Supplier Spotlight: Duralex: From 1930 to 2016

The adventure began in the 1930s. Saint-Gobain took over La-Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin factory, near Orleans that was formerly owned by a vinegar maker and later by a perfumer that produced their bottles there.

A few years later, Saint-Gobain, a pioneer in the tempered glass technology, made its first attempts at adapting the process to the tableware production. In 1945, the Duralex brand was registered.

After post-war reconstruction, the "thirty glorious years". France and Europe returned to prosperity. Households and institutions sought to buy modern, practical, well-designed and economical products.

In the sixties and seventies, Duralex expanded and developed internationally. The brand and its products became familiar to millions of consumers worldwide.

The internationalisation of markets, the emergence of new competitors... The 1990s were a difficult turning point. Saint-Gobain decided to sell Duralex to focus on its other businesses. 

First owned by an Italian glass manufacturer, the company was then passed into the hands of several buyers who failed to stimulate activity.

In 2008, the company was taken over by a group of managing shareholders. Substantial resources were invested to save and develop the production equipments and clean up the company's management

Duralex returned to profits. These were notably invested in the modernisation of the means of production and the setting up of sustainable management systems (installation of a particulate filter, waste recycling, etc.) Last but not least, a project to rejuvenate the brand was introduced: new logo, new graphic guidelines, redesigned packaging... Product innovation was also boosted with the regular design of new styles and the introduction of new colours.

Duralex's Former Iconic Packaging