News
sonopress celebrates a 50-year success story
The future is called arvato digital services
Gütersloh, April 17, 2008. Founded on April 18, 1958, sonopress has developed over five decades into one of the world’s leading media service providers. In the beginning was the vinyl record. Then followed the cassette tape, the laser disc and finally CD and DVD production. From today on, sonopress is also called arvato digital services at its Gütersloh headquarters in Germany.
Reinhard Mohn founded sonopress GmbH in Gütersloh on April 18, 1958 to produce vinyl records for the Bertelsmann Clubs. Just a few years later, however, sonopress was servicing customers outside the Bertelsmann group as well, and in the 1970s, the company developed into Europe’s leading manufacturer of recorded media. In 1978, after acquiring a production facility in Mexico City, the company took its first step toward internationalization. Production rose to over 60 million data carriers by 1980, and in 1984 CD manufacturing began in Gütersloh. sonopress took over the RCA pressing plants in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil in 1986. A Hong Kong company was founded in 1991.
The expansion in the EMEA countries (Europe, Middle East, Africa) began in the early 1990s. Operations in Spain were launched in 1993, with Ireland following in 1994 and Great Britain and South Africa two years after that. In 1997, sonopress entered the DVD business. sonopress expanded to Singapore in 2001 and to Forbach, France, in 2002. The Australian site commenced its operations in 2005. By then, sonopress had production facilities on all five continents. One year later, sonopress became a pioneer as the first European replicator to open a CD and DVD plant in Russia.
These milestones in the history of sonopress illustrate how the successful record manufacturer developed into the industry’s most international media replicator. arvato founded its arvato digital services unit to advance global expansion and offer its customers integrated full-service solutions. arvato digital services includes the companies of the former arvato storage media group (sonopress worldwide and topac), arvato services USA and parts of Asia, and the arvato technology business unit.
The CEO EMEA Manufacturing at arvato digital services is Sven Deutschmann, formerly CEO of sonopress EMEA. Beginning April 17, this business unit will operate under the new name arvato digital services. “We are confident that the new structure and the new name arvato digital services is in line with the high expectations of our customers and will strengthen us both nationally and internationally,” says Sven Deutschmann, emphasizing “that replication and the entire data carrier replication service chain will remain an important part of arvato digital services’ portfolio in the future.” The company has just invested in a new Blu-ray machine for its Gütersloh facility that will initially produce up to 15,000 high-resolution discs each day. At the time of its 50th anniversary, the company has over 1,100 permanent employees in Gütersloh and more than 8,000 worldwide.
“Today we celebrate our company’s 50-year history with many customers and business partners. Our employees are also invited to a celebration. We are proud of our success and look forward with optimism to a future that we are now calling arvato digital services,” says Deutschmann.
About arvato digital services:
arvato digital services offers a broad range of services and solutions to its business partners in the sectors of IT/high-tech, games, video and audio. 8,000 employees deliver top quality to our customers worldwide—and have done so for exactly 50 years. Our global footprint covers 18 countries on all five continents.
arvato digital services is a leading provider of integrated solutions, including every step of the value chain, from replication, fulfillment, distribution/supply chain management to financial services and electronic content distribution. All these processes are supported by innovative end-to-end IT systems. Our solutions create value for our customers and ensure that they are well equipped for the challenges of their markets.
Together with arvato print, arvato systems and arvato services, we form arvato AG, the internationally networked media and communication service provider. arvato AG is a division of Bertelsmann AG, headquartered in Gütersloh, Germany.
Press contact:
arvato digital services GmbH
Public Relations
Simone Biermann
Phone: +49 5241 80-1938
E-Mail: simone.biermann@bertelsmann.de
