DURST CELEBRATES SURVIVAL, GROWTH AND INNOVATION A NEWLY EXPANDED FACILITY

Leinz, Austria--Durst Phototechnik AG hosted a celebration for its newly expanded high-tech facility. Several hundred attended the affair this summer including politicians, dignitaries, clergy and the international trade press. The company has survived 70 years, the Great Depression and World War.

Julius and Gilbert Durst built their first enlarger in 1929. Then with the financial backing of Heinz and Luis Oberrauch, the company moved to Brixen, Northern Italy, and has been continually expanding its manufacturing capacity and product innovation. Digital imaging has driven the lienz expansion at an accelerated pace with a heightened demand for flatbed inkjet printers. The company has only been operating in Austria since 2000 and overwhelming orders necessitated expansion. Growth of an imaging company is a fascinating subject when you consider that Durst has survived many of its competitors, U.S. and Israeli, including DeVere, HK, Berkey, and Cymbolic Sciences, while others that remain are a result of acquisition. Durst on the other hand, is still under the ownership of Christof "Luis" Oberrauch (son of Luis Oberrauch who partnered with the Durst brothers in 1936).