 Company History
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Memoirs
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The records of today's paper mill date back to the times when the town of Bělá was founded. The deed of gift of Mr. Hynek Berka of Dubá and Lipá of 24 April 1337 says, among others:
"We have given Ješek to his village magistrate's house in Nové Bezdezí a mill with one water wheel, which is generally called Walkmühl (Valcha - Fulling Mill), with all revenues to him and his successors for free and perpetural use."
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So in 1337, the mill called Valcha had already existed. The mill was later given by the village of Bělá to the cloth guild for cloth milling. In 1696, Count Arnošt Josef of Waldstein, the owner of the Belá demesne, built a paper mill below the Vlk pond near Valcha. The first paper maker was there Tobiáš Jagl in 1700, who made hand-made paper with watermark W in the middle for the needs of the Waldstein demesne's offices. The paper was of a very good quality and it was even supplied even to Prague.
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Modern History
The most important change in the past 300 years was erecting a new factory in the place of the original fulling mill in 1880.
In 1996, when we commemorated the 300th anniversary of the paper-making tradition in Bělá pod Bezdezem, the last important change was made - the change in the owner of the current joint-stock company.
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The foundation of an independent company after 1989 relates to the date of 1 July 1992, when the joint-stock company SEPAP Bělá pod Bezdezem was founded; its founder and sole owner was the joint-stock company SEPAP based in Štetí. With regard to a different manufacturing programme of the parent company, it was decided to sell the joint-stock company SEPAP Belá soon after its foundation. This step, important for the company, took place on 20 September 1996, when the company P-Obal s.r.o. became the owner of 100% of shares, and subsequently, on 1 October 1996, the trading name was changed to Papírny Bělá a.s.
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