Brepols Books & Bindery grew out of the well known Brepols Group. Brepols was founded in 1796 by Pieter Corbeels, then the partner of P. J. Brepols. For the next two centuries, Brepols remained a leading player in the graphics industry. To secure its development, in 1999 the company was divided into four independent units: Brepols Group, the holding company of the various Brepols entities; Brepols Publishers , the scientific publishers; Brepols Graphic Products, publishing diaries, photograph albums and stationery; Brepols Graphic Industries, the industrial printers and binders. Owing to persistent difficulties in the graphics industry, early in 2003 it was decided to stop the printing preparation and printing activities. Only the binding work, undertaken as an independent business unit in Brepols, was to continue. With over 200 years’ experience, the 220 Brepols specialists now present place their expertise at the service of companies all over the world every day.