Ernst Wagner (entrepreneur)

Ernst Wagner, right, in his bakery

Ernst Wagner (born March 8, 1929 in Braunshausen ; † December 8, 1999 in Hanover ) was a German entrepreneur who founded and ran the food manufacturer Wagner Tiefkühlprodukte GmbH , now Nestlé Wagner .

family

Wagner was the third child of Richard and Rosa Wagner. His father was a hut clerk, together with his wife he ran the Peterberger Hof restaurant in Braunshausen .

Wagner and his wife Hertha had two children (Günter, Anette), both of whom were involved in managing the family business .

Act as an entrepreneur

After the wartime termination of the visit of the high school in Hermeskeil learned Ernst Wagner from late 1945 to late 1948, the bakery trade . In 1952, at the age of 23, he opened a bakery in his parents' house in Braunhausen as the youngest master baker in the Saarland . In 1958 he took over his parents' restaurant, and a year later a grocery store opened. In 1960 a fire destroyed the company, which reopened in 1961 on a larger scale. The Peterberger Hof developed into a destination for excursions and tourism , with 400 to 500 buses a year.

His house achieved fame especially with grilled Hochwälder pan roast . In 1968 the entrepreneur founded the Ernst Wagner large roasting company . It concentrated on the manufacture and sale of frozen products in boilers, as well as frozen chickens and high forest pan roasts. The company started with 40 employees. He sold the roast of the large roasting in trade and in the catering trade; the product range was soon expanded to include schnitzel variants. In 1971 he established the area of remote kitchen in his company , this area started with 2,400 fresh meals a day. Many companies in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate were supplied with them.

In 1973 this area also started producing pizzas . Ernst Wagner brought the idea with him from a vacation in Italy . In 1977 the entrepreneur founded Ernst Wagner GmbH ; In 1979 he closed the remote kitchen division and concentrated on frozen pizzas .

The breakthrough came in 1985 with the invention of the first industrial stone oven , which, among other things, ensured a thin and crispy base ("stone oven pizza"). A year later, this oven was further developed into a continuous stone oven. Based on this innovation it was possible to become one of the leading manufacturers of frozen pizzas in Germany. In addition to stone oven pizzas, American-style pizzas from 1995 and mini-pizzas called “piccolinis” from 1996 also contributed to this. Information on the packaging and in commercials regarding the manufacturing process of the stone oven pizza were the subject of legal proceedings, as the misleading impression was created that the Wagner stone oven pizza was baked in a traditional oven directly on the stone.

In 1998, one year before Wagner's death, the company with its plants in Braunshausen and Otzenhausen had 794 permanent employees. The company founded by Ernst Wagner has been trading as Nestlé Wagner since 2013 and employs 1900 people.

For many years Wagner acted on a voluntary basis as chairman of the Braunshausen tourist association. Here he made particular efforts to improve the tourist offer in northern Saarland.

Honors

• In 1993 Wagner received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon .
• The municipality of Nonnweiler made him an honorary citizen in 1994 . * In 1997 he received the Golden Sugar Loaf Award .
• In 2007 the Dorfstrasse and the Kurz Weg in Braunshausen were renamed Ernst-Wagner-Strasse .

literature

• Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner (o. O., o. J.; Festschrift for his 70th birthday, 1999).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Information on economy and trade in Braunshausen . Accessed October 16, 2018.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 11.
3. ↑ Wagner remains a family business . In: Handelsblatt , December 22, 1999.
4. ↑ Pizza entrepreneur Wagner died ... In: Trierischer Volksfreund , December 10, 1999.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} The Saarland pizza pioneer Ernst Wagner is dead. A success story from a picture book: From village inn to German market leader . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , December 9, 1999.
6. ↑ Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 17.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Wagner Ernst dJ . In: Saarland biographies . Accessed October 16, 2018.
8. ↑ Always new pizza ideas . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , January 31, 2006.
9. ↑ Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 13.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} The Federal Cross of Merit for one of the most resourceful bakers on the Saar. Ernst Wagner has now been honored in Otzenhausen for his entrepreneurial commitment and for his innovative ideas . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung (St. Wendel Department), April 21, 1993.
11. ↑ ^{a b} Pan-roasting paved the way for the pizza. High school students from Birkenfeld learned: The company history of Wagner Tiefkühlprodukte GmbH began in 1969 . In: Rhein-Zeitung , July 17, 1997.
12. ↑ Gold for onion baguette . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , August 11, 1982.
13. ↑ ^{a b c} Klaus Drohner: A terribly successful family. Ernst Wagner made it from a village restaurant to a pizza market leader . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , November 14, 1997.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Ernst Wagner † . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , January 14, 2000.
15. ↑ ^{a b} Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 54.
16. ↑ Smock on, hoods on. Young people sniffed the scent of pizza in Otzenhausen . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , May 23, 2003.
17. ↑ ^{a b c} Wilfried Burr: Germany's pizza king resides in Braunshausen. Saarland's success story with an Italo specialty: Wagner Frozen Products has become the nationwide market leader . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , September 10, 1996.
18. ↑ Fabian Reinwald: If need be, a hand is sometimes given . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , May 31, 2003.
19. ↑ ^{a b} Wagner pizza builds on the inventor image . In: Rhein-Zeitung (Department Birkenfeld), August 20, 2007.
20. ↑ ^{a b} Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 22.
21. ↑ Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 55.
22. ↑ Volker Fuchs: "Digitization affects everyone". The Nestlé Wagner company . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung (local part Neunkirchen), March 1, 2018.
23. ↑ Wagner Frozen Products - History . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung (St. Wendel Department), June 2, 2001.
24. ↑ Insights. The entrepreneur Ernst Wagner , p. 56.
25. ↑ Volker Fuchs: From Nonnweiler to Europe. New pizza factory secures Nestlé Wagner's location in Münzbachtal. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung (Saarlouis department), August 22, 2013.
26. ↑ Nestlé Wagner invests millions in Nonnweiler. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. September 17, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018 . 
27. ↑ Pizza-Wagner is an honorary citizen. Braunshauser entrepreneur has made a name for himself . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung (St. Wendel Department), November 1, 1994.
28. ↑ Andreas Chwallek: Change at the top of Wagner . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , February 3, 2012.