Well-prepared for the future

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Zoohaus Heimtierbedarf is something of an institution in the Austrian pet product sector. Its origins go back to 1930, when Adolf Kempter, grandfather of the previous managing director Günter Kempter, established a wire goods factory in Barnabitenstraße in Vienna’s 6th District. After World War II, Walter Kempter, son of the company’s founder, continued to operate the company successfully with his wife Hilde. Under his aegis the business turned increasingly towards the production of bird cages, and was the only company in Austria engaged in this line at the time.
There were few signs initially to suggest that their son would lead the firm in the next generation and develop it to a substantial size. Günter Kempter was an enthusiastic sports editor and earned his spurs at daily newspapers and radio stations in and around Vienna. As head of the sports section on one Burgenland paper he even had the opportunity to interview the then famous racing driver Jochen Rindt in a Vienna café – just 14 days before the latter was killed in his final practice session for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Switch to wholesaling
It wasn’t easy for Günter Kempter to relinquish his career in journalism and join the family firm at the beginning of 1972. He now recalls that it was akin to “plunging into cold water,” for in the spring of that year his father became seriously ill. Walter Kempter died in December 1972, and Günter had to continue running the company alone. The new man at the helm acquitted himself well, however, getting things moving in the company and developing valuable contacts with foreign firms such as the former cage manufacturers Wagner & Keller and Encia or the aquarium accessories manufacturer Eheim. In 1977, Zoohaus entered into cooperation with the Italian firm Ferplast, marketing its products exclusively and with great success in Austria. In-house production of cages continued up to 1980, since when the company has operated primarily as a wholesaler. One production line started at the end of the 1970s that has carried on up to the present day, however, is the production of various food bars for birds and small mammals. These are hand-made according to a well-tried recipe – a speciality made in Austria that continues to enjoy great popularity in the Austrian pet supplies sector.
In 1978, Zoohaus created a stir in the Austrian pet trade by organising the first house fair anywhere in the country for pet…