 new construction of a recycling facility in Erfurt.
2011 we make our leap “across the pond”: A trade office was established on the west coast of the USA.

And the journey continues...