Gevaert

The story of Gevaert starts in 1899, not in photography, but in textiles. Jean-Baptist Gevaert founded ‘la rubanerie de Deynze’ in Deinze, Belgium, a city renowned for its flourishing flax industry. The company began by producing elastics and webbings for suspenders and belts, embedding itself in a region famous for its textile heritage. Throughout its history, Gevaert focused on specific niche products, growing into a global player in webbings for the fashion industry, including trouser and underwear waistbands. This specialization allowed the company to maintain control over its entire production process. By adopting a '100% made in Belgium' strategy, Gevaert could ensure consistent quality and competitive pricing. While the textile company Gevaert grew in its niche, a different Belgian enterprise with a similar name, founded by Lieven Gevaert, was making waves in the world of photography. In 1890, Lieven Gevaert established a workshop in Antwerp for manufacturing photographic paper. This company, initially called L. Gevaert & Cie, would eventually merge with Agfa in 1964 to form the Agfa-Gevaert group, a major name in the imaging industry. It's important to note that Gevaert Bandweverij (the webbing company) and Agfa-Gevaert (the imaging company) are separate entities, though they share a name and a Belgian origin.