Proud of the past, in a strong position for the future!

Setback and starting a business

To open up new sales markets, Josef Anton’s brother Jakob Meggle opened a cheese sales outlet in Dresden in 1886. However, his miscalculations led him to lose all of his savings. The family had to start over from scratch.

Josef Anton I took another run at it and started off by leasing the little Doll House in Reitmehring because of its railway connection. With the registration of his cheese business in the tax community of Attel on March 18, 1887, the foundation for today’s company was laid.

Birth of Josef Anton Meggle II.

Josef Anton Meggle II was born on November 6, 1895. On the day of his baptism, his father is said to have shared the first bottle of wine of his life with his godfather. In 1896 the first accountant was hired.

Meggle family

First World War

On February 1, 1915, Josef Anton II was drafted and first had to go to Munich for training. He suffered a ruptured appendix at the front in Macedonia. Meanwhile, his mother and sister continued to run the business very successfully – not least through fattening pigs.

Company logo is introduced

First butter moulding machine

In 1935, a new milk intake, a milk processing room and a state-of-the-art butter factory were completed in Reitmehring.

In 1932, semi-automatic production began with the first butter-moulding machine for 250 g and 500 g pieces.

50th anniversary celebration

Stagnation in World War II

The Second World War began on September 1, 1939. Since materials and building materials were rationed, any further expansion of the facilities was not possible for the time being.

Employees of military service age were drafted and lorries confiscated. 60 foreign workers were assigned to the company and a temporary dormitory built for them. On the initiative of Anna Meggle, a support fund for all needy company employees was set up in 1942.

New technologies and ideas

Experiments with whey processing could finally be resumed. An ion exchanger to demineralise milk was purchased as early as 1948. The milk protein sugar obtained was used as a substitute for beet sugar and for baby food.

In 1949 the first spray tower for drying the whey was commissioned. It ensured a higher product quality and replaced the roller dryer. In 1949 a fertilisation station was set up.

Casein and animal feed

In 1953, the rennet and acid-casein production for lactose was started in the former boiler house using basic equipment. The first pharmaceutical products were created.

Toni Meggle III joins the business

After graduating from high school, Toni Meggle initially completed training to become a dairy master. He then acquired extensive knowledge in business management during his training as an industrial clerk at the Management Center Europe (MCE) in Brussels and, after completing his specialist training, began working in his father’s company in 1956.

Two-generations of leadership and social commitment

On January 1, 1960, Toni Meggle became a partner alongside his father. In the same year, the first moulding system for portioned butter goes into operation. MEGGLE takes over dominance in several markets and conquers new production areas. The company achieved sales of 100 million marks for the first time. At the same time, on the initiative of Toni Meggle, a company pension scheme is introduced for employees. His father donated land and church bells for the St. Anton Church in Reitmehring. In addition, the St. Antonius settlement was founded for company employees.

The birth of herb butter

Josef Anton Meggle II discovered a product in a delicatessen shop in Zurich that electrified him. Numerous nightly tests were carried out until the recipe met the high standards. This was the birth of herb butter – and the kick-off for the development of numerous other delicious butter specialities.

Internationalisation

MEGGLE was the first Western company in the dairy industry to operate independently in Japan. Back then, the person in charge, T. Goto, formulated the guiding principles for the Japanese workforce: ‘Be open and pay attention to others.’ ‘Trust in the goodwill of others.’ ‘Work hard and always do your best.’ Josef Anton Meggle II died in 1978 at the age of 83.

Premiere of Cellactose 80

MEGGLE was the market leader in functional dry products since 1977. Cellactose 80 was the first compound produced for the pharmaceutical industry. Cellulose is the disintegrating agent for tablets.

MEGGLE invented chilled herb butter baguettes

Today, it is hard to imagine enjoying barbecues and garden parties, parties, picnics or time at home without a certain snack: the MEGGLE baguettes. It all started with the herb butter baguette – conceived and made by MEGGLE.

Marilyn Monroe and Toni Meggle

The MEGGLE herb butter baguette exceeded all expectations with sales of 25 million per year. The first yogurt butter off the production line. In 1996 the legendary TV commercial with Marilyn Monroe was created. She admits: ‘I am a gourmeggle.’ Toni Meggle created a branded product from a classic no-name product like butter.

Founding of MEGGLE AG

In 2002 MEGGLE was restructured again. MEGGLE AG now formed the umbrella as the management and financial holding company owned by Toni Meggle. At the same time, Toni Meggle began withdrawing from the operational business and has been the chairman of the Supervisory Board ever since.

Worldwide expansion

In 2003, MEGGLE Singapore Ltd. was founded and the MEGGLE Shanghai representative office was opened. Further sales or production locations follow in Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Belarus, Slovakia and Ukraine.

The new pharmaceutical tower started operation in 2005. It created capacities for the production of pharmaceutical excipients.

Toni Meggle's 75th birthday

MEGGLE now employed 1,591 people worldwide and generated sales worth 560 million euros. On his 75th birthday, Toni Meggle received an honorary citizenship from the city of Wasserburg and the Bavarian Order of Merit from Minister-President Edmund Stoiber. In the same year, MEGGLE received the MOE Award for its commitment to Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, MEGGLE took over the dairy in Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006. A further production site would follow in Bulgaria in 2009: Shumen.

In 2009, the first MEGGLE baguettes rolled off the production line at M-Back – a newly built bakery factory in Gebesee, Thuringia. MEGGLE is the company’s main shareholder with 66%.

Anniversary

For 125 years, MEGGLE had been not just a name, but a symbol that links tradition and progress, continuity and constant change together. The new reception building opened its doors just in time for the anniversary. The centuries-old Weberhof – the nucleus of today’s company – was relocated within the company premises and then housed an exhibition on the company’s history. In order to support new, medium-sized entrepreneurs in the Wasserburg region, the MEGGLE Founder Prize became an annual award. And Helene Fischer was acquired as a brand ambassador to promote herbed butter and baguettes from MEGGLE in TV commercials. Last but not least, MEGGLE launched another sales branch in Brazil in its anniversary year.

Alpenzart is launched on the market

MEGGLE Alpenzart – a mixed fat made from the best butter and a dash of rapeseed oil – has the highest butter content in the competitive environment. Since then, the special butter taste and unique spreadability have convinced an ever-growing customer base.

Commissioning of the cheese competence centre

After two years of construction work, the Cheese Competence Centre of Salzburg Milch, in which MEGGLE holds the majority share, opened in Lamprechtshausen, Austria.

The brick oven at M-Back in Gebesee goes into operation in May. The new MEGGLE brick oven ciabatta with Mediterranean butter and tomato filling is made here from then on. The entire baguette range from MEGGLE received the ‘TOP Brand 2014’ award.

Factory expansion and SAP launch in Wasserburg

MEGGLE invested in the Wasserburg site to further secure its future viability. The foundation work on another spray drying plant started in 2015.

After an extensive test phase, data migration and training, the new SAP system in Wasserburg went into operation on November 1, 2015. Processes and data flows in the company are now designed across departments.

Foundation establishment

The sole owner of MEGGLE AG, Toni Meggle, transfers his shares to a foundation. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board announced this at an extraordinary staff meeting. This ensured the continued existence and independence of the MEGGLE group of companies, because a foundation is designed to last forever and belongs to itself. ‘In the foundation’s statutes, I expressly and irreversibly ordered that the company may not be sold. ‘In this way, I ensure that the MEGGLE group of companies remains a medium-sized company with jobs in the long term,’ emphasises Toni Meggle to the workforce in Wasserburg.

MEGGLE group grew and Toni Meggle celebrated his 90th birthday

After fully acquiring M-Back GmbH the previous year, MEGGLE took over another company. In May, Stegmann Emmentaler Käsereien GmbH became part of the group. With further investments in Wasserburg am Inn, the location was sustainably strengthened.

A special anniversary was coming up on May 12th. Toni Meggle turned 90 years old