Anton Herr

Dollmannstraße. 11, Bogen, Bavaria

With no background in ceramics  the company was founded by Anton Herr (1919-2008) and his wife Marieluise Herr (1920-2010). Postwar Germany had little industry, but much demand. Raw materials were in short supply, so ingenuity was essential. Likewise the German mark suffered from inflation until 1948 and goods were priced after delivery. Quality suffered and had to be accepted and cracked glazes were accepted as "craquellee", a "new look". In the early 1950's the company relied on supplying vessels to the pharmacy industry. By the mid to late 1950's the economy improved, as did the product quality. An artistic range of ceramics, designed by then current notable artists was introduced, with limited success. Then the big orders for pharmacy vessels started arriving which necessitated, in 1960, building a modern purpose-built factory. In 1961 the company converted from a sole partnership to a KG with Anton as M.D. and the wife and children as directors. By 1964, further floors were added the the new building, with separate departments in their own space for efficiency. With 60 employees, the company sold everything they could make, with no interference from imports. In the 1970's the range of shapes and colours became so great that delivery times became as much as 3 months. In 1972, another 2 story factory at Stifterstrasse 31 was built to increase production. Another new product, Decorated beer dispensing pumps for brewery pubs, prove very popular for some time.. Whilst in 1980 Ceramic tiled stoves come back into fashion and many stove tiles are required, raising the company output by 20%. Anton Snr. retired and the sons took over the management of the company. It is now recognised in hindsight that the product range was too big, so decisions were taken to rationalise the product range to:Pharmacy ceramics, Spice jars, Breweries (bar pumps, jugs, ashtrays - participation in brewery fairs), Tiled stoves and finally Custom orders ( promotional gifts). However in 1988 Anton Herr Jnr. sets up Cerox to produce technical ceramics, in particular, crucibles. Reunification in 1990 saw imports vastly increase. so to maintain competitiveness work was outsource to Czech companies. The 1990's were tough years for trading, but our wide product range kept us afloat. In 1996 we started a cooperative venure producing roof tiles and accessories. In 1997 brother Christian Herr left the company with Anton Herr Jnr assuming 100% of the shares. Roof ceramics became the company's primary product when the Arts and crafts department is closed in 2009. The company today has expanded beyond recognition wit additional factories, and continues to grow via merger to become Möltner-Herr GmbH. Anton Herr Jnr retired in 2011 with Matthias Möltner. becoming the new MD.

Reference: Herr Keramik