Peter Kölln

Across Generations

Peter Kölln

Our company

The Kölln family has been doing business in Elmshorn since 1795, and in 1820 the company was officially launched with its entry into the commercial register. What started with a horse-operated mill has developed into an ever larger company over the years. From the very beginning, the focus was on oats and to this day, the Kölln oats flakes are among the best-known branded products in Germany. Other products were added later: mueslis and cereals, and most recently edible oils and vegetable fats.

Today, the family company is run by the seventh generation and its 390 employees generate almost 145 million euros in annual sales.

390

355 employees and 35 apprentices put their shoulders to the wheel every day so that our products can find their way to our customers.

200

For 200 years it has been our aspiration to produce Across Generations.

100

At the Elmshorn location, we have been sourcing 100 percent of the electricity from renewable energies since 2014.

Manfred Vondran & Friederike Driftmann

CEO next to the seventh generation of the Kölln owner family

Our core competencies

Quality

Thanks to its competence, constancy and passion, Peter Kölln is a well-renowned company in the food industry. We want our brands and products to convince by their value and taste. Therefore, we apply the highest standards and care at all process levels, because quality is the top priority in the production of foods in order to guarantee our customers safety and reliability.

Experience

There’s no one better than us when it comes to the processing of oats. We have 200 years of experience in this field, thus making us the undisputed leading specialist in this industry.

Up until now, we are continuously investing in the modernisation of our production processes and in new technologies to get the best out of oats.

Innovation

For us, 200 years of experience also means always looking towards the future, because only those who keep their finger on the pulse, who keep their eyes open and who think outside the box, remain competitive on the market. At Peter Kölln we are doing our utmost every day to deliver the highest quality to our customers and to offer new products according to their needs. But for us, innovation also means looking at the environment and future generations. We have a responsibility for using our resources carefully. We have therefore decided to get certified by the ZNU (Zentrum für nachhaltige Unternehmensführung = Centre for Sustainable Corporate Governance), so that we can continue saying in future: Peter Kölln – Across Generations!

Cultural and social commitment

Art and culture as well as social commitment have played a major role in the Kölln entrepreneurial family for generations. So it was obvious to also get engaged in this field as a company.

As a long-established industrial company in Schleswig-Holstein, it is a great pleasure for us to support the well-known Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

Till Brönner's “Kampen Jazz” is also close to our heart. This fantastic festival takes place every year on the island of Sylt. On this island we just feel completely at ease. And as a sponsor of “Kampen Jazz” we are happy to contribute to making cultural life on the North Frisian island a little more colourful and varied.

However, the Peter Kölln company is also aware of its social responsibility. So we are educational partners for schools or are supporting various charitable organisations, such as the regional food banks. With a simple idea - namely to give away good food instead of throwing it away - they help many people in need. We think that's great and have been supporting it for years with food donations.