Ritzenhoff

RITZENHOFF AG
legal form	AG
founding	1904
Seat	Marsberg , Germany
management	Christoph Kargruber (Chairman), Detlef Eßbach, Bernd Giesler
Number of employees	421
sales	67 million euros
Branch	Glass
Website	www.ritzenhoff.com
	As of December 31, 2019

Aerial view of the Ritzenhoff AG

Ritzenhoff AG showroom

Administration of Ritzenhoff AG

Ritzenhoff AG logistics center

The Ritzenhoff AG is one of Germany's leading producers of drinking glasses and gift items based in Marsberg ( Hochsauerlandkreis , North Rhine-Westphalia ). With currently 450 employees, up to 65 tons of raw glass can be melted every day. That is enough for 160,000 glasses per day, which are produced for breweries and beverage manufacturers all over the world.

history

Ritzenhoff AG emerged from the Fürstenberger Waldglashütte, which from 1800 to 1903 was located in the secluded upper Aabach valley , north of the Diemel . The Fürstenberger Waldglashütte was founded in 1800 by the native Dutchman Anton Wilhelm Kapmeier. In 1904 the merchants Julius and Lois Nordheimer built a new glassworks in Niedermarsberg. This is where the Fürstenberger Waldglashütte merged. The advantage of the factory location near the railway was used for more economical energy supply with hard coal. Between 1917 and 1921 the company was closed due to sales difficulties. Between 1921 and 1934 the company's economic situation remained difficult. On March 29, 1934, the company was sold to the engineer Fritz Sielemann from Essen and Richard Lehmkuhl and Max Bauer. During this time the new MGM company emblem was created, which stood for Marsberger Glasfabrik Marsberg.

Since the Marsberg glass factory Marsberg also needed more capital, the Driburg glass wholesaler Heinrich Ritzenhoff joined the company as a partner in December 1934. He became managing director in 1935 and acquired the entire company shares in December 1935. Over the years Heinrich Ritzenhoff was supported by his son Klaus in managing the company. The company had developed so well economically that in 1957 an additional processing company under the company name H. u. Kl. Ritzenhoff KG could be newly founded. This company dealt with the finishing of lighting glass. The demand for glass in all variations continued to increase, so that another branch could be founded in the municipality of Essentho . Only glasses for breweries and distilleries were refined here. In 1965 Heinrich Ritzenhoff, also in the municipality of Essentho, set up a fully automatic glass production facility for the production of drinking glass series. In addition to the classic tumbler production, this branch of the company quickly expanded its position and became the most important part of today's company. In 1969 the company boss Heinrich Ritzenhoff died, his son Klaus took over the sole management of the company. In 1974 he founded the Graphic Ritzenhoff, a printing company that produces ceramic decals for glass.

Over the years, fully automatic glass production has been continuously developed. Of course, the customer structure also changed due to the new production options. From the origins of an old artisanal production, the company Ritzenhoff AG has developed into one of the most important suppliers of drinking glasses in Europe. The company became particularly well-known in 1992 for its unusual and colorful glass collections for milk and alcoholic beverages such as beer, sparkling wine and wine. The company is the market leader in stemmed glasses. More than 300 designers, architects, artists and other creative types are jointly responsible for the new collections that appear every year. After the death of Klaus Ritzenhoff on August 21, 1990, Bernd Batthaus was appointed CEO of Ritzenhoff AG. After Bernd Batthaus retired at the end of 2018, Christoph Kargruber took over as CEO of Ritzenhoff AG on January 1, 2019.

The company at the Essentho location is able to melt up to 65 tons of raw glass per day with four production lines, from which up to 160,000 glasses can be manufactured. The melting plant runs all year round. The positive economic development of the family company gave the reason to transform the company into an AG in 1999. In 2008 the new logistics center of Ritzenhoff AG at the Essentho location with a total usable area of 11,735 m² was completed. In 2012 the futuristic showroom with an area of 700 m² was completed.

In 2013 the fourth production line was completed at the Essentho location, which, with an investment sum of 20 million euros, represents the largest single investment by Ritzenhoff AG in history. In 2017, another high-bay warehouse was commissioned in Essentho with a further 15,000 pallet spaces.