Whether hot or cold, Alfi products keep their temperature. The tradition-steeped Thuringian firm has been making vacuum jugs ever since its founding, experiencing its first boom during the First World War, at the end of which it employed 75. The “Aluminiumwarenfabrik Fischbach” – origin of the name Alfi – entered the export business as early as the 1920s. By 1960, following an interval when the family owners had been forced to surrender the company to the state in East Germany and the plant was relocated to the Main River, the workforce had doubled (to about 200 today). At the time, the maker of vacuum jugs could boast 50 models in some 300 variations, available in over 60 countries. The most successful jug is still Juwel, a design stemming from the company’s early days, when it received a contract to outfit the dining cars for a US railroad. This classic, sold today in a total of 16 versions, cut a fine figure on the white tablecloth and became the prototype for the whole genre. With a silhouette reminiscent of a classic coffee pot, Juwel combines elegance with robustness – an impression that is further underlined by its easy-to-use and reliable stopper. The 1980s brought a conceptual turning point, when the company appealed to star designers for fresh inspiration – at nearly the same time as pioneers like Alessi or FSB. International greats such as Philippe Starck from France, Ross Lovegrove from Great Britain and Makio Hasuike from Japan have since supplied designs for the manufacturer in We rtheim, lending its product, once associated with lunchboxes and camping, a new dignity. The breakthrough for the new strategy came in 1986 with the Kugel jug designed by Ole Palsby of Denmark. The jug’s striking cleanlined geometry formed a counterpoint to the more traditional styles that had gone before. Three years later, to mark its 75th anniversary, the company unveiled Achat by Tassilo vonGrolman, a cone with haptically intriguing grooves. Trendy materials such as translucent plastic, along with whimsical curvy forms, have since given the brand, which is today part of WMF, a younger touch. Like FSB in its realm, the company has thus plumbed the many dimensions of its core product.