From the beginning of the century
One family, almost a century of history, and a company that continues to possess a dynamic presence over time, this is the identity of Adelco. The traces of its birth can be found in the heart of history.
Everything started with the destruction of Smyrna, which uprooted the Kolokotronis family and changed its life. The calm life of the Greeks who lived in Asia Minor, full of experiences, was overturned forever... The Kolokotronis family found itself among the rest of the Greeks who abandoned Smyrna. Everything had to be created from scratch, with new adjustments, new conditions, and survival. The Great Fire of Smyrna gave birth to a flame in their hearts, and from that moment, a vision was born. In 1934, the brothers Omiros and Orestis Kolokotronis founded the E. Kolokotronis Brothers Paint Factory of Athens S.A. in Moschato, which was to play a significant role in the industrial history of contemporary Greece.
At that time, Moschato was a deserted area, which gradually, due to the creation of the paint factory, began to be inhabited by the company's employees and workers. Moschato came to life. The Kolokotronis brothers, who shared a strong bond, with each complementing the other, worked hard to see their dream take shape. With strategic steps, they began to expand their activities increasingly, which led to an expansion of their investment into other areas during the 1950's, such as pharmaceutical products, cotton, and veterinary medicinal products. The growth of Adelco was rapid and it proved its strength by managing to survive even during the war. Besides being employers, Omiros and Orestis Kolokotronis had a very intense philanthropic disposition. Since they had experienced the destruction of Smyrna, they understood pain and the effort for survival, proving their humane nature in practice. During the war and the ensuing famine, the Athens Paint Factory supported its employees and the local community with food items and other supplies. One strong element underlying the company´s philosophy since its founding to this date is the sense of its employees as “family”.
During the 1950's, the company concentrated its interest mainly on pharmaceutical products and it gained the trading name “Adelco”. Adelco became a recognized name very quickly and one of the fastest growing companies in Greece. By gaining the recognition and appreciation of the medical community, it set even higher goals for itself with very strict quality specifications.
However, besides the pharmaceutical sector, the Kolokotronis brothers also decided to expand into other widely consumed products, inserting their products in the daily lives of Greeks.
During the 1960's, Adelco launched the OM-OR shampoo brand, the first shampoo manufactured and sold in Greece, as well as the first toothpaste containing fluoride, Adelco toothpaste. The two products dominated the market and entrenched Adelco.
The company's success
in the pharmaceutical industry was added to by its dynamic and creative entry into the cosmetics market, which, with model technology, research, and development always dedicated to high quality, quickly led Adelco to occupy a significant position in the cosmetics industry as well. The advertising campaigns of the time gained great acceptance from the public, since great names of Greek cinema played a primary role in them.
Adelco's extensive experience and continuous search to perfect its products contributed to its continuous growth, which also continued dynamically during the 1970's. Adelco became one of the largest Greek pharmaceutical companies, using its own resources to create verticalized production of top-quality products that were absolutely recognizable, as well as leading brands such as Stedon, Filicine, Minitran, Paroticin, and Salopyrine, while the same thing occurred at the same time in the cosmetics sector as well, with OM-OR and other Adelco cosmetics products.
In addition, the company developed its cooperation with leading European pharmaceutical and cosmetics firms, and at the same time it exported products, technology, and knowledge to India and the Far East.
Times change, but the work and the vision
of the Kolokotronis brothers remains alive, finding a new person to take over the reins of the company. In the early 1980's, the E. Kolokotronis Brothers – Adelco Paint Factory of Athens S.A. was founded under the guidance of Mr. Evangelos Kolokotronis, whose conviction is that “high quality is the basic value and the dominant duty for a pharmaceutical company such as Adelco”. Mr. Kolokotronis developed the company and its dynamism with the goal of playing a dominant role in Greece and abroad. With the moving force being love for Adelco and faith in its personnel's capabilities, one success followed another.
During the 1990's, the company aimed to grow in international markets, with the goal of capturing an increasingly large market share. It founded an independent exports department and developed markets in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and even East Asia. Adelco strengthened its presence on the international market.
Times change and technology evolves, and thus in 2000 Adelco focused on its own modernization. The company invested in new production machinery and developed new products.
The evolution and perfection of its products
continue to constitute the traditional moving force of Adelco's strategy. The company's effectiveness and its dynamic record, both in the past and nowadays, are due to the human resources staffing its sales, marketing, exports, production, R&D, quality control, and quality assurance departments.
The company's profile in the current era
includes many activities both in the pharmaceutical sector and in the area of cosmetics and nutritional supplements. The company is a vertically organized modern production facility of 10,000 square meters with 95 specialized employees, as well as a very well-organized group of representatives all over Greece and internationally.
In the field of pharmaceutical products
Adelco is marketing more than 70 preparations for the treatment of diseases such as megaloblastic anemia, psychological disorders, anxiety, insomnia, depression, hypertension, and ear infections.
Adelco also provides medicines not requiring prescription, such as Algine, Neomycodermol, and Bronchotussine for the treatment of illnesses such as inflammatory arthritis, migraines, dental pain, pain from injuries, fevers, fungal infections, and bronchial pneumonia.
Besides pharmaceutical products, the company retains its production of consumer products, continuing to sell the OM-OR range. In parallel, it is expanding its activity in this sector by creating new lines of cosmetics products with great success and acceptance from the consuming public. Its products are addressed to the entire family, specializing in the needs of men, women, and children. Its products include Adelco Kids, Adelco Intense SPA, Adelco Velvet hand & body, and Adelco Men’s Concept.
The consumer products sector has been enriched with nutritional supplements and medical technology products under the Pharma Line brand, which are imported from Italy.
Adelco has continued its course of development for a century, maintaining a strong relationship of trust with consumers and always giving priority to the high quality of its products.