Perfumer & Flavorist+ met F&F industry veteran and author Ronald Piech at IFEAT 2023 in Berlin. Piech shared his passion and knowledge of the industry, which prompted the following interview to discuss Piech's novel, Cradle of an Industry: Scents and Flavors from Central Germany, first published in 2022 in German—Wiege einer Industrie: Düfte und Aromen aus Mitteldeutschland.
Read this article in the March 2024 issue!
The book draws a profile of the entrepreneurship of the Fritzsche family from Leipzig, which was based on initiative, internationality, inclusion of science and research, and social responsibility. It describes the development of an industry in which flourishing people from Leipzig and the region played a creative role over generations and outlines past and living activities with scents and flavors in the region.
For me, industrial history and cherished traditions in companies have a great deal for their future. Individual initiative, the hardships for any beginning and the success of creativity release pride.
First, can you explain how you made your way to the F&F industry?
Ronald Piech [RP]: My way into this industry was rather unusual, I have no chemical background nor any attachment to the natural side of the F&F industry, however, I recall an early experience of witnessing the harvest of orange blossoms in a plantation in Tunisia`s Cap Bon region, in spring 1979. It was an amazing moment to see all these hardworking women, hand-picking an endless number of flowers for the manufacture of Neroli essential oil. But for me, it was a coincidental event. After my graduation I studied Africa-related Sciences at Leipzig University and was drafted into the East German diplomatic service, stepping up its corporate ladder in the early 1970s. I spent 17 years dealing with both North- and West-African countries living nine years abroad, in Tunisia, Algeria, and Nigeria. It all came to an end with the downfall of the state then called the German Democratic Republic and the following German unification. I then went to join a French bank to promote their corporate business in the East German southern region. However, frustrated by a very tight risk policy that made gaining customers a vain effort, I joined one of my customer’s business activities, trying to promote and sell its synthetic aroma ingredients worldwide. This was by the turn of the centuries and since then, my fascination for this industry never diminished by a dime, and is kept alive.
What was the catalyst for writing your book?
RP: Indeed, there was more than one reason that drove me. When I entered a spin-off of the ancient company in Miltitz near Leipzig town, in 2000, it was located on the ancient factory’s site, in some of the overleft historical buildings that were very impressive and gave an idea about the wealth the entrepreneurs had earned compared to other industries, to enable them investing in such wonderful industrial buildings. As a Leipzig-born person, I had never before heard about this company on the edge of town, its traditions and the international role it played throughout more than a century. In a profession completely unknown to me, one of my motivations consisted of delivering a contribution to bringing back a tiny part of this ancient resplendence to the place from where it emanated: Leipzig. For more than 40 years In East Germany, there was a society model that oppressed private initiative. Entrepreneurship had no value. And 40 years is indeed a long time for actively and willingly destroying traditions as the legacy of Schimmel & Co.
On the other hand, I heard and read so many things about the unique and international pioneer role the company played for at least more than a hundred years, and later said to myself that actually, this particular story needs to be immortalized somehow. For me, industrial history and cherished traditions in companies have a great deal for their future. Individual initiative, the hardships for any beginning and the success of creativity release pride. Being proud of the ancestor’s performances, especially if it starts as a family business, gives a unique and solidly backed motivation for future challenges. And in general, it is good to know the roots one comes from, for defining new horizons.
Dodge ran a trade with herbs, oil and paramedical ingredients and began distilling around 1850 too, as many tiny American family companies, based on material from local crops.Adobe Stock
This may be an encouragement for all those with a similar approach as far as they are in countries with a long tradition in this industry like France, Spain and others. They may dig out their traditions since little we know about the beginnings and developments of this industry way back. While discussing the issue with customers and colleagues, the question came up whether there is something that has been written about this story. A friend told me that the "American adventure" of this corporation was completely unknown in the United States and actually should be written down before it vanishes. He was not the only one who argued in this sense, thus promoting the idea of preserving the whole history, since others joined him. Finally, I decided to dare it myself, while using the stories that many people told me, as well as details and documents I collected throughout 20 years.
Since in these early years, all players had to pass the same typical pathways requested by this industry wherever it was settled, they all erected similar capabilities for distillation, blending, and later on to fabric synthetic ingredients. These steps were comparable in all places of the branch, therefore the description of Schimmel & Co.’s industrial development is far from being a navel–gazing view for the Leipzig plant but illustrates particularly through numerous illustrations what all companies in this business had to go through, at this way back time. And this might still be of some interest today. So far, for describing the "catalyst".
Through your research and interviews, how has the industry come into existence in the United States?
RP: Two chapters in the book describe what happened with the subsidiary that Leipzig Schimmel & Co. established and grew in New York and New Jersey between 1871 and 1900 and that soon was named Fritzsche Brothers. Fritzsche was the name of the owner family of the Schimmel venture in Leipzig, its U.S.-subsidiary later got a reputation as Fritzsche, Dodge and Olcott. In the beginning, it was a pure trading affair for essential oils imported from Europe, especially Germany, and later the manufacture of flavors and fragrance material started in factories built for the purpose and under the guidance of the Leipzig-based German company. By that time, Dodge & Olcott existed already, as an importer and distiller of natural material. As the first American company in the business, the venture came into existence some years after America’s independence, around 1798 or even earlier. Dodge ran a trade with herbs, oil and paramedical ingredients and began distilling around 1850 too, as many tiny American family companies, based on material from local crops.
Probably and by the time Fritzsche Brothers expanded, other manufacturers and traders came along with similar activities, in particular the UNGERER company, established in 1893, being part of Givaudan today. I have no real clue about what happened in this American industry from the 1920s onwards and later. Related to the book’s story, I focused on what became of the Fritzsche Brothers who for a long time must have been among the most significant US..- companies in F&F. The second chapter gives an outlook on their activities. Fritzsche bought Dodge and Olcott in the early 1950s and the later brand became Fritzsche, Dodge, Olcott (FDO). This corporation was acquired by BASF in 1980 and belongs to Givaudan since 1990 (East Hanover plant).
The content of chapters emanates from information by the last Director of Operations of FDO, Al Dicara, who helped me discover the “American Part” of the Schimmel story. Without his input, these chapters would never have come into existence and I am very grateful for this important contribution. I am also grateful to another American who directed and edited the book's wonderful translation in English: Dr. Achille Riviello, who was portrayed in a P&F+ issue, a couple of years ago.
Can you highlight some of the major plot points in the novel that F&F professionals would be keen to learn or benefit from?
RP: For me, the major plot in the book was to highlight the inventiveness and purposefulness of an entrepreneurial dynasty that never weakened its role as a pioneer and sought to bring to perfection what others did as well, only to a certain degree, and thus keeping them at a distance.
This began with particular efforts that were made to analyze the constituents of essential oils for obtaining necessary data, at a time when other producers were yet satisfied with mostly judging materials only by smell, taste, color and sometimes by solubility in alcohol. This also applies to the courage to invest money in new ideas and scientists, in newly developed equipment with which the findings could be implemented on an industrial scale. Later, this also involved creating the conditions for doing synthetic aroma chemicals without neglecting the business with naturals. For a long time, this enabled Schimmel to play a pioneering role in a broad line. Of course, it is up to each potential reader to pick out things that are of individual interest. This however presupposes a fundamental interest in the history of this industry. I seize the opportunity to quote some international opinions from partners in the industry to whom the book was sent to honor long relations on a personal but mainly business level with my former employer Miltitz Aromatics GmbH. There were some lovely returns as: "For your information, I have a copy of your book on my desk! I feel like a library as several have noted it and asked to borrow" or "[… ]an amazing job of chronicling the history of Schimmel and Fritzsche-FDO and so much more, I learned a great deal and have only touched the surface.[..]“ to continue "[...]this company played a very important role in the modernization of entire value chains, from plant cultivation to chemicals[...]“ or furthermore "[…]I have been reading the book off-and-on for the past week learning so much about our industry [...] I had no idea of the intense work that the German chemists and farmers had done in the 19th century [...] Incredible. I am in wonder of this industriousness[...]” and to end the enumeration “[…] with this book, the author has created something unique. it contains and illustrates[...] numerous, previously unheard-of information embedded in the historical background of the last 180 years. The pioneers of that time, who were still equipped with sometimes adventurous chemical knowledge but an extremely entrepreneurial spirit, laid the foundation for [...] a piece of future living culture. In my opinion, the book is on the same level as Gün-ther Ohlof's Fragrances: Signals of the Emotional World, which is a classic of perfume literature”.
Can you touch on some examples of how you've witnessed the industry evolve since you first entered?
RP: When you are directly involved in changes and new challenges that your industry is concerned with, day by day, you need to master them or you will fail. Changes of the last 20 years have become a reality and precondition for any daily business today. So, in the end, you can’t even remember that there were times when it went the other way, especially because these changes evolve over long years, little by little. Let me focus on three phenomena I witnessed throughout the years I spent in this industry.
The first thing I recall and was confronted with, was the move of chemical industrial processing towards China and India, starting in the 1990s. Many companies, including F&F manufacturers transferred parts or the whole manufacturing of aroma chemicals to there and dedicated their own factories to other fine chemicals unless they closed them down. Their particular know-how acquired through decades on steering these special processes went lost and only a handful of companies maintained such production in Europe. Miltitz Aromatics is one of the few. But to implement such structures again if suddenly the Far East fails, is a headache when experiences and appropriate equipment are no longer in place. They cannot be activated again simply based on some chemical formula and finger snipping. The harsh price competition was another serious issue.
The second phenomenon concerns the concentration process in this industry. In the beginning manifold family ventures with long traditions were concerned. They had many hesitations to enter this path. In my time, this happening began with actions among bigger players, i.e. in 2000, when BBA went to IFF, then in 2003, Haarmann & Reimer merged with Dragoco, and in 2006, when Quest was acquired by Givaudan. These developments went on until today and they obviously do not stop. A lot of ideas are always lost during these mergers, and by chance, some may re-appear and continue to live elsewhere.
The third observation I want to mention is this bulk of regulatory affairs that created and continues to create more and more headaches, year by year, and among them the REACH regulations. I do not want to comment on this, but all has certainly become a big burden for many companies and makes business more difficult compared with the decades before. It certainly generates disadvantages for global acting ventures. Authorities have been established to draft and promote the implementation of all these regulations and observe that everything complies. On the other hand, the seemingly never-ending bunch of ingredient bans creates serious headaches for perfumers and flavourists for their applications within the various supply chains.
However, even if many things in this business have become very uniform, it is still an amazingly variable and fascinating industry with an impressive history. The book should contribute to the latter. After almost 200 years, the spirit of Schimmel & Co is still alive in the Leipzig region as two companies emanate from its roots. Editing and printing of Cradle of an Industry was made possible by them and so I am grateful to Bell Flavors & Fragrances GmbH in Leipzig and Miltitz Aromatics GmbH in Bitterfeld, as the actual “spiritual heirs” of this tradition that continues since both manufacturers are embedded in the flavor and fragrance industry.
