Our company history

1972

On July 1, 1972, Karl Simsa obtains his trade license and, after almost 20 years of experience in the printing industry, sets up his own business. The first “production site” is the family dining table in the kitchen of the private apartment in the Hanson estate in Vienna’s 10th district. They start with just one customer, with manual screen printing on plastic plug-in parts

1973

Production moves to a windowless cellar, which triggers short-term plans to start growing mushrooms. There is still no telephone connection. Customers therefore still send postcards asking them to come by to pick up order documents.

1974

The company moves to Himberg in Lower Austria to a house with a garden and table tennis table, which spontaneously leads to the invention of the lunch break. The first employees are hired as table tennis partners. One of the first of them, Mr. Schippany, even remained loyal to the company until his retirement 30 years later.

1977

Now that the house bank is no longer granting any more loans, this year’s investments are limited to a baby and a baby dog, which share the same crib in a companionable and cost-saving way.

1982

The company moves to Katharinengasse in Vienna’s 10th district. Production is increasingly expanded to include fully automated and larger systems, and space requirements increase. In addition to classic screen printing, print finishing of paper and cardboard with high-gloss varnishes and effect inks begins.

1992

Construction of a new building at the current location at Oberlaaerstrasse 226 in Vienna’s 10th district

1996

Acquisition of the first large-format, fully automatic hot foil stamping machine and thus the start of metallization on a larger scale

1999

Entry into digital printing

2002

The baby from 1977 has grown slightly in the meantime, decides to start a career as a bank employee, and takes over the credit liabilities and management in the 2nd generation.

2003

Development of various forms of security printing. Customized hologram effects are produced for the first time. The first anti-counterfeiting features are applied to security printing types such as vouchers and stamps.

2004

Weighing 18 tons, the heaviest purchase to date arrives: a hot foil stamping and die-cutting machine from Swiss manufacturer Bobst in full-sheet format. When the fitter runs the machine at full speed for the first time, one of our long-standing machine operators can only utter an awestruck “Na Prack…”. Our customer base expands to include the packaging printing industry.

2005

Increased lecturing activities at industry events subsequently lead to the first teaching assignments at institutions such as the WIFI Vienna advertising academy, the advanced course for packaging technicians and the BFI Salzburg. Seminars on print finishing are also offered for the first time. These are used both by companies as further training for their employees and by educational institutions such as the HTL for printing technology or the New Design University (FH).

2006

Hall extension and entry into film lamination through the takeover of the Pavlovsky company. As a result, almost all types and techniques of print finishing are finally covered. Simsa thus becomes the supplier with the largest range of finishing products in Austria.

2007

Our name has now also become known beyond national borders: We are invited by the IPFG, the globally active “International Print Finisher Group”, to take the entrance exam. After extensive hearings and tests, we were accepted into their blood brotherhood (OK, admittedly, maybe it wasn’t blood but Cabernet Sauvignon. But what counts is that our customers can now rely on the problem-solving expertise of a network with members on 5 continents).

2014

Simsa wins the Gold Printstar in the “Calendar” category with a project for Porsche Design. The Printstar is the “Oscar” for sensational print products throughout the German-speaking world. The fact that a small, impertinent Austrian won the prize here led to frustrated plant closures and early retirements among German colleagues after the award ceremony in Stuttgart. So, by all accounts… 😉

2015

Further extension to increase the production area. Storage capacity for major customers with call-off storage for branches is increased.

2016

Major investments in the field of digital printing and digitally controlled finishing. With a fabulous 4.5m length for a printed panel, we are pushing the previous format limits in color printing to the limit. The printable material thicknesses are also extended to a maximum of 50 mm. In addition to computer-controlled cutting, milling and oscillating cutting are added to the cutting technology after 20 years.

2020

After years of purchasing green electricity from Austrian sources, the company now has its own photovoltaic system on the roof. Most of the electricity we generate ourselves is also consumed by us, which improves the eco-balance of our products.

2021

Simsa invests in another foil stamping machine, this time specializing in the application of single image holograms. This means that a high-end area of security printing is now also covered, which is usually only mastered by banknote printers and a very small handful of luxury packaging manufacturers throughout Europe.

2022

Simsa celebrates half a century of company history!