Ankerbrot AG

Ankerbrot AG, large bakery enterprise; founded 1891 in Vienna´s 10^th district by Heinrich and Fritz Mendl. In 1914 the company had a staff of almost 1,300; in 1922 it became a family-run joint stock company; in 1938 it was confiscated and turned into Nazi property ("aryanised"). After 1945 the company was returned to its rightful owners; in 1969 it was taken over by the Schoeller Group, which merged it with the Hammerbrotwerke bread factory in Floridsdorf, Vienna. In 1981 Helmut A. Schuster and his brother Gerhard Schuster acquired the firm, which underwent considerable expansion. In 1997 74% of Ankerbrot AG was sold to Müllerbrot GmbH; while the Schuster retained a 23% interest; the remaining shares are widespread holdings. In 1997 the company had a staff of 2,630 and a turnover of ATS 2.2 bn.