Portrait

From a cider-maker to a producer of a wide range of beverages

Necessity is the mother of invention. Something that riha WeserGold - whose name is derived from the initials of the founder's name - knows only too well. Before the company became the success story it is today, it was faced with a problem. In the case of Richard Hartinger, this 'problem' was his incredible thirst brought about by his work as a glass-blower. His solution was to drink apple juice, which he pressed himself from the plentiful supply of local apples.

To do so, he built a simple hand-operated press - the first of many designs that followed. In 1934, Richard Hartinger finally began to produce refreshment beverages on a commercial basis.

After completing a commercial apprenticeship and attending a juice-makers' school, his son Richard joined his father in the family's small production plant. Today, he is chairman of the advisory board of the family business, which generates a turnover of more than 600 million euros every year and is one of the largest producers of fruit juices in Europe.

With Richard Hartinger jr. meanwhile the third generation entered the company, thus securing that the riha WeserGold Beverage Group remains a family business.