Afa facts

  • Afa was founded in 1965

    At the outset, Afa focused on producing products of low added value or contract manufacturing for third parties. Under new ownership, in 1998 Afa adopted a different strategy; it called for the development of proprietary dispensing technologies, so as to become a one-stop shop for the customer, where innovative dispensing platforms serve as the basis for multiple product offerings
  • Afa stands for the initials of Alfred Frederic Alders

    Alfred Frederic Alders was the inventor of the first trigger sprayer in 1959 and the inspiration for Afa's multiple sprayer product developments
  • Afa was the first producer of trigger sprayers in Europe First production was under license from the American inventor, but Afa quickly developed its own improvements and modifications to the traditional sprayers
  • Afa designs, manufactures & sells on 3 continents

    We have one production site in Helmond (The Netherlands) and two in Shanghai (China). Our sales offices are located in Helmond, St. Louis (USA) and Shanghai.
  • Afa is the proud owner of 40 active patents Afa’s patents cover a wide area of dispensing methodologies and material composition that gained Afa the reputation as the global leader in the development of ground breaking dispensing technologies.
  • Afa employs around 20 people in Research & Development

    Afa’s Dispensing Technologies Centre, located in Helmond, is engaged in multiple product development projects for selected customers that wish to deploy Afa’s technology platforms to their specific needs.  Afa invests over Euro 1 million per year in research and development, and in the last five years alone its R&D investments exceeded six million Euro.
  • Afa created the first and only all-plastic pre-compression sprayer Afa's all-plastic pre-compression sprayers are now considered the European standard.
  • Afa launched the first all-polyolefin plastic sprayer in 2008

    In 2008, Afa introduced the OpUs, a sprayer made of only polyolefin plastics. OpUs is therefore fully recyclable. This reflects Afa’s commitment to develop and produce products are based on the cradle-to-cradle philosophy.

  • Afa is the largest sprayer supplier to multinational firms in Europe Consumer good companies increasingly recognize the value that Afa products bring to their brands, contributing to the rapid growth in Afa’s customer base. 
  • Afa is the creator of Flair Flair™ is an an all-plastic, bag-in-bottle dispensing technology that can dispense liquid, fluid, beverage, soft food, personal care products and chemicals of any viscosity, with no propellant gas or other environmentally hazardous medium used to pressurize the container.