Josef Mack
The Josef Mack GmbH & Co.KG in Bad Reichenhall , the oldest is mountain pine oil - distillery in the world. Today it is also a manufacturer of other natural products and natural care products. The company's distilling tradition goes back to 1856.
history
The pine oil distillery was founded in 1856 and for the first time took advantage of the economic interest in the healing power of mountain pine ( mountain pine ). In the founding year, the Reichenhall pharmacist Mathias Mack discovered the healing properties of mountain pine. As a raw material, he used the mountain slacks, Pinus mugo pumilio, from whose needles and branches he extracted the essential oil . During the first few years he produced and sold his mountain pine preparations in his pharmacy . His scientific work on mountain pine oil was included in the Pharmacopoea Austriaca. In 1863 Ernst Mack (1836–1907), Mathias Mack's older son, built the Dianabad sanatorium in the rear annex of the pharmacy. He took on a pioneering role there when he administered inhalations with atomized brine and evaporated mountain pine oil as well as medicinal baths with the addition of mountain pine extract for the first time. Since then, products made from mountain pine have been an essential element of Bad Reichenhall spa therapy alongside brine and moor.
Mack Mountain Pine products won awards at the World's Fairs in London 1862, Paris 1867, Vienna 1873 and Philadelphia 1876.
In 1887, pharmacist Josef Mack (1838–1895), the younger son and successor of the inventor and namesake of the company, set up the first pine oil distillery in Großgmain . Further distilleries opened in Bavaria and Tyrol. In 1898 the Augsburg pharmacist Hans Berger, owner of the Hofapotheke St. Afra, acquired company shares.
The Latschen distillery has been part of the company's Tyrolean branch, in St. Ulrich am Pillersee , since 1906 . The historic distillery and a distillery museum can be visited as part of a guided tour.
The family-run company is now owned by Roswitha Berger and Hans Berger, the grandson of the Augsburg pharmacist.
Manufacturing
The mountain pine grows on barren rock at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,300 m. The essential oil is obtained by steam distillation from fresh needles, young branches and twig tips of the plant. The age, origin, harvest time and altitude are decisive for the quality of the oil.
Products
The primary products are mountain pine extract and mountain pine oil, which are produced in-house. The traditional therapeutic products were supplemented by other medicinal and body care products based on alpine plants.