Dr. Oetker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr. Oetker is a German company that produces baking powder, cake mixes, frozen pizza and pudding.
Also included in the portfolio: a successful maritime freight business, a bank, a publishing company, an insurance outfit and a brewery.
[edit] History
The company was founded by Dr. August Oetker in 1891. The first product developed by Dr. Oetker was "Bakin", a premeasuremed amount of baking powder that, when mixed with 500g of flour and other ingredients, produced a cake.
Dr. Oetker's son, Rudolf, perished in the First World War, but he and his wife, Ida, had 2 children, Rudolf-August and Ursula. Ida Oetker remarried Dr. Richard Kaselowsky, and they subsequently had 4 more children. Dr. Kaselowsky raised Rudolf and Ida as his own children.
Richard Kaselowsky was chosen by the founder, Dr. August Oetker, to lead the company as a trustee as of 1920. During his tenure as head of the company it expanded its presence into new businesses such as shipping (Hamburg Sud, Columbus Lines) and brewing. Kaselowsky was a member of the Nazi Party. In 1937, the company received the title of Nationalsozialistischer Musterbetrieb, or national-socialist model company, by the German Labour Front. They also received commendation in 1938 for the promotion of the Strength Through Joy programme. Richard Kaselowsky died during the Second World War (source: Company Archives).
Rudolf August Oetker, the son of Dr. August Oetker, led the company between 1944 and 1981, and during this period it achieved the highest growth. The company expanded its presence internationally acquiring many companies around the world. When Rudolf Oetker stepped down from his leadership position, the 4th generation of the Oetker family took over the leadership. The family ownership established the management principle that "The interests of the company have priority over those of the family" (Annual Report Dr. August Oetker KG, 2005).
Dr. August Oetker, the great-grandson of the founder, has led the company since 1981. Under his tenure it has expanded its business even more significantly in all areas, including shipping, food, brewing, etc.
Dr. Oetker has been recognized for his leadership in environmental protection among German industrialists. There is a constant focus on environmental protection with the publishing of its "Economic, ecological and social responsibility sustainability report" in 2003. In this document, the company laid out targets it had set and met (reduction of energy/water usage, dust and effluent reduction, etc.) as well as targets for the future.
The company participates in the Forced/Slave Labor Compensation Fund [1], an organization of German industries taking responsibility for slave labour during the Second World War.
