MINDEN, Germany – Melitta Professional celebrates the milestone birthday of the inventor of the coffee filter and company founder. Melitta Bentz would have been 150 years old on 31 January 2023. To this day, she remains a role model and inspiration for the company she founded: the Melitta Group.
In 1908, Melitta Bentz invented the coffee filter. She pierced the bottom of a brass mug and then placed a sheet of blotting paper from her son’s exercisebook inside.
This simple but ingenious idea gave rise to the first paper coffee filter, she was granted utility model protection for on 20 June 1908, and which revolutionised coffee drinking around the world. Today, that small company has grown into an internationally active group of companies – with around 6,000 employees.
“My great-grandmother not only laid the foundation for today’s Melitta Group,” said Jero Bentz, a member of the Melitta Group’s Chief Corporate Management. “Her pioneering spirit, her innovativeness and her consistent focus on customer needs continue to inform our company to this day and are the benchmark and inspiration behind our thoughts and actions.”
A role model of her time
With her wealth of ideas, her courage and her perseverance, she was not only a successful inventor and entrepreneur but also a pioneer of her time. She combined her role as mother of three and housewife with that of a successful businesswoman – and therefore she still stands as a role model for balancing career and family life today.
For her, entrepreneurial activity was always inextricably linked with responsibility. Throughout her life, she dedicated herself to improving existing conditions and shaping the future. “Melitta Bentz wanted to create very special moments in people’s everyday lives with her inventions,” remarked Volker Stühmeier, a member of the Melitta Group’s Chief Corporate Management. “To this day nothing has changed in this regard: Enjoyment, comfort, trust and safety are still at the heart of our products today – whether at home, on the go or in the food service industry.”
Melitta Professional support its partners in the out-of-home market according to their individual needs. Worldwide with 12 national subsidiaries and in more than 50 other countries in cooperation with partners for distribution and service. At the Host trade show in Milano, Melitta Professional will be showcasing its all-round expertise in coffee, coffee machines, digital solutions and technical service. Visitors to its “Home of Coffee Professionals” booth will have new and established products to discover from all areas of coffee and coffee preparation.
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