The Golden 60's and 70's

1964: A historical marriage

Not only was it the 125th anniversary of photography, but 1964 was also the year of the big merger between Gevaert and Agfa. In early 1964, Agfa AG, a 100% subsidiary of Bayer merged with Gevaert Photo Producten N.V. In doing so, two new operating companies were established on July 1st, and the two partners each held a 50% stake: Gevaert-Agfa N.V. in Mortsel (Belgium) and Agfa-Gevaert AG in Leverkusen (Germany).

1971: Agfa-Gevaert develops the first European xerographic copier

Agfa introduced a copier at the Hannover Messe in Germany: the 'Gevafax X-10' is the first European copier, based on xerographic technology, enabling economic photocopying onto plain paper.

1980 - 1981: The silver crisis

International speculation on the silver market caused a significant rise in the price of silver, which was now seven times more expensive than in the year before! As silver was one of the most important base materials for the photographic industry, these high prices put Agfa-Gevaert in a difficult financial situation. Bayer delivered additional funds and consequently obtained 100% ownership of the Agfa-Gevaert Group.