Rieke’s History

We are 100 years young!

Rieke was founded in 1921 by Theodore W. “TW” Rieke, a tool and die maker that through his perseverance and engineering talent, innovated a new steel drum closure approach that revolutionized the steel drum industry.

Interestingly, he used both process and product design know how to solve his then prospective customers’ needs. The steel drum closure product line developed by TW Rieke in 1921 allowed Rieke to grow to a more than $400 million designer and manufacturer of engineered dispensers and closures for the Industrial, Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, Food & Beverage, and Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical end markets today.

1920s to 1970s

Foundational Years

Shortly after the formation of Rieke in 1921, Mr. Rieke established its main production facility in Auburn, Indiana. Although significantly expanded today, this site continues to one of Rieke’s largest production facilities globally. Initially, Rieke produced drum and pail closures, which are more commonly known under the VISEGRIP® product lines. In the 1950’s, Rieke continued to innovate drum and pail applications, including the development of the Flexspout® product line, and even completed its first acquisition, a small company called Multi-Meter Corporation, which was a manufacturer of faucets, pumps and drum accessories. In 1971, Rieke de Mexico was formed in a new facility dedicated to serving the Central and South American markets.

1978

Acquired by Masco Corporation

In 1978, Masco Corporation, a publicly-traded large manufacturer of home improvement and diversified industrial products, founded by Alex Manoogian, acquired Rieke. As part of the larger Masco, Rieke now had the platform for continued internal expansion and global growth. Rieke continued to launch new products, including its PPN series of nylon drum flanges and the PDF series of replaceable plastic flanges for plastic drums, expanding beyond its traditional metal-based product lines.

1988

Rieke Catalyzes the Formation of TriMas

Through a complex transaction between Masco Corporation and then Masco Industries, Rieke and several other industrial companies were spun off to form TriMas Corporation, which represented the third major Masco spin-off company. The second was Masco Industries, later named MascoTech and then Metaldyne. This was a significant milestone in Rieke’s history, as TriMas focused on growth through acquisitions and internal innovation.
 

1990 to 2009

Growth through Acquisitions and Plant Expansions

In 1996, Rieke acquired two businesses, Englass Ltd. and Stolz GmbH. Stolz GmbH enabled Rieke to offer industrial closure systems for the under 55-gallon drum market and to further penetrate Europe, while Englass Ltd. specialized in high-value dispensing systems. In 1998, Rieke acquired Gruppo Tov in Italy, which manufactured products similar to Rieke’s VISEGRIP® for dry and liquid product containment. In 2009, Rieke acquired Continental AFA, adding to its dispensing product lines.
 
In addition to continuing to invest in organic growth and new product development, Rieke launched new plants in Hamilton, Indiana, and Hangzhou, China. Rieke also launched new key product lines in airless dispensing, enabling the company to supply solutions for dermatological applications in the pharmaceutical end market.
 

2010 to 2015

Expansion into New End Markets through Acquisitions

Rieke leveraged its expertise in dispenser and closure innovation for industrial and pharmaceutical end markets to penetrate the food & beverage and beauty & personal care end markets through a few key acquisitions. In 2011, Rieke acquired Innovative Molding, a producer of rigid caps for food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. In 2012, Rieke acquired Arminak & Associates, a producer of cosmetic, personal care and household dispensers and closures. In 2014, Rieke acquired Lion Holdings, a manufacturer of highly engineered dispensing solutions headquartered in India.

2015 to 2023

Commitment to Growth through Innovation and Acquisitions

In 2015, Rieke launched a new Global Innovation Center just outside of New Delhi, India, to coordinate with engineering and testing capability in Auburn, Indiana, and Leicester, United Kingdom. In 2017, Rieke launched a new state-of-the-art facility in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, moving production from a smaller facility in Mexico City. In 2018, through a partnership with Amazon, Rieke developed its first e-commerce sprayer pump, which ultimately led to the launch of a new line of e-commerce dispensers. 
 
In 2019, the company acquired Plastic Srl, a manufacturer of single and multi-body caps and closures which allowed the business to enter the home care end market. Later that year, the company acquired Taplast S.p.A, a designer and manufacturer of dispensers, closures and containers for the beauty & personal care and food end markets. In 2020, the company acquired Rapak®, a designer and manufacturer of flexible bag-in-box product lines and related filling equipment used primarily in dairy, post-mix, smoothie and wine applications. Later that year, the company also acquired Affaba & Ferrari™, a designer and manufacturer of precision caps and closures for food & beverage and industrial product applications. In 2023, the company acquired Aarts Packaging B.V., a well-established, innovative luxury packaging solutions provider for prestigious beauty and lifestyle brands, as well as for customers in the food and life sciences end markets.  

Today

TriMas Packaging Today

TriMas Packaging and its market-leading brands, now consisting of Rieke®, Affaba & Ferrari™, Rapak®, Taplast™, Plastic Srl and Aarts Packaging, remain TriMas' largest business segment, accounting for more than 50% of the company's total sales. TriMas remains committed to growing its Packaging group through innovation and strategic acquisitions.

Suffice to say, more than a century later, the Rieke team continues to follow the standards set by TW Rieke, passionately utilizing both process and product design innovation to deliver high-quality solutions to our customers.