Grafschafter herb factory
| Grafschafter Krautfabrik Josef Schmitz KG | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Limited partnership |
| founding | 1893 |
| Seat |
Meckenheim Germany
|
| management | Stefan Franceschini |
| Number of employees | 135 |
| sales | 55 million euros |
| Branch | food |
| Website | www.grafschafter.de |
The Grafschafter herb factory Josef Schmitz KG , based in Meckenheim in Rheinland is a medium-sized German companies, the sweet spreads and industry syrups and liquid sugar mixtures produced. The main product is sugar beet syrup (referred to as Rübenkraut in the Rhineland), which is sold in grocery stores under the brand name Grafschafter Goldsaft .
history
In 1893 Joseph Schmitz first founded a company for the production of field fire bricks and also ran agriculture on the side. In 1904 he also started producing turnip tops and wooden barrels for bottling them. His son, Albert Schmitz, intensified the production of sugar beet syrup from 1920 and converted the company into a GmbH. In the first half of the 20th century, the syrup was only sold in wooden barrels.
Since 1953, the sugar beet syrup has been filled into the cups that are still yellow today. Since then, it has also been offered in supraregional food retailers. In 1968 Ernst Franceschini (1940–2016) took over the post of managing director. Albert Schmitz converted the company into a limited partnership in 1972 , and his son-in-law Ernst Franceschini became a general partner . After Albert Schmitz's death in 1973, Franceschini became sole managing director. It created partnerships with companies in Belgium and Hamburg from 1974. 1976 took the company taking over land in Herchenhainer . As a result, the product range was expanded to include pear feast and apple cabbage. In 1990 the company took a stake in the Siroperie Meurens in Aubel (Belgium) and has been offering the Belgian specialty Liège delicacy ever since . In 1993 the Grafschafter Krautfabrik took over the Dutch company Frumarco with plants in Beek and Beesel . At the same time one participated in the HZR (Hanseatic Sugar Refinery) in Hamburg . In 2004, Stefan Franceschini took over the management. Today the company produces around 14,000 t of spreads and over 40,000 t of industrial syrups annually at the Meckenheim, Hamburg and Beesel locations.
Together with the Spelten apple and beet cabbage factory from Wegberg and the Wilhelm Koppers cabbage factory from Goch , the Grafschafter cabbage factory founded the “Rhenish beet syrup / Rhenish apple herb protection association”. Rhenish apple cabbage and Rhenish beet syrup were awarded the EU seal of Protected Geographical Indication in 2012 . The apple and beet syrups produced by the company are allowed to carry this seal of quality.
The production of bricks as a sideline continued until 1995, after the brick production was stopped, the ring kiln was demolished. A film made in 1988 documents this branch of production.
The production of the turnip greens was also documented on film in 1988.
Products
The sugar beet syrup is traditionally packed in yellow cups and is a trademark of the Grafschafter Krautfabrik. For a long time, the company's logo was found on all packaging, styling the ruins of the Tomburg Castle near Wormersdorf , a town near Meckenheim .
The liquid sugar mixtures are produced for the pharmaceutical industry as an additive for cough syrups and cold sweets. They are also used in the food industry for coloring foods or for sweetening them. The following types of spreads can be found in retail:
- Grafschafter Goldsaft ( sugar beet syrup )
- Fenner Harz (own brand for the Saarland market)
- Grafschafter caramel
- Light syrup
- Apple feast (Rhenish apple cabbage )
- Apple feast pure (apple cabbage without sugar)
- Pear orchard - until 2018 a pear feast
- Orchard plum - until 2018 plum feast ( plum jam without spices)
- Winter magic apple Sultana (with sultanas , cinnamon and vanilla - flavor )
- Winter magic pear-orange ( rum - marzipan flavor)
- Winter magic apple and sour cherry (with cinnamon and vanilla )
- Liège delicacy (made from pears , apples and dates )
- Wibine invert sugar creams
- Gourmet apple-cassis (made from apples and black currants )
- Gourmet apple-elderberry
- Gourmet apple-ginger
Grafschafter Goldsaft and Fenner Harz
Since the early 1960s, the Fenner Harz has been commissioned to the Grafschafter Krautfabrik Josef Schmitz KG. The brand name Fenner Harz was retained because Grafschafter Goldsaft could not establish itself in the Saarland . In 1975 the Grafschafter Krautfabrik secured the trademark rights for Fenner Harz from the August Storck Group, which had taken over the production of the rest of the confectionery range after the Fenner factory was closed in 1973. In 2011, 15 million cups of Grafschafter Goldsaft and 300,000 cups of Fenner Harz were sold .
Production sites and cooperation companies
- Meckenheim (Rhineland)
- HZR (Hanseatic Sugar Refinery Hamburg )
- Frumarco in Beesel (NL)
literature
- WDR (editor): Culinary beautiful NRW. The most delicious addresses from A-Z . Schlütersche, Cologne 2005, ISBN 978-3-89993-714-5 , pp. 104-110.
Web links
- Julian Stech: Grafschafter Krautfabrik wants to push through higher prices . In: General-Anzeiger , October 15, 2008.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 125 years of tradition in Meckenheim ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Press release of June 26, 2018, accessed on November 3, 2018.
- ↑ Andreas Fasel: A syrup called turnip tops. In: Welt am Sonntag. October 30, 2005, accessed October 31, 2014 .
- ↑ Grafschafter Goldsaft - The syrup from the sugar beet . ( Memento from April 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Rhein Zeitung
- ↑ Grafschafter - the sugar beet syrup. Brands of the Century - Company Profile. (No longer available online.) In: Handelsblatt. December 18, 2012, archived from the original on December 17, 2014 ; accessed on October 31, 2014 .
- ↑ About us. (No longer available online.) Grafschafter Krautfabrik, archived from the original on November 6, 2014 ; accessed on October 31, 2014 (production figures).
- ↑ Member companies. Protection Association Rhenish Sugar Beet Syrup and Rhenish Apple Cabbage, accessed on October 31, 2014 .
- ↑ Rheinisches Rübenkraut receives EU seal of approval. European Commission - Representation in Germany, July 13, 2012, accessed on October 31, 2014 .
- ↑ Nutrition-NRW as a guest at the booth of the protection association Rheinischer Zuckerrübensirup / Rheinisches Apfelkraut. International Green Week 2013 in Berlin. Nutrition-NRW e. V., accessed on October 31, 2014 (appearance of the protection association with the seal “protected geographical indication” obtained in 2012).
- ↑ Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 628/2012 of the Commission of 6 July 2012 for the entry of a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications [Rheinisches Zuckerrübenkraut / Rheinischer Zuckerrübensirup / Rheinisches Rübenkraut (PGI) ] , accessed on 31. October 2014
- ↑ LVR -Institute for Cultural Studies and Regional History (ed.) Documentary film "Der Ringofen"
- ↑ LVR -Institute for Regional Studies and Regional History (ed.) Documentary film "Industrial turnip tops"
- ^ A b Peter Lempert: Saarland cult product in exile in the Rhineland. (No longer available online.) In: Forum - Das Wochenmagazin. June 18, 2011, archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; accessed on October 31, 2014 .
