Geistlich celebrates 175 years of company history
Wolhusen/Schlieren - Swiss family-owned company Geistlich is celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2026. What began as Switzerland’s first glue factory has evolved into a global specialist in regenerative medicine and a market leader in dental regeneration.
Geistlich is marking its 175th anniversary in 2026. The company was founded in 1851 on the shores of Lake Zurich and is regarded as Switzerland’s first glue factory. In 1869, production was relocated to Schlieren, where Geistlich became a major industrial player in the region while also expanding the processing of bones into fertiliser products.
Over the decades, the company continuously broadened its portfolio – from glue and fertilisers to pharmaceutical products and innovative biomaterials. Building on its long-standing expertise in processing bone and tissue, Geistlich entered new medical fields. This led to the development of products for the regeneration of bone, cartilage and soft tissue.
Today, the Geistlich Group employs around 1,000 people worldwide. Its operational centre is Geistlich Pharma AG in Wolhusen, canton of Lucerne. According to the company, it is the global market leader in regenerative dentistry. Geistlich biomaterials are used internationally and, by the company’s own figures, are applied somewhere in the world every 14 seconds on average.
In addition to its medtech business, the Group is also active in other areas. These include real estate development at its historic Schlieren site as well as industrial hygiene and safety solutions through DELTA Zofingen AG. During the anniversary year, Geistlich also plans to launch 20 new products in more than 40 countries.
The anniversary highlights the long-term development of a Swiss family business that has successfully reinvented itself over five generations – from industrial manufacturing to highly specialised solutions with global reach.
