Rehau announced the 40-year anniversary of establishing its North American headquarters in Leesburg. The company’s regional presence has expanded with the growth of Rehau’s polymer-based innovations and the transformation of Leesburg into a suburban extension of Washington, D.C.
The initial building on the campus was constructed in 1952 by Lester Carr for Development Engineering Corp., later acquired by Westinghouse Electric Corp., to support contracts with the Department of Defense for digital communications research. Across the Atlantic, a polymer manufacturing company founded in 1948 by Helmut Wagner in the Bavarian town of Rehau was beginning to make inroads in North America, first with a sales office in New York City in 1959 followed by a factory in Montreal, Canada, in 1961. The 1979 purchase of the Fort Evans site paved the way for continued expansion in the region. A second building, constructed in 2001, provides office and conference space for five local businesses in addition to a Rehau showroom.
“Helmut Wagner had great foresight in 1979 when he selected the Leesburg site amongst, at that time, rolling farmland and dirt roads for our North America headquarters,” said Theo Haast, president of Rehau Americas. “This location is a beautiful green space where about 90 Rehau employees enable the company to grow in the Americas by pushing the boundaries of what is possible with polymer-based solutions.”
“While we remain laser-focused on innovation and driving value for our customers, we are also keenly aware of our responsibility to our employees and our community,” said Monika Irchenhauser, vice president, human resources. “On behalf of the Wagner family, I want to thank our employees, especially those who’ve remained loyal to Rehau for several decades. The history we have made, the innovative ideas we have shared, have shaped not only Rehau Americas but also Rehau globally.”
