The new star in the baking universe

founded by Wilhelm Ditsch

The history of the Ditsch pretzel bakery

Inauguration of the new Ditsch factory with 7,700 m2 of production area in Oranienbaum near Dessau as a second production site

First dismantlable pretzel sales stand at Mainz main rail station

Move to within Mainz.

The new company headquarters has a 3,250 m2 production building, two separate production lines, a 750 m2 administration building, a high-bay frozen products warehouse and a dispatch building

Ditsch takes over Pretzel King AG, which was founded in Switzerland, and expands the network of Swiss sales outlets

After Ditsch had already supplied a new product range to the food retail and the cash&carry area for the first time in 2006, the sixth production line is now commissioned in Oranienbaum

The opening of the 200th Ditsch shop in Berlin is celebrated, and what is now the eighth production line is operating in the Oranienbaum works

A third production line is commissioned

100 years of the Ditsch pretzel bakery. Now with more than 200 shops and with Ditsch USA and Pretzel King Switzerland, the idea created by the founder Wilhelm Ditsch is today one of the leading manufacturers of lye products worldwide. The Oranienbaum site is enlarged by building Hall 3. Building expansion also takes place in the USA (frozen product warehouse and new production line)

The production area in Oranienbaum is enlarged to 15,000 m2, and the frozen product warehouse expanded to 6,000 pallet storage locations know-how. The dough piece must not be too soft when being lye-dipped, and its shape must remain stable. The surfaces of the dough pieces are slightly dried out to ensure that the lye cannot penetrate too deeply, and the dough pieces must become firm before being lye-dipped. After this, the baked products are coated with a 3 – 4% soda lye solution for a few seconds and baked for 12 – 15 minutes. A lot of experience is needed to achieve the typical brown baked product color. As works manager Matthias Hartung explains: “For us, the marked contrast between the pale bloom and the chestnut-colored crust is a mark of quality.”

Round the clock

Lye bread rolls and lye sticks as well as pizzas, croissants (filled and unfilled) and molded cookies are also produced in Oranienbaum, in addition to Ditsch pretzels. Depending on orders and customers’ requirements, the lines must be reorganized every day, and the machines adjusted and recipes adapted. This needs very precise planning to ensure the machines can be operated as efficiently as possible. Therefore, it is also important to works manager Matthias Hartung that the employees work well together. He insists on flat hierarchies. His staff also regularly undergo further training. As works manager Hartung explains: “We systematically give our employees further training, which includes internal and external training courses. On the one hand, we want to remain an attractive employer and retain our employees’ loyalty, while on the other it also allows us to offer our staff a variety of career opportunities.”

The production facility at the Oranienbaum site operates 24/7, and plant capacity occupation is high, which also explains the investment in the new building with two production lines and a high-bay frozen product warehouse. The company is delighted with a steadily increasing demand for lye baked products, and the order books are full. Ditsch wants to remain Germany’s lye champion through constant investment in new technology, as well as in staff training and further education. The company also wants to achieve further growth. +++