Boehringer Ingelheim

C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer (1861–1939) in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and the largest private one. Headquartered in Ingelheim, it operates globally with 146 affiliates and more than 47,700 employees. Unlike most large pharmaceutical companies which are listed, the company is private and fully owned by the Boehringer, Liebrecht and von Baumbach families. The company's key areas of interest are: respiratory diseases, metabolism, immunology, oncology and diseases of the central nervous system. Boehringer Ingelheim is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The corporate logo of Boehringer Ingelheim depicts a stylized rendition of the central section of the imperial palace of Charlemagne. History 1885–1999 1885: Albert Boehringer buys a small tartar factory in Ingelheim am Rhein; work begins on 1 August. 1886: The factory commences production of tartaric acid for use in the food industry (e.g. in baking powder and carbonated beverages). 1893: Albert Boehringer renames the company C. H. Boehringer Sohn (CHBS) after his father, Christoph Heinrich Boehringer. 1893: While experimenting with the production of citric acid, lactic acid is formed. Albert Boehringer develops this process, with the intention of producing lactic acid on a larger scale. 1895: Lactic acid is produced on an industrial scale, and is successful commercially. 1917: Professor Heinrich Otto Wieland, chemist, future Nobel Prize winner and cousin of Albert Boehringer, sets up the company's research department. 1928: Albert Boehringer purchases Dr. Karl Thomae, a company based in Winnenden near Stuttgart. 1946: Dr. Karl Thomae GmbH is re-opened in Biberach an der Riss with a staff of 70 people. 1954: The company hires former Nazi Fritz Fischer after he is released from jail. Fischer was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials. This has never been corroborated or authenticated. The company supplied the most potent ingredient of Agent Orange.