BRAND
I'M COOKING
BERNDES WORLD LEADER IN CAST ALUMINIUM COOKWARE

The BERNDES philosophy is: If it can be imagined, it can be achieved! BERNDES has always aimed at extending its vision beyond the commonplace - and perhaps this is why the story of our company is one of innovations. No matter which decade we review, our attention has always been focused on the future, and what we could see was what we believed in.

As soon as news of non-stick cookware reached our industry, we were enthusiastic and soon ready to celebrate the dramatically improved cooking qualities with our prototypes. When no one else had thought of the unlimited ways of using cast aluminium, new and unusual cookware were already taking shape on our sketch pads. And when a whole industry complacently put masses of ever more identical products onto the shelves, BERNDES looked for new directions, and slowly but surely left these masses behind.

"WITHIN A COMPANY, THE BRAND MUST BE
PLACED ON A LEVEL EQUIVALENT TO THAT OF THE
CROWN JEWELS; THEY MUST BE HANDLED VERY
CAREFULLY."
Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking | President,
Porsche AG, Germany | brand eins, März 2000
    
The spirit of the BERNDES brand is demonstrated by our most successful series. In almost 30 years of existence, TRADITION®, like no other product on the market, has developed into a quiet classic among cookware - while embodying all the qualities a product needs to rise above the commonplace: The TRADITION® series has become a myth symbolizing the inner strength and the vigor of the BERNDES brand. The BONANZA myth embodies everything that singles out the BERNDES brand name. It stands for values that are passed on from one generation to the next, and TRADITION® is there in every new generation. It is robust and long-lived, radiates security and signifies success. It is traditional, combining natural wood with cast aluminium; it is rustic but still classic. A good friend who will stick with you through thick and thin. It is not without good reason that TRADITION® continues to achieve excellent test results awarded by leading, independent testing institutes such as "Good Housekeeping", USA and Great Britain.

With products such as TRADITION®, BERNDES has helped a fascinating material to make a break-through in modern kitchens. And while we have continued to improve our products, the qualities of cast aluminium are still making dreams come true: Light in weight, it can be processed into an endless range of designs. What could demonstrate better the wide possibilities for its use than the market launch of our first square grillpan.

When we started working with cast aluminium the production required labor intensive and sometimes heavy manual work. At that time BERNDES cookware was cast in prefabricated molds - a skilled task requiring great care. This production by craftsmen brought with it an invaluable and invisible added value: step by step our firm gathered a profound understanding and knowledge on how to deal with cast aluminium. Although production has long since been industrialized - you can still feel the craftsmanship, the long years of experience and the know-how in our cookware. A different cooking sensation is awakened. More original, but with impressive technical qualities. It is probably this very combination of the traditional and the modern that makes our cookware so appealing.

Today, BERNDES is world market leader in the cast aluminium sector and the biggest producer of pans in Germany. The niche we once discovered has developed into one of the most significant markets for cookware. It is time to focus anew and to take the lead into the future. BERNDES, as a brand, has grown up and has for some time been thinking and dealing on an international scale. Our vision for the future is clear: BERNDES, as global player, is going to exploit the unique potential provided by our lead in the cast aluminium sector. Our brand meets all the conditions needed to reach this goal: convincing products of top quality, an esthetic range of products with an unrivaled production variety and a brand identity that is known for quality throughout the world "Made in Germany".

To make our future even more successful, we shall in the years to come focus our attention on the intrinsic values of the BERNDES brand. We will improve our brand with what has always made our products winners: the love that even today is essential for quality. To develop favorably and to grow successfully, a brand must be loved; just like you love your job or a close friend. It has to be given its own smell, color, and life. A brand is like a personality. It doesn't have to be smooth by any means, but may have edges and corners. As long as it makes a lasting impression. That makes it interesting and alive. Within its own world, anything goes - except there must be no substitute!

We have always derived much of the motivation to improve our performance and products from the reactions that reached us from people all over the world. Nothing is more satisfying than to be inspired by coming across people in their kitchen calling light heartedly: "I'M COOKING", and, incidentally, go into raptures about the merits of BERNDES products. This achieves our most important goal: to impart the joy of cooking. It is this plain and simple fact that accounts for our uncompromising efforts for still better performance:

It's fun to belong to the best in the world!

AWARDS
For more than a decade neutral domestic and foreign test institutes have confirmed the high quality standards of the Berndes products. In order to safeguard this level and to further improve it, we carry out quality tests in support of production in our own laboratory.

This is how the world judges Berndes quality
STIFTUNG WARENTEST     STIFTUNG WARENTEST
Germany, January 2003

Tested: 18 sets by various manufacturers.
Quotation: "Best cast aluminium pot"
STIFTUNG WARENTEST     STIFTUNG WARENTEST
Germany, October 1998

Tested: 19 non-stick surfaced pans of various manufacturers.
Overall assessment: 1 x "very good", 13 x "good", 5 x "satisfactory"
BERNDES' result: 2 x "good" (Granit, Prima) type of material: Spun Aluminium
1 x "very good" (TRADITION®) type of material: cast aluminium
Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI)     Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI)
London, November 1997

Tested: 20 non-stick surfaced pans of various manufacturers.
BERNDES result: Best result ahead of all other manufacturers with particular emphasis on non-stick qualities and optimum heat-conductivity.
Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI)     Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI)
London, October 1993

Tested: 10 non-stick surfaced pans of various manufacturers.
BERNDES' result: BERNDES was the only company to be given the mark "Special recommendation" for BONANZA® as well as
"excellent product characteristics and durability".
STIFTUNG WARENTEST     STIFTUNG WARENTEST
Germany, September 1993

Tested: 24 non-stick surfaced pans of different manufacturers.
Overall assessment: 12x "very good", 7 x "good", 5 x "satisfactory".
BERNDES' result: 3 pans in the test = 3 x "very good " for the types of material
Cast aluminium (BONANZA® series), Spun aluminium (PRIMA series), Stainless steel 18/10 (PREMIERE series)

Clear test winner = BERNDES
STIFTUNG WARENTEST     STIFTUNG WARENTEST
Germany, September 1992

Tested: 24 stainless steel pots of various manufacturers.
Overall assessment: 24 x "good"
BERNDES' individual result: pot structure: 2 x "very good"
(GALANT; ROMANTICA series)
Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI)     Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI)
London, March 1990

Tested: 8 non-stick surfaced aluminium pots of various manufacturers.
BERNDES' result: special recommendation for BONANZA® "robust, stable, well balanced, good non-stick characteristics"
STIFTUNG WARENTEST     STIFTUNG WARENTEST
Germany, May 1987

Tested: 21 non-stick surfaced pans of various manufacturers.
Overall assessment: 6 x "good", 12 x "satisfactory", 3 x "unsatisfactory".
BERNDES' result: 3 pans in the test = 3 x "good" (BONANZA®; GRANIT; SAPHIR)

Clear winner of the test = BERNDES.
Conclusion

Berndes' quality is acknowledged world-wide, or, as the Good
Housekeeping Institute says:

TRIED - TESTED - TRUSTED