06/30/2026
I have a soft spot for history—especially family history.
The machine in this photo is an original semiautomatic dry-cleaning bagger that Albert Luetzow engineered and built in the early 1950s. Long before Sankosha, Metalprogetti, or modern automation, he saw the need for a faster way to package garments and started designing solutions for dry cleaners.
What I find fascinating is that more than 70 years later, the same basic concept is still alive and well in our industry. The technology evolved, but the goal remains the same: efficiently getting a protective bag over a garment.
Ironically, that autobagger market helped resurrect our family's plastics factory decades later. Today, Luetzow Industries specializes in manufacturing poly for Sankosha, Metalprogetti, and other automatic bagging systems.
It's pretty cool to think that a machine my grandfather built in the 1950s ultimately helped shape the niche our factory is known for today.
(Photo: one of Grandpa's original baggers, built right here in Wisconsin.)
