Hengstenberg GmbH & Co. KG

About Hengstenberg

Hengstenberg GmbH & Co. KG is a family business founded in 1876 in Esslingen and produces fine acidic foods: sauerkraut, red cabbage, pickled gherkins, vinegars, delicacies, fermented cabbage products as well as ready-to-eat salads. The white cabbage and red cabbage is 100 % sourced from German cultivation, predominantly from contract farmers within a radius of about 25 kilometres around the production plants, and is processed fresh – including shredding, fermentation or cooking down, filling and pasteurisation. The Bad Friedrichshall plant (180 employees) produces gherkins, sauerkraut, red cabbage and vinegar; the Fritzlar plant (157 employees) is regarded as Europe's largest sauerkraut plant. The headquarters are located at the company's home site on Mettinger Straße in Esslingen am Neckar, and a sales office in Wels manages sales in Austria. In the Food Service / B2B sector, Hengstenberg supplies bulk consumers with brands such as Hengstenberg, ORO di Parma and as distributeur Pomito.

Site

Esslingen am Neckar

Processes

Food service / B2B sales, Factory outlet, Export, Distribution of tomato products as distributeur (Pomito), Donations & sponsoring, Recipe development

Materials

White cabbage, Red cabbage, Pickling gherkins, Vinegar (wine, apple, balsamic), Organic raw goods (DE-ÖKO-003)

Certificates

Organic control body code (organic), Organic control body DE-ÖKO-003

Founded

1876

Employees

337 (Bad

Industries

Food manufacturing (fine acidic preserved foods), Food retail, Food service / out-of-home market / bulk consumers, Food manufacturing (fine acidic preserved foods: sauerkraut, red cabbage,

1. 01

   Contract cultivation (white cabbage, red cabbage, gherkins) in the regional

2. 02

   Harvest and short transport to the plant

3. 03

   Washing, sorting, spot checks

4. 04

   Shredding / cutting, salting or vinegar infusion

5. 05

   Fermentation or cooking down

6. 06

   Filling (can, jar, pouch, bottle)

7. 07

   Pasteurisation

8. 08

   Labelling, packaging, warehousing

9. 09

   Distribution retail, food service, export, factory outlet

Raw Materials & Processes

Sites

Esslingen am Neckar

DE

Company headquarters (administration), factory outlet

Bad Friedrichshall

DE

Production plant (gherkins, sauerkraut, red cabbage, vinegar)

Materials

Gherkins, sauerkraut, red cabbage, vinegar

• Height-adjustable tipping ramps
• Conveyor belts
• Core drills
• Pasteurisation systems

Fritzlar

DE

Production plant, Europe's largest sauerkraut plant (sauerkraut, red cabbage, gherkins)

Materials

Sauerkraut, red cabbage, gherkins

• Full-vehicle tipping ramp
• Harvest receiving with weighing station
• Core drills
• Pasteurisation systems

Wels

AT

Sales office Austria

Products

Inside the production

Quality

Quality is ensured from raw goods purchasing through spot checks of cabbage deliveries (rot, core and quality inspection) to the regulated organic control body (DE-ÖKO-003); processing takes place without preservatives.

History

1. 1876

   Founding as a Swabian vinegar factory in Esslingen.

2. 1932

   Introduction of the Mildessa brand; pioneers of pasteurised canned sauerkraut.

3. 1950

   Introduction of the Altmeister vinegar brand.

4. 1964

   Introduction of kitchen-ready red cabbage (Rotessa).

5. 1972

   Brand launch of STiCKSi gherkin quarters.

6. 1995

   Brand launch of KNAX gherkins.

7. 2001

   125th company anniversary.

8. 2006

   Introduction of a complete organic range as the first major brand manufacturer in the pickled foods sector.

9. 2009

   Start of renovation of the Esslingen central site; temporary relocation of headquarters to Esslingen-Zell.

10. 2016

    Return of the headquarters to the home site on Mettinger Straße in Esslingen.

11. 2017

    Henri Pillot joins the commercial management board.

12. 2018

    Andreas Reimer takes over as chairman of the management board; drought summer with crop losses of over 30 % white cabbage and over 40 % red cabbage.

13. 2020

    70 years of the Altmeister brand.

14. 2024

    Repositioning of the brand with the new claim "Passing on the good".