Visy Industries

Visy Industries was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1948 and has grown to become one of the world’s largest privately-owned paper recycling and packaging companies. In 2003, Visy employed more than 8000 people. Total manufacturing revenues exceeded $2.5 billion and total manufacturing assets exceed $3 billion. Visy is owned by Richard Pratt who as of 2005 was Australia's third richest man.

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The company is named after the wife of one of the original partners, Max Plotka. Her name was Isa Visbord, and she reputedly lent them a thousand pounds to go into business. (The company's original name was Visy Board.)

The company capitalised on the demand for cardboard boxes among the orchardists in Shepparton, Victoria where the Pratt immigrant family from Poland was living. Along with Richard Pratt's father Leon, the third partner was an engineer, Les Feldman. The Pratt and Plotka families moved to Melbourne and bought their first factory in the suburb of Fitzroy.

Richard Pratt took over the business in 1969 on the death of his father.

By the late 1970s Visy was making more than a 100,000 tonnes of boxes a year. In 1979 the company built its first paper recycling machine at Warwick Farm. Following this it expanded significantly, both through acquisition and greenfield sites.

By 1990, Visy’s share of the national market had grown to more than 40% and it had more than 2000 employees. In the next decade Visy continued to expand, including entering the USA with a paper recycling operation in New York.

In December 2005 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission commenced prosecution against Visy for alleged involvement in a cartel in the packaging industry.

In March 2006 there was further controversy when it was revealed former Premier of New South Wales Bob Carr had accepted a consultancy to advise Visy on recycling.

On 2 November 2007 Pratt and the Visy group received a A$36 million fine for price fixing, representing both the largest fine in Australian history.