Melitta (company)

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Melitta group of companies Bentz KG

logo
legal form Limited partnership
founding 1908
Seat Minden (Westf.) , Germany
management
  • Jero Bentz
  • Volker Stühmeier
Number of employees 5,222 (2018)
sales EUR 1,543 million (2018)
Branch Consumer goods
Website www.melitta-group.com

The Melitta Unternehmensgruppe Bentz KG is a company group based in Minden , East Westphalia , which grew up with the coffee filter it patented . Today, articles for daily household needs as well as for gastronomy and bulk consumers are produced and marketed under their roof . Melitta is a family company that is now run by Jero Bentz, who belongs to the founding family, and Volker Stühmeier, a non-family member.

history

Formerly Melitta filters made of aluminum for round filter paper
Melitta coffee filter with filter bag (shape from 1938 until today)

The company name Melitta goes back to Melitta Bentz from Dresden , the inventor of the filter bag . Methods of making coffee at the time used a conventional sieve into which a linen cloth or cut-out blotting paper was inserted. In 1908, Bentz had the idea of ​​offering a filter bowl with matching, circular filter paper discs. She experimented with a perforated tin can and cut out blotting paper.

On June 20, 1908, an optimized filter was registered under the number 347895 at the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin in the utility model register as a "coffee filter with a downwardly curved base with a drainage hole and loosely inserted sieve". The cylindrical vessels were initially made of aluminum and were embossed with "Original Melitta". A circular sheet of disposable filter paper was inserted.

Melitta's husband Hugo Bentz had been running a household goods store since 1906. Together, the couple founded a commission business for housewares in 1909, which served to sell the coffee filters registered in 1908. At first very cramped and simple, it then grew rapidly.

In 1919 the son Willy and in 1929 the second son Horst joined the business in Minden, which from then on was called Bentz & Sohn.

In 1929 the company moved from Dresden to Minden because there were no adequate premises available in Dresden for the fast-growing company and there had been significant increases in trade tax. They had already moved twice within Dresden before. The city of Minden was on the Bentz couple's route and offered good conditions for business expansion. An empty factory building was found and the city waived Melitta real taxes for the first five years . Horst Bentz headed the Melitta filter works in Minden for over 50 years from 1929 to 1980.

In 1937 the typical, downwardly tapering filter bag and the associated attachment with drainage grooves were patented. Both were successfully launched on the market in 1938.

During the National Socialist era , the company supported the National Socialists ; Horst Bentz joined the NSDAP a few months after it came to power and became a member of the SS . In 1941, 1942 and 1943 the company became the " National Socialist Model Company ". During this time the company grew and branch plants were founded in Karlsbad and Düren .

After the war, Horst Bentz was imprisoned and subjected to a denazification process. After the court ruling in 1948, according to the Melitta source, he was given “full freedom of movement and disposal of his assets” and was able to take over the management of Melitta again without restriction. Other sources say that he was sentenced to a fine of 15,000 RM and was only allowed to return to Minden under certain conditions (property freeze, employment as an unskilled worker). The Mindener “Denazification Panel” classified Bentz in September 1949 as a “fellow traveler” (category 4). The factory was confiscated by the British occupying forces until 1957 , and operations were spread across several production sites in the area.

The Melitta teapot, which was the template for the famous Utah teapot , can be seen today in the Computer History Museum

In 1952 the two brothers separated. Willy Bentz took over from Heinrich Arthur Hoesch the paper mill in Düren- Kreuzau built by his grandfather Ludolf Matthias Hoesch , Horst Bentz took over the mill in Minden and expanded there. In 1953 the Friesland porcelain factory was founded in Varel as a branch of Melitta-Werke Bentz & Sohn (from 1979 "Porzellanfabrik Friesland Bentz KG") . With the coffee, tea and table service made from porcelain and stoneware, Melitta played a decisive role in the appearance of the "beautifully set table" of the time. Melitta separated from the subsidiary in 1991. Melitta porcelain filters are still manufactured there today. In the 1960s, Melitta porcelain and other products such as sweets and coffee were added. Melitta was the first manufacturer to produce filter-finely ground and vacuum-packed coffee. In the 1960s, Melitta founded branches in the USA, Canada and Brazil. In 1966, Carl Ronning (1863–1949) founded the large-scale roasting company Carl Ronning GmbH in Bremen . In 1967 Melitta took over the Granini company founded by Heinz Schürmann . From 1965 Melitta sold the Wigomat , the first filter coffee machine, under its own name and with a modified housing as the Melitta "MA 120"; the company was thus also active in the sale of coffee machines for the first time.

At the end of the 1960s there were disputes with the unions over the introduction of the 40-hour week , which only subsided in the 1970s when the collective agreements were adopted. The sons Jörg, Thomas and Stephan Bentz took over the company in 1981 and restructured it. Individual parts of the company were grouped together legally independently in a holding company. The extensive product range was assigned to new brands. The Melitta brand now only stood for coffee and coffee preparation products. A concentration process took place that did not stop at the workers: At the end of the 1980s, 7,300 people were employed, compared with around 5,900 in 1993.

In 1995 the vacuum cleaner bag manufacturer West-Clean AB in Lilla Edet , Sweden was acquired, but production was discontinued in 2000. In 1999 the Melitta Group achieved consolidated worldwide sales of DM 2.125 billion (EUR 1.087 billion), of which DM 1.716 billion (EUR 877 million) were in the EU and DM 1.206 billion (EUR 617 million) in Germany. In 2010, a little more than 3,500 employees worked at Melitta worldwide.

On June 21, 2000, due to a strengthening of the dominant position on the market for vacuum cleaner bags , the Federal Cartel Office merged Bentz Beteiligungs KG or one of its subsidiaries with the Belgian Airflo Europe NV and acquired shares and the associated special rights in the joint venture to be founded prohibited by shareholders and / or companies of the Schultink Group, to which Airflo belongs.

Melitta announced in April 2020 that the company would manufacture nose and face masks as part of the COVID-19 pandemic . The masks consist of a three-layer fleece and are produced worldwide. Melitta donates the first million masks to health facilities.

Today's structure of the company

Since 1990: Melitta's headquarters in Minden

The largest corporate division within the Melitta Group is Melitta Household Products Europe , the products for coffee preparation (e.g. filter paper, coffee machines) under the Melitta brand as well as cleaning products for the household such as vacuum cleaner and garbage bags (Swirl brand) and products for tea preparation ( Brand Cilia) manufactures and sells.

Melitta Kaffee Europa , based in the city of Bremen, which emerged from Melitta Kaffee GmbH, is responsible for the coffee business in Germany . Melitta Kaffee Europa produces and sells filter coffee, fully automatic coffee, coffee pods and instant cappuccino mainly for the German market.

The household film business is managed by the Cofresco Fresh Keeping Products Europe division and has belonged to the Melitta Group since 2014. Well-known brands are Toppits, Albal, Handy Bag and BacoFoil.

Melitta operates overseas with companies in Brazil , North and South America and Asia.

In total, almost 50 companies with over 4,500 employees are united under the umbrella of the corporate group. The group is an internationally active branded goods company. The total turnover is over 1.5 billion euros.

The subsidiaries of the Melitta Group (partly to Melitta Bentz KG, partly to Bentz Beteiligungs KG) include Wolf PVG Papier -verarbeitung GmbH in Spenge and Delphy SA in Courbevoie , France.

Brands

Well-known brands from Melitta are:

  • Melitta

  • cafina

  • Cilia

  • Swirl

  • Top pits

Price fixing and cartel formation

In December 2009 the Federal Cartel Office imposed a fine on Melitta Kaffee GmbH Bremen for unauthorized price fixing. Melitta was accused of having belonged to a coffee cartel since 2000.

In June 2010 the German Coffee Association Hamburg was accused by the Federal Cartel Office of having promoted a cartel of coffee companies with a press release in February 2005, which is why a fine of up to 90,000 euros was imposed. Among the participating coffee roasters also included Melitta System Service . The fine was reduced for this company because of its cooperation in investigating the allegations.

In October 2011, the company was found to be involved in a cartel again. At the turn of the year 2007/2008, the cartel agreed to a price increase for instant cappuccino, which amounted to 20 to 40 cents per pack. Since the fine proceedings were initiated at the request of Melitta Kaffee GmbH, which thus acted as a key witness, no fine was issued against them.

literature

  • Kristan Kossak: Everyday business life and corporate development of a NS model company as reflected in its company newspaper. Westfälische Zeitschrift 155, 2005. [2] Internet portal "Westfälische Geschichte" URL: http://www.westfaelische-zeitschrift.lwl.org .
  • Hans Günther Oesterreich : History and stories about Melitta. Roasted, ground and filtered. For the 50th anniversary of Melitta-Werke Bentz & Sohn in Minden. Melitta-Werke Bentz & Sohn, Minden 1979.
  • Mechthild Hempe: 100 years of Melitta. History of a brand company. Edited by Melitta Unternehmensgruppe, Minden, Verlag Geschichtsbüro, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-940371-12-6 . (The history office writes the history of companies on behalf of these companies as "modern history marketing".)

See also

Web links

Commons : Melitta  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Melitta Group: Download 2018 Annual Report , accessed on October 1, 2019
  2. ↑ a b c d https://www.sammeln-sammler.de/melitta/ A little Melitta story
  3. ↑ 100 years of Melitta, the history of a branded company , Cologne 2008, p. 09 ff.
  4. ↑ 100 years of Melitta, the history of a branded company , Cologne 2008, p. 28
  5. ↑ a b c d Manuscript Dirks / Kossack, 11/2006: A “model company”? ; accessed in April 2010
  6. ↑ 100 years of Melitta, the history of a branded company , Cologne 2008, p. 39
  7. ↑ 100 years of Melitta, the history of a branded company , Cologne 2008, p. 59
  8. ^ Siems, Maren: Melitta and Friesland-Porzellan 60 years of ceramic production in Varel; Catalog accompanying the exhibition "Jeverland - burned in clay" . Ed .: Siems, Maren; Jever Castle Museum. No. 33 . Florian Isensee GmbH, Oldenburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7308-1177-1 , p. 15-16 .
  9. ↑ http://www.melitta.de/de/Filterkaffeemaschinen-141.html
  10. ↑ http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D254892.html
  11. ↑ 100 years of Melitta, the story of a branded company , Cologne 2008, p. 92
  12. ↑ 100 years of Melitta, the story of a branded company , Cologne 2008, p. 119
  13. ↑ Homepage of the financial newspaper Handelsblatt: Melitta announces sales increase ; Edition of May 15, 2012, accessed November 2013
  14. ↑ Decision of June 21, 2000 (PDF 166kb)
  15. ↑ Melitta is now producing millions of breathing masks , accessed on April 19, 2020
  16. ↑ Birger Nicolai: Large fines against German coffee roasters . In: Welt Online , December 21, 2009; Retrieved December 21, 2009
  17. ^ "Kraft Foods" gave an investigation notice ( memento from January 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). In: RP Online , January 13, 2010; Retrieved February 12, 2010
  18. ↑ Again fines against coffee roasters , dpa report from June 10, 2010
  19. ↑ Coffee manufacturers have agreed their prices . In: Frankfurter Rundschau online from October 18, 2011, accessed on October 18, 2011
  20. ↑ Cappuccino cartel has to pay a fine of nine million euros. dpa announcement from October 19, 2011
  21. ↑ Offer of the history office on its homepage. [1]

Coordinates: 52 ° 17 ′ 56 ″  N , 8 ° 54 ′ 21 ″  E