Sihl’s roots go back 500 years when it was first mentioned as an “old paper mill on the Wird” in Zürich. In 1835, the joint-stock company Sihl was founded. It was named after a river in Zürich, which was chosen as the site for the erection of a mechanical paper factory.

The German production site in Düren (between Cologne and Aachen), Sihl GmbH, can look back on over 100 years of paper coating. Previously operating under the name of Renker GmbH, the company was merged with Sihl in 1990. The production site in Bern was integrated into the Sihl group in 1991.

Sihl Düren (once Renker) and Sihl Bern (once Multitec)  nowadays present a strong group, the Sihl.

Since end of November 2003, Sihl with the sectors “Digital Imaging” and “Registration and Identification” belongs to the Italian group Diatec.