Anton Rauch GmbH & Co KG

Anton Rauch GmbH & Co KG — trading as Rauchmühle and marketing its flours under the Rauchmehl name — is a family-rooted Austrian milling company based in Innsbruck. It describes itself as the leading mill in western Austria, and its history reaches back to the early nineteenth century. The founder, Anton Rauch, left the Tyrolean Oberland to find work and, after years of wandering, took over the Kindlmühle in Mühlau near Innsbruck from owners who had no successors. Since the founding year of 1831 the mill by the stream near the church has been called "Rauchmühle". The company mills grain into a broad range of baking flours and related milling products. According to its own data, it mills 30,000 tonnes of wheat, 5,000 tonnes of rye and 200 tonnes of spelt annually in Innsbruck. Daily production capacity is stated as 160 tonnes of wheat milling, 70 tonnes of rye milling and 90 tonnes of durum wheat milling. Storage capacity includes a 15,000-tonne grain silo, 2,800-tonne flour and loading silos and 2,600-tonne storage halls. A fully automatic batch mixing plant has a mixing capacity of 20 tonnes per hour; bagging for 30 kg sacks runs at 300 sacks per hour, and a small-packaging line for 1 kg packs handles 6,000 kg per hour. Rauchmühle serves both household consumers and business customers. Its product world includes household packs, various flour types and a flour and baking assistant, supported by recipes and baking knowledge on its website. The company emphasises regional sourcing: the grain comes from the best growing areas of eastern Austria and is transported by rail to keep the CO2 footprint as small as possible. Its stated mission is to solve all flour-related questions for customers, sell the highest-quality products, act responsibly towards the environment, strengthen the regional economy and secure the local supply of flour as a staple food, while offering performance-oriented employment in a safe working environment. Ownership and corporate details beyond the firm's own communications are not documented in the available evidence. The company operates as a private Austrian limited partnership (GmbH & Co KG) and remains active, with its website presenting current products, recipes and business-customer offerings.

The history of the Rauchmühle is presented by the company as a story of generations and of steady adaptation to new milling technology. It begins in 1809, when Tyrolean farmers tried to drive Bavarian and French occupiers out of the country. Franz Rauch from Kaunerberg, father of the later company founder, was among the Tyrolean peasants who attacked enemy troops at Pontlatz; he fell in battle and left behind a large family. His eldest son, Anton, left the Tyrolean Oberland to look for work. After a long period of wandering, Anton Rauch found employment at the Kindlmühle in Mühlau near Innsbruck. The owners had no successors and sold the business to the young miller against a life annuity. Since the founding year of 1831, the mill by the stream near the church has been called "Rauchmühle". Under its new owner the business grew and prospered, although the water power of the mill wheel set a limit to its output. The next generation brought technical modernisation. The founder's son, Leopold Rauch, was enthusiastic about modern technology. At the world exhibition in London he saw that electrical energy could be transmitted over long distances by a high-voltage cable. In 1888 he had several hundred metres of such a line laid, an early step in electrifying the mill. The company's published timeline continues with further dated entries — 1896, 1900, 1914, 1919, 1923, 1930, 1938, 1945, 1960, 1974, 1995, 1997 and 2017 — marking the mill's development through industrialisation, the interwar years, the Second World War and the post-war expansion of Austrian food production. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries the Rauchmühle consolidated its position as a modern industrial mill. Its own data describe a plant in Innsbruck that mills 30,000 tonnes of wheat, 5,000 tonnes of rye and 200 tonnes of spelt each year, with daily capacities of 160 tonnes for wheat, 70 tonnes for rye and 90 tonnes for durum wheat. Storage includes a 15,000-tonne grain silo, 2,800-tonne flour and loading silos and 2,600-tonne storage halls. A fully automatic batch mixing plant, high-speed bagging for 30 kg sacks and a 1 kg small-packaging line reflect the shift towards both bulk business customers and retail household packs. The company today presents itself as the leading mill in western Austria. It sources grain from the best growing areas of eastern Austria and transports it by rail to minimise its CO2 footprint, combining a long regional tradition with modern sustainability and quality certification. Its stated mission emphasises customer service around flour, top product quality, environmental responsibility, support for the regional economy and safeguarding the local supply of flour as a staple food.

• 1896

  Dated entry in the company's published history timeline.

• 1888

  Leopold Rauch, son of the founder, has several hundred metres of high-voltage cable laid after seeing long-distance power transmission at the London world exhibition.

• 1831

  Anton Rauch takes over the Kindlmühle in Mühlau near Innsbruck; the mill is named Rauchmühle from this founding year.

• 1809

  Franz Rauch, father of the founder, falls at the battle of Pontlatz; his eldest son Anton leaves the Tyrolean Oberland to seek work.

Leading mill in western Austria, focused on high-quality regional flour and reliable local supply.

• Wheat flour

  Milled from wheat; annual wheat milling volume stated as 30,000 tonnes.

• Rye flour

  Milled from rye; annual rye milling volume stated as 5,000 tonnes.

• Spelt flour

  Milled from spelt; annual spelt milling volume stated as 200 tonnes.

• Durum wheat flour

  Daily durum wheat milling capacity stated as 90 tonnes.

• Household packs

  Retail flour packs for household consumers, including 1 kg small packaging.

• Flour and baking assistant

  Online tool and product range supporting customers with flour and baking questions.

1. 1Home - Startseite Rauchmühle / Rauchmehl / Rezept des Monatsrauchmehl.at
2. 2Über uns - Daten & Fakten / Rauchmühle / Rauchmehlrauchmehl.at
3. 3Geschichte im Zeitverlauf / Rauchmühle / Rauchmehlrauchmehl.at
4. 4Anton Rauch GmbH & Co KGwikidata.org