Home > Discover Belron > Our heritage Our heritage A global, family business Belron has been built on a strong history and family values. How we do business today, our purpose and our ethics can be traced back to those values established many years ago in South Africa where we began. 124 years of glass expertise 1890s 1897 Jacobs & Dandor founded in South Africa. 1899 Company purchased and name changed to Plate Glass Bevelling and Silvering Company. 1900s 1907 The City Glass Bevelling & Silvering Works company founded. 1910s 1917 City Glass purchases Plate Glass. 1919 Companies are merged as Plate Glass Bevelling and Silvering Company. 1920s 1921 Morrie Lubner joins the Plate Glass Bevelling and Silvering Company. 1927 Company wins contracts with General Motors and Ford to supply glass for vehicle assembly. 1930s 1930 Plate Glass sells their first safety glass product for vehicles. 1939 During the war years Plate Glass makes bullet resistant glass. 1950s 1952 Ronnie Lubner joins the company. 1953 Plate Glass secures business rights to curved windscreen production. 1960s 1962 Expansion of the vehicle glass business begins with the acquisition of a national network of vehicle glass shops in South Africa. 1966 Morrie Lubner appointed Chairman of Plate Glass. 1970s 1971 International expansion starts with the acquisition of O’Brien® Glass in Australia 1980s 1983 International expansion continues with the acquisition of two vehicle glass replacement companies in the UK Autoglass® and Windshields. Consolidated as Autoglass Windshields Limited. 1984/5 Windshields dropped from the name. 1990s 1990 International acquisitions are grouped together under the name Belron, with Ronnie Lubner as CEO. Further international acquisitions in France, Germany and Belgium. 1991 Glass Medic® repair system developed and spread across the group to offer a quality alternative to replacing windscreens. 1992 Belron is bought by South African Breweries. 1997 Company celebrates its 100th anniversary with Nelson Mandela attending the event in South Africa. 1999 D’Ieteren, Belgium’s biggest car distributor and major shareholder in Avis Europe, acquires Belron. 2000s 2000 Gary Lubner named CEO of Belron. First Best of Belron competition takes place in Belgium with eight technicians taking part. 2001 Franchising of the Belron business model begins, the first operation opens in Greece in December. 2004 Belron Technical formed to implement the Belron Way of Fitting across the group. 2007 Belron acquires US market leader Safelite®. 2008 Ronnie Lubner made Life Chairman. 2009 Global people recognition programme launched, now known as the Belron Exceptional People Awards. 2010s 2010 Belron becomes signatory to the United Nations Global Compact Ten Principles of Responsible Business and launch Belron Code of Ethics – Our Way of Working. 2011 Belron designs the 1-Tek®, a device to help technicians lift and place heavy windscreens. Belron is now operating in over 30 countries, covering 6 continents. 2014 Belron’s first driver assistance system recalibration is undertaken, in Germany. 2014 First Belron triathlon at Dorney Lake takes place involving 1,000 people from 22 countries 2016 The Belron Training Centre opens in Braamfontein, Johannesburg for Afrika Tikkun to provide young people with key skills for their career development 2017 Belron welcomes new minority shareholder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice 2020s 2020 The Belron Ronnie Lubner Charitable Foundation is launched in memory of Ronnie who died in late 2018. In its first full year the charity donates over EUR 2 million to 270 charities around the world. The future of Belron We will continue to offer motorists all over the world the same excellence in service and quality, harnessing the power of technology for an industry-leading customer experience and continuing our strong tradition of giving back to society. Making a difference with real care Our purpose and values run through everything we do. Learn more > Committed to giving back The Belron Ronnie Lubner Charitable Foundation. Find out more > Connect with us Contact us|Terms of website use|Site map|Privacy & cookies|Modern Slavery Act|Accessibility|Cookie settings|Legal notices © Copyright 2021 Belron UK Limited. All rights reserved. Belron International Limited is registered in England and Wales. Company Number: 02442568. Registered Office: Milton Park, Stroude Road, Egham, Surrey TW20 9EL. Belron® and the Device are registered trademarks of Belron Group S.A. and its affiliated companies. Welcome to Belron This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are essential, while others help us to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information visit our Cookie Policy and Privacy Notice. Cookie settingsREJECTACCEPT