1952 – The Birth of a Legacy in Germany's No. 1 Beer City
Heinrich Roxlau, former director of the Dortmunder Union Brewery, founds the company at a time when Dortmund was the beer capital of Europe. While Roxlau drives forward the planning of bar and counter systems for restaurants and pubs in the Ruhr region, his partner Elisabeth Pottschulte runs the retail shop for porcelain and decorative arts on Hohen Wall. A company built on two solid pillars—right from the very start.
The first location on the Wall: Heinrich Roxlau's retail shop on Hohen Wall in 1952. Even in our founding years, the striking neon sign showcased our presence in the heart of Dortmund.
1956/57 – A Decision for the Future
Love writes the best stories: Veronika Pottschulte meets Richard Plate—at the time, Dortmund's youngest master butcher. Although emigration papers for the USA are already waiting at the consulate, Richard chooses Veronika and decides to join the business. In 1957, the couple takes over the company, laying the foundation for today's generation.
The 1960s to 1980s – Growth & Specialization
The 1960s: Move to Ostwall. The product range expands to include hotel porcelain, cutlery, and catering furniture.
The 1970s/1980s: Modern gastronomy emerges. New hygiene regulations make stainless steel furniture mandatory—and we deliver the solutions. Our customer base expands to include canteens and institutional catering.
1988: As a founding member of the GGKA trade association, we champion quality standards in the specialized trade early on.
1994 – The Leap into the Digital Era
After completing his business administration studies in Germany and the USA, Stefan Plate returns to Dortmund. His first day of work marks the turning of an era: where invoices were previously typed on manual typewriters, the development of a modern IT infrastructure now begins. Armed with fresh expertise from overseas and internships with industry peers, efficiency is taken to a whole new level.
1995/96 – Expansion & New Horizons
Growth in the tightest of spaces: Our former courtyard area on Dorstelmannstraße. With just 30 m² of space, every single square inch would later be needed to cope with rising demand.
Personal consulting from day one: Our sales back-office team in 2006. This is where the initial groundwork for the digital success of INTERGASTRO was laid—with genuine expertise and a direct line to our customers.
Full power, every single day: Daily life on Dorstelmannstraße in 2006. Here you can see our team preparing the daily shipments. Working hard among pallet jacks, graffiti, and narrow brick walls, we packed and shipped catering equipment across the entire DACH region. It was during this period that it became clear: we had completely outgrown these premises.
We grow both in space and expertise. We move into our own commercial building on Dorstelmannstraße, providing dedicated storage capacities for palletized goods. At the same time, we successfully venture into the rental business and begin planning our first complete commercial kitchens using state-of-the-art software—including electrical, plumbing, and flooring layouts.
Commercial Kitchen Projects & References
Precision for institutional catering: Installation of an industrial conveyor deep fryer for the former student services (Studentenwerk) of the University of Dortmund. A project volume of approximately 200,000 DM highlights our expertise in equipping large-scale cafeterias as early as the 1990s.
Powering the heart of Dortmund's events: Installation of the professional beverage dispensing system in the legendary Westfalenhalle 1. Where thousands of people gather, operators rely on our technology for seamless beverage service.
Modern dining design: Planning and installation of an ergonomic salad bar for the food service area of Dortmund's municipal utility company (Dortmunder Stadtwerke). Functionality meets appealing design to serve daily crowds of guests.
Efficiency in corporate dining: Complete cooking suite including high-performance boiling pans and state-of-the-art thermal cooking equipment, realized for the commercial kitchen of a leading energy supplier in Gelsenkirchen.
1999/2000 – The Birth of INTERGASTRO: Pioneers of the Web
While others are still flipping through paper catalogs, we recognize the potential of the internet. "INTER" for Internet, "GASTRO" for our passion: the INTERGASTRO brand is registered. Because agency quotes are astronomical at the time, we quickly develop the online shop ourselves. We go live, becoming one of Germany's very first genuine catering equipment e-commerce stores. The first order? A Bartscher countertop fryer.
Milestone of digitization: The INTERGASTRO webshop in the early 2000s. The image shows the user interface of our online shop during its initial years. Even back then, INTERGASTRO relied on a structured, digital catalog of its range for gastronomy and commercial kitchens—illustrated here by the "Butcher's Supplies" category and its specialized subcategories of butcher and industrial knives and corresponding accessories.
2002 – 2012: Digital Pioneering Spirit & Organic Growth
The online shop becomes the engine of our business. In an era when e-commerce for the catering industry was still in its infancy, we did true pioneering work: we seamlessly transferred our decades of expertise from personal consulting into the digital world.
Thanks to our growing online visibility, we reach customers far beyond the Ruhr region. The DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) quickly develops into our main sales market. However, trust in our logistics grows beyond European borders as well: packages and pallets now leave our warehouse not only for neighboring EU countries, but also find their way to projects in Egypt, Australia, Uruguay, and the USA.
The New Era at Heiliger Weg
2009/10: Move to our current location at Heiliger Weg. 2,500 m² of warehouse space and modern logistics right next to the Dortmund Wholesale Market (Großmarkt) allow us to process the massive increase in shipping volumes.
Logistics power at the Dortmund Wholesale Market: Our current facility at Heiliger Weg. Equipped with six modern loading docks and excellent transport connections, we guarantee fast turnarounds for suppliers and customers worldwide.
Efficiency from pallet to package: Our warehouse architecture is divided into a high-capacity pallet storage area for core assortments and an adjacent order picking warehouse for precise item selection. This 2,500 m² logistics infrastructure enables the timely consolidation of complex catering orders and ensures reliable delivery times.
2012: Heinrich Roxlau GmbH merges with INTERGASTRO. This consolidates over 60 years of tradition and deep-rooted regional service DNA with the power of our international online store.
2017 – 2019 – High-Tech for B2B Commerce
To guarantee maximum security and performance for our customers, we migrate to the high-performance Intershop enterprise platform. As e-commerce pioneers, their dedicated focus on B2B business aligns perfectly with our vision. In 2019, we go live with our brand-new, state-of-the-art shop.
Today – Your Global Partner
Today, with over 106,000 products from more than 300 brands, we serve around 285,000 commercial customers worldwide. Our team of 20 experts stands for professional expertise, personal accessibility, and reliable after-sales service. Whether bar supplies, a specialized hygiene catalog, or commercial kitchen technology: we deliver what professionals need—backed by the experience of more than seven decades.
