1920 The SVR (Ruhr coal area communal association) is founded.
1960 In the Sixties the SVR develops plans for a system of waste disposal serving a number of municipalities. 1968 The Emscherbruch central landfill site is developed at the former Graf Bismarck coalmine in Gelsenkirchen. This plant, operated today by AGR, is the first controlled landfill site in Germany and here the basic components of Germany's first waste management legislation, passed in 1972, were developed and tested. In the next few years the companies which would later become AGR set new standards in developing and implementing environmentally sensitive technology in waste management. This is the principle on which AGR operates to the present day. 1979 The SVR is renamed KVR - Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr area association of municipalities). 1982 Start-up of the RZR Herten* in the Recklinghausen district. The plant has two lines for the incineration of domestic waste and two for hazardous waste and is one of the most modern incineration facilities in Europe.
*(The name goes back to the oil crisis of the Seventies, with the concept of a "Rohstoffrückgewinnungs-Zentrum Ruhr" - Ruhr area centre for the recovery of raw materials) . 1982 KVR founds AGR (Abfallbeseitigungs-Gesellschaft Ruhrgebiet) mbH with its headquarters Essen as a wholly owned subsidiary. 1990 The name is changed in the register of companies to Abfallentsorgungs-Gesellschaft Ruhrgebiet mbH. In the next few years the company becomes a service provider in all areas of waste management. Although AGR is owned by the area's municipalities, the company operates on free- market principles and expands its core competence by establishing a number of subsidiaries and shareholdings in associate companies. 1996 AGR is split into five organisational divisions : AGR Entsorgung (disposal), AGR Behandlung (treatment), AGR Recycling, AGR Umweltservice (environmental services) and AGR Verwaltungsservice (management services). 1998 AGR and its subsidiaries and associates form the AGR Group, providing comprehensive programmes and services in the field of environmental protection. 1999 With the acquisition of Hans Brochier GmbH & Co., Nuremberg, the AGR Group extends its range to water and waste water treatment, special underground engineering and pipeline construction. The group now has a ntework of branches throughout Germany, combined with locations in other European countries and in Japan. 2001 The group structure requires the selection of a supervisory board to replace the existing administrative council. 2002 The AGR Group now has a new structure, consisting of AGR mbH as the holding company and its four operational subsidiaries AGR Vertrieb GmbH, AGR Entsorgung GmbH, AGR Service GmbH and Hans Brochier GmbH & Co. 2004 Construction work begins on the RZR Herten II, for which planning began in the mid-Nineties and which will provide two new incineration lines.
On 1 October 2004 the RVR regional association became the legal successor to the KVR communal association in the Ruhr area. However, the ownership and organisational structures of the AGR group of companies remain unaffected by this change.
2005 The AGR group of companies divests itself of its subsidiary Hans Brochier. The Nuremberg construction company is acquired with effect from 1 January 2005 by a London finance group.
RVR approves the expansion of the RZR Herten II. In future until 300,000 tonnes of commercial waste per year will be disposed of on two new incineration lines at the RZR Herten II.
AGR changes its corporate structure and moves its headquaters from Essen to Herten, in the district of Recklinghausen.
2006 The start of the year was marked by the continued business consolidation of the AGR group of companies and the financing of the RZR Herten II. The number of subsidiaries and participations was almost halved.
The foundation stone for the RZR Herten II was laid in October.
2007 The international transport of problem waste from Australia to the RZR Herten waste incineration facility creates controversy and is criticised in the German media. The result is that the transport is banned by the North-Rhine Westphalia Department for the Environment. AGR is seriously affected by liabilities which arise from the insolvency (2006) of its former subsidiary Brochier. In spite of this the construction of RZR Herten II facility continues on schedule.
2008In line with its performance potential the RZR Herten receives approval for an extension to its capacity. The facility can now treat up to 600,000 tonnes of municipal waste and up to 112,000 tonnes of special waste. AGR supports emergency efforts to dispose of Italian municipal waste by incineration. The rapid acceptance of waste which is contaminated with PFT makes it clear that the Emscherbruch central landfill site is an essential part of the waste disposal facilities in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia. By closing down unprofitable subsidiaries and taking further cost-cutting measures AGR continues to consolidate under difficult framework conditions.
2009AGR receives country-wide approval for its intelligent financial restructuring of its crossborder contracts, which had been badly affected by the crisis.Illegal transport of hazardous goods and deliveries of waste to the RZR Herten (trinitrophenol) generate negative publicity for AGR through no fault of the company itself.In May the RZR Herten II comes onstream, with a well-attended official opening event. The new incineration facility is operating to full capacity in treating commercial and industrial waste.The company continues to optimise its organisation and personnel structure in the interests of competitiveness on the market. The group now contains 15 subsidiaries.
