Click on "Start history", go to the period you require, or just keep scrolling!
Hans Kupfer grew up with nine other siblings during the “Golden Age” of the German Empire and studied the butcher’s trade in Schwabach. In 1895, he successfully completes his apprenticeship exam and travels while working as a craftsman, as was usual at the time.
The company is established in Heilsbronn: in a house with its own butcher’s shop and abattoir, Hans Kupfer lays the foundations of a successful company history by buying his first pig.
Hans Kupfer passes his master craftsman’s certification with special distinction. During this time, he expands his sales territory to the Nuremberg and Fürth region. He is also known as the “backpack butcher” because he delivers his products by bicycle. This was the first step towards a successful future.
The company takes on its first employees, obtains new machines, builds a cold store and buys a delivery van. The company was forced to close temporarily during the Second World War.
After the forced closure of the company by the National Socialists, the family fell on hard times. The business was not allowed to continue until the war was over. At the end of the war, daily deliveries were made to the refugee camp in Zirndorf that was home to 5,000 refugees.
Otto Kupfer Senior, the son of Hans Kupfer, takes over managing the large shop and expands sales to the whole of Germany.
We celebrate our 50th anniversary!
The next generation takes over at the end of the 1950s. The 1950s and 60s are a period of strong growth. Production volumes and employee numbers rise quickly and the first major orders are accepted.
A milestone in the company’s 64-year history: it moves from Abteigasse to Mausendorfer Weg 9. The new building is built in less than two years.
The new facility in Mausendorfer Weg marks a new chapter in the company’s history. From now on, KUPFER concentrates on cutting and producing meat and sausage products. Up to 800 pigs and 50 cattle are processed and delivered to the factory and workplace canteens every week. KUPFER was the first business in Bavaria to have an EV number, a registration number for processing companies. For almost 25 years, Otto Kupfer spent every Saturday buying cows from farmers.
At this time, 120 employees work at Kupfer and its production range comprises 70 different sausage types. What’s particularly pleasing is that 18 products were certified by the DLG back in 1977.
KUPFER now employs 200 employees and is steering a course for growth throughout Bavaria. The company starts delivering sausages nationwide. These are loose sausages that are sold at meat counters. The range of products and customer diversity rises sharply during this time.
Otto Kupfer Junior is the third generation of Kupfers to join the family business. He becomes part of the management board and the sales team. His wife, Hanna Kupfer, is also granted power of attorney. He had previously completed his apprenticeship as a butcher, subsequently qualified as a meat technician in Kulmbach and completed his master craftsman's certification in Bayreuth.
International expansion: KUPFER begins supplying to the food retail trade. Alongside Norma, Aldi Süd is one of the first customers to be supplied with Bavarian specialities. Exports start across the border to France and Spain. Production is expanded by a facility in Dietenhofen.
KUPFER continues growing: sales increase with the opening of the inner-German border. Ilmenauer Wurstwaren GmbH was founded in Thüringen after Otto Kupfer Junior took over the business. Since then, KUPFER has been manufacturing the “Original Thüringer Rostbratwurst” [Original Thuringian grilled sausage] in line with the strict regulations of the g.g.A. [protected geographical indication] mark.
Founding of Gebrüder KUPFER GmbH in Nuremberg: 10,500 Original Nuremberg grilled sausages were initially produced every day during this time. Compare this to 2023’s figures with 1,400,000 sausages coming off the production line.
So it can expand further, KUPFER invests in a new building at its headquarters in Heilsbronn. The modern facility specialises solely on line production of packaged sausages. This is a milestone in the company’s history. After four years of construction and planning, the plant is put into operation with an area of 12,000 m2, an in-house sewage treatment plant and its own cogeneration plant.
Experts respectfully acknowledge that Kupfer has the most modern processing plant in the German-speaking area. This secures the company’s competitiveness.
A new era begins with the decision to start poultry sausage production. To create the necessary conditions for this, Plant 2 is opened with an area of 6,000 m2. KUPFER Holding, the Group’s holding company, is founded in the same year.
KUPFER also decides to expand its own range with the poultry product group. It was a brave decision that has paid off: today, the share of poultry products lies at 45%.
KUPFER continues growing: to keep up-to-date, the company moves into a new administration building. During this time, 850 employees achieve annual sales of €160 million.
Plant 3 opens in Heilsbronn:
to meet the increase in sales, Plant 3 was built with an area of 8,000 square meters.
A sad anniversary: 100 years after the company was founded, a disastrous fire destroys the plant in Heilsbronn. The company’s anniversary celebrations, which had been planned down to the last detail, were cancelled.
KUPFER doesn’t give up and rents a plant in Naumburg so that it can continue production. The family and staff stick together and with their loyalty to the location of Heilsbronn, they are able to overcome this setback.
Just two years after the devastating fire, KUPFER rebuilds the destroyed plant in Heilsbronn. A plant emerges that is built to meet the latest requirements and covers an area of 40,000 square meters.
Johannes Kupfer, the second eldest son of Otto and Hanna Kupfer, joins the company’s management board
KUPFER is a permanent exhibitor at the educational fair in Ansbach. There is also a trade fair in Heilsbronn.
With €175 million, KUPFER returns to the same level of sales as the financial year before the fire in 2006. 850 employees now work in the family business. In 2015, KUPFER takes part in the global retail trade fair Private Label Manufactures Association (PLMA) in Amsterdam for the first time. Moreover, it is the start of the “idea rally” where suggestions for improvement are collected from all employees.
Jakob and Julia Kupfer open a modern butcher market at Klosterwald 2 that offers a classic meat counter as well as a bistro, catering, events and much more.
Maximilian Kupfer, the youngest son, also joins the board of management. KUPFER adopts a forward-looking corporate strategy, increasing exports to the USA and Asia. The product range for snacks, meat substitutes and organic meat will also be expanded. KUPFER subscribes to its values: the fourth-generation family business assumes responsibility for its employees, the Middle Franconia region and successfully operates sustainably.
KUPFER breaks the €200 million sales threshold for the first time and announces its new corporate vision. The family business continues to support young people: Kupfer is a cooperation partner of Petersaurach secondary school, the special needs education centre at Neuendettelsau, the technical university in Nuremberg, and is also a permanent participant in the apprenticeship trade fair at Heilsbronn secondary school. In health management, the company has partnerships with B-Fit in Neuendettelsau and Fair Fitness in Nuremberg. KUPFER Innovative Food for sustainable alternative protein products is founded.
Demand for alternative sources of protein is increasing. As usual, KUPFER goes for innovation and invests long-term in the future. The construction of a new plant focussing on vegan products starts at the site in Nuremberg. After an intensive period of product development, vegan products that are made in Nuremberg have been coming off the production line since the end of 2022.
KUPFER proves ones again just how innovative this long-established company is. The “Bugfoundation” start-up company specialises in manufacturing meat substitutes made from insects and is now part of the KUPFER Group. In addition to its new approaches in the field of alternative sources of protein, KUPFER together with Aldi Süd implement the “Darauf ist Verlass” regional concept.
The next generation takes over again: Otto Kupfer resigns from the management board and becomes Chair of the Supervisory Board. His two sons, Johannes and Maximilian, continue managing the company and open the vegan production plants in Nuremberg.
KUPFER ushers in a new era in marketing and goes online with an extensive new website and its own career portal.
Hans Kupfer & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG Wurstspezialitäten
Mausendorfer Weg 11
91560 Heilsbronn - Germany
Phone +49 9872/804-0
E-Mail info@hanskupfer.de
© 2023 Hans Kupfer & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG