Anchor bread

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Ankerbrot GmbH & Co KG
legal form Limited partnership
founding 1891 (Mendl brothers)
Seat Vienna , Austria
management Bernhard Angel
Number of employees around 1,100 (2019)
sales EUR 113.6 million (2018)
Branch food industry
Website www.Ankerbrot.at

Old billboard and logo from Ankerbrot before 1918
Anchor bread factory on Absberggasse in Favoriten

The Ankerbrot GmbH & Co KG is the leading baked goods manufacturer in Austria . The company, expropriated and “ Aryanized ” in 1941, was founded by Jewish entrepreneurs in Vienna in 1891 and still has its production facilities here. The company has around 115 branches in Austria, most of them in Vienna and the surrounding area. In 2015, Ankerbrot employed around 1,300 people.

history

Company formation

On July 1, 1891, the Jewish brothers Heinrich (1855–1917) and Fritz Mendl (1864–1929) founded the Viennese bread and pastry factory of Heinrich & Fritz Mendl on the Laaer Berg at Absberggasse 35 in Vienna's 10th district , Favorites . The location on the mountain had therefore been chosen so that the heavily loaded horse-drawn vehicles for the delivery could be driven out more comfortably from there . In 1893 the company was recognized as a factory due to the division of labor and the equipment and power machines used . In the same year, the Mendl brothers chose the anchor as the company's trademark , which should stand for security and trust. The company logo used later consisted of the anchor symbol and the initials "HFM" inserted in the middle .

At the beginning, around 25 bakers were used in large clay ovens to bake 2,000 round breads weighing 2 kg each day . At peak times, up to 250 teams of horses delivered around 150 tons of baked goods. In 1900 the company had already opened 100 branches all over Vienna and began to expand its product range. In recognition of their services and achievements, the two Mendl brothers were awarded the title of imperial and royal purveyor to the court in 1907 . By 1914, the company had grown to 1,300 employees, and in 1920 to 2,000.

By decree of 23 September 1914 is to state-protected company explained, supplied the Viennese bread and pastry factory Anker bread factory Heinrich and Fritz Mendel during the First World War , the Austro-Hungarian Army with black bread. In mid-1916, the company encouraged its customers to subscribe to the fourth war loan and set up its own collection points for this purpose. The company itself signed 500,000 kroner on this occasion  , and later in the year one million kroner among other things.

Conversion into a stock corporation

Collective share for 25 × 200 crowns of the Ankerbrotfabrik AG from May 1922

After the war and the dissolution of the Danube Monarchy , white bread was also introduced into production. In 1922 the company was converted into a stock corporation. At that time the Board of Directors included Eduard Alder, Artur Ehrenfest-Egger, Siegfried Kantor, Fritz Mendl, Stefan Mendl, Franz Quidenus , Eugen Schwiedland and Siegfried Türkel . Anker was able to expand in the 1930s and started next to bread and egg pasta and snack pastries produce for which it offers colorful posters advertising made. The branch network grew to around 100 branches, 150 tons of bread and pastries were delivered daily.

On January 23, 1923, the Ankerbrot AG received the so-called " State Award " for exceptional achievements for the economy of the Republic of Austria and has been allowed to use the federal coat of arms in business transactions ever since .

Nazi era and "Aryanization"

The “ Anschluss ” of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 was followed by the “ Aryanization ” of the company. Stefan Mendl, son of Heinrich Mendl, lived in Switzerland since 1931. On March 8, 1938, four days before the Anschluss, he sold his share in Switzerland to the “Aryan-German” businessman Oscar Miller, who also lived in Switzerland. Bettina, daughter of Fritz Mendl, also lived in Switzerland. She sold her shares in Germany in June 1938. As with her brother Otto Mendl, who lived in Berlin and sold his shares in August 1938, this too was far below value.

Due to its importance for ensuring the supply situation for the Viennese population, the company was placed under public administration from 1938 to 1945. With the entry of January 18, 1941 at the District Court of Vienna, Ministerialrat a. D. Georg Berger , who had moved from Berlin to Vienna for this, was appointed to the board of the Ankerbrot Aktiengesellschaft in place of the resigned board member Adolf Iglseder . On March 15, 1941, Berger was introduced to his office as manager by the Reich trustee of work , Gauleiter Alfred Proksch , as part of the followers' evening of the anchor bread factory . Berger moved into an "Aryanized" villa in the 18th district that was added to the company . At the extraordinary general meeting of the Ankerbrotfabrik-AG on September 15, 1942, in addition to the dismissal and reappointment of the chairman of the supervisory board and a further member of the supervisory board, Berger, who resigned in July 1942, at that time became "chairman of the board", through the appointment of Harald Ziegler in Vienna, President of GW- Großeinkauf G. m. b H. , replaced. From September 1944 to March 1945 there was a forced labor camp for Hungarian Jews in the anchor bread factory .

post war period

After Vienna was captured by the Red Army in April 1945, the factories were looted and badly damaged, and part of the vehicle fleet was also lost.

In May 1945, however, after flour deliveries from the Soviet Union, production could be resumed, and the company was restituted to the founding family. The years of reconstruction brought the company back to growth, the range was expanded to include milk biscuits, shortbreads, baking aids , long-life baked goods , breadcrumbs , semolina and other cereal products.

Company takeovers

Ankerbrot branch with the old Anker logo, Servitengasse 14, Vienna-Alsergrund (2009)
Ankerbrot branch on Karlsplatz

In 1969, the company was the Viennese Schoeller - Group acquired the company in 1970 with the Floridsdorfer Hammerbrotwerke works under the name of United Food Industrie AG merged.

In 1981 the Dr. Helmut A. Schuster GesmbH and Gerhard Schuster , the brother of the company owner of the same name, all shares in the company, which has now got into economic turbulence. They renamed the company back to Ankerbrot in 1983 and returned it to profitability with investments and renovation measures. Improving the quality of the baked goods through the use of real natural sourdough turned into a recipe for success.

Since 1990, Ankerbrot has also been exporting its products to southern Germany . In 1996, Ankerbrot Ungarn AG was founded as a subsidiary together with the Hungarian state-owned ZALACO. The subsidiary produces in a factory on the outskirts of Keszthely . In the same year Ankerbrot took over from the bankrupt consumer - cooperative the ears Stolz GmbH with seven regional bakeries. When the company was sold in 1997, 74 percent of the company, which now has 2,630 employees and generates 2.2 billion schillings (around 160 million euros) per year, went to the German company Müller-Brot . Three percent went into free float , the Schuster brothers kept 23 percent.

In 2003 the majority of the company was acquired by the German industrialist Klaus Ostendorf . After an economically difficult phase and a settlement in which the traditional factory site in Vienna was sold to banks but not left, Ankerbrot is now back on its own two feet. The company premises were also bought back by the banks on January 29, 2013.

A small proportion of the shares are still in free float. In the spring of 2006, the US investment group Apax acquired a 40 percent stake in the company. A sale of Ostendorf's stake to the North Sea owner Heiner Kamps , which was also planned for 2006 , finally failed in February 2007. In 2010 the first branch was opened in Slovakia . A franchise system was developed especially for Slovakia , which is intended to expand sales.

On the occasion of the company's 120th anniversary, a new logo and branch concept was presented in 2011. The innovations are to be implemented successively at all locations in the coming years.

In 2014 and 2015, the ownership structure of Ankerbrot changed. The previous board member and co-owner Peter Ostendorf has sold his shares to the investor Erhard Grossnigg , who was already the majority owner with his companies. The former Hofer boss Armin Burger, who owned 7.4 percent through his company Nomos, has also sold his shares in Grossnigg. This means that it owns 81.25 percent of the shares through Austro Holding and Grosso Holding. Vorarlberg-based bakery producer Ölz holds 18.75 percent .

Around 2017/18, the company's legal form was changed from a stock corporation to a limited partnership.

In 2019, Ölz announced that it wanted to withdraw more and more from its own business and that it had therefore also sold its stake to Grossnig.

Re-use of historical buildings

At the beginning of 2009 Loft City GmbH & Co KG bought disused parts of the factory building and saved them from demolition. "In the immediate vicinity of the still existing production of Ankerbrot AG ... the new cultural area Brotfabrik Wien with multifunctional halls, galleries, studios, showrooms, offices, lofts and catering facilities is being built on around 17,000 of the total 68,000 square meters (floor area) of the Ankerbrotfabrik . The buildings adapted for this are grouped around two inner courtyards of the old complex. Not only were the listed buildings preserved, but also those that were not protected, and some of them were restored to their original state. ”The opening was celebrated on May 12, 2015.

Today in the bread factory Vienna , Absberggasse 27 and Puchsbaumgasse 1c, arranged around a courtyard, a wide variety of room uses take place, such as the SOB school for social care professions and a Caritas learning cafe, a canteen, the OstLicht photo gallery , a seating furniture retailer , an event hall with seating for 140 people and the Voranker room , in which artists are given the opportunity to develop and exhibit for three months at a time. The largest element with an area of ​​2200 m 2 , the Expedit Hall, was built in 1912 as one of the largest column-free halls in Europe with a 40 m span of the roof girders and is now the place for a variety of events from the night flea market to the theater.

On March 1, 2017, Walter Asmus received the Golden Merit Award of the State of Vienna as the "real estate developer and initiator of the bread factory". The historic Ankerbrotfabrik was sold in 2019, and in the next 3 to 5 years, Ankerbrot will move from Favoriten to Simmering.

literature

  • Ingrid Haslinger: Customer - Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors. Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
  • Christian Rapp , Markus Kristan (authors) and Ankerbrot (eds.): What does the Viennese look forward to when they come home from vacation? - Anchor bread. The story of a great bakery. Brandstätter, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-85033-555-3 .

Web links

Commons : Anchor bread  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas Schwarzenberger only remained anchor bread boss for one year. diePresse.com , December 14, 2016, accessed April 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c Anchor bread moves to Simmering. In: wien.orf.at. June 13, 2019, accessed June 13, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Viennese bread and pastry factory by Heinrich & Fritz Mendl in: Lehmann’s General Housing Anzeiger (...) , Volume 1, company directory. Vienna 1894, p. 360. - Online .
  4. ^ Vienna, February 5. (...) Heinrich Mendl. In:  Neues 8-Uhr-Blatt , No. 719/1917 (Volume IV), February 5, 1917, p. 3, bottom left. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nab.
  5. ↑ Little Chronicle. (...) President Fritz Mendl died. In:  Neue Freie Presse , Morgenblatt, No. 23435/1929, December 10, 1929, p. 7, bottom left, and 17 . (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp.
  6. ↑ Official part. (...) Declaration of the operation of the anchor bread factory in Vienna (...). In:  Wiener Zeitung , No. 229/1914 (Volume IV), September 29, 1914, p. 5 center. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / wrz.
  7. ↑ The anchor bread factory as a collection point for the war loan. In:  Fremd-Blatt with military supplement Die Vedette , morning edition, No. 130/1916 (LXX. Year), May 11, 1916, p. 7, center right. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / fdb.
  8. ↑ The fourth war loan. (...) Kreditanstalt. In:  Fremd-Blatt with military supplement Die Vedette , morning edition, No. 131/1916 (LXX. Year), May 12, 1916, p. 12, center left. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / fdb.
  9. ^ The drawings on the Austrian war loan. (...) From the Anglo-Oesterreichische Bank (...). In:  Neue Freie Presse , Morgenblatt, No. 18786/1916, December 7, 1916, p. 14, top left. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp.
  10. ↑ Complete list of national coat of arms bearers ( Memento of 23 August 2010 in the Internet Archive ).
  11. ^ Michael Wolffsohn: Expert opinion; Enlightenment or character assassination? Roland Berger, his father and the Handelsblatt Published on www.walther-rathenau-akademie.de on May 31, 2020, p. 13.
  12. ^ A b Sönke Iwersen, Andrea Rexer, Marina Cveljo, Hans-Peter Siebenhaar, Isabelle Wermke: Roland Berger, his Nazi father and the guilt of the German economy. In: Handelsblatt , October 18, 2019 ( full text online in the version of October 17, 2019 on yahoo! Finanzen, accessed on October 22, 2019).
  13. ^ District Court Vienna, Section 133. On January 18, 1941: Changes: B 3828 Ankerbrot Aktiengesellschaft. In:  Völkischer Beobachter. Battle sheet of the national (-) socialist movement of Greater Germany. Vienna edition / Vienna observer. Daily supplement to the “Völkischer Beobachter” , official part, February 1, 1941, p. 9 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / vob
  14. ↑ hours of camaraderie. Retirement evening of the anchor bread factory. In:  Kleine Volks-Zeitung , March 18, 1941, p. 4 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / kvz
  15. ↑ New management of the anchor bread factory. In:  Das kleine Volksblatt , September 16, 1942, p. 5 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / dkv
  16. ↑ Anker has given itself a new look for the anniversary. In: DiePresse.com. August 10, 2011, accessed May 21, 2012 .
  17. ^ Anchor bread: Ostendorf and Nomos sell shares. In: derStandard.at. September 25, 2015, accessed November 24, 2015 .
  18. ↑ New owner for Ankerbrot In: diepresse.com . April 8, 2014, accessed October 26, 2019.
  19. ↑ Large Bakery Ölz gets out at Ankerbrot. In: orf.at . May 23, 2019, accessed May 23, 2019.
  20. ↑ Brotfabrik Wien> The Areal> History. In: brotfabrik.wien . Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  21. ↑ That was our grand opening. In: loftcity.at . Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  22. ↑ Golden Vienna Award for Walter Asmus, initiator of the Vienna bread factory, and Werner Urbanek, Spiritus Rector des Nestroy. In: ots.at . March 1, 2017, accessed June 12, 2017.

Coordinates: 48 ° 10 ′ 4 ″  N , 16 ° 23 ′ 16 ″  E