01.02.2008 - From 1-woman business to global company
Her efforts to resolve the problem were finally rewarded on June 20, 1908: the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin awarded patent protection for her "filtration-paper-based coffee filter with rounded and recessed bottom perforated by slanting flow-through holes." A complicated description of a simple idea: the coffee filter with filter paper was born! Created from an old tin pot with a few holes in the bottom and a piece of her son's school blotting paper.
A clever 35-year-old
Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz, née Liebscher, was born in Dresden on January 31, 1873, as the daughter of a publisher. She is described as "a remarkably pretty woman", of lively spirit, full of energy and aware of her duties. Her grandparents owned a brewery in Strehla/Saxony. She married Johannes Emil Hugo Bentz, department manager in a Dresden department store (born April 20, 1873 in Clausthal-Zellerfeld as the 12th son of the local rector) and gave birth to 2 sons and a daughter.Entrepreneurial spirit and sense of family
The company "M. Bentz" got off to a very modest start. With a starting capital of 72 pfennigs, Melitta registered a "commercial agency and commission business" with Dresden's Office of Trade. Filter paper production started in an 8m2 room in the family's five-room apartment in Dresden. Hugo Bentz soon gave up his job as store employee. The five family members assembled and packed the filters in their own home and were also the fledgling company's sales organization. The sons delivered filter paper boxes with their hand-cart, the husband demonstrated the handling of the coffee filter in shop windows - a promotion idea invented by Melitta and later developed with so-called "demonstration ladies" (promotion teams). In the meantime, Melitta was stirring up interest among her friends: she invited them to "coffee afternoons" and served "perfect coffee enjoyment". At the same time, she made sure that everything was running smoothly in the miniature production plant.Business as usual after the collapse
At the onset of World War One, paper became scarce and the German government banned the import of coffee beans. Melitta Bentz ran the company herself until the end of the war, as her husband Hugo was called to duty. Filter production stopped and Melitta turned to selling cartons in order to feed her family. After the war, the company grew fast and expansion plans were quickly implemented. With the launch of export activities in the Czech Republic and Switzerland in 1922, capacities at the Dresden base soon reached their limits. However, at this time there were no suitable premises for expansion in Dresden.Off to Minden ...
During their search for premises, Melitta and Hugo Bentz discovered an unused chocolate factory building in Minden, which they bought. The company was subsequently registered with the Commercial Register in Minden, which has been the company's base ever since. On Maundy Thursday 1929, Melitta and 55 employees moved to Minden, together with the company's existing machinery. Four days later, the new factory - in which some 1,000 employees would later work - was up and running. The city of Minden exempts the company from "real taxes" (income tax) for the first 5 years.Social conscience
1932 saw the company's first generation change: the majority stake in Melitta-Werke Aktiengesellschaft was transferred to Melitta's two sons, Horst and Willy. However, until her death in 1950 Melitta Bentz remained the "social conscience" of the company. From 1930 onward, the company paid its employees a Christmas bonus. In 1932, the number of vacation days was increased from 6 to 15 days per year and the working week reduced to 5 days (1933). Under Melitta Bentz's patronage, the company launched its "Melitta Aid" system, a social fund for company employees.Birth of a global brand
The second generation of company owners was dedicated to one objective: expansion. Melitta not only conquered the household segment with coffee filters and filter papers, but also the commercial sector. The filter papers themselves were constantly refined and improved: in 1936, the company launched the conical filter still used throughout the world today. The typical Melitta filter bags were developed to fit the new filter design and the classic Melitta logo was adopted.Destruction: 12 years of makeshift production
During World War Two, Germany's entire peacetime production was stopped and facilities were ordered to produce goods for the war effort (ammunition belts, pots and pans etc.). The company was declared "national socialistic model plant" and joined the forced labor program of the national socialist regime. Melitta claimed full responsibility for these past developments and contributed to the German Economy Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future" headed by the German Government.At the end of the war, the undestroyed Melitta factory in Minden was requisitioned by the Allied troops and used as military accommodation for twelve years. The production departments were relocated within Minden as far as possible - even in local pubs. Melitta Bentz survived to experience the subsequent success of the rebuilding period; in 1950, sales leapt from 0 to DM 4.7 million.
"Economic Miracle" reaches Minden
In the 1950s, Europe's most modern paper machine was built by Melitta in Minden. A steady stream of investments followed: in the company's anniversary year of 1958, total sales grew by 26.5%. With a series of acquisitions and product developments, Melitta proceeded to expand its activities further: in addition to coffee, filter papers, coffeemakers and household goods (food wrappings made of paper/plastic/aluminum, vacuum cleaner bags, cleaning cloths and sponges), Horst Bentz's vision of a "well laid table" also included porcelain, sweets, cigars and fruit juices. The various company acquisitions were integrated into the Melitta Group.Expansion: unlimited growth
The foundation of foreign subsidiaries was also gathering pace - first in Europe, then overseas. With paper mills and coffee roasting plants in Brazil and the USA, Melitta laid the foundation for its successful foreign business, from which it still benefits today.All in all, the company experienced a period of tremendous growth in this period (as did many other German companies). Goods had to be allocated, as demand soon outstripped supply; 30% of all staff were recruited from abroad, as the local labor market was completely exhausted. The company's markets were booming well into the 1970s - with no end in sight. By the end of the 70s, the Melitta Group's 10,000 employees were generating sales of DM 1.6 billion.
Renewed focus on core business
Eventually, however, the period of rapid growth also ended for Melitta. The company's strategy shifted from expansion to greater concentration on its core competencies. The wide variety of products amassed over the years was suddenly proving both unwieldy and unprofitable. As markets began to mature, it became apparent that unbridled growth also meant rising costs and dwindling margins. The Melitta Group divested itself of all activities and interests which either offered little prospect of growth (porcelain, sweets) or where the market was already in decline (cigars).New brand strategy
The Group's structure at this time was also somewhat confusing at first sight. Melitta was involved in such diverse activities as domestic and commercial coffee preparation, coffee roasting, food wrappings, garbage bags, vacuum cleaner bags, tea making and its own machine building. In order to organize these products and activities more clearly for its consumers and trading partners, the Group launched a completely new brand strategy in 1988. Five strategic business fields were created, each with their own clearly defined brands: Melitta® (Coffee Enjoyment), Toppits® (Freshness & Flavor), Swirl® (Convenient Cleaning), Cilia® (Tea Enjoyment) and Aclimat® (Better Living Environment). The change was both risky and cost-intensive, but has since proved highly effective for the Group until today.Melitta today
Today, two grandchildren of Melitta Bentz are the general partners of a management holding company which comprises classic corporate divisions. The Group's operating business is run by legally independent companies with managing directors recruited from outside the family.The key question of Melitta's general partners today is: how - and with which products - can the Group continue to generate growth in future. As a family-owned company with limited resources, the focus is clearly on leveraging existing core competencies and markets in order to compete successfully. Current growth projects include new products, e.g. for coffee preparation, and new concepts for the Group's food service clients.
