On 25th March 1946 48 companies from different areas of the glass industry founded the ‟Association of the Glass Industry in Bavaria“ (Verein der Glasindustrie in Bayern). At first, its operation was limited to Bavaria only. But in 1947, the association acquired the right to negotiate wage agreements and quickly broadened its spectrum to wages, social policies and industrial law. That same year saw the BAGV GLAS+SOLAR - as it is called today – expand its activities into other federal states and the addendum “Bavaria‟ was eventually deleted. In April 1948 the association represented 112 member companies.

From 1949 to 1958 the Association of the Glass Industry was joined by numerous organisations of regional and nationwide importance, including the Hessian Organisation of the Glass Industry, the Interest Group Glass Industry Wertheim or the Hesse based Association of Rough Glass Processing and Finishing. By 1964, the glassworks support had been extended to the whole of the Federal Republic. At the same time, this increased impact marked the conclusion of the association’s build up phase with the focus on wages, social and economic policies.

As a result of a substantial and lengthy reorganisation of the whole association system, the organisation emerged as the glass industry’s single association of employers – a step which was associated with handing over the field economic policies to the Federal Association of Glass (Bundesverband Glasindustrie) in Düsseldorf. In 1990, the new responsibilities were mirrored by a new name: ‟Employers‘ Association of the German Glass Industry“ (Arbeitgeberverband der Deutschen Glasindustrie e.V.). Over the course of the German reunification, the GDR’s Association of the Glass Industry dissolved in the same year. As a result, their members joined the AGV GLASS, and at the beginning of 1991, the association represented around 150 member companies with roughly 103,000 employees.

In more recent years there have been some significant changes regarding the members‘ structure: since 2005, organisations closely related to the glass industry, for instance company health insurers and organisations, can join the Employers‘ Association, too. In 2008, it was decided to build up another main group (main group IV) for the solar industry, now counting six affiliated companies in total. Currently, the Employers‘ Association of the German Glass Industry (today the “Federal Association of Employers Glas + Solar AV‟) unites 125 companies with circa 50,000 employees.