Historic records dating back to 1871 from Palafrugell and San Feliu De Guixols show proof of the first commercial transaction in the cork industry by the Rich Xiberta family. The legacy began when Josep Rich Xiberta started a small business near Barcelona manufacturing and selling natural cork. As the business grew, Josep’s son Emili  Rich Bosch decided to join his father and helped to expand the company’s sales to a regional level. This was the beginning of a very long tradition which continues to this day.

Emili Rich Bosch had two sons, Joan Rich Xiberta and Josep Rich Xiberta who also joined the business and helped to expand sales and production.  Each of the brothers had very different management skills, a situation which greatly benefited the development of the company. Joan Rich managed the sales, marketing and finances while his brother Josep Rich watched over the production and quality control of the corks. The two brothers, with such different personalities, founded Rich Xiberta S.A.

Following the tradition, Lluis Rich Bosch, Joan’s son also entered the family business. At only 26 years old, Lluis demonstrated excellent skills in developing the company, visiting wineries in foreign countries such as South Africa and Argentina. As a result, Rich Xiberta strengthened its presence in the major wine markets around the world.
As the company grew, new needs arose. Among them was the necessity for new and innovative professionals. At this point Àngel Dalmau i Viñolas joined the company as product and quality manager.

During the 1980’s, the company maintained a steady growth of direct exports, first in Europe and eventually reaching the most distant places of South America, Asia and Africa. Rich Xiberta succeeded in building many vital international relations in the cork and wine industry. As a result, the company further established its world presence by opening subsidiaries in the main wine centers of the world.

The tremendous increase in sales gave way to the need for a new supply system that would ensure the best quality of corks. For this reason, SUROS RXG was established in Eslida, Spain (Castellon de la Plana.) The task of this part of the group is to provide our clients with the very best corks.

In 1995 Rich Xiberta opened an American branch, Rich Xiberta USA to meet the growing demand for corks in Napa and Sonoma valleys. The success of Rich Xiberta USA led the company to open another subsidiary in Cape Town, South Africa the following year called SA Xiberta Corks.

To achieve the goal of being as close as possible to the wineries,the British investment group 3i Europe joined the company in 2000 as a minority shareholder to assist in financing additional international expansions.

In the year 2001, Rich Xiberta celebrated the opening of two additional subsidiaries: RX Argentina located in Mendoza, Argentina; and RX Chile located in Quilicura close to Santiago de Chile.

Awards and acknowledgements

In 1995, Rich Xiberta became the first Spanish company in the cork industry to obtain the quality certification UNE-EN-ISO 9002.

In 1994 the Government of Cataluña awarded Rich Xiberta the Prize for Industrial Quality, which was presented in person by the President of Cataluña, Mr. Jordi Pujol.

Rich Xiberta also holds the Systecode certification awarded for compliance with the International Code of Cork Practices - Celiège, in Caldes de Malavella (Rich Xiberta S.A.).