Founding and early development (1867–1938)
The company Aktiengesellschaft für Anilinfabrikation (Joint-stock Company for Aniline Production) was founded in 1867, in Rummelsburg (now in the Lichtenberg borough of Berlin) as a manufacturer of dyes and stains. Its founders were Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy, son of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and Carl Alexander von Martius. The company became a public limited company in 1873.
In 1894, L. Gevaert & Cie was founded in Antwerp, Belgium, arising from the photographic paper workshop of Lieven Gevaert. The Afga trademark was introduced in 1897, followed by X-ray plates and film products in 1898.
Agfa produced its first cinematographic film in 1903, and in 1925, became part of IG Farben, as part of the consolidation of the German chemical industry. Its photographic activities were combined with those of Bayer, including a camera factory in Munich. In 1928, Agfa acquired Ansco, an American photographic manufacturer, whose products were sold under the Agfa-Ansco brand name and in 1936, Agfa introduced Agfacolor Neu, a pioneering color film for amateurs and professionals.
Second World War and postwar period (1939–1981)
Between 1939 and 1945, Agfa used large numbers of forced labourers, including concentration camp prisoners in the Munich subcamp (Agfa Kamerawerke) of the Dachau concentration camp and in the Dutch transit camp Kamp Westerbork. Forced labourers were also used by Agfa AG in the "Agfa camp" subcamp of the Munich-Stadelheim juvenile prison between 1943 and 1945. Parts of Afga's management were indicted after the war in the I.G. Farben trial before an American military tribunal.
Agfacolor negative-positive color material was used for the first time in a feature film in 1940, Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten (Women make the best Diplomats) by the German UFA film studios. In 1941, Agfa's American assets were seized by the United States during World War II as enemy property and became General Aniline and Film Corp., whose photographic products reverted to the Ansco brand name. The following year, intensifying screen products were introduced.
In 1945, when the Allies broke up IG Farben to reduce the size of German chemical industry, Agfa reappeared as an independent business. An Agfa plant located in the region that later became East Germany formed the foundation of ORWO. Between 1945 and 1947, the company's chairman Carlo Gevaert [nl], who also led the employers' organization Vlaams Economisch Verbond, left Belgium for the Belgian Congo, where he died in 1949. Agfa was then taken over by a group of businessmen led by John Meeus. These new business leaders were committed Leopoldists, with Meeus himself financing a Leopoldist congress in Brussels in 1947.
In 1952, Agfa was re-established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer in Leverkusen and in 1964, Agfa AG merged with Gevaert Photo-Producten N.V., with Bayer AG and Gevaert each holding a 50% interest in the new operating company. Agfacontour Professional Sheet Film was introduced in 1970, followed by mammography film and screen products in 1972. In 1981, Bayer bought out Gevaert, becoming the sole owner.
Expansion and acquisitions (1988–2009)
In 1988, Agfa acquired Compugraphic Corporation, a manufacturer of prepress systems and two years later, the company sold its magnetic tape business and introduced Computed Radiography (CR) products. This was then followed by the introduction of PACS products in 1994, and the acquisition of Hoechst's printing plate and proofing business in 1996. The following year, Agfa launched Apogee Prepress, the first prepress workflow to use PDF as a production file format. The company also sold its film recorder division to German firm CCG Digital Image Technology.
In 1998, Agfa acquired DuPont's offset printing and graphic arts film business, CEA AB (X-ray film products) and Monotype Typography Inc. The company also sold its Copier Systems business to Lanier Worldwide Inc the same year. In 1999, Agfa acquired Sterling Diagnostic Imaging (X-ray film and equipment) and separated from Bayer. An initial public offering of Agfa-Gevaert shares took place on 1 June 1999, with the company listed on the Brussels and Frankfurt stock exchanges.
At the start of the new millennium, Agfa acquired Krautkramer, a producer of ultrasonic systems for non-destructive testing, and Quadrat, a Ghent-based European producer of radiology information systems in 2000. The following year, it acquired Autologic, an American producer of systems for prepress automation; Talk Technology, a producer of medical voice recognition systems; and the German company Seifert and the American company Pantak, both producers of industrial X-ray equipment for non-destructive testing. Agfa also acquired a minority interest in MediVision, a developer and manufacturer of digital imaging systems for ophthalmology. In September 2001, Agfa discontinued its desktop scanner and digital camera business and ceased providing support for these products.
Agfa acquired Mitra Imaging Inc., a developer of medical imaging and information systems for healthcare, in 2002, while Bayer sold its remaining 30% stake in the company. The following year, Agfs opened a new printing plate factory in Wuxi, China, and sold its non-destructive testing business to General Electric.
Agfa made several acquisitions in 2004, including Dotrix, a Belgian producer of digital colour printing systems for industrial applications, and Lastra, an Italian manufacturer of plates, chemicals and equipment for the offset printing industry. It also acquired ProImage, an Israeli developer of browser-based digital workflow solutions for the newspaper and printing industries, and Symphonie On Line, a French information technology company specialising in electronic patient record systems. That year, Agfa sold its consumer imaging division to a company formed through a management buyout, named AgfaPhoto and held by an investment company. AgfaPhoto filed for bankruptcy the following year. Agfa also sold Agfa Monotype Corporation, a provider of fonts and related software, to Boston-based private equity firm TA Associates.
In 2005, Agfa acquired GWI, a German developer of healthcare information systems for medical records, nursing, business management, and facility administration; Heartlab, Inc., a US developer of cardiology image and information management systems; and Med2Rad, an Italian developer of radiology information systems. The company also introduced industrial inkjet products that year. The next developments recorded in the company's history were in 2009, when Agfa acquired Insight Agents, a European developer and producer of contrast media, and Gandi Innovations, a producer of large-format inkjet systems.
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