Over 130 years of history. Our milestones from 1889 to today.
Since 1889, customers have appreciated the high-quality products of Robert Thoma & Co - at that time they were still made of wood. Since 1986, the Swiss company Rotho Kunststoff AG has been creating a wide range of unique, designer, and user-friendly products for the kitchen, home, and pet sector. Over time, the materials may have been improved, but we still remain true to our high quality standards.
How it all began...
1820 - Adam Thoma is a master carpenter in the traditional village of "Holzschneflerdorf" in Bernau in the Black Forest and runs a small workshop.
1864 - Robert Thoma, the founder of the Rotho company, was born in Bernau and later took over his father's carpentry workshop.
1889 - Robert Thoma invests in a power generator, allowing him to expand the small production of small furniture, planes, and other wooden products. Robert Thoma & Co. is established.
1925 - Robert Thoma Junior (1901-1962) takes over his father's business and expands it into a small industrial wood processing plant.
1950 - The beginning of plastic processing in Bernau and St. Blasien: Robert Thoma & Co. along with its 15 employees shifts production from wooden drawers for office furniture to plastic drawers.
The company is handed over to three sons - Edwin, Franz, and Walter Thoma, who run it until the 1980s.
1955 - A plastic vegetable peeler with a steel blade is created and is today the oldest and practically unchanged product in the Rotho company's range.
1981 - Acquisition of Fixit AG and establishment of Rotho-Fixit Kunststoffwerke in Neuenhof, Switzerland. Ro and Tho are the initial letters of the first and last name of the company's founder, Robert Thoma.
1985 - Acquisition and expansion of the baby products department, establishment of Rotho Babydesign GmbH in St. Blasien, Germany.
1990 - Name change from Rotho-Fixit Kunststoffwerke to Rotho Kunststoff AG.
1993 - Winfried Köbel takes the chair of the president at Rotho Gruppe and contributes to the company's success on the international stage.
1995 - Construction of a completely new factory in Würenlingen, Switzerland, and concentration of all activities at this new location.
2005 - Due to the international successes of the company, production in Würenlingen is expanded with an additional module in 2005.
2007 - The new logistics center features a highly automated picking line and a partially automated pallet warehouse.
2010 - Rotho Professional GmbH is founded by Pablo Kaplan and Winfried Köbel. It specializes in professional waste systems for the service, gastronomy, and hospitality sectors.
2011 - Görwihl in the Black Forest becomes the center of all distribution activities in and for Germany.
2016 - Rotho Sp. z o.o. is a new company with a modern location. It will serve as a base for further expansion of the Rotho group.