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Dextrose for a world that needs more performance

Everyone knows the cubes with the little squares made of pressed dextrose from Dextro Energy. Dextro Energy was founded in 1927, and in 1935, at that time still going by the name Maizenait, it set standards when it introduced this form of packaging. In the same way that Tempo is synonymous with tissues and Tesa with adhesive tape, today, for most consumers today Dextro Energy is still a synonym for dextrose tablets. Today Dextro Energy is also a leading manufacturer of dextrose worldwide, and in Germany it is the number one company with a market share of 52.5 percent. The promise to deliver herbal energy that takes effect immediately has accompanied athletes, school pupils, students and working people for generations. For more than 40 years Dextro Energy has been producing dextrose in powder form, and pressed as cubes and sticks, at its site in Krefeld-Uerdingen.

It all started with a white powder that was sold in pharmacies under the name "Dextrose Purum" or "nutritive sugar". Deutsche Maizena GmbH, founded in 1916 in Hamburg, was a subsidiary of the American company CPC (Corn Products Refining Company Chicago/New York), which registered a patent for crystalline dextrose in 1923. The Krefeld site existed even back then, in addition to factories in Hamburg and in Barby on the River Elbe in Saxony Anhalt. In 1929 the nutritive sugar made of corn starch was given the brand name "Dextropur", the logo shows a corn cob in front of a blue sphere. The square tablet was introduced in 1935 in specialist stores. At the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Dextro Energen was the "official championship nutrition", as well as at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. In 1998 CPC, and thus Maizena, was merged into Bestfoods, and two years later the British-Dutch food multi-national corporation Unilever bought the American food giant. When the group decided to focus its strategy on the big brands it parted ways with Dextro Energy in 2005. It was bought by Zertus GmbH in Hamburg, a traditional family business. It dates back to 1826 and the Tangermünde sugar refinery on the River Elbe, which was the largest sugar refinery in Europe until the end of the Second World War.

Zertus GmbH is the holding company of four subsidiaries in the foods sector: from the production of waffles, tinned sweets and confectionary advertising materials to the marketing of premium foods. Market leader Dextro Energy has been part of the group for six years. General Manager Andreas Romankiewicz has also been a member of the Zertus management board since 2010 and commutes between Hamburg and Meerbusch. The 45-year-old is also used to commuting on a smaller scale, for Dextro Energy produces in Krefeld-Uerdingen on the Rhine, but the administrative offices are on the city border of Krefeld on the A 44 in Meerbusch-Osterath in the immediate vicinity of Epson Germany's headquarters. The eventful history of the brand owners distracts attention away from the fact that this product with its long history is an uninterrupted success story, especially after 2005, when Dextro Energy embarked on an upwards trend again. Positioned as an energy expert, two years ago the company expanded into the sports nutrition sector. In January 2012 a new range of Dextro Energy with various flavors combining energy and fresh breath was introduced to sports stores and drugstores. But it's not just Dextrose processing that takes place at the Krefeld site; it still prepackages others products such as pizza base and pudding powder for Mondamin or mashed potatoes for Knorr for third parties such as the Unilever Group.

Romankiewicz is very happy with the Krefeld site. He was born in Flensburg, grew up in Bonn, and worked for a long time in Heilbronn. The business studies graduate knows many industrial regions in Germany. He values the very good infrastructure at the Krefeld site, its extensive traffic routes and the potential of a well-trained workforce in a large metropolitan area. 150 staff work in sales and production, 20 of them in Meerbusch. The nearby airport is also a big plus for the region. It is also very advantageous for Dextro Energy in Uerdingen that Cargill, a raw materials supplier for corn starch, is located right next door, and both factories are connected by a short pipeline. The products made in Krefeld today go out to 22 markets. Dextro Energy has a strong presence in Europe, especially in the Benelux countries, Austria and Switzerland, Scandinavia and the UK. The performance-oriented Asians are also a valuable target group for Dextro Energy, a product that is becoming well established there. In Meerbusch they are working hard developing the product with the long and successful track record. Dextro Energy has also already been the sponsor of international triathlon competitions in London, Madrid and Sydney.

 

 

Dextro Energy GmbH & Co. KG (Production)
Hafenstraße 77
47809 Krefeld

Otto-Hahn-Straße 4
40670 Meerbusch

Tel.: 02151 5227-0

www.dextro-energy.com