Hermann Christian Tobias Krogmann (1797-1866) settled in Hamburg in 1815 as a grocer. He and Carl L. O. Wachsmuth, the younger brother of the
company founder become authorized signatorys at Wachsmuth (1786-1885). In 1823 Krogmann married Catharina Dorette Elisabeth Wachsmuth,
the sister of the company founder. In 1824 Carl Wachsmuth and Tobias Krogmann became the
company owners and moved the business to a new location, Gro.e Reichenstrasse 45.

In 1831 Tobias Krogmann purchased the sailing ship Mary Ann and founded the shipping company Wachsmuth & Krogmann.

More ships would follow soon. The company‘s own fleet always delivered new goods from the Mediterranean, South America, Southeast Asia, India and the South Seas, and as time passed they opened up more ports in the Baltics and Russia.

Until it ceased its shipping business in 1942, Wachsmuth & Krogmann operated ships under its own name for 111 years.
This made us one of the oldest shipping companies in Hamburg at one time.

On January 1, 1841, the owners decided to convert the company from J. C. Wachsmuth to Wachsmuth & Krogmann. The company was entered in

Hamburg‘s first commercial register under this name. Business is booming. Wachsmuth & Krogmann developed into an important food wholesaler.
After Carl Wachsmuth left, Tobias Krogmann became the sole owner of Wachsmuth & Krogmann in 1846.

Wachsmuth & Krogmann continued to expand, taking over the liner service between Hamburg and Calcutta in 1861, investing in two shipyards and founding trading companies in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in 1870. The trade in copra, cotton, tortoiseshell and coconut oil was flourishing. 1873 expanding towards the Baltics and Russia, founded a commercial bank and even a small branch in St. Petersburg. In 1875 the company specialized in importing paddy rice from Burma and Siam. In 1893 Wachsmuth & Krogmann built two paddle steamers for the Hamburg-Harburger Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft.

From 1913 to 1938, Wachsmuth & Krogmann outsources the import goods business to the specially founded company Honigwaren-Import Ewerwahn & Co. and during this period concentrated on the shipping company, which had grown rapidly.

In 1945 Wachsmuth & Krogmann restarted Businesses with few employees in a know location, the Zippelhaus opens again.
In 1962 the company was turned into an oHG and opened an import agency for Nuts and dried fruits.
A little bit later, 1968, imported canned goods arrive, Deli specialties and frozen products are also added.

In 1980 the first non-food products were imported. Wachsmuth & Krogmann expands the non-food business and establishes a branch in Hong Kong. The company keeps growing. Followed by Company-Branches in Shanghai and the USA.

In 1972 Wachsmuth & Krogmann celebrated her 175th anniversary with a steamboat trip along the traditional route of the former,
in-house Hamburg-Harburger Steamer Society.

In addition, the foreign trade company Wachsmuth & Krogmann mbH was founded to keep up with the Import business.
Starting with a carpet trade business for an Iranian house.

In 1988 Wachsmuth & Krogmann founded its own branch in Hong Kong, Wachsmuth & Krogmann (Far East) Ltd.,
which has since been lead  by our managing director, Bernd Schoefer.

Since we mainly imported from the East Asian region, we founded another office over there. More than 20 Employees travel East Asia every day  to, among other things,  be informed about the latest products. They also provide us with more efficient quality monitoring on site.
In addition, we are lucky to have Cooperation offices in China, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Wachsmuth & Krogmann begins Import of colonial goods and spices.
The import of nuts, Dried fruits and canned goods still takes a part of the business volume. This is called Continuity!

Heart felt Congratulations on the 200th anniversary. Even in a tradition-conscious Hanseatic city 200 year company anniversaries are extraordinary Events – therefore particularly worth celebrating. If a company that has existed for over two centuries Market claims, then that speaks for efficient employees and for far-sighted and clever corporate policy.

Bei Wachsmuth & Krogmann verbinden sich Tradition und Innovation auf ideale Weise. W&K ist ein leistungsfähiges Außenhandelsunternehmen mit stark differenzierter Produktpalette. Und bei allen Veränderungen, die es im Importgewerbe gegeben hat, versteht sich W&K auch heute als verantwortungsbewusster Mittler zwischen Produzent und Verbraucher.

W&K engagiert sich stark im dynamischen wachsenden Ostasiengeschäft; eine eigene Niederlassung in Hongkong sowie Kooperationsbüros in China, Taiwan, Thailand und Indonesien sichern Präsenz. Auch in Hamburg hat sich W&K in den vergangenen Jahren deutlich vergrößert. Tradition als Fundament, Innovation als Stärke – das sind gute Voraussetzungen, um sich auch in Zukunft behaupten zu können. Ich wünsche Wachsmuth & Krogmann für die nächsten 200 Jahre weiterhin guten Erfolg.

Dr. Henning Voscherau / Erster Bürgermeister der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg

2020 erweitere W&K den Standort im Herzen Hamburgs (Lange Mühren 1).
Dazu wurde ein leerstehender Bürobereich komplett ausgebaut, renoviert und für die Mitarbeiter bezugsfertig gemacht.
Durch diese Erweiterung konnten die Arbeitsplätze entzerrt und strukturiert werden.
Die neue Bürofläche brachte mit ca. 1.200m ² viel neuen Platz für derzeitig ca. 75 beschäftigte Mitarbeiter.

Vor 225 Jahren am 15. September 1797 gründete Johann Christian Wachsmuth (1773-1820) die Firma J.C. Wachsmuth und ließ sich in der Steinstraße nieder.

Er begann seinen Handel mit Ölivenöl, Mandeln, Feigen, Sukkade, Piment, Korken, Zwiebeln und vielen Spezialitäten mehr.

Nach kurzer Zeit ist Wachsmuths Geschäft eine der größten Kolonialwarenhandlungen in Hamburg.

Das „Zippelhaus“ wird für viele Jahre Sitz von Wachsmuth und Krogmann (ab 1841) und nun wird es zum kommenden Jahr der Sprinkenhof.

After many wonderful years on the upper floors above the former Galleria Kaufhof, we moved.
The Sprinkenhof has a lot to offer and is part of Hamburg’s cultural history.
We are happy to have arrived in this historic building.