1906 | Foundation as box making company "Heinrich Methfessel Kartonagen Nürnberg" |
1958 | Development of the CITO creasing system by Ludwig Methfessel |
1983 | Management taken over by Konrad Methfessel |
1986 | CITO exhibiting for the first time with its own stand at the drupa |
1988 | Move to the new administration building in Schwaig |
1989 | Foundation of CITO UK Ltd. |
1990 | Completion of the new production hall and warehouse in Schwaig |
1993 | ISO 9002 and BS 5750 certification of the quality management system |
1994 | CITO UK Ltd. moves to a new building in Alfreton |
1997 | Sales department and warehouse move into a new, additional building in Schwaig near Nuremberg |
1998 | Completion of the new SEMINAR and TRAINING CENTER |
1999 | CITO acquires shares in Print Line GmbH & Co. KG |
2004 | At drupa 2004 CITO presents the new creasing system STANDARD |
2005 | CITO presents the new creasing system BASIC |
2006 | CITO celebrates its centenary |
2007 | Move to the new production hall in Diepersdorf |
2008 | Foundation of CITO Italia Srl |
2009 | Introduction of the new product line FormLine |
2010 | Jürgen Mariën acquires a majority stake in the CITO GROUP |
2011 | Acquisition of Wald Diecutting Systems GmbH and Wald Hungaria Kft. as well as foundation of CITO CZ s.r.o. and CITO SK s.r.o. |
2012 | CITO develops CITOTHAN, its own material for creasing systems, and acquires shares in the cutting die company Bieling & Petsche Stanzformen GmbH in Austria |
2013 | CITO UK Ltd. moves into new business premises in Alfreton and CITO CZ s.r.o. transfers to new rooms in Strážnice |
2014 | Certification is issued for CITO's quality (ISO 9001), environmental (ISO 14001) and health management (ISO 18001), in accordance with the EMAS standard. CITO becomes a member of the Environmental Pact of Bavaria |
2015 | Introduction of the new product line ProcessLine |
2016 | CITO presents new creasing system ULTIMATE at drupa 2016 |
2017 | CITO acquires shares in PolyMX bv, The Netherlands |
2019 | CITO ULTIMATE becomes the first and only creasing system to receive ISEGA certification for food packaging |
2019 | PolyMX bv moves into new premises in Raamsdonksveer |
2020 | Thomas Gerner is appointed CFO of CITO‑SYSTEM GmbH |
2020 | Joint venture – BOBST acquires 51 % of the CITO GROUP shares |
2021 | Introduction of the new product line CITOCLYN for flexographic printing |
2023 | Oliver Kellermann is appointed CFO and takes over the management of CITO‑SYSTEM GmbH with Thomas Gerner |
2023 | BOBST acquires 90 % of CITO GROUP shares |
CITO Story of Success
On 3rd November 1906 the Heinrich Methfessel box-making factory was founded in Nuremberg from which CITO‑SYSTEM GmbH has come. In the beginning of the 1950s the CITO creasing system was developed. Initially it was only used in the own production, but in the beginning of the sixties already the international marketing started.
Over 100 years of experience, coupled with continuous innovation and intensive research, have made CITO the world market leader in the field of creasing technology.
With high speed audio-visual technology, first class measuring equipment and process simulators CITO finds the answers to your questions of the future.
The products and services of CITO are used on all continents today. Beside the European internal market Asia and Northern America count among the main marketing areas. The worldwide distribution network comprises more than 90 independent agencies which always ensure good technical support and short-term delivery.
The CITO GROUP currently has approximately 210 employees.