On September 29th and 30th 2005, POLOPLAST arranged a very successful event to celebrate their 50th anniversary. More than 700 guests from 15 nations attended the jubilee. In order to be able to invite all their partners, POLOPLAST divided the event into several modules. The press conference with more than 15 journalists, representing daily and trade press, led on to the actual start:

On September 29th 2005 at 10.00 a. m. more than 150 guests representing politics, the economy and the public sector, assembled in the gala rooms of POLOPLAST. Guntram Bock, CEO of the commercial sector of the POLOPLAST group, and Wolf Klammerth, managing partner of the Wietersdorfer group, inaugurated the first part of the celebrations.

One of the main programme items followed: Dietmar Mascher of the newspaper "Oberösterreichische Nachrichten" led a political discussion on "The strategic programme for Upper Austria 2010", with the Head of the Provincial Government, Josef Pühringer, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Rudolf Trauner and the President of the Industrialists? Association, Klaus Pöttinger. The Head of the Provincial government, Pühringer, emphasized the extraordinarily good economic situation in Upper Austria and thanked POLOPLAST for their contribution.

Following the discussion, Alfred W. Strigl of the "Österreichisches Institut für Nachhaltige Entwicklung" (Austrian Institute for Sustainable Development) read an extremely interesting paper on "Success due to sustainability", a concept which POLOPLAST takes very seriously.

To conclude this very informative morning the CEO of the technical section, Jürgen Miethlinger, talked about "Technology and Innovation" and presented the latest innovations and research of POLOPLAST to the interested audience. The next item was a visit to see the POLOPLAST premises in operation where everybody could observe the leading role POLOPLAST plays in their field.

In the evening, guests from politics and the economy, as well as POLOPLAST's clients, were invited to the evening gala in the Leonding ATRIUM. More than 250 guests from all over the world attended this impressive event and were cordially welcomed in their mother tongue by the presenter, Silvia Riegler from LifeRadio. The evening gala started with addresses by Guntram Bock, CEO of the commercial sector of the POLOPLAST group, and Wolf Klammerth, managng partner of the Wietersdorfer group, as well as Rupert Hatschek and the deputy mayor, Walter Brunner.

Afterwards Leonhard Helbich-Poschacher (president of the Austrian Building Materials Wholesalers' Association), Alfred Schabauer (representative of the Austrian Heating and Sanitary Facilities Wholesaler's Association), Peter Aigner (Chief of the Federal Guild of Sanitary, Heating and Ventilation Technicians) and the mayor, Josef Moser (representative of the Austrian local authorities and member of the environment committee) discussed important developments in the trade. They all emphasized the pioneering role which POLOPLAST plays in the trade.

The last official item of the evening event and a sign of internationality was the address by Roger Smith, president of the TEPPFA (European Plastic Pipes Association).

After the banquet, the events were brought to a magnificent conclusion with a tremendous show programme under the motto "The four Elements". In accordance with this motto the artists showed earth sounds, aerial acrobatics, water songs and fire dances. The audience was fascinated by the grace of this unique show which was first performed on September 29th, 2005.

The crowning conclusion of the two-day event, during which guests from all over the world learned about POLOPLAST's enduring success over five decades, was the "Gala of Nations" which was attended by more than 600 guests. This offered, in addition to culinary delights, a sparkling array of entertainment in an international atmosphere. In between, amusement was provided by three great show acts on the main stage (flamenco dance, acrobatics and juggling), as well as impressing cabaret artists, (such as the World Champion in fast cartooning, or a silhouette master). This was a celebration which POLOPLAST's guests and employees will remember for a long time.

In this context we would like to thank our sponsors for their support of our 50th anniversary celebrations event.