Mayeri – Since 1889

Traditions and experiences of manufacturing household chemistry products start from the year 1889, when a Baltic German Richard Mayer established in Estonia first chemical industry in Baltic States. In the beginning Mayeri chemical factory produced butter and cheese colour mainly for Petersburg’s market. Later came production of construction colours and solvents and soon after that production of cleaning products began.

The enterprise has gone trough different merger and separation processes; there have been different owners and locations. In 1940s after nationalisation name of the enterprise was changed to Integrated Chemical Installation Flora and in 1990s shares of the enterprise were re-privatised and state chemical installation was divided into several public limited companies from which one was Flora. In 2003 the name of the enterprise was changed in honour of the establisher and for accentuating international ambitions to Mayeri Industries AS. In 2005 the factory was moved from Tartu into a new production complex in Tabivere in Jõgeva County.

Different production innovations throughout history:

1889 – butter and cheese colours
1892 – ether
1898 – construction colours
1899 – sulphuric acid and nitric acid
1916 – pyrotechnic products
1932 – amyl alcohol, ammonia, borax, boric acid
1960 – soaking agent, window washing detergent Aknool, detergent Liilia
1964 – washing powders
1966 – adhesive PVA, filler, after shave Frigo, detergent Kati
1970 – pest control (pheromone traps)
1971 – hair fix Mai, nõudepesuvahend Kodu, detergent Sanit
1975 – washing powder for children’s clothes Bembi, liquid detergent Kastan
1976 – paper adhesive Juku, washing powder Bio-Est, scrubbing powder Pemoksol
1981 – email- ja puiduvärvid, after shaves Tartu Maraton and Kapten
1985 – perfumes, bleach Luik
1987 – washing powder for work clothes Juss
1988 – phosphate free bio-active washing powder in co-operation with Estonian Chemical Institute