VW's Mixed Grill:
An Assembly Line
Turns Out Sausages
At its massive headquarters plant here, Volkswagen AG made 515,000 cars last year. But cars aren't the factory's highest-volume product. "We make 1.5 million currywursts a year," boasts Klaus Labersweiler , head of the car company's meat department, while giving a tour of his white-tiled facility. "That's more wursts than cars."
In fact, Europe's largest auto maker is expanding its sausage production and extending the line. Its butcher shop, located in a corner of its assembly plant here, supplies about two dozen company plants and offices in Germany and hopes to reach VW cafeterias across Europe.
In Wolfsburg, employee canteens have added soup made from the company's best wurst. Soon there will be VW currywurst spread, for smearing on bread at breakfast. Still in development: VW currywurst ragout and a microwavable two-wurst package suitable for vending machines.
How Volkswagen built one of the auto industry's strangest sidelines is an unusual tale of industrial history. It dates back to the Wolfsburg plant's origin as a Nazi government project before World War II
When construction was started in 1938, Wolfsburg was little more than a castle and a few hundred people. For the thousands of workers who built the first "people's car," the plant had to provide housing and food. During the war, the plant employed slave laborers. Afterward, the British army restarted production, and again the plant had to provide many basics for its employees.
For a time, the plant kept its own cattle and vegetable gardens, but that ended long ago. Remaining from that era are the VW greenhouses that provide fresh flowers for executive suites and special events. The greenhouses turn out memorial wreaths whenever a current or former Wolfsburg plant employee dies.
The butcher shop might have passed away, too. In the 1950s, it produced meats that have been German staples for ages -- bockwurst, liverwurst, beef sausage and suelze, a meat-and-gelatin loaf that is sliced and served cold. Currywurst was concocted right after the war, and by the early 1960s it had become a favorite of the legions of laborers rebuilding Germany, especially in northern cities. The tangy new sausage also sparked a feud between Berlin and Hamburg, with each claiming to have invented the dish.
In 1962 or 1963, VW butchers, amused by the Berlin-Hamburg dispute, decided to try making this newfangled wurst. After about six weeks of experimenting with different combinations of curry, spices, pork and beef, they had a sausage that workers loved.
One of the men working in the VW butcher shop at the time was an uncle of Mr. Labersweiler's. The man encouraged his nephew to take up the meat trade, noting it would be a good way to get a job with the car maker. After an apprenticeship with a local butcher, Mr. Labersweiler joined Volkswagen in 1967, at the age of 17. In 1976, he became a master butcher. In 2000, amid the mad-cow disease scare, he helped reformulate the recipe to use only pork.
Today the public can enjoy a grilled VW currywurst for the equivalent of $2.88 at soccer games at Wolfsburg's VW Arena, or a plate of two wursts, smothered in spicy VW ketchup, at the restaurant at Autostadt, the plant's theme park for car enthusiasts and customers. Another option is Autostadt's Ritz-Carlton hotel, which features VW currywurst on its room-service menu.
Next year, the butcher shop will install additional equipment needed to obtain a European Union license to export currywurst to VW plants in Spain, Belgium, England and other countries.
VW regularly hears from stores and grocery chains interested in carrying its currywurst, but the company puts the brakes on those ideas. VW's corporate chef, Nils Potthast, says VW probably could do a good business selling its wurst in stores. But, he adds frankly, "From a corporate image standpoint, I'm not sure it makes sense to have the VW name on a meat product."
Mr. Potthast was hired two years ago to add tastier and healthier food to cafeteria menus. Currywurst is such a favorite among employees that he started to experiment with new variations, like the soup. He's nearly done with the currywurst spread but is still tinkering to get the color just right. "It's not red enough," he says.
Top management supports the effort and sees no reason to outsource sausage production. Indeed, VW currywurst is often served at board meetings. At one gathering last year, the brass sampled the new currywurst soup, which was served in espresso cups. Currywurst, says Chief Financial Officer Hans-Dieter Poetsch, "is part of VW culture."
The currywurst recipe is actually one of the company's most closely guarded trade secrets, known only to Mr. Labersweiler and three or four others. Even Mr. Potthast, the chef, is out of the loop, although a local company that provides VW's mix of spices is in on the secret. "They've signed a nondisclosure agreement," Mr. Labersweiler says. "The main ingredients are curry and pork. I can't say any more than that."
Mr. Labersweiler is willing to say one of the secrets is keeping the sausage relatively lean. "The fat content is only 25% to 30%," he says, shouting over the roar of a stainless-steel meat grinder. "Your average wurst is 50% fat or more." Another key is fresh ingredients. Four days a week, VW receives a shipment of two tons of pork, which is almost immediately fed into the grinders. "We use the just-in-time method," Mr. Labersweiler explains. "No preservatives or filler. Everything we get, we turn into wurst that day."
One part of VW isn't clamoring for more currywurst: Audi AG, the premium car division, in Bavaria. Audi has a butcher shop of its own that makes its weisswurst, a mild Bavarian specialty made of pork, veal and milk.
Asked which is better, Mr. Potthast says you can't compare them. He prefers weisswurst before noon with sweet mustard and a beer. Currywurst is good any time of the day, with lots of ketchup of course, he says.
"They're totally different products," Mr. Labersweiler adds. "It's not like comparing a McDonald's hamburger and a Burger King hamburger."
大众香肠与汽车同时下线
德国大众汽车公司(Volkswagen AG)设在总部沃尔夫斯堡的工厂规模庞大，去年共生产了515,000辆汽车。但汽车还不是该厂产量最高的产品。克劳斯?劳伯斯韦尔(Klaus Labersweiler)是大众肉制品部的主管，他带领来宾一边参观镶满白瓷砖的肉品加工厂，一边自豪地说：“我们每年要生产150万根咖喱香肠，数量比汽车还多。”
的确，作为欧洲最大的汽车制造商，大众汽车同时也在扩大香肠的生产规模和生产线。该公司的肉店设在生产厂的一角，向德国国内的二十多个工厂和办公室提供肉制品，并打算把触角伸向大众汽车在全欧洲的员工自助餐厅。
在沃尔夫斯堡，员工餐厅里还有用上好的大众香肠做的汤。不久之后，餐厅里还将推出一种大众咖喱香肠酱，作为早餐面包的佐料。仍在酝酿之中的还有香肠杂烩和可以用微波炉加热的袋装香肠，后者适合在自动售货机上出售。
说起这个汽车史上最奇特的副业，就引出汽车业历史上一段不寻常的故事。那要追溯到第二次世界大战前，当时该工厂是纳粹政府的一个项目。
沃尔夫斯堡的这家大众工厂于1938年开始动工兴建，当时沃尔夫斯堡只是一个拥有几百人的小镇。但生产大众汽车的工人数以千计，工厂必须给他们提供食宿。在战争期间，工厂雇佣苦役。战争结束后，英国军人成了生产的主力军，而提供大量基本生活必需品的任务又落在工厂身上。
有一段时间，该工厂还自己饲养牛群，种植蔬菜，但那是很久以前的是事了。保留至今的是许多温室，它们为高级主管的办公室以及重大场合提供鲜花。当该工厂有雇员（无论现雇员还是前雇员）辞世时，这些温室还献上纪念花圈。
工厂里的肉店本来也会消失的。在五十年代，它一直是德国人的主要肉食来源，主要产品有小香肠、肝泥香肠、牛肉香肠和一种名为suelze的肉冻。咖喱香肠是在二战后推出的。到六十年代早期，它已成为众多的德国重建者最喜爱的食品，特别是在德国北部。这种味道很重的新式香肠还引发了柏林和汉堡之间的争执，因为它们各自都声称是咖喱香肠的发源地。
约在1962或1963年，大众汽车的厨师们对柏林和汉堡之间的争执感到好笑，决定尝试加工这种新式香肠。在接下来大约六周的时间里，他们用咖喱、香料、猪肉和牛肉等原料按照不同的比例加以搭配，最终研制出了一种工人们喜爱的香肠。
当时在肉店里工作的一位师傅是劳伯斯韦尔的叔叔。他鼓励侄子从事这项工作，说这是进入大众的好途径。于是，劳伯斯韦尔先在当地拜师学艺，后于1967年进入大众，当时他只有17岁。1976年，劳伯斯韦尔成了高级肉类加工师。2000年疯牛病猖狂一时，他又改良了香肠的配方，从里面剔除了牛肉。
如今，当人们在沃尔夫斯堡的大众体育场里观看足球比赛时，花上2.88美元就可以品尝到一根烤大众咖喱香肠，或在福斯汽车城的餐厅里品尝两根普通香肠，上面盖满大众辣蕃茄酱。福斯汽车城是大众为汽车爱好者和顾客建立的主题公园。您还可以在汽车城的丽兹-卡尔顿大酒店的客房服务菜单上找到大众咖喱香肠。
明年，大众的肉店将添置必要的设备，以便取得欧盟的出口许可证，让咖喱香肠进入大众设在西班牙、比利时 、英国等地的工厂。
大众汽车常常听到商店和百货连锁店表示有兴趣经销该公司的咖喱香肠，但大众并没有接受这些美意。该公司的厨师尼尔斯?波特哈特(Nils Potthast)表示，在商店里经销大众香肠也许会生意兴隆，但“从维护企业形像的角度看，我认为把大众的商标印到肉产品上是不明智的”。
波特哈特是两年前加入大众的，他的任务是使员工餐厅里的食品更美味、更有营养。咖喱香肠很受员工的喜爱，因此他开始研制新品种，如咖喱香肠汤。目前，波特哈特已经快结束咖喱香肠酱的研制，但仍在调制合适的颜色。“颜色还不够红，”他说。
大众的高级管理层支持他的努力，并表示没有必要从外面采购香肠。的确，大众的咖喱香肠常常在董事会上亮相。在去年的一次会议上，高级主管们品尝了盛在咖啡杯里的新式咖喱香肠汤。大众的首席财务长汉斯?佩什(Hans-Dieter Poetsch)表示，咖喱香肠“是公司文化的一部份”。
实际上，咖喱香肠的配方是大众最小心呵护的商业机密之一，只有劳伯斯韦尔等其他三四个人知道。连大厨师波特哈特也一无所知，但向大众提供香料的一家当地公司知晓这个秘方。劳伯斯韦尔说：“他们与我们签署了保密协议。主要配方是咖喱和猪肉。其他的我就不能透露了。”
劳伯斯韦尔愿意透露的一个秘诀是做香肠的肉要比较瘦。“脂肪的含量只有25%到30%，”他在不锈钢绞肉机的隆隆声中高声喊道，“而一般香肠的脂肪含量为50%甚至更多。”另一个秘诀是配料要新鲜。每周有四天，大众都会运进两吨猪肉，这些猪肉会立刻被送去加工。“我们采用即时生产法，”劳伯斯韦尔说。“食品里不含防腐剂或添加剂。原料当天进来，产品当天出去。”
大众汽车内有一个部门对咖喱香肠不感兴趣，那就是位于巴伐利亚的高档车制造商奥迪汽车公司(Audi AG)。奥迪拥有一个肉店，生产小牛肉香肠，这是一种口味温和的用猪肉、小牛肉和牛奶制成的当地特产。
当问道哪个更好吃时，波特哈特表示不可将它们放在一起比较。中午前，他喜欢品尝小牛肉香肠，外加甜芥末和一瓶啤酒。而咖喱香肠在任何时候品尝都不错，当然还要加上大量的蕃茄酱。
“它们是完全不同的食品，”沃尔夫斯堡补充道。“这与比较麦当劳的汉堡和汉堡王的汉堡可是两回事。”
