Refining of spices and herbs: milling, cleaning, color sorting, blending, germ reduction and packing
Hamburger Gewürz-Mühle Hermann Schulz GmbH
HamburgNew on Amplifa
About Hamburger Gewürz-Mühle
Hamburger Gewürz-Mühle Hermann Schulz GmbH is a family business founded in 1930 and based in Hamburg, supplying the food and spice industry with a range of more than 1,000 items. Its service portfolio includes direct import of raw materials from the countries of origin, wholesale, export and refining processes such as milling, cutting, kibbling, cleaning, optoelectronic color sorting, blending, steam germ reduction and packing. The four-storey mill building houses more than 48 production facilities, including 14 mills with different milling techniques, 8 cleaning systems, 10 product safety systems and 9 blending systems; up to 20 t of raw materials can be processed daily. Around 15,000 m² of storage space at 6 warehouses holds approximately 2,000 t of spices in over 650 items for prompt delivery. In addition to its own products, contract services and the production of spice blends according to individual, protected customer recipes are offered, also in organic quality. The quality policy is based on a management system in accordance with FSSC 22000; all import lots are analyzed by independent laboratories upon goods receipt.
- Site
- Hamburg
- Processes
- Contract milling (milling of spices and natural products), HGM-TOP cleaned (cleaning of spices), Cutting, kibbling, size reduction, HGM-Select optoelectronic color sorting, Metal check, magnetic cleaning, stone extraction, sieving, Blending of spices (also individual customer recipes), Steam germ reduction (HGM germ reduction process, vacuum and steam), Packing (fully automatic packing machine for seal-edge bags)
- Materials
- Spices from A to Z (e.g. aniseed, cinnamon), Herbs (e.g. basil, marjoram, parsley), Organic spices & organic blends, Blends & Salts, Specialty items (e.g. dextrose, glutamate E 621, sal ammoniac E 503, baking soda E 500, potassium, Spices from A to Z, Herbs, Organic Spices & Organic Blends
- Certificates
- FSSC 22000, Organic (EU Organic Regulation), inspection body DE-ÖKO-001, Halal, Naturland, Kosher, Organic (EU Organic Regulation, DE-ÖKO-001), Halal (EHZ)
- Founded
- 1930
- Industries
- Food industry, Spice industry
- 01
Direct import of raw materials from the countries of origin
- 02
Cleaning (HGM-TOP cleaned)
- 03
Steam germ reduction
- 04
Cutting, kibbling, size reduction
- 05
Contract milling
- 06
Color sorting (HGM-Select)
- 07
Metal check, magnetic cleaning, sieving
- 08
Blending (also customer recipes)
- 09
Packing
- 10
Storage and delivery
Products & Raw Materials
Spices from A to Z
Range from aniseed to cinnamon, whole, re-cleaned, cut, ground or germ-reduced.
Herbs
Rubbed and cut herbs such as basil, marjoram and parsley.
Organic Spices & Organic Blends
Controlled organic quality in accordance with the EU Organic Regulation, inspection body DE-ÖKO-001.
Blends & Salts
Spice blends and seasoning salts according to own as well as protected customer recipes.
Specialty items
Items such as dextrose, glutamate, sal ammoniac, baking soda, potassium carbonate, raw cane sugar and citric acid.
Locations
Hamburg
DEHeadquarters, production, warehouse, administration
- Materials
- Spices, herbs, spice blends, organic spices
- 14 milling mills
- 8 cleaning systems
- 3 cutting systems
- Kibbling mills
- HGM-Select color sorting system
- 10 product safety and sieving systems
- 9 blending systems
- Steam sterilization system (2020)
- Fully automatic packing machine for seal-edge bags
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contract milling (milling of spices and natural products)Machining | – | – | – | – | Spices, Herbs, Natural products |
| HGM-TOP cleaned (cleaning of spices)Surface | – | – | – | – | Spices, Herbs |
| Cutting, kibbling, size reductionMachining | – | – | – | – | Spices, Herbs, Natural products |
| HGM-Select optoelectronic color sortingTesting | – | – | – | – | Spices, Spice seeds |
| Metal check, magnetic cleaning, stone extraction, sievingTesting | – | – | – | – | Spices, Herbs |
| Blending of spices (also individual customer recipes)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Spices, Herbs, Spice blends, Salts |
| Steam germ reduction (HGM germ reduction process, vacuum and steam)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Spices, Spice seeds, Herbs |
| Packing (fully automatic packing machine for seal-edge bags)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Spices, Spice blends |
| Production of spice blends according to individual customer recipesEngineering | – | – | – | – | Spices, Herbs, Salts |
11 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milling mills (different milling techniques) | – | 14 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Cleaning systems (HGM-TOP cleaned process) | – | 8 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Cutting systems | – | 3 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Kibbling mills | – | – | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Color sorting system (HGM-Select, optoelectronic color sorting with digital cameras) | HGM-Select | – | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Product safety and sieving systems (metal check, magnetic cleaning, stone extractors, sieving) | – | 10 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Blending systems | – | 6 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Blending systems (for contract services) | – | 9 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Steam sterilization system (HGM germ reduction process, vacuum/steam, fully automated) | – | 1 | – | 2020 | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Fully automatic packing machine for seal-edge bags | – | – | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße |
| Production facilities (total, in the 4-storey mill building) | – | 48 | – | – | Hamburg, Großmannstraße (Hamburg) |
Additional services
Quality
The quality policy is based on a globally recognized management system in accordance with FSSC 22000. Upon goods receipt, all import lots are analyzed by independent laboratories; continuous in-process controls as well as 10 product safety systems (metal check, magnetic cleaning, stone extractors, sieving) ensure the quality standard.
| Evidence | Hamburg |
|---|---|
| FSSC 22000 | |
| Organic (EU Organic Regulation, DE-ÖKO-001) | |
| Halal (EHZ) | |
| Naturland | |
| Kosher |
History
- 1930
Foundation of Hamburger Gewürz-Mühle Hermann Schulz on 02.09.1930; operations in rented cellar and backyard premises on the Birkenau.
- 1940
Purchase of the factory building on Flüggestraße; 1943 total destruction by bombing.
- 1944
Resumption of operations in the small Tönnhausen mill that had been acquired.
- 1948
Rubble clearance and gradual rebuilding of the Flüggestraße site.
- 1953
Sons Karl and Georg Schulz join their father's business.
- 1969
Acquisition and development of the property on Bargstedgasse; merging of the production and trading operations.
- 1980
Purchase of an adjacent property and construction of a warehouse.
- 1995
Move to the new production and office building on Großmannstraße – the largest investment in the company's history.
- 2000
Holger Schulz takes over as sole shareholder and managing director.
- 2003
Acquisition of another property with a warehouse (capacity approx. 500 t); Karl Schulz retires.
- 2005
75th company anniversary on 02.09.2005.
- 2006
Purchase of a neighboring property with 2 warehouses; expansion of storage space to 10,000 m².
- 2013
Georg Schulz retires.
- 2014
Completion of the staff building covering more than 650 m².
- 2015
The fourth generation joins (Milena and Finn Schulz).
- 2018
Conversion and modernization of the production rooms for blends.
- 2019
Purchase of a new property for an additional production and warehouse building.
- 2020
Commissioning of the company's own steam sterilization system.
- 2024
Commissioning of the additional production and warehouse building at Großmannstraße 190.