PHW Group
A German family-owned poultry group operating across breeding, feed, farming, processing, logistics, food production, and alternative proteins.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
PHW Group is a German family-owned food and agribusiness group headquartered in Visbek-Rechterfeld in the Oldenburg Münsterland region of Lower Saxony. Its principal business is poultry production and processing, conducted mainly under the Wiesenhof brand. The group is one of Germany’s largest poultry businesses and has an international operating footprint. PHW’s business model is characterized by extensive vertical integration. Rather than concentrating solely on slaughtering or branded food sales, the group participates in many stages of the poultry value chain. Its activities include poultry breeding and hatcheries, feed production, veterinary products, animal husbandry and fattening, transport and logistics, slaughtering, cutting, further processing, and the marketing of poultry meat. Chickens represent the largest share of its processed poultry, while turkey and duck products are also part of the portfolio. The group’s corporate structure includes two principal holding companies based in Rechterfeld: Erste Paul-Heinz Wesjohann GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft and Zweite Paul-Heinz Wesjohann GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft. Lohmann & Co. AG, based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, is among the group’s important subgroups and is used in PHW’s public corporate presentation. PHW also owns just under half of WIMEX Group, a major international supplier of day-old Cobb-breed chicks. This connection extends the group’s reach beyond meat processing into poultry genetics and breeding inputs. Wiesenhof is the group’s best-known consumer-facing poultry business. Through this brand and related operations, PHW supplies fresh poultry, frozen products, processed meat, and convenience-oriented food products. The group has also developed an alternative-protein business, reflecting the broader shift in the food sector toward plant-based and other non-animal protein products. In the 2020/2021 financial year, this activity remained a small part of the overall business compared with conventional poultry. PHW’s scale and vertically integrated structure have made it an important participant in the German poultry industry, but the company has also faced sustained scrutiny. Broadcast investigations and activist campaigns have raised allegations concerning migrant-worker conditions, wages, animal treatment, environmental pressures related to groundwater use, and corporate taxation. A PHW subsidiary was also named in the German sausage-cartel case, in which the Federal Cartel Office imposed collective fines on producers and individuals in 2014. These matters have contributed to a public profile shaped both by industrial poultry leadership and by controversy over labor, animal-welfare, environmental, and regulatory practices. The group remains privately controlled and active. Publicly available reference material identifies its core business as poultry production and processing, with additional activities in breeding-related operations, logistics, food manufacturing, and alternative proteins.
History
PHW Group is a privately controlled German poultry and food enterprise associated with the Wesjohann family. The group is headquartered in Visbek-Rechterfeld, in the Oldenburg Münsterland area of Lower Saxony, a region with a dense concentration of agricultural and livestock businesses. Its corporate organization is built around two principal holding companies, Erste Paul-Heinz Wesjohann GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft and Zweite Paul-Heinz Wesjohann GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, both based in Rechterfeld. The company’s development has been based on integrating successive stages of poultry production. Its activities extend from breeding and hatcheries to feed, veterinary products, farming, transport, slaughtering, cutting, processing, and sales. This structure allows PHW to coordinate production across much of the supply chain and supports high-volume poultry manufacturing. Chicken is the central raw material, with turkey and duck also processed. Wiesenhof is the principal public-facing poultry brand connected with the group. PHW’s structure also includes Lohmann & Co. AG, headquartered in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. In addition, the group owns just under 50 percent of WIMEX Group, an international supplier of day-old Cobb-breed chicks. The WIMEX interest links PHW to poultry genetics and breeding distribution, while the group’s own hatcheries and production operations connect those inputs to meat processing and branded food products. The group’s business is not limited to conventional poultry. PHW established an alternative-protein activity as a separate area of development. The segment was still comparatively small in the 2020/2021 financial year, but its presence indicated an effort to participate in changing consumer preferences and the wider food-industry transition toward non-animal protein options. PHW has repeatedly attracted criticism from journalists, animal-welfare organizations, environmental groups, labor advocates, and political opponents. A 2007 ZDF Frontal21 program reported alleged poor working conditions and low wages affecting Polish migrant workers. Similar concerns were examined in an ARD television report in 2011. Animal-treatment allegations were presented in an ARD Report Mainz investigation in 2010, another ARD report in 2011, and a Stern TV report in 2013. The group has also faced allegations that poultry production placed pressure on local groundwater resources; in Lohne, critics pointed to a substantial decline in groundwater levels near a PHW facility over the long period since 1951. Regulatory controversy followed in 2014, when the Federal Cartel Office announced collective fines of approximately €338.5 million against 21 sausage producers and 33 responsible individuals. PHW subsidiary Wiesenhof Geflügelwurst GmbH & Co. KG was identified as part of the sausage-cartel proceedings. In 2019, Lohmann & Co. AG moved its registered office to Vaduz. This prompted accusations from Germany’s Alliance 90/The Greens that the arrangement was connected with tax avoidance; the allegation was politically contested and is not equivalent to an established finding of tax evasion. Animal-rights and environmental activists have conducted repeated protests at PHW facilities. Actions included blockades in Bogen in 2013 and Königs Wusterhausen in 2017, followed by a larger blockade at the Rechterfeld headquarters in 2021. PHW therefore occupies a dual position in the German food economy: it is a major, integrated poultry producer with an international reach, while also being a prominent target of debates about industrial agriculture, labor standards, animal welfare, environmental effects, and corporate governance.
- 2021
Headquarters blockade in Rechterfeld
[1]More than one hundred activists blocked the group’s headquarters in a protest against industrial animal agriculture.
- 2019
Lohmann & Co. registered office moved to Vaduz
[1]PHW subgroup Lohmann & Co. AG relocated its registered office to Vaduz, Liechtenstein, prompting political criticism.
- 2017
Blockade at Königs Wusterhausen
[1]Animal-rights activists and local citizens’ groups blocked access to a PHW slaughterhouse in Brandenburg.
- 2014
PHW subsidiary named in sausage-cartel proceedings
[1]Wiesenhof Geflügelwurst GmbH & Co. KG was identified among the companies involved in the Federal Cartel Office’s sausage-cartel case.
- 2013
Blockade at the Bogen slaughterhouse
[1]Animal-rights activists protested at the PHW slaughterhouse in Bogen, Bavaria, including a road blockade.
- 2010
Animal-welfare allegations at a breeding farm
[1]An ARD Report Mainz investigation presented allegations of serious animal-welfare violations at a chicken-breeding farm.
- 2007
Television investigation into migrant-worker conditions
[1]A ZDF Frontal21 program reported alleged poor working conditions and low wages among Polish migrant workers associated with the poultry industry.
Products and positioning
A vertically integrated, large-scale poultry and food group combining agricultural inputs, poultry production, processing, logistics, branded food marketing, breeding-related activities, and emerging alternative-protein products.
Branded poultry
Wiesenhof poultry
Wiesenhof is PHW Group’s principal consumer-facing poultry brand. Its business covers chicken and other poultry products sold fresh, frozen, and in processed or convenience formats. The brand is supported by PHW’s integrated production network, which includes breeding, feed, farming, slaughtering, processing, logistics, and marketing.
Poultry meat
Turkey and duck products
In addition to its dominant chicken business, PHW processes turkey and duck. These products broaden the group’s poultry portfolio and are supplied through its meat-processing and food-production operations.
Processed meat
Poultry sausages and processed foods
PHW’s processing activities include poultry sausages and other prepared poultry foods. The group’s processed-food operations connect primary poultry production with branded and industrial food markets.
Alternative proteins
Alternative-protein products
PHW operates an alternative-protein business alongside its conventional poultry activities. The segment addresses demand for non-animal protein options, although it represented a small share of the group’s reported business in the 2020/2021 financial year.
Poultry genetics and breeding
Poultry breeding and day-old chicks
Through hatcheries, breeding operations, and its minority interest in WIMEX Group, PHW participates in the supply of poultry genetics and day-old chicks. WIMEX is described as a major supplier of day-old chicks of the Cobb breed.
Controversies
2019
Political criticism after Vaduz relocation
After Lohmann & Co. AG moved its registered office to Vaduz, Alliance 90/The Greens accused PHW Group of tax evasion. The available reference describes this as a political accusation rather than an established adjudicated finding.
2014
Sausage-cartel case
The Federal Cartel Office imposed aggregate fines of approximately €338.5 million on 21 sausage producers and 33 individuals. PHW subsidiary Wiesenhof Geflügelwurst GmbH & Co. KG was named among the companies involved.
2013
Animal-treatment allegations in television report
A Stern TV report presented additional allegations concerning animal treatment in the poultry sector linked to PHW operations.
2011
Further labor and animal-welfare criticism
ARD reporting revisited alleged labor problems and documented further animal-welfare concerns associated with poultry production.
2010
Animal-welfare allegations at a chicken-breeding farm
An ARD Report Mainz investigation alleged serious mistreatment of animals at a chicken-breeding farm connected with the group’s industry operations.
2007
Allegations concerning migrant-worker conditions
A ZDF Frontal21 broadcast reported alleged poor working conditions and low wages affecting Polish migrant workers in the PHW poultry-production context.
Groundwater-use criticism
PHW has faced allegations that its production sites contributed to overuse of groundwater. Critics cited documented declines in groundwater levels near a PHW facility in Lohne over the period since 1951.
Brand decisions
2021
Development of an alternative-protein businessStrategyBackground
Changing consumer preferences and the growth of non-animal protein categories created an adjacent opportunity for a poultry-centered food group.
Action taken
PHW maintained an alternative-protein business area alongside its conventional poultry operations.
Aftermath
The business generated €16.8 million in the 2020/2021 financial year, equal to 0.6% of total reported revenue in the cited reference.
Alternative-protein revenue. €16.8 million (2020/2021 financial year)
2019
Relocation of Lohmann & Co. AG’s registered officeStrategyBackground
Lohmann & Co. AG, a PHW subgroup, had its registered office in Germany before it was moved to Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Action taken
The company registered its office in Vaduz, with Ganten Trustees Ltd. serving as its representative office.
Aftermath
The relocation attracted political criticism, including allegations from Alliance 90/The Greens concerning tax evasion.
Recent events
- 2021
PHW Group expands public focus on alternative proteins[1]
Product launch
Alternative proteins formed a distinct PHW Group business area. Reference material reported revenue of €16.8 million for the 2020/2021 financial year, representing 0.6% of the group total.
- 2021
Activists block PHW headquarters in Rechterfeld[1]
Campaign · Other
More than one hundred activists associated with Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie blocked the PHW Group headquarters in Rechterfeld as part of a protest against industrial animal agriculture.
- 2021
Activists blocked the PHW headquarters[1]
Other
More than one hundred activists from Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie blockaded the company headquarters in Rechterfeld in protest against industrial animal agriculture.
- 2019
Lohmann & Co. AG moved its registered office to Vaduz[1]
Other
The registered office of PHW subgroup Lohmann & Co. AG was relocated to Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The move prompted political criticism and allegations from Alliance 90/The Greens concerning tax arrangements; the supplied reference does not establish a legal finding of tax evasion.
- 2017
Activists block PHW slaughterhouse in Königs Wusterhausen[1]
Campaign · Other
Animal-rights activists and members of local citizens’ initiatives blocked access to a PHW Group slaughterhouse in Königs Wusterhausen, Brandenburg.
- 2013
Protesters blockade PHW site in Bogen[1]
Campaign · Other
Activists protested at the PHW Group slaughterhouse in Bogen, Bavaria; some participants reportedly cemented themselves to the access road.
- 2011
ARD report renewed criticism of labor conditions[1]
Other
A further ARD television report described allegedly problematic working conditions involving migrant labor in the poultry sector associated with PHW.
- 2007
Television report criticized working conditions among migrant poultry workers[1]
Other
A ZDF Frontal21 report documented alleged poor working and wage conditions affecting Polish migrant workers connected with the poultry industry, contributing to public criticism of PHW-related operations.
Sources1 sources
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