Rational AG is a German manufacturer and retailer of commercial and industrial kitchen equipment for thermal food preparation. The company is based in

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech. Overview Landsberg is sit ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, and was founded by

Siegfried Meister Siegfried Meister (17 October 1938 – 28 July 2017) was a German billionaire businessman, founder and 63% owner of Rational AG. Early life Meister was born in 1938. He trained as an electrical engineer. Career In 1973, he founded Rational AG, ...

in 1973. It operates worldwide and has 25 subsidiaries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

as well as seven branches in Germany.

History

The company was founded in 1973 by

(* 1938, † 2017) with 18 employees as a company for the production and distribution of hot air appliances in Germany.Lars-Thorben Niggehoff: ''Gedämpfte Erwartungen.'' In: ''

Wirtschaftswoche ''Wirtschaftswoche'' is a German language, German weekly business news magazine published in Germany. “Wirtschaft” means economy (including business) and “Woche” is week. History and profile For many years, ''Wirtschaftswoche'' was pub ...

'', Sonderheft ''Die 500 heimlichen Weltmarktführer 2022.'' No. 1, p. 44., November 8, 2021. These quickly superseded conventional ovens that were used in the commercial sector before then. Initially, the company produced

deep fryers A deep fryer (also referred to as a deep fat fryer), is a kitchen appliance used for deep frying. Deep frying is a method of cooking by submerging food into oil at high heat, typically between temperatures of . While commonly used in commercia ...

and

ovens file:Double oven.jpg, upA double oven file:Four à céramique - Japan Auréa - 2011-0403- P1070446.JPG, A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means ...

. In 1976, Meister invented the Rational combi steamer for commercial kitchens and started its production.''Rational geht mit Dampf in den Smax ein.'' In: ''

Handelsblatt The ''Handelsblatt'' (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German language, German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. History and profile ''Hand ...

'', No. 038, p. 30., February 23, 2000.''Die Sterne-Küchen.'' In: ''

Focus Money ''Focus Money'' is a German language business magazine published in Munich, Germany. It is one of the spin-offs of the German news magazine ''Focus''. History and profile ''Focus Money'' was first published on 30 March 2000. Its slogan was "Fakt ...

'', No. 5, p. 30., January 26, 2022. From 1978 onwards, the company concentrated solely on combi steamers and discontinued all other product lines. From 1991, Rational expanded abroad and founded its first subsidiary in the United Kingdom. In 1992, the company took over the French partner Frima. Since then, local sales companies have been established in multiple countries across the world. In 2000, "Rational GmbH" was converted to a

stock corporation A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

. Since March 3, 2000, the company has been listed in the Prime Standard of the

Frankfurt Stock Exchange The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm (German time). Organisation Locate ...

. In 2008, Rational opened its third plant in Landsberg. On March 4, 2009, the company was promoted to the

MDAX The MDAX is a stock index which lists German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The index is calculated by Deutsche Börse. Until 2021 included the 60 Prime Standard shares from sectors that rank immediately below (in value of ...

. As of September 22, 2014, Rational AG was listed in the

SDAX The SDAX (German abbreviation for ''Small-Cap-deutsche Aktienindex'') is a stock market index composed of 70 small and medium-sized companies in Germany. These so-called 'small caps In typography, small caps (short for "small capitals") are ...

. In 2012, Peter Stadelmann joined the company and took over the business from 2014.Elisabeth Dostert: ''Die Küchenprofis.'' In: ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. Histo ...

'', p. 22., September 13, 2019. On August 11, 2016, Rational moved back up to the MDAX, and on September 18, 2017, the stock again moved to the SDAX. In 2018, Frima was renamed Rational and its VarioCookingCenter has since been marketed under the Rational brand. On September 23, 2019, Rational returned to the MDAX. In April 2022, the contract of CEO Peter Stadelmann was extended until November 2027.Stefan Kroneck: ''Rational-Chef Stadelmann lässt nichts anbrennen.'' In: ''

Börsen-Zeitung The ''Börsen-Zeitung'' is the main daily newspaper in Germany exclusively focused on the financial markets. The ''Börsen-Zeitungs headquarters is in Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the ...

'', No. 161, p. 12., August 23, 2022.

Company

Rational AG has 7 national and 25 international subsidiaries in Germany, Europe, Asia, North and South America. The company is active with an export share of 87 percent. frameless, Firma Rational AG In 2021, the company generated sales of €779.7 million and employed 2,206 people. EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) amounted to 160 million euros in 2021. The EBIT margin was 20.5 percent. The family of founder Meisters holds the majority of shares in the company, 55.2 percent, with 44.8 percent in

public float In the context of stock markets, the public float or free float represents the portion of shares of a corporation that are in the hands of public investors as opposed to locked-in shares held by promoters, company officers, controlling-interest in ...

(as of March 1, 2022).

Products

Rational's products include the iCombi Pro and iCombi Classic combi steamers and the iVario Pro, which can replace a tipper, pan, kettle or fryer in the kitchen. The appliances can be connected and controlled via an online platform. This allows, for example, for menu plans or recipe management to be controlled digitally. The platform also contains cooking videos and a recipe library. Combi steamers account for about 90 percent of the company's appliance sales, while sales of the iVario line account for about ten percent. The combi steamers are produced and tested at the plant in Landsberg am Lech.

References

{{Authority control Engineering companies of Germany Cooking appliance brands Companies based in Bavaria British Royal Warrant holders Companies in the MDAX