Jakob Gerhardt, our company founder and pioneer of the vending industry, passed away on January 29, 2026, at the age of 87.
He began his career in the vending industry in 1965, initially as an independent sales representative. In 1969, he founded a specialist wholesale business in Bempflingen. However, he was not only a dealer, but also worked intensively with the vending machines available on the market. With his Swabian thoroughness, he developed solutions for innovative hot beverage vending machines. The first of our own hot beverage vending machines came onto the market in 1994 – and to this day, our factory in Raidwangen is an established name in the industry.
We miss our senior director and will always honor his memory.
