Corporate History
In 1867 a “waxes and seals production company“ was established by the brothers Werner. 12 years later Georg Mertz joined the enterprise and the company was named Werner & Mertz, the name it has kept up to today. It was taken over by Phillip Schneider, Georg Mertz’ son in law, in 1887, and has been owned by the Schneider Family since then.
In 1901 the company had its logo of the “Erdal“ brand, a red frog, protected as a registered trademark.
In 1953 an Austrian subsidiary, Erdal, was established in the town of Hallein near the city of Salzburg. In addition to the main product, shoe polish, the range included floor care products for linoleum floors and floor wax sold under the brand name “Waxa“.
Over the years a number of new products were added and the production plant nearly “burst at the seams“. Therefore a further piece of land in the vicinity of the plant was purchased, and roomy new premises including a production plant and an office building were erected and officially opened in 1968. In the same year the well-established producer of shoe polish, Schmoll, in Vienna was taken over and a modern distribution warehouse was built four years later.
In1986 the well-known red frog, who had been croaking successfully for more than 100 years, got a green brother: the FROSCH brand. A series of household detergents with products that are friendly to the environment containing well-tried traditional ingredients such as soap, vinegar, spirit, lemon, etc. For the motto of the Frosch brand is not to have cleanliness at all cost, but to meet the environmentally conscious consumer’s expectations regarding standards of cleanliness.
In 1999 Erdal Austria took over responsibility for distribution in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. In the years that followed Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Bulgaria were added. Today, the “red frogs“ in Hallein,
together with Switzerland, are responsible for 13 countries.
In 2003 another floor was added to the office building, and in 2004 a new production line producing shoe sponges for instant shine was put into operation. For this, along with infrastructure measures, about seven million Euros were invested.
Erdal Austria is an enterprise clearly committed to Hallein as a production location. While there is the tendency in other international corporations to shift production away from Austria, Erdal takes a different direction by securing the production site through high investment. Thus, valuable jobs as well as purchasing power are secured in the region.
Today, Erdal Austria counts among the top companies in the country and is a model enterprise in the town of Hallein, the old town of the celts.
In 1953 an Austrian subsidiary, Erdal, was established in the town of Hallein near the city of Salzburg. In addition to the main product, shoe polish, the range included floor care products for linoleum floors and floor wax sold under the brand name “Waxa“.
Over the years a number of new products were added and the production plant nearly “burst at the seams“. Therefore a further piece of land in the vicinity of the plant was purchased, and roomy new premises including a production plant and an office building were erected and officially opened in 1968. In the same year the well-established producer of shoe polish, Schmoll, in Vienna was taken over and a modern distribution warehouse was built four years later.
In1986 the well-known red frog, who had been croaking successfully for more than 100 years, got a green brother: the FROSCH brand. A series of household detergents with products that are friendly to the environment containing well-tried traditional ingredients such as soap, vinegar, spirit, lemon, etc. For the motto of the Frosch brand is not to have cleanliness at all cost, but to meet the environmentally conscious consumer’s expectations regarding standards of cleanliness.
In 1999 Erdal Austria took over responsibility for distribution in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. In the years that followed Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Bulgaria were added. Today, the “red frogs“ in Hallein,
together with Switzerland, are responsible for 13 countries.
In 2003 another floor was added to the office building, and in 2004 a new production line producing shoe sponges for instant shine was put into operation. For this, along with infrastructure measures, about seven million Euros were invested.
Erdal Austria is an enterprise clearly committed to Hallein as a production location. While there is the tendency in other international corporations to shift production away from Austria, Erdal takes a different direction by securing the production site through high investment. Thus, valuable jobs as well as purchasing power are secured in the region.
Today, Erdal Austria counts among the top companies in the country and is a model enterprise in the town of Hallein, the old town of the celts.