Josef Recheis

Josef Recheis is an Austrian family-owned food company headquartered at Fassergasse 8–10 in Hall in Tirol. Its registered name is Josef Recheis Eierteigwarenfabrik und Walzmühle GmbH (Josef Recheis Egg Pasta Factory and Roller Mill). The company traces its origins to 1889, when Josef Recheis (1846–1926) established what is described as Austria's first pasta manufactory on the site he had acquired in Hall. Today it employs close to 110 people and produces up to 110 tonnes of pasta per day, supplying the whole of Austria. With roughly 32% market share, Recheis is the market leader in pasta in Austria, and the business is now run in its fifth generation by Stefan Recheis, son of Klaus Recheis. Recheis is best known for its egg pasta and for the Recheis Goldmarke line, introduced in 1962 and today the largest and best-known product group in Austria with more than 30 varieties. The retail range is organised into seven major product groups, including Goldmarke, spelt (Dinkel) and wholegrain pastas. Beyond the classic grocery retail channel, the company also supplies the food service sector. Its fresh-pasta competence is concentrated in a dedicated fresh plant opened in Hall in 2004, producing chilled and frozen pasta such as ravioli, tortelloni and Schlutzkrapfen (a traditional Tyrolean filled pasta). The brand positions itself around Austrian noodle culture, regional sourcing and family tradition. Its marketing language emphasises "Österreichische Nudelkultur seit 1889" (Austrian pasta culture since 1889), high-quality domestic ingredients, regional value creation and sustainability, with the slogan "Da bin i daheim" (roughly, "This is where I'm at home"). The company has invested in modern production and logistics, including automated high-bay warehouses in the 1990s and a photovoltaic installation on the roof of its main plant in 2012. Ownership remains in family hands, and the company is not publicly listed. Its history spans the Austro-Hungarian monarchy — including an appointment as k.u.k. Hoflieferant (imperial and royal purveyor) in 1917 — through the disruptions of both World Wars and the rebuilding of its market position in the post-war decades. Recheis remains a distinctly Tyrolean and Austrian brand, with production concentrated at its Hall in Tirol site.

Josef Recheis (1846–1926), born in Thaur, entered the Fischlermühle in Absam as a miller's apprentice at the age of fourteen. In 1873, at 27, he acquired the Grießmühle (semolina mill) in Hall in Tirol that was up for sale. Business went so well that ten years later he bought the plot and building at Fassergasse in Hall, and in 1889 he established Austria's first pasta manufactory there — the foundation of the company's subsequent success. The greatest challenge for the Tyrolean entrepreneur was persuading sceptical, tradition-conscious housewives to use machine-made egg pasta. High-quality pasta was already being imported from Italy, where the more stable climate gave Italian industry a decisive advantage over Austrian producers facing Tyrol's volatile weather. Without drying facilities, pasta was dried in the open air, and sudden weather changes could degrade an entire production batch to second-rate goods. Josef Recheis studied Italian climatic conditions and tried to recreate similar conditions in his own operation. Together with his employees he constructed drying installations that were technically refined to such a degree that they would still be usable today. This opened the way to introducing high-quality Recheis pasta across the Austrian market and making it well known and popular. Recheis was thus already market leader in Austria before the First World War. Awards such as the "Großer Ehrenpreis Venedig 1894" (Grand Prize of Venice 1894) and the "Allerhöchste Auszeichnung der Ausstellung für Armeeverpflegung und Volksernährung" in Vienna in 1894 testify to the brand's standing and the founder's work. Its customers included not only the nobility but also the imperial court, and in 1917 Recheis was appointed k.u.k. Hoflieferant (imperial and royal purveyor). The outbreak of the First World War and the collapse of the monarchy brought hard times. Between 1918 and 1920 the operation had to be shut down completely. During the interwar years the company was nevertheless able to consolidate its market position again and received another award ("Die Goldene Medaille des Reichsverbandes der gastgewerblichen Genossenschaftsverbände Österreichs 1932"). Founder Josef Recheis died in 1926 and was buried in Hall in Tirol. He was succeeded by his son Richard, and then by Richard's son Kurt Recheis. The Second World War dealt the company another blow. Distribution channels and production conditions developed up to that point had to be severely curtailed, and in 1940 the production of egg pasta was officially prohibited. Rationing of raw materials during the Second World War and in the early post-war years cost the company important market share, especially its eastern markets. Nevertheless, the company slowly recovered in the post-war years. In 1950 it began producing egg pasta with fresh eggs. In 1962 the "Recheis Goldmarke" product line was introduced. Under the leadership of Klaus Recheis, son of Kurt Recheis, the Hall site was completely modernised in the mid-1980s. In mid-1988 the newly designed production line began operation. Modernisation continued through the 1990s: by 1992 all packaging and raw-material facilities were replaced with modern high-performance systems, and in 1992–1993 the first fully automatic, computer-controlled high-bay warehouse with space for more than 5,000 Euro pallets was built. As the company grew, a fourth production line was added in 1995 to the existing three. In the final construction phase a new warehouse building (a second fully automatic, computer-controlled high-bay warehouse) and a dedicated office building were created. The modernisation enabled a doubling of pasta production between 1987 and 1997. On 24 June 2004 Recheis commissioned its new, modern fresh plant at the Hall site. The fresh plant's core competence is the production of frozen and fresh pasta such as ravioli, tortelloni and Schlutzkrapfen. In September 2004 Recheis took over Fetz Pizza & Pasta VertriebsGmbH, based in Hard, Vorarlberg. In August 2012 Recheis commissioned a new photovoltaic system of more than 1,000 m² on the roof of its main plant in Hall, feeding around 175,000 kWh per year into the public grid. Today Recheis employs close to 110 people, produces up to 110 tonnes of pasta daily and delivers throughout Austria. With close to 32% it is the market leader in the Austrian pasta business. The company is now run in the fifth generation by Stefan Recheis, son of Klaus Recheis.

• 2012

  A photovoltaic system of over 1,000 m² is commissioned on the roof of the main plant in Hall.

• 2004

  Recheis opens its new fresh pasta plant in Hall (June) and acquires Fetz Pizza & Pasta VertriebsGmbH in Hard, Vorarlberg (September).

• 1995

  A fourth production line is added to the existing three.

• 1993

  The first fully automatic, computer-controlled high-bay warehouse with space for over 5,000 Euro pallets is completed.

• 1992

  All packaging and raw-material facilities are replaced with modern high-performance systems.

• 1988

  The newly designed production line at the Hall site begins operation.

• 1962

  The "Recheis Goldmarke" product line is introduced.

• 1950

  Production of egg pasta with fresh eggs begins.

• 1940

  Production of egg pasta is officially prohibited during the Second World War.

• 1932

  Recheis receives the Golden Medal of the Reichsverband der gastgewerblichen Genossenschaftsverbände Österreichs.

• 1926

  Founder Josef Recheis dies; his son Richard succeeds him.

• 1918

  Production is completely shut down between 1918 and 1920 following the First World War and the collapse of the monarchy.

• 1917

  Recheis is appointed k.u.k. Hoflieferant (imperial and royal purveyor).

• 1894

  Recheis receives the "Großer Ehrenpreis Venedig" and the highest award of the Vienna exhibition for army catering and public nutrition.

• 1889

  Josef Recheis establishes Austria's first pasta manufactory at Fassergasse in Hall in Tirol.

• 1873

  Josef Recheis acquires the Grießmühle in Hall in Tirol.

Austrian market leader in pasta, positioned around domestic ingredients, regional value creation, family tradition and quality since 1889.

• Recheis Goldmarke

  The largest and best-known product group in Austria, introduced in 1962, with over 30 varieties.

• Dinkel & Vollkorn Nudeln

  Spelt and wholegrain pasta lines made with natural ingredients.

• Fresh and frozen pasta

  Produced at the fresh plant opened in 2004, including ravioli, tortelloni and Schlutzkrapfen.

1. 1Recheis official websiterecheis.com
2. 2Josef Recheis – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Josef Recheis – Wikidatawikidata.org