Everything began in Amlikon in a corner of Thurgau that remains as beautiful today as it was then. In 1892, Heinrich Zwicky took over the Amlikon mill that was at that point around 200 years old and operated it with a water turbine and petrol engine.
In 1911 he purchased the former Areal cement factory in Hasli from bankruptcy, in which a customer mill had been operated for 500 years. In around 125 years, Schweizerische Schälmühle E. Zwicky AG has developed into the most important special mill of its kind. Our company in Müllheim-Wigoltingen has been family-owned since 1892 and is today in the fourth generation of management. The trademark, the gnome holding an ear of wheat, is a guarantee for high-quality products.
The timeline confirms the varied history.
| 2024 | Expansion of gluten-free production and installation of a new industrial oven to produce gluten-free granola. |
| 2023 | Expansion of the vertical solar system and takeover corn production of Swissmill. |
| 2021 | Installation and commissioning of one of the largest vertical solar systems in Switzerland on various towers on the company premises |
| 2020 | Commissioning of the new high-tech refinery plant. Start of wheat germ processing |
| 2019 | Installation of the complex FLEXLINE packaging system, which now allows the attachment of Velcro fasteners for different types of pouches and sizes. |
| 2017 | Thomas Klopfenstein takes over the chairmanship of the board of directors from his brother Jürg. |
| 2014 | Expansion of the gluten free production line and installation of a new extruder for gluten free products. |
| 2013 | Sale of Zwicky Deutschland GmbH, a company for import and distribution, based in Kaiserslautern. New owner is the long standing CEO. |
| 2012 |
120 years ago the Schweizerische Schälmühle E. Zwicky AG was foundet in Amlikon. Launching of gluten-free products and HIRSEGOLD, a gluten-free beer based on millet. |
| 2011 | Launching the new product portfolio of the feed additive range under the new brand AniBelle. |
| 2010 |
Focus on food production and stopping the feed production. Construction of a storage building and conversion of the feed mill in a special hulling mill. Launching the new product GoldLIFE, based on millet oil, exclusively for hairdressers. |
| 2009 | Acquisition of the brand melior gourmet of the company Haefliger AG and simultaneous transmission of the feed department. |
| 2007 |
Expansion of packing plant and supply warehouse. Expansion of the factory shop including refurbished offices. |
| 2005 |
Joining the programme for climate protection and reduction of CO2 emissions. Integration of an energy-saving plant. Heating of all spaces (offices, factory floor and workshops) through heat recuperation. |
| 2004 |
Certification in accordance with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the International Food Standards (IFS). Construction of a new cereal spraying plant. Further diversification und production of millet oil products under the brand name ‘Hirsana’. |
| 2003 |
Expansion of food production with a new, fully automated plant comprising mixing and filling stations for the production of ready-made foods. Quality, environmental and health and safety management certification (ASA) in accordance with ISO 9001 / ISO 14001. Introduction of a hygiene concept for the whole of the manufacturing sector. |
| 2001 |
Installation of a fully automated drying kiln for soup flour. Construction of a combined heating and power station for the company’s own energy and steam supply. |
| 2000 |
Commissioning of the new computerised feedstuff plant, designed to manufacture GM-free products for animal feeds. Introduction of expander technology in the mixed feed sector. |
| 1999 | Decommissioning or the Hungerbühler AG mill near St. Galle and partial relocation of flour production to Zwicky in Müllheim-Wigoltingen. |
| 1998 | The Zwicky factory shop is opened in Müllheim-Wigoltingen for direct sale to the public. |
| 1997 |
100% sale of the E. Zwicky AG company to JTM Klopfenstein Holding AG based in Wigoltingen. Joint owners of JTM Klopfenstein Holding AG are the siblings Jürg, Thomas and Monika Klopfenstein who form the board of directors of the E. Zwicky AG company. Groundbreaking ceremony for a state-of-the-art feedstuff plant. |
| 1994 | Zwicky gains certification in accordance with ISO 9001. |
| 1992 |
Centenary celebration of the E. Zwicky AG. Further expansion of rolling mill with the addition of a new flake rolling mill and flake dryer. |
| 1991 | Decommissioning of the Bottighofen mill. Flour production moves to St. Galle. |
| 1990 | Majority shareholding in Hungerbühler AG, near St. Galle. |
| 1989 | Foundation of the import and sales division Zwicky Germany GmbH, based in Viernheim, and, from 1992, in Kaiserslautern. Move into their own offices in Rodenbach in 1997. Acquisition and closure of the milling operation, H. Haag AG, in Frauenfeld, Eastern Switzerland. |
| 1988 |
Expansion of the grain stores by the railway lines (Rail Silo III) with a total capacity of 13’400 tons. By now the total company store capacity has been brought up to around 27’000 tons distributed among 194 units. Construction of a grain collection point with a grain cleaning and drying plant. |
| 1985 |
New build for the preparation plants for both pulses and rice. Acquisition of the downstream mill of the Bottighofen AG company. |
| 1983 | Refurbishment and construction of a new extension to the wheat mill. |
| 1982 | Construction of a new specialised mill for barley, millet, corn and soya beans. Expansion of the small packing plant for speciality retail products. |
| 1979 | Ernst Uhlmann becomes chair of the board of directors. |
| 1978 | Construction of flour stores to facilitate loose shipping and modernisation of the grain rolling mill. |
| 1977 | Expansion of the animal feed stores by 2’000 tons and extension work to the mixed feed factory. |
| 1976 | Heinrich Klopfenstein dies at the age of 64. Ernst Uhlmann continues to run the company on his own. |
| 1975 | Expansion of the grain stores by the railway lines (Rail Silo II) with a total capacity of 5’000 tons. |
| 1974 | Construction of a newly introduced small packing plant including the required infrastructure as well as warehouses and a loading bay. |
| 1973 | Construction of a staff building and the workshop facilities as well as facilities for the national protection and support service. |
| 1969 | Construction of the boiler house and the bakery. |
| 1967 | A major fire destroys the old speciality mill, parts of the wheat mill as well as warehouses. It takes less than 18 months to rebuild everything. |
| 1966 | Construction of a workshop for vehicle maintenance and a car-wash, lorry garage and a filling station. |
| 1965 | Construction of the first grain store with railway access, with a capacity of 3’300 tons. |
| 1961 | Emil Zwicky-Häberlin dies at the age of 71. His eldest son-in-law, Professor Emil Staiger, becomes chair of the board of directors. The sons-in-law, Heinrich Klopfenstein and Ernst Uhlmann, take over the running of the company. |
| 1956 |
License agreement and start of the production of the Zwicky proprietary brand ‘Kollath Breakfast’, a successful product to this day. Later, further speciality foods are developed such as millet flakes, wheat-germ flakes and soya flakes, all processed with the method developed by Professor Kollath. |
| 1952 | The feed mill is modernised and extended and converted into a plant for concentrated feedstuffs. Production of mixed feeds is introduced. The animal feed range is considerably extended, their recipes now prepared on a scientific basis. |
| 1946 | Start of muesli production with the brand name ‘Frutifort’ under license from the fellow Swiss company Maggi AG. In 1971, the brand was taken over and has been marketed as a proprietary brand ever since. |
| 1944 | Founding father, Heinrich Zwicky, dies at 83 years old. |
| 1938 | Construction of the first tall silo for grains with a store capacity of 3’360 tons. |
| 1935 | The first grain stores with a capacity of 2’000 tons are built in conjunction with the feed mill. They will be used for storage of feed grains as well as peas and millet. |
| 1930 | Processing of millet is introduced for the first time in Switzerland. At the time, millet was rarely found on an every-day Swiss menu. |
| 1929 | Construction of a feed mill next to a railway siding. Farmers and cheese makers in the area are supplied with individually prepared cattle and pig feeds. Simple feed mixes are prepared following the recipes supplied by the life-stock owners. |
| 1928 | Construction of a new wheat mill and business diversification by converting to an independent trading mill. Numerous bakeries in the area are supplied with a variety of baking flours. |
| 1923 | Final name change of the business to, Swiss Hulling Mill E. Zwicky AG, the name the company uses to this day. |
| 1921 | The product range is expanded by peas being processed into coarse pea-meal as an ingredient for soups. |
| 1920 | The eldest son, Heinrich Zwicky, is killed during a visit at the Leipzig Trade Fair; he was the victim of a stray bullet during strike actions in the town. The helm of the young business is now taken by Emil Zwicky-Häberlin. |
| 1915 | Renaming the company to, Heinrich Zwicky and Sons, Swiss Pearl Barley Factory, Müllheim-Wigoltingen. |
| 1914 | Introduction of barley for processing. Due to the First World War, food supplies, especially those from Germany, are seriously hampered which creates the opportunity to process home-grown barley into such products as pearl barley and barley flour. |
| 1911 |
Purchase of land of the defunct cement works of the Portland AG company in Wigoltingen. Here, the Zwicky family rebuild the old mill at Hasli which had been decommissioned some time before. First entry into the Companies’ Register said: Heinrich Zwicky and Sons, corn and rye mill in Hasli, in the parish of Müllheim-Wigoltingen. In addition to corn and rye, the newly-founded family business also takes bread-making wheat for commissioned milling for the local farming community. The first written record of the Hasli mill goes as far back as 1448. In 1653 it burned down to the ground. In 1662 the newly rebuilt mill was purchased by the parish of Müllheim-Wigoltingen. The mill was leased out and the local farmers were obliged to have their grain milled at the Hasli mill. Until 1861, the mill was run with the hydraulic power provided by the Kemmenbach stream. Though later it was able to benefit from power provided by the canal of the river Thur which was branched off at Weinfelden and rejoined the river at Pfyn. In 1971, due to a legal dispute, the Thur canal was closed and filled in. |
| 1892 |
Heinrich Zwicky purchases the job-order mill in Amlikon in eastern Switzerland. This contract mill is run with his wife, two sons and a daughter. In 1911, the Amlikon mill is sold. The mill continues to operate as a job-order mill until after the Second World War. |
