Friedrich Weissheimer Malzfabrik

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View of Andernach from Krahnenberg (October 2005): the striking white silo Weissheimers shaped the cityscape until 2008
Demolition of the Weissheimer silos in Andernach
Demolition of the Weissheimer silos in Andernach

The Friedrich Weissheimer Malzfabrik KG was a malting group based in Andernach , which at times became one of the largest malting groups in Europe after the Second World War.

It was founded in Andernach in 1864 by Friedrich Weissheimer (1815–1881) from Westhofen in Rheinhessen , where it was run as a family business for seven generations , and after 1945 also at other locations in Germany ( Bremen (1982), Gelsenkirchen (1969), Großaitingen ( 1991), Heidenau (1991) and Frankfurt ), Poland ( Danzig (1997)) and Hungary ( Dunaújváros (1994)). At the end of 2006, following bankruptcy , the owners sold the major parts of the company to various European painting companies.

Weissheimer was the first of almost 17 malt houses that were established in Andernach in the second half of the 19th century and produced malt for the production of beer and whiskey . Andernach was suitable as a location due to its convenient location on the Rhine and its proximity to the then beer stronghold of Mendig with up to 28 breweries.

With the invention and spread of the Linde process for artificial cold production shortly before the turn of the century , the breweries were no longer dependent on the naturally cold cellars of the Eastern Eifel and moved out of Mendig. Weissheimer survived this upheaval from Andernach's malt houses as one of four. After 1945 Weissheimer expanded at times to become the largest malting group in Germany with a total of eight malt factories, including three at the subsidiaries in Saxony , Poland and Hungary .

The rapidly growing markets in Central and Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War prompted the company to set up subsidiaries in Eastern Germany (Sachsenmalz in Dresden ), Gdansk in Poland (Baltic Malt) and Dunaújváros in Hungary (Albadomu Maláta).

After the malt price fell in the new millennium, the company had to file for bankruptcy in 2006. Subsequently, the factories and subsidiaries of Friedrich Weissheimer Malzfabrik KG were sold to the French Epis-center, the French Malteurop Group and the Russian-financed company Avangard Malz . The former subsidiaries Maltaflor (organically based fertilizers), Maltagen (green biotechnology) and Maltamore (special malts for the food and beverage industry) in Andernach were partly continued or sold.

The company's main site in the old town of Andernach, with silo buildings over 50 meters high and its loading facilities in the middle of the Rhine promenade , shaped the city's image for many decades. After the company was sold, the city acquired the factory site and demolished the silos in 2008. After the demolition, excavations began, which uncovered the Roman city center with numerous ancient finds.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. Hans-Georg Sarx: 100 years of Friedrich Weissheimer-Malzfabrik, Andernach: 1864 - 1964 . Ed .: Friedrich Weissheimer Malzfabrik, Andernach / Rh. Daco Verlag, 1964, p. 63 .
  2. ↑ Weissheimer again filed for bankruptcy . In: www.agrarzeitung.de . ( agrarzeitung.de [accessed on October 26, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Epis-Center buys property from Hungarian malting plant . In: www.agrarzeitung.de . ( agrarzeitung.de [accessed on October 26, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Malteurop buys Sachsenmalz and Baltic Malt . In: www.agrarzeitung.de . ( agrarzeitung.de [accessed on October 26, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Weissheimer sold to Russians . In: www.agrarzeitung.de . ( agrarzeitung.de [accessed on October 26, 2018]).
  6. ↑ City of Andernach sells Weissheimer site: the new building should be in place by 2021 . ( rhein-zeitung.de [accessed on October 26, 2018]).
  7. ↑ Welcome | Excavation near Weissheimer Malz in Andernach. Retrieved October 26, 2018 (German).

Coordinates: 50 ° 26 '27 "  N , 7 ° 23' 53"  E