Slaughtering, cutting and refining of pork and beef for retail and the food industry
Tönnies Lebensmittel GmbH & Co. KG
Rheda-Wiedenbrück · Weißenfels · Sögel · Badbergen · Altenburg · Brørup (DK) · AhlenNew on Amplifa
About Tönnies
Founded in 1971 by Bernd Tönnies and headquartered in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, the family-owned company is a slaughtering and processing operation for animal-based foods from pork and beef. With more than 15,000 employees across the group, Tönnies supplies millions of consumers every day and is part of the Premium Food Group. The value chain covers slaughtering, fully automated, computer-controlled cutting, ham and convenience production as well as sausage and hide processing, complemented by logistics with its own deep-freeze terminal. The main site is Rheda-Wiedenbrück with around 50,000 m² of covered production space; further plants are located among others in Weißenfels, Sögel, Badbergen, Altenburg and Brørup (Denmark). Customers include food retail, butchers and partners in the food industry; the export share recently exceeded 50 percent. An in-house laboratory accredited by DAkkS tests raw materials and products microbiologically and serologically.
- Site
- Rheda-Wiedenbrück
- Processes
- Pig slaughtering, Cattle slaughtering, Pork cutting (fully automated, computer-controlled), Beef cutting, Beef patty production, Ham production and ham cutting, Meat convenience production, Sausage production
- Materials
- Pork, Beef, Sow meat, Poultry, Minced meat
- Founded
- 1971
- Industries
- Food/meat processing, Food retail, Agriculture
- 01
Livestock purchasing
- 02
Delivery and animal welfare inspection
- 03
Slaughtering (pork/beef)
- 04
Cutting (fully automated, computer-controlled)
- 05
Refining (ham, convenience, sausage)
- 06
Laboratory testing and quality assurance
- 07
Deep-freeze storage and logistics/export
Raw Materials & Processes
Pork
Core raw material for slaughtering, cutting, ham and sausage production.
Beef
Basis of the Meat Beef business unit including beef patty production in Badbergen.
Sow meat
Marketing of sow meat via the Fleischer-Börse in Rheda.
Poultry
Own purchasing GTC rules for poultry as a supplementary product range.
Minced meat
Laboratory-tested product for retail; PCR testing accredited.
Sites
Rheda-Wiedenbrück
DEMain site: slaughtering, cutting, ham production, deep-freeze terminal
- Materials
- Pork, beef, sow meat
- Computer-controlled cutting units (fully automated cutting)
- TAZB system (animal-welfare-compliant stunning system)
- In-house laboratory (microbiology/serology)
Weißenfels
DEPig slaughterhouse
- Materials
- Pork
Sögel
DEPig slaughtering and cutting operation (Weidemark)
- Materials
- Pork
Badbergen
DEBeef competence centre
- Materials
- Beef
Altenburg
DEBeef site (taken over from Vion, 2023)
- Materials
- Beef
Brørup
DKPig slaughtering (Tican integration)
- Materials
- Pork
Ahlen
DEHam refining (Ahlener Fleischhandel; production discontinued as of 01.06.2025)
- Materials
- Pork
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pig slaughteringFood processing | – | – | – | – | Pork |
| Cattle slaughteringFood processing | – | – | – | – | Beef |
| Pork cutting (fully automated, computer-controlled)Food processing | – | – | – | – | Pork |
| Beef cuttingFood processing | – | – | – | – | Beef |
| Beef patty productionFood processing | – | – | – | – | Beef |
| Ham production and ham cuttingFood processing | – | – | – | – | Pork |
| Meat convenience productionFood processing | – | – | – | – | Pork, beef |
| Sausage productionFood processing | – | – | – | – | Pork, beef |
| Hide processingFood processing | – | – | – | – | Pigskin, cattle hide |
| Deep-freeze storage (deep-freeze terminal)Logistics | – | – | – | – | Pork, beef |
| Microbiological testing (real-time PCR: Salmonella, Listeria)Testing | – | – | – | – | Raw meat, minced meat, meat products |
| Serological testing (ELISA: salmonella antibodies, ASFV antibodies)Testing | – | – | – | – | Pig blood, pork juice, muscle meat |
| pH value determination (electrode measurement)Testing | – | – | – | – | Meat |
3 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer-controlled cutting units (fully automated cutting) | – | – | – | 2003 | Rheda-Wiedenbrück |
| TAZB system (animal-welfare-compliant automated drive-up and stunning system) | – | – | – | 2004 | Rheda-Wiedenbrück |
| In-house laboratory (microbiology/serology) | – | – | – | – | Rheda-Wiedenbrück |
Additional services